About

Here at Texas Republic Firearms Academy (TXRFA)…

We focus exclusively on self-defense and emergency-situation training.  We don’t teach hunting skills, target shooting, nor sports shooting.  We concentrate on real-world firearm defense training, and also emergency medical care, and disaster preparedness and response.

Why we exist:  Founded in 2009, Texas Republic Firearms Academy exists for one purpose — to teach firearm self-defense, self-reliance, emergency readiness, and emergency medical courses to civilians. Our sister school, Camp Barkeley Tactical Training Center, located west of Fort Worth, was conceived for a slightly different purpose.  It was founded to provide advanced specialty training, as well as scenario-based firearm and tactics instruction for SWAT Teams and law enforcement officers.

A Full-Range of Firearm Defense Training.  (Pun intended.) We offer beginner-to-advanced classes and private instruction in self-defense handgun, home defense, tactical shotgun, assault rifle, battle rifle, long-distance shooting, and 2- and 3-gun CQB tactics.  Based near San Antonio, we offer classes throughout Texas and abroad.

Our Firearm Instructors.  At Texas Republic Firearms Acaademy, all of our firearm instructors are former police officers who served in a major metropolitan area.  Like TXRFA’s founder, all of them have personally had multiple deadly-force encounters.

But that isn’t enough.  Instructors with real-world “shoot, don’t shoot” experience does make our school quite unique, but this isn’t enough to become a TXRFA instructor.  Each of our instructors not only has extensive “street” experience that includes multiple deadly-force encounters, they also have a winsome personality, combined with innate teaching ability, and an engaging instructional style.  They make learning easy, even for those who are new to firearms.

 

Our Founder, SIG SWANSTROM

International security consultant, author of five books and many articles on firearm defense and disaster preparedness, SIG SWANSTROM has been interviewed on national and international talk shows.  A former police officer and police SWAT team operator in the Los Angeles area, SIG has been seasoned further by civil war, insurgency, and experiencing an assortment of natural and man-made disasters. As a result, he is able to draw on a wide range of real-world experiences when he designs our courses.

“Real-world practical,” is how SIG is often described.  He founded TXRFA to embody this same attribute.

During his years in police service, SIG had many encounters with armed criminals and routinely investigated gun-related crimes.  In addition to his years on the SWAT Team, he has a university degree in criminology and served as a police detective and crime scene investigator (CSI).  

As with all TXRFA firearm instructors, SIG has personally been involved in multiple “shoot, don’t shoot” situations. And, he has also investigated many crimes where firearms were used against innocent people, as well as incidents where law-abiding citizens used guns against their attackers.  As a result, he understands this topic from both ends of the gun.

Since taking early retirement from law enforcement, SIG’s experience was further expanded by living with terrorism and guerrilla warfare in Guatemala. During that country’s bloody civil war, SIG’s compound was attacked by insurgents on three occasions.  On one of these, it was overrun by 200 guerrilla’s who used automatic weapons, rocket propelled grenades, and mortars.

His family was with him on each of these occasions.  As a result, he also understands danger from the perspective of a husband and father. 

Professional Recognition: During SIG’s law enforcement career he was named “Police Officer of the Year,” was a “Commendation for Valor” recipient, and he received the Mayor’s Commendation, United States Attorney General’s Commendation (Ed Meece), and numerous other awards and citations. He was also the personal bodyguard of President Ronald Reagan during the time after Reagan was governor of California, but before he announced his candidacy for President of the United States.

Author:  SIG is the author of five books. The book which gets him the most media attention is, “God, Guns, and Guts of Firearm Defense: The Bible View.” Whereas the book, “Family and Personal Protection: Selecting the Best Gun for Self-Defense at Home” is the least popular but appreciated by those who are new to the subject of firearm defense.  It was written to answer the frequently asked questions of his students who are new to the subject of guns or firearm defense.  In addition to these, he co-wrote with bestselling author, David Crawford, “PREPARED: Ready to Roll – Book 1 – Why Responsible People are Preparing.”  And, in that same book series, he authored the widely acclaimed, Book #2 and 3, “Evacuation, Safe-Haven Selection, and Shelter-in-Place Guidebook”.  SIG is currently writing the final book in that series.  This latest volume focuses on self-reliance skills, defensible space, and how-to develop a Safehaven Homestead.

For more, visit his author’s page on Amazon or his personal website, www.SIGSWANSTROM.com.

 

Our Teaching Philosophy

For us, “Remember the Alamo” isn’t just a phrase from a history textbook.  The Alamo defenders personify the kind of people we strive to be in our world today:  Individuals who learn from our past, so that we can prepare for the future; people who are ready for whatever we might face today — and tomorrow.

Our world is now changing rapidly.  In response, responsible people are developing the skills and resiliency required to adapt to existing threats, and also, emerging challenges and new dangers.

Following in the example of the Founders of the United States, TXRFA is committed to serve people of integrity who strive to be independent, self-reliant, peace-makers, who defend of liberty and justice.

For us, this orientation is perhaps best typified in the founding and early history of the Texas Rangers.  These “Rangers” were volunteers who came from all walks of life.  Together, they took up the badge and their guns when the government wasn’t there to protect their family, neighbors, and communities. They embodied a pioneer spirit and understood that common defense is everyone’s responsibility.

When asked why they were willing to risk their lives for others, they answered, “If not me, who?”  

At TXRFA, in addition to our regular self-defense classes, we also train the modern day equivalent of these Rangers, preparing them to confront active shooters and other emergency situations.  We call them, Sheepdogs.

 

Our Logo

The logo for Texas Republic Firearms Academy is reminiscent of the badge worn by the Rangers who brought peace and justice to the Wild West.  This Texas Ranger heritage embodies firearm skill and sound tactics, personal responsibility, volunteerism, community spirit, and the selfless care of others, combined with high-impact self reliance.  This “protect and serve” spirit dates back to the beginning of the Texas Republic.  Our logo provides us with a constant reminder of that proud heritage.

 

Skill Training, and More  

Today, this Ranger sentiment is the foundation on which we have built the curriculum for our firearms, self-defense, emergency preparedness, and medical training classes. Here at Texas Republic Firearms Academy (TXRFA), our goal is to also impart Ranger-like confidence and community spirit in our students. 

Therefore, with all of our courses, we endeavor to also teach both the physical skills and the mental preparation necessary to achieve high-impact self reliance. This translates into the ability to be alone yet capable and confident: The confidence to confront fear and violence head-on, so that we can protect ourselves and others, and restore peace and safety.

Texas Republic Firearms Academy (TXRFA) exists to deliver the training required for our changing, increasingly violent world.  We provide beginner-to-advanced firearms self-defense and tactical firearms training, Texas License-to-Carry (LTC/CHL) certification, ongoing personalized firearm practice and skill development, emergency medic training for gunshot wounds and serious injuries, as well as emergency situation and disaster preparedness training.

Our mission is much more than to provide our students with the firearm skills they need to survive a violent encounter.  We help them learn how to conquer fear and problem solve, and we equip them with the skills and abilities required to achieve high-impact self reliance.  Our goal is to equip our students to overcome any emergency situation–and emerge victorious!