#321 - Firearms Training: Essential Life Skill or Elite Club?
In this episode of the Guns Podcast U.S., hosts Brent Wheat and Roy Huntington dive deep into the crucial topic of professional firearms training. While many gun owners believe growing up hunting or previous military experience is enough, Brent and Roy explain why shooting is a perishable skill that requires ongoing education and consistent tactical standards. They break down the three distinct tiers of training available to civilians: the local gun instructor, the itinerant traveling trainer, and prestigious academies like Gunsite and Thunder Ranch. Finding the right teacher can be daunting, so the hosts provide a no-nonsense guide on how to vet potential instructors and avoid the "elite club" mentality.
They discuss common industry pitfalls, including firearms instructor critiques, massive egos, and unsafe range behaviors. They also tackle the misconception that being a former Navy SEAL automatically makes someone a great teacher. Whether you are a brand new shooter looking for affordable shooting drills or an experienced CCW carrier seeking advanced tactics, this episode provides the roadmap to finding reputable, safe, and effective training while defending your 2nd Amendment rights.
Key Topics Covered: • The "Gatekeeping" Myth: Is high-level training a barrier or a necessity? • Vetting Instructors: How to spot "Tacticool" ego versus actual expertise. • Training Tiers: From local shops to world-class academies. • Skill Maintenance: Why your 10-year-old CCW qualification doesn't count today.
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1 00:00:00,160 --> 00:00:01,160 Crunch, crunch, crunch, crunch. 2 00:00:01,160 --> 00:00:04,680 This guy comes up and he had already established himself that first day. 3 00:00:04,960 --> 00:00:07,440 He was a geek, nerd, wannabe, idiot. 4 00:00:07,440 --> 00:00:10,200 Finally, he just blurted out, oh, sure. Mr. 5 00:00:10,200 --> 00:00:11,240 Smith, what are we going to do? 6 00:00:11,240 --> 00:00:16,680 Like, do like the kitchen doors and, you know, like, roll and get up and engage 7 00:00:16,680 --> 00:00:19,800 multiple targets and all you know, I mean, I think that's 8 00:00:19,920 --> 00:00:21,320 I think it's really important. 9 00:00:21,320 --> 00:00:24,000 And I remember Clint just like, sighed. 10 00:00:24,000 --> 00:00:26,760 And he looked at me and Clint kind of smiled. 11 00:00:26,760 --> 00:00:29,200 He says, I'll make you a deal. 12 00:00:29,200 --> 00:00:34,120 Let's just concentrate on learning how not to shoot yourself or your neighbor, 13 00:00:35,400 --> 00:00:38,400 and we'll worry about that other stuff later. 14 00:00:42,160 --> 00:00:45,160 I said. 15 00:00:52,560 --> 00:00:52,960 Hi there. 16 00:00:52,960 --> 00:00:56,040 Welcome to the Guns Podcast, U.S., brought to you by guns 17 00:00:56,040 --> 00:00:59,280 magazine.com and sponsored by Tango Down. 18 00:00:59,400 --> 00:00:59,800 Hi there. 19 00:00:59,800 --> 00:01:02,760 I'm your host, Brant Wheat, and thanks for joining us here 20 00:01:02,760 --> 00:01:05,800 on one of the world's biggest gun talk programs. 21 00:01:05,800 --> 00:01:09,800 And we can even prove that as we talk about the interesting stuff 22 00:01:09,800 --> 00:01:13,800 and the interesting people who make up the world of shooting and of course, the 23 00:01:13,960 --> 00:01:17,360 the king of the interesting people is my co-host, Roy Huntington. 24 00:01:17,800 --> 00:01:20,880 Howdy there Roy. Now I'm embarrassed. 25 00:01:22,120 --> 00:01:25,240 That's my job to embarrass and humiliate people. 26 00:01:25,240 --> 00:01:28,360 We bring on the podcast, but now we've got another great show. 27 00:01:28,360 --> 00:01:31,680 But before we do that, here's a quick word from our sponsor, Tango 28 00:01:31,680 --> 00:01:34,680 Down. 29 00:01:42,120 --> 00:01:42,720 Tango down. 30 00:01:42,720 --> 00:01:43,760 It's been a trusted leader 31 00:01:43,760 --> 00:01:46,880 in firearms parts and accessories for more than two decades. 32 00:01:47,240 --> 00:01:50,160 Whether you're upgrading your everyday carry or finishing out 33 00:01:50,160 --> 00:01:53,160 your next rifle bill, Tango Down has you covered. 34 00:01:53,680 --> 00:01:57,800 Their product line continues to grow, with new releases coming in 2026. 35 00:01:58,440 --> 00:02:01,600 Visit Tango Down arcom to explore the full lineup 36 00:02:01,800 --> 00:02:05,040 and sign up for email updates so you don't miss what's next? 37 00:02:05,720 --> 00:02:08,720 Tango down combat gear without peer. 38 00:02:11,680 --> 00:02:14,320 Well, Roy, this is a topic that, 39 00:02:14,320 --> 00:02:17,160 we've we've kind of kicked around for a while, and I finally decided 40 00:02:17,160 --> 00:02:20,280 it's time to do it, and it's kind of an opinion thing, 41 00:02:20,280 --> 00:02:24,600 but I think some learning can occur for all parties involved. 42 00:02:24,600 --> 00:02:26,400 And we're going to talk about training. 43 00:02:26,400 --> 00:02:30,080 We often recommend to get professional firearms training. 44 00:02:30,480 --> 00:02:35,640 And, most people understand that and maybe not everybody can afford it, 45 00:02:35,640 --> 00:02:37,920 but most people understand at least the reason behind it. 46 00:02:37,920 --> 00:02:41,040 Occasionally you get those people going, well, you know, trainers are just 47 00:02:41,640 --> 00:02:45,160 you're just shilling for the training industry and trainers are jerks. 48 00:02:45,160 --> 00:02:48,040 And let's, let's talk about that today. 49 00:02:48,040 --> 00:02:49,680 Both of us have trained folks. 50 00:02:49,680 --> 00:02:53,320 You've trained a lot more folks than I have, but I've done my share of it. 51 00:02:53,680 --> 00:02:57,360 And, we're going to talk about it from the trainer side, 52 00:02:57,360 --> 00:03:00,880 from the student side, because both of us are eternal students 53 00:03:01,280 --> 00:03:04,800 and just kind of, analyze this whole idea of 54 00:03:04,800 --> 00:03:07,960 why would you need professional training in shooting? 55 00:03:07,960 --> 00:03:11,040 And, I'll leave it at something. 56 00:03:11,040 --> 00:03:13,720 We point out a lot that shooting is a perishable skill. 57 00:03:13,720 --> 00:03:18,680 And just because you got training in the Army and Basic 42 years ago, 58 00:03:19,320 --> 00:03:22,120 if you haven't shot since then, you probably suck at it. 59 00:03:22,120 --> 00:03:24,040 So it's like riding a bicycle. 60 00:03:24,040 --> 00:03:26,160 You'll pick it back up pretty quick. 61 00:03:26,160 --> 00:03:30,360 But if if you haven't used that skill in a while, and especially 62 00:03:30,360 --> 00:03:34,680 if you haven't been trained on it, your skill level goes down over time. 63 00:03:34,680 --> 00:03:39,080 So, Roy, when you say gun training, what do you think of. 64 00:03:42,280 --> 00:03:44,520 It's that was a tired. 65 00:03:44,520 --> 00:03:47,680 I know it it's multi-dimensional. 66 00:03:47,720 --> 00:03:49,160 You know, it's like, where do you start? 67 00:03:49,160 --> 00:03:53,400 But to me, a quick overview is because this is what I've seen. 68 00:03:53,440 --> 00:03:56,400 I know this is what you've seen. 69 00:03:56,400 --> 00:03:58,760 I grew up hunting with my grandpa. 70 00:03:58,760 --> 00:04:01,480 I know about guns. 71 00:04:01,480 --> 00:04:02,880 Why would I go to a trainer? 72 00:04:02,880 --> 00:04:05,880 Because he wouldn't teach me anything I don't already know. 73 00:04:06,840 --> 00:04:10,560 Well, with rare exceptions, that they're exactly wrong, you know? 74 00:04:11,080 --> 00:04:13,560 And those are the people who buy, 75 00:04:13,560 --> 00:04:16,280 a Glock and load it and put it in their holster 76 00:04:16,280 --> 00:04:18,400 and never even shoot it and say, it's okay. 77 00:04:18,400 --> 00:04:20,880 I know about guns. Right? 78 00:04:20,880 --> 00:04:22,040 Okay, so that's bad. 79 00:04:22,040 --> 00:04:25,040 We know that the other ones that I particularly 80 00:04:25,920 --> 00:04:28,520 am amused by as you bump 81 00:04:28,520 --> 00:04:31,520 into some 80 year old guy 82 00:04:31,800 --> 00:04:34,920 and he said, oh, I'm a certified firearms trainer. 83 00:04:35,800 --> 00:04:38,800 And I go, you are, you know. 84 00:04:39,000 --> 00:04:41,640 Oh, yeah, I was certified by the NRA 85 00:04:41,640 --> 00:04:45,480 in 19 was, you know, 68. 86 00:04:47,640 --> 00:04:49,240 Which can 87 00:04:49,240 --> 00:04:52,800 be as little as a four hour class in those days. 88 00:04:53,080 --> 00:04:53,880 Right. 89 00:04:53,880 --> 00:04:57,160 And so, you know, no, you're not a firearms trainer. 90 00:04:57,160 --> 00:04:59,040 And if you're listening and you want training, 91 00:04:59,040 --> 00:05:01,080 you shouldn't listen to those kind of people. 92 00:05:01,080 --> 00:05:03,000 I mean, yeah, go shooting, see what you have, 93 00:05:03,000 --> 00:05:06,000 but don't consider yourself, 94 00:05:06,600 --> 00:05:09,120 to be a firearms, you know, trainer 95 00:05:09,120 --> 00:05:13,520 or to be someone who attended training, you know, 96 00:05:14,160 --> 00:05:16,600 I mean, you know, and then, of course, there's all, you know, 97 00:05:16,600 --> 00:05:19,600 all the regional gun shops have that have 98 00:05:19,600 --> 00:05:22,600 ranges, especially have trainers on site. 99 00:05:22,760 --> 00:05:26,400 And, the thing about it, though, is that a lot of people don't realize 100 00:05:26,400 --> 00:05:30,520 is that there's no training, vetting system. 101 00:05:31,760 --> 00:05:35,400 I mean, in other words, I literally could hang shingle out 102 00:05:35,400 --> 00:05:38,520 tomorrow and say, I do firearms training 103 00:05:39,240 --> 00:05:42,960 and then and people who don't know would just believe me, 104 00:05:42,960 --> 00:05:44,840 and then they would show up and I might teach them 105 00:05:44,840 --> 00:05:48,560 really, really bad things, because we've all seen that before, you know, 106 00:05:49,520 --> 00:05:49,960 I mean, I've 107 00:05:49,960 --> 00:05:54,520 seen trainers who have put students downrange and shoot around them, 108 00:05:55,000 --> 00:05:58,520 you know, because they say, oh, I want you to experience what gunfire 109 00:05:58,520 --> 00:05:59,760 sounds like down there. 110 00:05:59,760 --> 00:06:02,760 It's like, really, really, you know. 111 00:06:02,880 --> 00:06:03,040 Yeah. 112 00:06:03,040 --> 00:06:06,200 And, I told one guy like that and I said, okay, now 113 00:06:06,200 --> 00:06:09,680 something happens and they accidentally get shot. 114 00:06:09,680 --> 00:06:12,360 And now the police cars here, 115 00:06:12,360 --> 00:06:16,240 and the paramedics and the policeman walks up to you and says, what happened here? 116 00:06:17,160 --> 00:06:19,680 And you say, 117 00:06:19,680 --> 00:06:21,920 well, they were downrange 118 00:06:21,920 --> 00:06:24,440 and we were shooting. 119 00:06:24,440 --> 00:06:25,840 They were what? 120 00:06:25,840 --> 00:06:27,960 Yeah. You know what? 121 00:06:27,960 --> 00:06:28,360 Yeah. 122 00:06:28,360 --> 00:06:30,680 And you're gonna learn what it's like to have handcuffs on. 123 00:06:30,680 --> 00:06:33,680 So, I mean, I think that it. 124 00:06:33,840 --> 00:06:34,440 I mean, you're right. 125 00:06:34,440 --> 00:06:36,680 We always say you should seek training, you know? 126 00:06:36,680 --> 00:06:38,600 Well, how do you find training? What do you. 127 00:06:38,600 --> 00:06:43,440 You know, I mean, I think it's as simple as if you live in a certain area, doctor 128 00:06:43,440 --> 00:06:47,400 Google will help you type in firearms trainers near me. 129 00:06:47,520 --> 00:06:48,760 Right? 130 00:06:48,760 --> 00:06:50,760 If you're lucky, you'll come up with half a different plate, 131 00:06:50,760 --> 00:06:52,360 half a dozen different places. 132 00:06:52,360 --> 00:06:55,080 It might be a stand alone guy who's got his own range. 133 00:06:55,080 --> 00:06:56,880 They're pretty rare these days. 134 00:06:56,880 --> 00:06:59,960 More than likely there be a gun store with an indoor range. 135 00:07:00,600 --> 00:07:03,000 And they have onsite firearms trainers. 136 00:07:03,000 --> 00:07:05,680 And this is where the onus is on you. 137 00:07:05,680 --> 00:07:10,000 I mean, you really have to go and talk to the men and ask 138 00:07:10,000 --> 00:07:13,880 what their experiences and, you know, where did they get their training? 139 00:07:15,160 --> 00:07:16,560 I mean, that's the only way to do it. 140 00:07:16,560 --> 00:07:20,080 And the problem is I what I see is if you're not a shooter, 141 00:07:20,520 --> 00:07:23,520 then anything they say is going to sound right. 142 00:07:24,120 --> 00:07:28,000 You know, so I think it's like shopping for a car. 143 00:07:28,000 --> 00:07:32,120 You need to you need to shop several places if you can. 144 00:07:32,120 --> 00:07:35,960 If you have that luxury and then you're, you're going to bump into 145 00:07:35,960 --> 00:07:40,040 somebody who just seems like they know what they're doing. 146 00:07:40,560 --> 00:07:43,760 You know, the these we all know them, these these trainers 147 00:07:43,760 --> 00:07:47,880 that have this certain sense of calm and they 148 00:07:48,000 --> 00:07:51,280 they speak with quiet authority, except 149 00:07:51,280 --> 00:07:54,640 they're also very welcoming and patient. 150 00:07:54,640 --> 00:07:57,280 And, you know, all of those things should be part 151 00:07:57,280 --> 00:07:58,960 if you take your first class. 152 00:07:58,960 --> 00:08:01,520 And if they start by yelling at you, 153 00:08:01,520 --> 00:08:04,200 I just unload your gun and put it back on the holster. 154 00:08:04,200 --> 00:08:05,480 Leave exactly. 155 00:08:05,480 --> 00:08:06,120 Yeah. 156 00:08:06,120 --> 00:08:09,960 That that's an ego problem masquerading as an instructor. 157 00:08:09,960 --> 00:08:14,080 And fortunately, it's not too widespread in the industry. 158 00:08:14,080 --> 00:08:15,360 But we've all seen them. 159 00:08:15,360 --> 00:08:18,640 And I think I've told the story before of, we were doing 160 00:08:18,640 --> 00:08:22,520 some teaching behind another group, and we were in the changeover 161 00:08:22,800 --> 00:08:26,560 and it was some older guys, and they were in our NRA instructors. 162 00:08:26,560 --> 00:08:30,960 And we were that day happened to be teaching an all female class. 163 00:08:30,960 --> 00:08:32,120 And, you know, 164 00:08:32,120 --> 00:08:35,880 we learned after a while that sometimes females just want to be females. 165 00:08:36,120 --> 00:08:37,040 That's fine. 166 00:08:37,040 --> 00:08:37,840 So we did that. 167 00:08:37,840 --> 00:08:41,360 And these guys stood over there on the line a little later and I did. 168 00:08:41,640 --> 00:08:42,960 And some of the women heard that. 169 00:08:42,960 --> 00:08:46,800 And for for people that this is literally their first contact 170 00:08:47,000 --> 00:08:50,640 shooting a handgun, a couple of one to leave and 171 00:08:52,200 --> 00:08:54,360 the person I was with who was the, 172 00:08:54,360 --> 00:08:57,320 the range master went over and said, what are you doing? 173 00:08:57,320 --> 00:08:58,800 What are you doing here? 174 00:08:58,800 --> 00:09:02,120 You know, and it was it was just that chauvinistic, 175 00:09:02,120 --> 00:09:05,120 ego driven look at that little old lady there. 176 00:09:05,240 --> 00:09:07,360 That little lady there. You know she doesn't. 177 00:09:07,360 --> 00:09:09,480 That's too big of a gun for these guys. 178 00:09:09,480 --> 00:09:12,240 And I know them from being in the community. 179 00:09:12,240 --> 00:09:16,520 And they knew about this much more than the students did. 180 00:09:16,520 --> 00:09:19,240 So it's not like they were really experienced. 181 00:09:19,240 --> 00:09:22,360 And to me, that was the the single worst time 182 00:09:22,360 --> 00:09:26,440 I'd ever seen an instructor behave, towards students. 183 00:09:26,440 --> 00:09:29,440 And I thought, what? Why are you even. 184 00:09:29,520 --> 00:09:32,280 Well, I was going to say, why would you even want to be an instructor? 185 00:09:32,280 --> 00:09:34,280 The reason they want to be an instructor. 186 00:09:34,280 --> 00:09:37,560 So they could hitch up their pants and inflict their, 187 00:09:37,840 --> 00:09:40,840 their, condescension on other people. 188 00:09:41,160 --> 00:09:42,560 And it's like. 189 00:09:42,560 --> 00:09:42,880 Yeah. 190 00:09:42,880 --> 00:09:47,040 Like Roy said, if you if you're dealing with people like that, just say thank you. 191 00:09:47,040 --> 00:09:49,080 Hope the check clears. I'm out of here. 192 00:09:49,080 --> 00:09:53,840 So. Well, you know, and you bring up many good points there. 193 00:09:54,120 --> 00:09:58,480 But I think one way out of this is to if you're serious about it, 194 00:09:59,680 --> 00:10:02,360 is attend one of the sort of vetted schools, 195 00:10:02,360 --> 00:10:04,080 you know, the gun sites of the world. 196 00:10:04,080 --> 00:10:07,680 And, you know, there are other ones, some of them are regional 197 00:10:07,680 --> 00:10:08,880 around the country. 198 00:10:08,880 --> 00:10:11,880 And your best friend, though, 199 00:10:12,440 --> 00:10:14,600 even if you're attending a local class, 200 00:10:14,600 --> 00:10:17,600 is go online and read reviews, 201 00:10:18,240 --> 00:10:21,800 you know, and and if, if a, if a lot of people say, 202 00:10:21,880 --> 00:10:24,240 wow, this was the best thing I could have ever done. 203 00:10:24,240 --> 00:10:26,920 They were they were nice. The equipment was good. 204 00:10:26,920 --> 00:10:28,520 They were patient with me there. 205 00:10:28,520 --> 00:10:31,560 You know, what's like, okay, well, maybe that's a good idea. 206 00:10:31,680 --> 00:10:33,120 You know, 207 00:10:33,120 --> 00:10:36,920 if there are no reviews, I would be suspicious of that. 208 00:10:37,160 --> 00:10:39,160 You know? 209 00:10:39,160 --> 00:10:41,280 But I think you just believe your gut. 210 00:10:41,280 --> 00:10:44,280 Unfortunately, with new shooters, they are an open book. 211 00:10:44,280 --> 00:10:46,000 They're sponge. Right. 212 00:10:46,000 --> 00:10:49,000 So they go up to the counter at the gun store and they say, 213 00:10:49,320 --> 00:10:53,520 I see that you offer training, you know, can you tell me what that is? 214 00:10:53,520 --> 00:10:56,520 Well, that's the magic point. 215 00:10:56,720 --> 00:10:57,640 So if they say, 216 00:10:58,840 --> 00:11:00,000 certainly, I'd be happy to. 217 00:11:00,000 --> 00:11:02,400 What is it that you're looking for? Right. 218 00:11:02,400 --> 00:11:04,320 And you say, well, I'm a brand new shooter. 219 00:11:04,320 --> 00:11:06,360 And so I need to start from the beginning. 220 00:11:06,360 --> 00:11:07,600 I understand 221 00:11:07,600 --> 00:11:10,440 we have a two hour introduction to shooting that, 222 00:11:10,440 --> 00:11:14,640 you know, I mean, because you're going to get a sense of like, this is reasonable. 223 00:11:14,640 --> 00:11:16,200 This guy sounds nice. 224 00:11:16,200 --> 00:11:17,000 You know? 225 00:11:17,000 --> 00:11:18,640 I mean, this shop is clean. 226 00:11:18,640 --> 00:11:21,160 The range looks good. 227 00:11:21,160 --> 00:11:25,240 I'm being made to feel welcome here, you know, but if you go up there 228 00:11:25,240 --> 00:11:29,720 and the guy rolls his eyes, you know, and says, well, 229 00:11:29,760 --> 00:11:34,000 you know, every Friday we have a class at six hours, it's $199. 230 00:11:34,360 --> 00:11:37,360 You have to bring your own gun, bring your own holster, bring your own ammo. 231 00:11:37,560 --> 00:11:41,880 Yeah, well, at that, you know, thank you, but no, thank you, you know. 232 00:11:42,040 --> 00:11:44,000 Yeah. Turn around and leave. 233 00:11:44,000 --> 00:11:47,520 I just helped somebody buy his first first gun ever. 234 00:11:48,000 --> 00:11:49,920 And now he's in another state. 235 00:11:49,920 --> 00:11:51,040 I just I talked him through. 236 00:11:51,040 --> 00:11:51,760 It is all. 237 00:11:51,760 --> 00:11:54,360 And, and he had this exact question. 238 00:11:54,360 --> 00:11:57,280 What do I do? I don't know anything about this gun. 239 00:11:57,280 --> 00:12:00,360 And so I gave him a little bit of instruction on just things 240 00:12:00,360 --> 00:12:01,320 to be safe with it. 241 00:12:01,320 --> 00:12:03,640 When you after you pick it up and stuff like that. 242 00:12:03,640 --> 00:12:06,240 And, where he is, is an urban area. 243 00:12:06,240 --> 00:12:10,480 So he was able to find about four indoor ranges. 244 00:12:10,480 --> 00:12:13,480 And so he did exactly what we're talking about. 245 00:12:13,560 --> 00:12:15,880 He went to each one of them, 246 00:12:15,880 --> 00:12:17,800 and then he got back to me and he said, you know what? 247 00:12:17,800 --> 00:12:21,480 I found what I really liked, it was kind of like a log cabin. 248 00:12:21,480 --> 00:12:25,080 And I went inside and it was it was neat and orderly. 249 00:12:25,080 --> 00:12:26,880 And the people were really nice. 250 00:12:27,920 --> 00:12:28,440 And they 251 00:12:28,440 --> 00:12:31,440 actually took me on a tour of the range 252 00:12:31,680 --> 00:12:37,480 and showed me the rental guns they had, and showed me the targets and showed me 253 00:12:37,480 --> 00:12:40,840 the reloads that I'm required to use when I shoot there. 254 00:12:41,840 --> 00:12:43,600 And made me feel really welcome. 255 00:12:43,600 --> 00:12:44,680 So I'm pretty comfortable. 256 00:12:44,680 --> 00:12:47,680 I'm going to go with them and it's like great success. 257 00:12:47,880 --> 00:12:48,600 Yeah. 258 00:12:48,600 --> 00:12:50,800 I mean, that's exactly how you should do it. 259 00:12:50,800 --> 00:12:53,560 Don't compromise. You know. Yep. 260 00:12:53,560 --> 00:12:56,880 Well, you know, sitting here talking about it, it's hard for us. 261 00:12:56,880 --> 00:13:00,800 We've been immersed in this culture for literally decades, but 262 00:13:01,440 --> 00:13:04,440 probably one of the questions we'll get is, 263 00:13:04,560 --> 00:13:08,280 let's talk about the tiers of training, the levels of training. 264 00:13:08,880 --> 00:13:11,280 And it's pretty simple, really. 265 00:13:11,280 --> 00:13:15,640 You've got your local trainer, which typically, for a lot of folks is gun shop. 266 00:13:16,280 --> 00:13:21,160 It may be for a, it may be, you know, whomever a local group 267 00:13:21,360 --> 00:13:25,560 that has local instructors, often they're NRA certified instructors. 268 00:13:25,560 --> 00:13:27,480 And I'll talk about that in a second. 269 00:13:27,480 --> 00:13:29,320 But that's your local level. 270 00:13:29,320 --> 00:13:32,680 I would say the quality varies the most with this level. 271 00:13:33,040 --> 00:13:37,080 You'll have people that are really good, really experienced, 272 00:13:37,080 --> 00:13:40,080 really smart and patient and all those great things, Roy said. 273 00:13:40,320 --> 00:13:43,080 And then you'll have some people that are just 274 00:13:43,080 --> 00:13:46,840 unsafe and idiots and horrible people, 275 00:13:47,160 --> 00:13:50,880 and it you tend to see those people at this level. 276 00:13:50,880 --> 00:13:53,680 So again, as you said, Roy, that's the key. 277 00:13:53,680 --> 00:13:56,000 Buyer beware. Do your research. 278 00:13:56,000 --> 00:13:57,360 Trust your gut. 279 00:13:57,360 --> 00:14:00,360 If this guy feels like a jerk when you're signing up 280 00:14:00,360 --> 00:14:03,360 for the class, he's probably not going to get better on range day. 281 00:14:03,400 --> 00:14:07,080 So, you really need to be an experienced consumer. 282 00:14:07,080 --> 00:14:10,160 The next level is your what they call an itinerant trainer. 283 00:14:10,520 --> 00:14:14,480 And there's a lot of these, they tend to be retired law enforcement 284 00:14:14,480 --> 00:14:18,120 or retired military people that have put a lot of bullets downrange 285 00:14:18,120 --> 00:14:20,640 and and have had a lot of training experiences 286 00:14:20,640 --> 00:14:22,600 and a lot of real world experience, 287 00:14:22,600 --> 00:14:25,720 because by the time you get to the point where you're hanging your shingle out 288 00:14:25,720 --> 00:14:30,960 and traveling the country and the world as a trainer, if you're an idiot 289 00:14:30,960 --> 00:14:34,080 or a jackass, you're not going to last very long at that. 290 00:14:34,080 --> 00:14:39,320 So if a guy's been doing it for 15 years, that right there kind of vets them as 291 00:14:39,480 --> 00:14:42,920 they've got some kind of worth in the in the world of training. 292 00:14:43,080 --> 00:14:45,920 Either that or they're pulling the greatest scam ever. 293 00:14:45,920 --> 00:14:49,800 But generally, you know, if you survive 2 or 3 years on the road, teaching 294 00:14:49,800 --> 00:14:53,400 full time, means you've got something of value for, 295 00:14:53,880 --> 00:14:57,000 enough folks that you can make a business out of it. 296 00:14:57,480 --> 00:15:00,600 And then the probably the top tier is the academy. 297 00:15:00,600 --> 00:15:04,280 So gunsight is the world's oldest and largest shooting school, 298 00:15:04,480 --> 00:15:07,480 because I was just staying with Ken Campbell and I heard it 50 times. 299 00:15:07,480 --> 00:15:09,720 But it's true to me. It's the mothership. 300 00:15:09,720 --> 00:15:11,440 It's where everything else flows from. 301 00:15:11,440 --> 00:15:13,960 But you've got, Clint Smith and, 302 00:15:15,760 --> 00:15:18,760 Thunder Ranch. 303 00:15:18,880 --> 00:15:19,560 I'm not sure 304 00:15:19,560 --> 00:15:22,640 that one out by Vegas now it's gone through a couple of iterations. 305 00:15:23,680 --> 00:15:26,640 Sig Academy, there's a number of these, 306 00:15:26,640 --> 00:15:31,480 academies that if you're doing it full time and you have a physical location 307 00:15:31,480 --> 00:15:34,680 with full time trainers again, 308 00:15:34,880 --> 00:15:38,040 nothing's a guarantee and there's no certification. 309 00:15:38,040 --> 00:15:41,040 But if they're doing that and they've done it for a number of years, 310 00:15:41,600 --> 00:15:44,160 they're probably really good at what they do. 311 00:15:44,160 --> 00:15:47,040 So that's kind of the way if you're looking at training 312 00:15:47,040 --> 00:15:52,920 and I would suggest start out, I wouldn't suggest, first time spend all the money 313 00:15:52,920 --> 00:15:56,480 and time and energy to get to gunsight as your first class, if you can. 314 00:15:56,480 --> 00:15:57,120 That's great. 315 00:15:57,120 --> 00:16:01,480 You will have a life changing experience, but start with that weekend class 316 00:16:01,480 --> 00:16:05,280 at the local range with somebody you feel like is going to be a decent instructor, 317 00:16:05,400 --> 00:16:08,360 so you least know which end of the gun to point down range, how 318 00:16:08,360 --> 00:16:11,360 not to, you know, put it in your ear and pull the trigger. 319 00:16:11,520 --> 00:16:15,320 Get those basics down and then kind of work your way up up the tiers, 320 00:16:16,240 --> 00:16:18,280 your thoughts on this kind of tier structure 321 00:16:18,280 --> 00:16:21,240 and where where the different trainers fall. You're right. 322 00:16:21,240 --> 00:16:24,640 It's it's more of a crapshoot when you're talking locally. 323 00:16:25,400 --> 00:16:28,360 But that doesn't mean there's not good local trainers because. 324 00:16:28,360 --> 00:16:29,760 Exactly. 325 00:16:29,760 --> 00:16:31,840 I mean, I have some in this Joplin area. 326 00:16:31,840 --> 00:16:34,280 They're well respected by people. 327 00:16:34,280 --> 00:16:37,280 Yeah, they tend to be on the modest side, 328 00:16:37,600 --> 00:16:40,200 you know, they don't wave their arms and yell, 329 00:16:41,440 --> 00:16:43,480 that's that's a real key note. 330 00:16:43,480 --> 00:16:47,800 If they're waving their arms and yelling, you know, you have to leave that that 331 00:16:47,800 --> 00:16:52,440 second tier though, the the retired law enforcement retired, you know, whatever. 332 00:16:53,760 --> 00:16:56,760 They can be a crapshoot, though, because there's 333 00:16:57,880 --> 00:17:00,720 they tend to get fanboys. 334 00:17:00,720 --> 00:17:02,000 Exactly. 335 00:17:02,000 --> 00:17:06,560 And so they'll be a guy and I mean, I've attended him. 336 00:17:06,560 --> 00:17:09,920 You go there and he's the tiger McHugh is like this very soft 337 00:17:09,920 --> 00:17:13,800 spoken, very knowledgeable, very supportive. 338 00:17:13,880 --> 00:17:16,880 A very much a teacher, you know, 339 00:17:17,400 --> 00:17:20,560 but then you get a guy who's a former seal, 340 00:17:21,560 --> 00:17:25,480 and they come out on the range and they run like a military unit, 341 00:17:26,080 --> 00:17:27,080 you know, and there's, like, 342 00:17:27,080 --> 00:17:31,200 yelling at you, and you will re holster on my command and burglary, you know. 343 00:17:31,400 --> 00:17:34,400 Well, if it's Sam and Suzy Homemaker just wants to learn how to shoot 344 00:17:34,400 --> 00:17:39,120 their notorious revolver, you know, those guys can be intimidating. 345 00:17:40,040 --> 00:17:43,400 But having said that, now, they may also have the fan club with them 346 00:17:43,400 --> 00:17:47,400 where they're all geared up and tactical up and shooting, 347 00:17:47,400 --> 00:17:49,240 you know, and everything, and that's fine. 348 00:17:49,240 --> 00:17:51,320 That gives them something to do. They should go do that. 349 00:17:51,320 --> 00:17:54,960 But I don't think that's how it is or how it needs to be. 350 00:17:55,480 --> 00:17:56,120 You know, when, 351 00:17:57,120 --> 00:17:57,480 gosh, 352 00:17:57,480 --> 00:18:01,360 after the first Gulf War, and I got to know Clint Smith, 353 00:18:01,360 --> 00:18:04,440 he was had just, just barely started at Thunder Ranch. 354 00:18:04,760 --> 00:18:09,080 And, he said I would, he said, Mark my word. 355 00:18:09,800 --> 00:18:12,240 He said, when, when these guys 356 00:18:12,240 --> 00:18:15,480 come back, we're going to see an explosion 357 00:18:15,960 --> 00:18:18,960 and tactical training schools. 358 00:18:19,440 --> 00:18:22,520 I mean, because at the time it was really Gunsight and Thunder Ranch. 359 00:18:22,680 --> 00:18:27,000 I mean, you know, there might have been 1 or 2 other ones, but those were the two. 360 00:18:27,480 --> 00:18:29,080 You know, they kind of wrote the book. 361 00:18:29,080 --> 00:18:32,080 They were the format. And, 362 00:18:32,480 --> 00:18:34,440 and sure enough, 363 00:18:34,440 --> 00:18:37,480 you know, as the first Gulf War have a second Gulf War happened, 364 00:18:37,920 --> 00:18:43,040 the chat show got flooded with AR fifteens and body armor and night vision 365 00:18:43,080 --> 00:18:46,320 gear and all that, and then all of these little one man 366 00:18:46,320 --> 00:18:49,440 schools that are kind of you're talking about the second tier kind of, 367 00:18:50,120 --> 00:18:53,280 all started to open up and most of them were traveling. 368 00:18:53,280 --> 00:18:56,920 And so they would what they would do is they would contact local rangers and say, 369 00:18:56,920 --> 00:19:01,280 I will go there and do a one day class, a two day class, a three day rifle. 370 00:19:01,280 --> 00:19:06,000 Class, and then you invite the people, you know, 371 00:19:06,000 --> 00:19:10,640 I show up, I teach, I get a percentage, and then it's on to the next one. 372 00:19:10,920 --> 00:19:11,680 Right? 373 00:19:11,680 --> 00:19:15,240 So the only defense you have there is good vetting. 374 00:19:15,240 --> 00:19:15,800 And so 375 00:19:16,800 --> 00:19:19,360 here you need to, to, 376 00:19:19,360 --> 00:19:22,280 search for students, see if they have a website, 377 00:19:22,280 --> 00:19:24,200 see what kind of comments they have. 378 00:19:24,200 --> 00:19:26,280 You know, 379 00:19:26,280 --> 00:19:30,400 and then just leap off the cliff and go. 380 00:19:30,640 --> 00:19:35,280 But I would definitely stay locally if you really are brand new to it. 381 00:19:36,160 --> 00:19:38,960 Because as Brant said, I think, 382 00:19:38,960 --> 00:19:41,960 I think if you went to gun site and took their 383 00:19:42,240 --> 00:19:45,240 what's their first class called the two 5250, 384 00:19:46,720 --> 00:19:50,280 you would have to have a good gun and a good holster, ammunition. 385 00:19:50,520 --> 00:19:54,960 And to me, yes, you could show up there never having fired the gun at all. 386 00:19:55,320 --> 00:19:58,320 And but I think if you had at least some experience 387 00:19:58,920 --> 00:20:04,240 and that would be a much better experience for you either way, if you're brand new, 388 00:20:04,240 --> 00:20:07,240 I would really recommend that you seek training out locally. 389 00:20:07,960 --> 00:20:10,600 Probably someplace with an indoor range. 390 00:20:10,600 --> 00:20:13,320 Just get, you know, your gun handling skills 391 00:20:13,320 --> 00:20:16,440 up, you know, get sight picture, trigger squeeze. 392 00:20:16,440 --> 00:20:20,760 Understand how you put a target up on a target backing board. 393 00:20:22,200 --> 00:20:24,960 When do you pick up your brass? 394 00:20:24,960 --> 00:20:26,800 How do you carry spare ammunition? 395 00:20:26,800 --> 00:20:30,960 When you're on the range, you just learn all those basic things. 396 00:20:31,680 --> 00:20:34,080 And then, I mean, you can learn a lot of that 397 00:20:34,080 --> 00:20:37,200 with one class, but then once you get that foundation, 398 00:20:38,160 --> 00:20:42,360 now you'll know either you want to go more, right? 399 00:20:42,720 --> 00:20:45,440 Or maybe that was enough. 400 00:20:45,440 --> 00:20:50,480 And so now you take whoever local guys second class, you know, 401 00:20:50,760 --> 00:20:54,040 and they may they usually have 2 or 3 or 4 or 5 classes, you know, 402 00:20:54,320 --> 00:20:59,160 they may do two handguns and then they may have introduction to the AR 15, 403 00:20:59,680 --> 00:21:02,920 and then they may have introduction to the combat shotgun. 404 00:21:03,280 --> 00:21:05,040 Right. 405 00:21:05,040 --> 00:21:08,320 So and if they have weekend 406 00:21:08,320 --> 00:21:11,520 competitions at their indoor range, you know, casual 407 00:21:11,960 --> 00:21:15,440 you know, shooters, steel plates kind of stuff, I would recommend that too 408 00:21:15,440 --> 00:21:16,280 because you'll learn a lot. 409 00:21:17,800 --> 00:21:19,800 And let's talk about this, 410 00:21:19,800 --> 00:21:23,360 kind of that middle tier and qualifications because you're exactly 411 00:21:23,360 --> 00:21:28,480 right that after we've had a shooting war, a lot of the guys that got to put a 412 00:21:28,480 --> 00:21:33,840 lot of rounds down range and in real world think, well, I, I but what do I know? 413 00:21:33,840 --> 00:21:36,480 Oh, I know how to tear stuff up and I know how to shoot. 414 00:21:36,480 --> 00:21:38,080 So that's the. Thing. Yeah. 415 00:21:38,080 --> 00:21:40,120 I can't find a job tearing stuff up. 416 00:21:40,120 --> 00:21:42,920 So I'm going to I'm going to become a traveling trainer. 417 00:21:42,920 --> 00:21:45,520 And again, some of those guys are great. 418 00:21:45,520 --> 00:21:50,240 Some of those guys, are only still in business because of their fanboys. 419 00:21:50,640 --> 00:21:53,320 And, you know, when when I start talking 420 00:21:53,320 --> 00:21:56,360 or I see things posted on the internet if it's. 421 00:21:56,360 --> 00:21:59,360 Well, he's he was a Navy Seal and he was Delta 422 00:21:59,360 --> 00:22:03,240 and he was, you know, a PJ and the ninja squirrel and 423 00:22:04,240 --> 00:22:07,240 that that means nothing because, 424 00:22:07,520 --> 00:22:11,200 the higher you rise on that hierarchy in the military, 425 00:22:11,880 --> 00:22:14,680 in terms of operational, yeah, you probably have more training 426 00:22:14,680 --> 00:22:17,760 opportunities, you have more actual shooting opportunities. 427 00:22:18,400 --> 00:22:21,720 But that doesn't mean you know how to instruct. 428 00:22:22,160 --> 00:22:26,080 And the other caution I would make is in the civilian 429 00:22:26,320 --> 00:22:30,480 meaning law and civilian law enforcement, nonmilitary. 430 00:22:31,240 --> 00:22:35,680 If if it's one thing to clear a house by tossing in a couple of frags 431 00:22:35,680 --> 00:22:41,160 and doing a mag dump, that doesn't go so well when you're at the supermarket 432 00:22:41,440 --> 00:22:44,920 and you've got to pull your revolver and defend your life. 433 00:22:45,240 --> 00:22:49,280 So make sure the person you know they may be a Delta 434 00:22:49,280 --> 00:22:52,920 ninja secret squirrel with the 1500 kills. 435 00:22:53,320 --> 00:22:56,880 But if they don't understand, we're not in Afghanistan 436 00:22:56,880 --> 00:22:59,880 or Syria or wherever. 437 00:23:00,000 --> 00:23:02,520 That skill set, the trigger pull 438 00:23:02,520 --> 00:23:05,760 certainly does, but everything around it doesn't apply. 439 00:23:05,760 --> 00:23:10,280 So you've got to be careful of that and don't get enamored with Navy Seals. 440 00:23:10,640 --> 00:23:14,520 So don't just assume because a guy's a former Seal. 441 00:23:15,120 --> 00:23:17,320 That means that he knows what he's doing. 442 00:23:17,320 --> 00:23:18,680 Other special ops. 443 00:23:18,680 --> 00:23:23,560 Again, it you just got to be a little bit educated and see through the hype, but, 444 00:23:24,160 --> 00:23:26,840 that's where the hype tends to cloud people's judgment, 445 00:23:26,840 --> 00:23:28,880 especially if you're younger and less experienced. 446 00:23:28,880 --> 00:23:31,960 Well, this guy was, you know, seven tours, Navy Seal. 447 00:23:32,320 --> 00:23:34,480 Well, that didn't mean he hit anything. 448 00:23:34,480 --> 00:23:36,600 It just mean he didn't get hit in return fire. 449 00:23:36,600 --> 00:23:38,360 So so be aware of that. 450 00:23:38,360 --> 00:23:40,320 And as far as law enforcement goes, 451 00:23:41,480 --> 00:23:44,480 you know, if a guy is experienced, great. 452 00:23:44,600 --> 00:23:47,280 But again, make sure that they can teach 453 00:23:47,280 --> 00:23:50,280 because I've known a lot of guys, as has Roy, that are, 454 00:23:51,320 --> 00:23:53,240 firearms instructors and law enforcement. 455 00:23:53,240 --> 00:23:57,120 And again, they're not the person I would send my daughter 456 00:23:57,120 --> 00:24:00,120 or my wife to in a class. 457 00:24:00,480 --> 00:24:02,200 Well, and that's you brought up a good point, 458 00:24:02,200 --> 00:24:05,680 which I've had a lot of people say, oh, my friend who's a cop says that 459 00:24:06,240 --> 00:24:07,200 I should buy this guy. 460 00:24:07,200 --> 00:24:09,320 And he said, he'll show me how to shoot. 461 00:24:09,320 --> 00:24:10,680 No and no. 462 00:24:10,680 --> 00:24:11,400 You're there. 463 00:24:11,400 --> 00:24:11,640 Yeah. 464 00:24:11,640 --> 00:24:13,320 There are cops who know how to shoot, 465 00:24:13,320 --> 00:24:15,720 and there are cops who are trainers on their agency, 466 00:24:15,720 --> 00:24:18,040 and they're good teachers, and there's nothing wrong with that. 467 00:24:18,040 --> 00:24:20,680 And if you find one, you know, count your blessings. 468 00:24:21,840 --> 00:24:24,840 But just because they're a cop doesn't mean they know about guns. 469 00:24:25,040 --> 00:24:28,800 And and, you know, the the whole it's 470 00:24:28,800 --> 00:24:31,800 like in a home defense shooting, people have this imaginary, 471 00:24:32,720 --> 00:24:36,200 picture in their brain and is that they wake up at nighttime 472 00:24:36,200 --> 00:24:39,240 and the house is dark, and they go down the hallway 473 00:24:39,240 --> 00:24:43,560 and there's a shadowy figure backlit, standing with the knife held up like this. 474 00:24:43,560 --> 00:24:44,280 Right. 475 00:24:44,280 --> 00:24:48,760 And then they magically have their gun and they shoot him and he falls down. 476 00:24:49,400 --> 00:24:51,840 And then the police come and they shake his hand 477 00:24:51,840 --> 00:24:54,760 and they say, what a hero he is and all that, you know? 478 00:24:54,760 --> 00:24:58,240 And so it's it's never like that again. 479 00:24:58,440 --> 00:25:02,320 But but people are enamored with the Navy Seals, and they're enamored 480 00:25:02,320 --> 00:25:07,800 with that sort of the idea of being a hero and things like that, you know? 481 00:25:07,800 --> 00:25:09,400 And so you need to 482 00:25:10,720 --> 00:25:12,040 not do that. 483 00:25:12,040 --> 00:25:15,040 I mean, concentrate on don't shoot yourself in the foot. 484 00:25:15,440 --> 00:25:18,880 I was I was attending a basic handgun class 485 00:25:19,080 --> 00:25:22,200 at Thunder Ranch in the middle 90s, I suppose. 486 00:25:22,960 --> 00:25:25,480 And there's nothing wrong with attending a basic class, 487 00:25:25,480 --> 00:25:27,600 even if you already attended a basic class. 488 00:25:27,600 --> 00:25:31,560 It's a really good idea because it gets you well grounded in the basics. 489 00:25:31,560 --> 00:25:31,920 Again. 490 00:25:31,920 --> 00:25:35,160 And as as Clint used to say, you know, advanced 491 00:25:35,360 --> 00:25:38,800 advanced tactics are just the basics applied, you know? 492 00:25:38,800 --> 00:25:39,600 And he's right. 493 00:25:39,600 --> 00:25:42,760 But I remember we were on the range and it was gravel. 494 00:25:42,760 --> 00:25:45,320 And I think I've told this story once or twice before, 495 00:25:45,320 --> 00:25:49,080 but I'm going to tell it again because it proves a point. 496 00:25:49,080 --> 00:25:52,880 And that is it was like the end of day one. 497 00:25:52,880 --> 00:25:56,560 So really at this point it's it's how to draw your gun, 498 00:25:56,560 --> 00:26:00,400 how to loaded, how to manipulate it, how to shoot the target at seven yards, 499 00:26:00,960 --> 00:26:03,680 know how to scan a little bit, don't shoot your neighbor. 500 00:26:03,680 --> 00:26:05,600 Don't shoot yourself in the foot. 501 00:26:05,600 --> 00:26:07,960 You know that kind of stuff. 502 00:26:07,960 --> 00:26:10,960 And we had a lot of really first timers in the class. 503 00:26:11,200 --> 00:26:13,920 And so I was talking to Clint and he was like, hey, yeah, this. 504 00:26:13,920 --> 00:26:16,760 And we're doing that and this your crunch, crunch, crunch, crunch, crunch. 505 00:26:16,760 --> 00:26:17,760 This guy comes up. 506 00:26:17,760 --> 00:26:20,640 And he had already established himself that first day. 507 00:26:20,640 --> 00:26:23,640 He was a geek, nerd, wannabe idiot. Yeah. 508 00:26:24,000 --> 00:26:25,680 That guy, that guy. Yeah. 509 00:26:25,680 --> 00:26:27,440 And he's like all geared up and everything. 510 00:26:27,440 --> 00:26:29,160 17 magazines and all that. 511 00:26:29,160 --> 00:26:30,720 And he said he was waiting. 512 00:26:30,720 --> 00:26:32,760 You could tell he was like, almost out of breath 513 00:26:32,760 --> 00:26:33,800 because he couldn't wait any more. 514 00:26:33,800 --> 00:26:36,640 Finally, he just blurted out, oh, Mr. 515 00:26:36,640 --> 00:26:37,640 Smith, what are we going to do? 516 00:26:37,640 --> 00:26:40,640 Like the, you know, like the kitchen doors and, 517 00:26:40,640 --> 00:26:44,680 you know, like roll and get up and engage multiple targets 518 00:26:44,680 --> 00:26:48,080 and all, you know, I mean, I think that's I think it's really important. 519 00:26:48,080 --> 00:26:49,240 I want to know that stuff. 520 00:26:49,240 --> 00:26:51,920 And I remember Clint just like, sighed. 521 00:26:51,920 --> 00:26:52,920 And he looked at me. 522 00:26:54,480 --> 00:26:57,480 They looked at the sky and he said, 523 00:26:57,560 --> 00:27:00,560 what do you do for a living? 524 00:27:00,760 --> 00:27:02,960 Because of course, most of these people, they're bank tellers. 525 00:27:02,960 --> 00:27:03,840 And who knows why. 526 00:27:03,840 --> 00:27:06,000 Nobody here was a ninja, right? 527 00:27:06,000 --> 00:27:10,080 And I kid you not, he this guy was Arthur Murray, dance instructor. 528 00:27:10,560 --> 00:27:13,480 And I didn't even believe there was such a thing. 529 00:27:13,480 --> 00:27:15,920 But he was right. 530 00:27:15,920 --> 00:27:19,000 And if you picture that in your mind, that's exactly what he was. 531 00:27:19,520 --> 00:27:21,120 And Clint kind of smiled. 532 00:27:21,120 --> 00:27:23,600 He says, I'll make a deal. 533 00:27:23,600 --> 00:27:28,440 Let's just concentrate on learning how not to shoot yourself or your neighbor. 534 00:27:29,440 --> 00:27:32,560 And let's concentrate on learning how to load your gun safely 535 00:27:32,560 --> 00:27:34,480 and unload your gun safely. 536 00:27:34,480 --> 00:27:37,480 And we'll worry about that other stuff later. 537 00:27:37,600 --> 00:27:39,720 And it was like dejected, turn around. 538 00:27:39,720 --> 00:27:41,520 Crunch, crunch crunch crunch. Back to the thing. 539 00:27:42,560 --> 00:27:46,280 But, I saw that repeated many times, 540 00:27:46,520 --> 00:27:50,800 you know, and, so just if you want to do that, that's fine. 541 00:27:50,800 --> 00:27:53,360 But you get the basics and, you know, 542 00:27:53,360 --> 00:27:55,920 and then learn how to do it from somebody reputable. 543 00:27:55,920 --> 00:27:58,200 Well, it's very much like driving a car. 544 00:27:58,200 --> 00:28:01,240 You wouldn't throw the keys to your Ferrari, 545 00:28:01,560 --> 00:28:05,160 to your 16 year old who just got a driver's license that day. 546 00:28:05,160 --> 00:28:06,880 So go have fun. 547 00:28:06,880 --> 00:28:08,240 Yeah, it happens occasionally. 548 00:28:08,240 --> 00:28:11,240 And then you see it on the news because of what happens. 549 00:28:11,400 --> 00:28:16,800 So, you know, get some experience, maybe take another driving class. 550 00:28:16,800 --> 00:28:18,200 Then you go to bond different. 551 00:28:18,200 --> 00:28:22,080 And, you know, then your, you know and your weekend racing. 552 00:28:22,240 --> 00:28:23,560 It's the same thing with guns. 553 00:28:23,560 --> 00:28:27,480 You got to start out crawl, walk, run. 554 00:28:27,640 --> 00:28:28,840 Reputable instructors. 555 00:28:28,840 --> 00:28:32,360 And you know, my mantra is I'm always training. 556 00:28:32,360 --> 00:28:34,280 I'm taking classes all the time. 557 00:28:34,280 --> 00:28:38,280 I'm forever a student because as we said, it's a perishable skill and you'll 558 00:28:38,280 --> 00:28:41,840 always learn something, even if it is, I'm never going 559 00:28:41,840 --> 00:28:44,960 to go around that guy or that class ever again 560 00:28:45,200 --> 00:28:48,480 will pick something up, and it reinforces the good skills you have. 561 00:28:48,480 --> 00:28:49,680 And in closing, 562 00:28:51,160 --> 00:28:54,160 one thing I will say the hardest thing for a student to do, 563 00:28:54,400 --> 00:28:57,480 and this doesn't matter whether you're a complete novice 564 00:28:57,480 --> 00:29:00,840 or you've got a lot of time under your belt, is the idea 565 00:29:00,840 --> 00:29:03,840 that if if they're not being safe, 566 00:29:04,120 --> 00:29:05,320 walk away. 567 00:29:05,320 --> 00:29:08,040 And the instances of putting students down. 568 00:29:08,040 --> 00:29:10,080 But usually it's more subtle than that. 569 00:29:10,080 --> 00:29:13,800 It's an instructor that will sweep the class with his muzzle. 570 00:29:14,160 --> 00:29:16,720 And while it's unloaded, I don't care. 571 00:29:16,720 --> 00:29:18,120 I don't want to be swept by a muzzle. 572 00:29:18,120 --> 00:29:21,960 Now, the counterpoint to that is the guys that when the gun is fully taken apart 573 00:29:22,160 --> 00:29:25,680 while the barrel was pointing my direction, it's fine, it's okay. 574 00:29:25,680 --> 00:29:29,880 But when when instructors demonstrate things and they point at the students 575 00:29:30,120 --> 00:29:34,200 without using a red gun, a plastic gun, something like that, a special situation. 576 00:29:34,400 --> 00:29:37,400 But when they're casually just sweeping the crowd or 577 00:29:37,560 --> 00:29:40,600 or you see students that are continually sweeping, 578 00:29:41,280 --> 00:29:44,360 and doing stupid stuff like that and nothing's being done about it. 579 00:29:45,120 --> 00:29:49,560 Your highest duty in life at that point is to say, I'm out of here, I'm done. 580 00:29:49,800 --> 00:29:52,440 And if the the instructors reputable, they'll pull your side. 581 00:29:52,440 --> 00:29:54,880 What's the problem? Well, you know, this happened. 582 00:29:54,880 --> 00:29:55,400 Okay? 583 00:29:55,400 --> 00:29:57,240 If it's a student, I'll take care of it. 584 00:29:57,240 --> 00:29:58,680 If it was me. 585 00:29:58,680 --> 00:30:00,400 My gosh, you know, that's horrible. 586 00:30:00,400 --> 00:30:04,240 Stay around, for a few minutes, and, you know, we'll correct this. 587 00:30:04,240 --> 00:30:07,560 But if there's a rule that I didn't see it, I didn't do that. 588 00:30:08,520 --> 00:30:10,720 You need to be out of there. So. 589 00:30:10,720 --> 00:30:14,520 Well, you know, I'd like two more things, and then I'll be done. 590 00:30:14,760 --> 00:30:20,400 Is, first of all, I don't mean to beat up the certified NRA fire instructors, okay? 591 00:30:20,640 --> 00:30:24,360 But the reality is, if you were certified 592 00:30:24,360 --> 00:30:28,360 47 years ago, your training isn't current. 593 00:30:28,960 --> 00:30:30,360 It's as simple as that. 594 00:30:30,360 --> 00:30:33,400 You know, would you want a doctor to operate on you? 595 00:30:33,440 --> 00:30:37,560 Whose last operation he did was 47 years ago? 596 00:30:37,800 --> 00:30:41,080 Now you want a guy who's current, who does the work now, 597 00:30:41,440 --> 00:30:44,320 who practices all the time. So. 598 00:30:44,320 --> 00:30:45,440 So having said that, 599 00:30:47,200 --> 00:30:48,840 that doesn't mean there's not good 600 00:30:48,840 --> 00:30:52,520 NRA firearms instructors, because there are and I've met some 601 00:30:52,800 --> 00:30:56,840 and there are very dedicated people and they take regular training. 602 00:30:57,840 --> 00:30:59,800 And they are what we need. 603 00:30:59,800 --> 00:31:05,680 And so if you know, some, you know, do I mean Google NRA firearms instructor 604 00:31:05,680 --> 00:31:09,520 in your area and see what turns up, you know, you may get up to be lucky. 605 00:31:10,080 --> 00:31:13,560 The other thing I've noticed is people say, 606 00:31:13,960 --> 00:31:17,520 like they say, oh, I bought a concealed weapons permit gun. 607 00:31:18,800 --> 00:31:20,640 And, you know, show it to me or something. 608 00:31:20,640 --> 00:31:22,920 I said, well, that's really good. Have you had any training? 609 00:31:22,920 --> 00:31:24,560 Oh, yeah, I have. 610 00:31:24,560 --> 00:31:25,320 It's like, okay. 611 00:31:25,320 --> 00:31:27,920 What training did you have? 612 00:31:27,920 --> 00:31:30,800 And I can't tell you the number of times I hear, well, 613 00:31:30,800 --> 00:31:34,840 I did my hunter safety training when I was 16 years old. 614 00:31:35,960 --> 00:31:39,880 So. So I'm trained now for firearms. 615 00:31:40,200 --> 00:31:42,880 So, you know, it's like you're. 616 00:31:42,880 --> 00:31:44,240 A gunfighter now, aren't? 617 00:31:44,240 --> 00:31:47,400 Yeah. You are not, a trained for firearms. 618 00:31:47,400 --> 00:31:50,560 As a matter of fact, many hunter safety classes, you don't even shoot a gun. 619 00:31:50,760 --> 00:31:53,760 You don't even pick up a real gun, you know? 620 00:31:54,040 --> 00:31:55,160 Well, let me just. 621 00:31:55,160 --> 00:31:56,520 Interrupt a sidebar there. 622 00:31:56,520 --> 00:32:00,240 These states where you have to take mandatory training before 623 00:32:00,240 --> 00:32:02,600 you can get your permit or buy a gun. 624 00:32:02,600 --> 00:32:05,520 I know. Oh, it. Is. 625 00:32:05,520 --> 00:32:08,200 Yeah. Lowest common denominator. It is not training. 626 00:32:08,200 --> 00:32:10,520 It is a minimum certification. 627 00:32:10,520 --> 00:32:15,120 So don't tout that as your your training experience for having it. 628 00:32:15,120 --> 00:32:15,360 Yeah. 629 00:32:15,360 --> 00:32:20,280 So and like that's that because I also hear that with people who take a CCW class 630 00:32:20,280 --> 00:32:24,160 where because of it because they'll say, well in order to get your permit, 631 00:32:24,160 --> 00:32:28,920 do you have to take this two hour, you know, proof of competency, CCW 632 00:32:29,080 --> 00:32:31,960 and that and like you say, no, that's not training. 633 00:32:31,960 --> 00:32:36,280 You know, I mean, because I know people who show up there with a Ruger 22 pistol, 634 00:32:36,280 --> 00:32:40,920 but their carry gun is a Glock 19, you know, that they've never fired. 635 00:32:41,200 --> 00:32:44,160 So so that's I would just be sensible about it. 636 00:32:44,160 --> 00:32:48,360 And and I'm sorry, NRA certified firearms instructors, 637 00:32:48,600 --> 00:32:51,920 but I think it's also safe for me to say, you know who you are. 638 00:32:52,280 --> 00:32:53,600 Okay. 639 00:32:53,600 --> 00:32:56,960 And I would say that same thing about anybody who calls himself a trainer, 640 00:32:57,200 --> 00:32:58,200 but isn't current. 641 00:32:59,280 --> 00:33:00,000 But it 642 00:33:00,000 --> 00:33:03,000 is a challenge, though, if you're if you're a brand new shooter, 643 00:33:03,040 --> 00:33:06,680 I mean, that would be a hard thing to, to try to find. 644 00:33:07,240 --> 00:33:10,680 I know I've helped to countless people to do it, and it's not always easy, 645 00:33:11,040 --> 00:33:14,040 but just stay the course and don't compromise. 646 00:33:14,040 --> 00:33:14,760 Yeah. 647 00:33:14,760 --> 00:33:16,840 Well, I think the whole going full circle 648 00:33:16,840 --> 00:33:19,840 back to our title, you know, training is gatekeeping. 649 00:33:19,840 --> 00:33:23,040 I think the, the people that feel that way are the ones who, 650 00:33:23,320 --> 00:33:26,560 either have unrealistic expectations, which there's a few of those, 651 00:33:26,800 --> 00:33:28,760 but I think mostly it's that. 652 00:33:28,760 --> 00:33:33,200 Okay, I went down to the local gun store and the 26 year old, I've had, 653 00:33:33,480 --> 00:33:34,320 lots of training. 654 00:33:34,320 --> 00:33:37,080 And, you know, you need this gun and you need that, 655 00:33:37,080 --> 00:33:40,080 and you need to learn and make sure you got your plate carrier and 656 00:33:41,400 --> 00:33:44,840 they walk away going, no, I this this is this is bad. 657 00:33:44,840 --> 00:33:48,520 So I hope that we get the point across that 658 00:33:48,960 --> 00:33:52,680 there's those guys and a few gals like that in the industry, 659 00:33:53,160 --> 00:33:56,800 but there's also a lot of folks that really want to be a teacher. 660 00:33:56,800 --> 00:33:59,680 And there's a difference between an instructor and a teacher. 661 00:33:59,680 --> 00:34:03,680 And if you can find a a teacher of firearms 662 00:34:03,920 --> 00:34:07,200 and then moving on into tactics, hold that person 663 00:34:07,320 --> 00:34:10,320 with the greatest love and respect, because those are the people 664 00:34:10,320 --> 00:34:13,720 that you want to associate with and find more of them 665 00:34:13,800 --> 00:34:17,120 and continue your lifelong training journey. 666 00:34:17,480 --> 00:34:20,840 So any any final thoughts there? 667 00:34:20,840 --> 00:34:21,880 Right. 668 00:34:21,880 --> 00:34:24,920 Well, if you do that and then someday 669 00:34:24,920 --> 00:34:27,920 you'll be helping somebody else 670 00:34:27,920 --> 00:34:32,080 with their new gun experiences, you know, because you could say, 671 00:34:33,000 --> 00:34:36,960 I understand I was there, you know, and here's how you do it. 672 00:34:36,960 --> 00:34:38,400 So that works out. 673 00:34:38,400 --> 00:34:42,000 So all right, make your comments, I'll read them and respond to them. 674 00:34:42,840 --> 00:34:45,080 Well, I think we may get some questions too. 675 00:34:45,080 --> 00:34:48,520 So, leave questions down if you're watching us on YouTube, 676 00:34:48,520 --> 00:34:51,560 of course, you can reach out via email editor at Guns 677 00:34:51,560 --> 00:34:56,040 podcast.us, and, we'll do our best to answer them. 678 00:34:56,040 --> 00:34:56,760 And those are the kind of, 679 00:34:58,320 --> 00:35:00,680 comments that I, I do try to answer. 680 00:35:00,680 --> 00:35:04,560 And Roy certainly does when people have questions on us, questions about, 681 00:35:04,560 --> 00:35:05,480 well, how do I do this? 682 00:35:05,480 --> 00:35:09,720 Or this guy said, I need a plate carrier for my intro to CCW. 683 00:35:10,640 --> 00:35:14,520 No, no, that's that's not not necessary, kids. 684 00:35:15,440 --> 00:35:20,720 So we'll we'll do our best to give you our experience of having been to an awful 685 00:35:20,720 --> 00:35:24,920 lot of classes and having some real world experience and being trainers ourselves. 686 00:35:24,920 --> 00:35:28,160 So anyway, before we go, of course we need to get 687 00:35:28,160 --> 00:35:31,160 a quick word in from our sponsor, Tango Down. 688 00:35:31,240 --> 00:35:34,480 Visit Tango down.com to explore the full lineup 689 00:35:34,560 --> 00:35:37,880 and sign up for email updates so you don't miss what's next? 690 00:35:38,520 --> 00:35:41,520 Tango down combat gear without peer. 691 00:35:44,680 --> 00:35:48,400 And I often like to mention make sure you go to guns magazine.com. 692 00:35:48,400 --> 00:35:51,200 Sign up for our daily email newsletters. 693 00:35:51,200 --> 00:35:55,560 You can get all this great gun goodness sent directly to your, 694 00:35:56,080 --> 00:35:59,520 email inbox, including, guns podcast, us 695 00:35:59,840 --> 00:36:03,200 and all sorts of other, good stuff for your favorite writers. 696 00:36:03,200 --> 00:36:07,680 Guns magazine, dot com, and also, of course, American hand gunner.com. 697 00:36:08,040 --> 00:36:09,600 Our sister publication. 698 00:36:09,600 --> 00:36:12,200 So I think we we covered it all. 699 00:36:12,200 --> 00:36:15,200 Hopefully we didn't upset too many people, but 700 00:36:16,040 --> 00:36:17,520 we're just telling it like we see it. 701 00:36:17,520 --> 00:36:21,400 And based on earning our gray hair. 702 00:36:21,400 --> 00:36:24,560 So, find a good instructor, shop around, 703 00:36:24,560 --> 00:36:28,320 and be a smart student before you plunk down that hard earned money. 704 00:36:28,600 --> 00:36:30,720 But get training, get professional training. 705 00:36:30,720 --> 00:36:34,280 So anyway, I am Brant Wheat, the host of Guns 706 00:36:34,280 --> 00:36:37,800 Podcast U.S, of course, along with my co-host Roy Huntington. 707 00:36:38,080 --> 00:36:42,960 And as we always say, we wish you to now get out there and get shooting.