Course Testmonials

I completed a bespoke firearms training package with STS in September 2020 and was thoroughly impressed with every aspect. Mark is clearly an expert in this field, but he is also an excellent instructor and a thoroughly interesting guy. Before attending, Mark helped us design the course to meet our specific requirements, providing suggestions and helping us get the most from our time. The course itself was informative and delivered exactly what we required. It was also a thoroughly enjoyable two days. Mark managed to condense a huge amount of material into a short space of time, however thanks to his teaching style and structure of the course, it never felt overwhelming. Each of us came away amazed at how much we’d picked up in such a short space of time. Everything was provided, course material, lunch and refreshments, protective kit. All we had to do was turn up and learn. I’ll definitely be returning.

Mark, Many thanks for the training package you provided., your years of experience and attention to detail really helped us. I look forward to additional training from yourself in the future. Jase

This course was superbly delivered, well planned, and produced excellent results. I would highly recommend STS to professionals that are seeking to improve their skills, or to add further strings to their bow. I will be returning for further training on pistol shooting when I get the chance.

This is the 3rd course I have taken with STS and again had an amazing experience. Mark " Nobby " Knowles's knowledge on firearms and the training needed to become a competent firearms user is second to none. From the moment you walk in the door until the moment you leave the range you know you are in the hands of a highly knowledgeable and professional instructor. Mark makes you feel comfortable in the classroom and the range environment, takes you through all the drills at your own pace and explains everything in great detail. If you are looking for firearms instruction I can honestly say STS is the only place to go.. Highly recommended 👌 Thanks again Mark and looking forward to seeing you in December 👍🏼

What an intense week! This bespoke course has been designed to reach and teach people of all abilities. My main objective was to understand the world in which my colleagues operate, I have been taught that and much much more. This course has made me realise the risks and dangers that are out there, not just in areas of conflict, but also in our day to day living. If you want to be taught and guided by the 'best of the best', look no further, because if I can do it, anyone can. Many many thanks to both instructors.

I enjoyed my day of pistol training with Mark immensely. The course covered all the basics in superb detail and the shooting was tailored to my individual circumstances. I hope to do more shooting with Mark in the near future and would highly recommend this course to anyone with a personal or professional interest in firearms training.

This is the second course I have taken with STS, and I will be taking more. Mark is a consummate professional and an outstanding teacher. If you are looking for finest firearms instructor in the country, you’ve found him.

What an experience! I went into this course with 0 background of fire arms and Mark designed a two day course for me. I didn’t have much of an idea of what I was going into but was blown away with what I came out with. Mark was incredibly patient with me when I struggled to click with some of the drills but still very upbeat. His knowledge was fascinating and the content and amount I learnt from him I was speechless about, couldn’t recommend this enough and I am really looking forward to my next course with him. Thank you!

Wow, fantastic time spent with Mark, his training methods are top notch! I went from no firearms knowledge to being able to strip and re-assemble a weapon blind fold in under a day! Thoroughly recommended for everyone. Nick

From start to finish Mark 'KNobby' Knowles has shown absolute professionalism. From first contact, to the final email with my certificate. The course was run at a pace that I believe was tailored for my ability to understand and retain the information being given allowing me the opportunity to process and absorb it. Mark's knowledge and experience is frankly breathtaking and I feel privileged to have had lessons from someone with such a exemplary background. I can only recommend that anyone, no matter what level you believe you're at - Mark will be able to teach you something, if not a lot. Thank you - I will be back for more lessons and hopefully some range work abroad.

I thought I knew about guns before going on this course. How wrong was I? Before you get anywhere near a shooting range you have to be fully briefed on safe weapons handling. Sounds boring, but actually it isn't and once you understand that it is very rewarding. I came away with a new found respect for weapons and how they need to be handled. Mark was extremely affable and gave a really interesting insight into his past career. His instruction on the range allowed me to hone my limited skills and I've come away with a wealth of knoweledge that I can take to a shooting club. Thanks again Nobby for a throughly enjoyable day :-)

This course is a great day experience. It’s really good starting point for someone looking to get into shooting, as a result it was perfect for me. Marksmanship isn’t the primary focus of the course, but it is covered and two days after attending the course I have that found my marksmanship has improved. Nobby is a very affable person, he takes you through everything clearly and calmly, there is absolutely zero stress. In terms of safety it is faultless. Nobby knows exactly where everyone is and what they are doing as he issues clear instructions and ensures all the exercises or drills are correctly executed. I would recommend the course to any shooting novice who wants to broaden their weapon handling and shooting experience or anyone just wants an enjoyable day experience in the company of someone who is world class in his respective field.

I had been so much looking forward to attending this course and one main thing I can say is that this course succeeded in reaching all of my expectations and more! With a variety of attendees (more or less experienced), we all learned something and it challenged us all. I cannot thank enough our two instructors for their professionalism and their patience. Safety is the key word for this course!

I had the pleasure of attending the FEAR course and being an absolute beginner to this, felt after the four days, I learnt so much. The course is intensive, both class-room and hands on; so a great way of learning and interacting with the subject matter. Both the trainers were professional, extremely knowledgeable about their respective subject areas and patient. This course has certainly built up my confidence and basic knowledge.

The key to this course is focussed attention to detail: the critical element to working safely and effectively in the proximity of firearms and explosives. If you want to learn every variant of SIG pistol ever manufactured and be an armchair firearms expert, pick another course (though I've no doubt the instructors know them all). If you want to start from scratch and be confidently, meticulously prepared for fundamental weapon documentation and handling activities, this is the course for you. Likewise if you've been working with or in proximity to weapons for some time, and want to have your learned incompetence comprehensively and graciously unpicked, this is also the course for you. Very highly recommended.

The methods used in this course derive from 40 years of SF experience and an equivalent dose of C-IED and ammunition technical expertise. I cannot imagine anything beating it. The course is perfectly balanced to deliver skills training in the safest and most effective way. Participants who put in the effort—and it’s appropriately tough—should expect to leave the course streets ahead of when they started. Whatever level of experience you have, the FEAR course will take you to another level of understanding: both of your own limitations and where you need to go to improve.

My wife and I received this training as a gift. Because we live in Germany, we landed on Gatwick airport, and drove to Sherborne. The area is very nice, quiet and people very friendly. Although the city is small you can choose from a variety of accommodations and very nice restaurants. As instructed, we arrived at the location 15 minutes before 9 a.m. and Mark welcomed us with coffee and tea. We started with introducing ourselves first, being somewhat distracted by the firearms carefully positioned in the training room. For us it was the first contact with such weapons, so it was a good introduction in what was about to follow. After me and my wife told Mark what we do and what we expect from the day, it was his turn to tell us something about himself. What followed was a presentation of his activity starting from the early days, which turned out to be a combination of war and history movie, the main difference being the fact that the main character was standing near you. A collection of personal photos and videos projected on the wall together with his story telling made us hold our breaths and stop blinking multiple times. After some time we started to discuss the theory of firearms, and about safety. We realized later during the day how important safety is for Mark. After that we went to the shooting range, where there were 2 tables with one firearm on each. We learned to assemble and disassemble them, always keeping in mind safety. During the second part of the day, after we had a nice lunch prepared by Mark, we applied what we thought we learned. We realized the feeling is different when holding a loaded weapon, but Mark was patient enough, and we went through the steps multiple times until we got it right. What followed was the real shooting, where Mark trained us on multiple aspects from holding the weapon to always hitting the target. We used two different firearms, and I don’t remember how many magazines, but I can tell there were many, because we had to reload them ourselves. The training ended in the afternoon, shortly before 4 p.m.. From my point of view everyone who wants to get a first contact with firearms should take such training, because it always focuses on safety. After that day, I look at firearms in a different way, understanding the risks and knowing what I should do, but, more importantly, what I shouldn’t do in the matter of weapons. After we said goodbye to Mark, we ended our day in a nice restaurant after visiting the local shops. It’s worth being mentioned, because I didn’t see this many local shops as I saw in Sherborne. Thank you Nobby, it was a great day.

Mark is a very patient and understanding instructor. Out of the two days I had with him he has taught me to handle firearms in a safe manner while correctly handling them. He has helped me to expand my love of shooting and I would be happy to be taught by him again.

I have been to a few ranges around the world but this experience was head and shoulders above anything that I have seen before both in content, safety and the experience of the instructor. The morning flew by listening to Mark "Nobby" Knowles' 33 years of special forces experiences and we could have gone all day asking questions. The handling and safety drills were superb with Nobby managing to instill military discipline in such a friendly way that you never felt stupid even if you got it wrong. The shooting was excellent with Nobby managing to coax the best out even the most wayward shot. A perfect day out for any group - kids or adults.

The FEAR course provides a hands-on practical introduction to the basics of firearms, explosive theory, conventional ammunition recognition and IED tactics and means of deployment. The instructor to student ratio was 2 to 4 providing an intense but highly effective learning environment. This coupled with the fact that both instructors have approximately 50 years of experience between them in explosive ordnance disposal, counter IED and special operations makes this a highly valuable course.

Mark has a outstanding knowledge and his teaching skills are fantastic. I had a one to one course with him as I was struggling to have a proper handle to hold a pistol. After the morning presentation we went down to the range where I could put in practice all the theory I've learned earlier and with his clear commands and explanation when you do something wrong, I've managed to increase my confidence and get the shots to the target accurately. I was very tired at the end of the day, but I don't regret any minute spent with Mark. The knowledge and confidence I have now with just a one day course with him is priceless. I absolute recommend this course, you will not regret it. Thank you very much Mark for your time and to share your experience which for me is extraordinary and I'm proud of you and feel privileged to have the opportunity to have you as a instructor. G

I mean "crash course" in the best possible sense. Our group was mixed; some with previous military and de-mining experience while others had no such relevant experience. The training was extremely valuable for all regardless of prior experience (or lack thereof). The instructors were both knowledgeable (quite an understatement) and skilled at communicating the material to students eager to learn. Highly recommended for those with a genuine desire to improve their skills and understanding.

I recently attended a five-day bespoke course as part of my work for an organisation that documents weapons, ammunition, and related materiel that has been recovered from armed actors in conflict environments. This course, run by two instructors with unparalleled experience and exceptional knowledge, provided myself and my colleagues with a thorough grounding in how to safely conduct ourselves around potentially unsafe weapons, ammunition, or IED components. The course was a well-designed balance of theory and practical hands-on drills. As someone who had no prior experience with handling weapons, I found the pace and detail of the course to be extremely well-structured. The drills in safe-weapon handling in particular steadily ramped up the transition from directed repetition to confident and careful self-sufficiency. I can highly recommend it for anyone looking to learn from a world-class instructor.

received several days' training, followed by a practical exam, from STS-instructor Mark "Nobby" Knowles, as mandated by my organisation prior to deployments to document small arms flows in conflict-affected environments. The course was detailled and challenging, with a good balance of classroom instruction and hands-on practical drills and coaching. Nobby brings his military specialist background to bear as an instructor, but his methods, with an emphasis on safe and confident handling of different types of weapons, are effective for people from all walks of life. I would definitely recommend and look forward to doing further training sessions with Shooting Training Solutions.

Mark runs a first class operation. He effortlessly translates his extraordinary service record and experience into an actionable, understandable and intensive educational course. After completing your due diligence and reading reviews, you always hope for the best when booking something like this. Most times the experience meets expectation, sometimes it falls short, this though has been one of only a few times where my expectations have been far exceeded. If you’re looking for firearms instruction, there is no one better.