Preview – Zeroed In: Chris Costa

Costa Ludus Founder and Trainer Chris Costa understands that when it comes to certain tests in life, there is no room for error. As the head of his own tactical training and development company, Costa uses his service background, irreverent humor, and dedicated approach to mold his students into the best shooters that they can be.

In the world of tactical training, the difference between winning and losing can mean the difference between life and death. Often, we wrongly assume that those who protect us with badges and Stars and Stripes were born protectors, using a degree of God-given gifts for survivability that the majority of the rest of us were not programmed with. This is quite obviously not the case, as there has to be some form of training in there somewhere, but who can teach the best of the best? Enter Chris Costa, former President of Magpul Dynamics and founder of his own company, Costa Ludus. While his 12 years of experience with the U.S. Coast Guard in counter-drug operations and special missions in Europe, Middle East, and South America, along with his seven years of private-sector service with Applied Marine Technologies Inc. on assignment for the Department of Homeland Security's Risk Management Division, would certainly seem to be more than enough prerequisites, what makes Costa such an effective instructor is the fact that he truly cares about each and every one of his students. “Working with civilians, law enforcement, and special operations groups means that I have to tailor my classes based on the scenarios each of these three groups might respectively find themselves in,” explains Costa.

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