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Firearms Training in Parker, Colorado

Concealed carry permits, the state firearms safety course, and private instruction — taught in Parker since 1993.

Colorado Tactics is based here. Parker is not a service area we added to a list; it is where John Rader has taught for over thirty years, and where most of our students live.

A Colorado Tactics training class on an outdoor range near Parker, Colorado
A class on the range. Groups stay small.

Your permit comes from the Douglas County Sheriff

Parker sits in Douglas County, so if you live in Parker your concealed handgun permit is issued by the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office — not Denver, not Arapahoe. That matters more than most people realize, because Douglas County runs its own process:

  • Applications are online only. Since August 2025, Douglas County requires every application to go through its electronic portal. You cannot walk one in.
  • Your training certificate must come from a verified instructor and be dated within one year of the day you apply. An old certificate from a class you took years ago will not be accepted.

John Rader is Douglas County Verified Firearms Instructor #25037. The certificate you leave our class with is the one the Douglas County Sheriff is looking for, issued by an instructor that office has already verified.

Sheriff requirements change. Confirm the current process with the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office before you apply.

Classes we teach in Parker

  • Basics of Pistol Shooting — Colorado CCW · 8 hours · $150. Satisfies the state training requirement for your permit.
  • CCW Renewal Refresher · 2 hours · $94.99. For renewals and repeats — law updates, live fire and the written exam.
  • Colorado Firearms Safety Course (SB25-003) · 4 hours $125, 12 hours $249. Required before you can buy a specified semiautomatic firearm.
  • Private instruction · $450. One-on-one, built around what you actually need.
  • Rifle, shotgun and self-defense · $125 each.

Why people in Parker train with us

We are not a range and we do not sell firearms. Training is the entire business, which means nobody is trying to move you toward a purchase.

Classes stay small. Nobody gets rushed through and nobody gets abandoned — if you have never handled a pistol, that is a normal place to start and you will be treated like it.

Your instructor

John Rader — teaching since 1993, more than 30,000 students.

  • Douglas County Verified Firearms Instructor #25037 — valid statewide
  • NRA Certified Instructor #167433046
  • United States Marine Corps — ten years infantry, honorably discharged as a Sergeant, and a Primary Marksmanship Instructor
  • Law Enforcement — twenty-five years, Sergeant

Book a class in Parker

Reserve a seat → No charge up front. I set the date once enough people are on the list, then email everyone at once.

Proudly serving the Denver Metro area and all of Colorado
Classes in Parker and Aurora  ·  Monday–Saturday, 9–5
720-464-SHOT (7468)  ·  info@coloradotactics.com

Call and tell us what you need and we will point you to the right class — or tell you that you do not need one.

Also serving Aurora, Denver, Centennial, Castle Rock, Lone Tree, Highlands Ranch, Littleton and Englewood.

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