(Mind you this will be separated into different webpages)
Revolvers versus Semi-Automatics
Miss with six, miss with fourteen or more, the idea is to get you where you don’t miss. I’m a fan of revolvers admittedly. I find them being an exceptional platform for target shooting, as well in some cases, excellent concealed weapons for self-defense. But semi-automatics are certainly deserving their due as well, and can be great target shooters and concealed weapons for self-defense. And I own a good number of both and enjoy shooting both to a great degree. Semi-automatics do tend to offer a larger capacity as far as the ability to continually shoot.
But I’m a target shooter and I teach a target shooter class, and while I offer classes in semi-automatics after a student has completed the First Steps Pistol class, I prefer to do the qualification with revolvers. It’s been my observation that the simplicity of using the revolver tends to relax most students and allow them to focus on proficiently aiming on the target and punching nice little .22lr caliber holes at twenty feet. While revolvers don’t normally have safeties, a few do and are still enjoyable shooters, you must remember that the two cheapest and easiest safeties are ‘yourself’ and ‘an unloaded firearm.’ If you have ever seen “Blackhawk Down” there is a really brief scene where one of the Rangers holds up his trigger finger and says to an extent that that is his only safety. That’s why I teach people not to put their fingers inside the trigger guards when picking up a gun, loading the gun, or unloading the gun. Your finger, even inserted absentmindedly, can cause you or someone else a great deal of harm in a brief second of inattention, again that’s why focus in part on teaching safety.
So yeah, I tend to carry a snub-nose .357 magnum in my pocket(normally one in each pocket), and depending on the model, sometimes in a pocket-holsters, sometimes not, and I’ve been doing that for nearly four years now. I certainly don’t recommend it for reasons that we are litigious society and urge you to find your own safe and responsible means of carrying a concealed weapon, once you have your permit of course. There is a wide variety of ways to carry and I certainly urge you to look into them. Just because I’ve pocketed carried and not shot myself doesn’t mean you won’t, or that I won’t one day (though I doubt it for myself).
I also will at times carry a semi-automatic, depending on model, in my pocket, waist band(generally in a Inside Waist Band ‘IWB’) and the occasional shoulder holster. So there is wide world out there for you to explore, and I certainly urge exploring safely and responsibly, and making sure when your firearms is and is not loaded (it’s a good idea to practice with an unloaded firearm), and when your finger is definetly outside the trigger guard.
It all really comes down to what works for you. I know old hands who love their revolvers and wouldn’t trade them for the world, folks who think Glocks are the greatest thing since sliced bread (and yeah I love my little Glock 20 with a 6” slide and barrel for target shooting), and those folks who wouldn’t dare shoot any semi-automatic that wasn’t a 1911 semi-automatic. You have to find what will work for you, but that is the beauty of my class, because I’ll help you do that.
….and of course there is that silent majority of us who love shooting snub-nosed revolvers out to fifty yards.
CALIBER WARS
Yeah if you are ever on a gun-board website and ask which is better “.357 magnum or .45 ACP”, prepare for the fireworks lol, I just find a figurative foxhole and pull out the popcorn. There are all kinds of folks with all kinds of opinions, and plenty of folks who declare that the 9mm Luger aka Nato (9x19) is the best round for all kinds of reasons. But this is a target shooting class so if you want to talk to me about calibers during class on a break period, feel free, I’ll fill your head with knowledge lol.
MORE TO COME
Seriously “MORE TO COME,” I’ve just got a habit of liking things in place before I offer them. It is my wish to eventually teach classes on how to shoot snub-nose revolvers for target shooting, Milsurp (Military Surplus) pistols of all kinds, Glocks, 1911s….there’s a great deal out there I can handle quite well lol. Mind you I will only teach the classes to those who have successfully, safely, and responsibly taken the previous First Steps Course.
RELEASE WAIVER
Before you can do the shooting portion of the course you will need to have filled out the Release Waiver I have as part of the class. You can take the lecture portion one day, and wait to do the shooting portion till you are ready or time permits. Pregnant women have taken the course, at eight months oddly enough, waited till they were done breast feeding their babies and then done the shooting portion.
WHAT YOU NEED(AND THE PRICE)
You need to be prepared to learn, be prepared to listen not just hear because I do reserve the right to boot you from the class and at my discretion reserve for myself up to twenty dollars from the fee you have paid when refunding you. I’m saying I have the right to kick you out of the class, if I feel you are not properly learning as you could be a danger to the class later, if you are being disruptive, and arrive late for the class. Those previous reasons are not exhaustive. You also need to have a valid driver’s license. You can be under 21 years of age and take the class, I’ve had twelve year olds but safe to say they weren’t getting their CWP. And you need to understand that taking the class does not automatically impart unto you the right to conceal a weapon on your person, the state has to issue that unto you and I don’t play a role in that other than supplying you with my NRA Instructor Number once you have completed the course and sending the necessary documents to the NRA for when the Department of Agriculture contacts them. If you have a criminal history you should not be taking this class, if you are a non-legal drug user (that includes non-prescribed pharmaceuticals) you should not be taking this class and I can kick you out if you smell like alcohol or appear high or under the influence, also if you have emotional problems or a history of emotional instability. I myself and an assistant who is generally a former armed member and sometimes a currently serving armed service member will be there to monitor you and you must consent to minor touchings (moving hands, shoulders, nothing inappropriate) as part of taking this course as physical instruction is part of this course. And also if you should do something unintentionally dangerous, or intentionally dangerous, understand either I or my assistant will be ‘touching’ you in the interest of protecting ourselves as well as the students who are present and other potential bystanders. By taking this class you accept those potential ‘touchings.’
And finally payment, I do not take cash for the lecture portion, please bring a money order. The kind you get at the post office or Western Union at either Publix or Wal-mart, so have you. For the shooting portion you can bring cash or a money order.
Remember, once you have successfully completed the course successfully, there will be opportunities for further instruction at later dates at either minimal cost or no cost to you depending on the conditions of the instruction required. Feel free to ask my competitors or folks who have taken other courses if they get a continual relationship with their instructors once they have taken the course.
The lecture portion is $55 dollars. The shooting portion is $25. You do not need your own firearm and .22lr ammunition and targets will be provided by me for class. If we are at a range offering a free a day that is one matter where you might not have to pay a fee to use the range. If you wish to do the shooting portion at a more convenient time, receive instruction at a range where you will have the option to rent firearms(rental of firearms by range is not tied to this class) and receive instruction on them once you have completed the course, or for one-on-one instruction there will likely be a fee to use the range, and depending further on details, an additional sum to the fee, feel free to ask for details. If you do the lecture portion one day and then the shooting portion with me at a free day at the range on another and only wish for the bare bones to shoot .22lr for qualification, it will run you $80.
THE FREE DEMONSTRATION ONLY CLASS
This class does not give you credit for completing the course. It gives you a partial knowledge and insight into the class. Essentially a free sample to see if you want to pay to do more. You will not receive class materials to keep, and will not be able to partake in the shooting portion of the class or receive private instruction with only the ‘FREE DEMONSTRATION ONLY CLASS’. When you take the class you can opt to take the remaining portions at another time with full payment for the lecture. The class is held at a Public Library generally and I cannot sell services on the premises so if you wish to take the rest of the class afterwards you must either let me know ahead time or seek with the classes immediate end to complete the class.
Generally there is a coffee shop nearby where the rest of the course can be completed, granted I’ll expect an extra five dollars paid to me(which can be paid in cash) to patronize the store so they are not put out by us being there for an hour. I reserve the right to deal with up ten people in this manner and will do it with no fewer than three so please ask ahead time to coordinate with other potential clients, some exceptions can be made at my discretion regarding the fewest amount of people. You may opt to prepay for the whole class, meet at the library and then meet at a local coffee shop(of my choosing) to complete the lecture, for this you may pay by check but the check must clear ahead of time and that generally requires two to three days and you may pay up to a month ahead of the class.
TARDYNESS WILL NOT BE TOLERATED
If you are late I will not give you full credit for the class in regards to the lecture portion, if you show up late for the shooting portion you best call me to let me know so I can hang around and if you are more than half an hour late than you have to have an additional ten dollars with you to pay for a tardiness penalty for being late. If you are late for the lecture portion you will be required to come to a later course to make up what you missed, also if you have to leave early or an emergency arises you may attend the course for the missing portions at no additional cost, just additional time. And I will decide when you may make up the time. If you miss the class entirely, so long as I get a phone call the day before, or an email predating by three days, there will be no additional cost, but space to attend may be an issue and you may have to wait. If you do not call or e-mail, then you will be at my mercy for how long you have to wait to finish the course
Revolvers versus Semi-Automatics
Miss with six, miss with fourteen or more, the idea is to get you where you don’t miss. I’m a fan of revolvers admittedly. I find them being an exceptional platform for target shooting, as well in some cases, excellent concealed weapons for self-defense. But semi-automatics are certainly deserving their due as well, and can be great target shooters and concealed weapons for self-defense. And I own a good number of both and enjoy shooting both to a great degree. Semi-automatics do tend to offer a larger capacity as far as the ability to continually shoot.
But I’m a target shooter and I teach a target shooter class, and while I offer classes in semi-automatics after a student has completed the First Steps Pistol class, I prefer to do the qualification with revolvers. It’s been my observation that the simplicity of using the revolver tends to relax most students and allow them to focus on proficiently aiming on the target and punching nice little .22lr caliber holes at twenty feet. While revolvers don’t normally have safeties, a few do and are still enjoyable shooters, you must remember that the two cheapest and easiest safeties are ‘yourself’ and ‘an unloaded firearm.’ If you have ever seen “Blackhawk Down” there is a really brief scene where one of the Rangers holds up his trigger finger and says to an extent that that is his only safety. That’s why I teach people not to put their fingers inside the trigger guards when picking up a gun, loading the gun, or unloading the gun. Your finger, even inserted absentmindedly, can cause you or someone else a great deal of harm in a brief second of inattention, again that’s why focus in part on teaching safety.
So yeah, I tend to carry a snub-nose .357 magnum in my pocket(normally one in each pocket), and depending on the model, sometimes in a pocket-holsters, sometimes not, and I’ve been doing that for nearly four years now. I certainly don’t recommend it for reasons that we are litigious society and urge you to find your own safe and responsible means of carrying a concealed weapon, once you have your permit of course. There is a wide variety of ways to carry and I certainly urge you to look into them. Just because I’ve pocketed carried and not shot myself doesn’t mean you won’t, or that I won’t one day (though I doubt it for myself).
I also will at times carry a semi-automatic, depending on model, in my pocket, waist band(generally in a Inside Waist Band ‘IWB’) and the occasional shoulder holster. So there is wide world out there for you to explore, and I certainly urge exploring safely and responsibly, and making sure when your firearms is and is not loaded (it’s a good idea to practice with an unloaded firearm), and when your finger is definetly outside the trigger guard.
It all really comes down to what works for you. I know old hands who love their revolvers and wouldn’t trade them for the world, folks who think Glocks are the greatest thing since sliced bread (and yeah I love my little Glock 20 with a 6” slide and barrel for target shooting), and those folks who wouldn’t dare shoot any semi-automatic that wasn’t a 1911 semi-automatic. You have to find what will work for you, but that is the beauty of my class, because I’ll help you do that.
….and of course there is that silent majority of us who love shooting snub-nosed revolvers out to fifty yards.
CALIBER WARS
Yeah if you are ever on a gun-board website and ask which is better “.357 magnum or .45 ACP”, prepare for the fireworks lol, I just find a figurative foxhole and pull out the popcorn. There are all kinds of folks with all kinds of opinions, and plenty of folks who declare that the 9mm Luger aka Nato (9x19) is the best round for all kinds of reasons. But this is a target shooting class so if you want to talk to me about calibers during class on a break period, feel free, I’ll fill your head with knowledge lol.
MORE TO COME
Seriously “MORE TO COME,” I’ve just got a habit of liking things in place before I offer them. It is my wish to eventually teach classes on how to shoot snub-nose revolvers for target shooting, Milsurp (Military Surplus) pistols of all kinds, Glocks, 1911s….there’s a great deal out there I can handle quite well lol. Mind you I will only teach the classes to those who have successfully, safely, and responsibly taken the previous First Steps Course.
RELEASE WAIVER
Before you can do the shooting portion of the course you will need to have filled out the Release Waiver I have as part of the class. You can take the lecture portion one day, and wait to do the shooting portion till you are ready or time permits. Pregnant women have taken the course, at eight months oddly enough, waited till they were done breast feeding their babies and then done the shooting portion.
WHAT YOU NEED(AND THE PRICE)
You need to be prepared to learn, be prepared to listen not just hear because I do reserve the right to boot you from the class and at my discretion reserve for myself up to twenty dollars from the fee you have paid when refunding you. I’m saying I have the right to kick you out of the class, if I feel you are not properly learning as you could be a danger to the class later, if you are being disruptive, and arrive late for the class. Those previous reasons are not exhaustive. You also need to have a valid driver’s license. You can be under 21 years of age and take the class, I’ve had twelve year olds but safe to say they weren’t getting their CWP. And you need to understand that taking the class does not automatically impart unto you the right to conceal a weapon on your person, the state has to issue that unto you and I don’t play a role in that other than supplying you with my NRA Instructor Number once you have completed the course and sending the necessary documents to the NRA for when the Department of Agriculture contacts them. If you have a criminal history you should not be taking this class, if you are a non-legal drug user (that includes non-prescribed pharmaceuticals) you should not be taking this class and I can kick you out if you smell like alcohol or appear high or under the influence, also if you have emotional problems or a history of emotional instability. I myself and an assistant who is generally a former armed member and sometimes a currently serving armed service member will be there to monitor you and you must consent to minor touchings (moving hands, shoulders, nothing inappropriate) as part of taking this course as physical instruction is part of this course. And also if you should do something unintentionally dangerous, or intentionally dangerous, understand either I or my assistant will be ‘touching’ you in the interest of protecting ourselves as well as the students who are present and other potential bystanders. By taking this class you accept those potential ‘touchings.’
And finally payment, I do not take cash for the lecture portion, please bring a money order. The kind you get at the post office or Western Union at either Publix or Wal-mart, so have you. For the shooting portion you can bring cash or a money order.
Remember, once you have successfully completed the course successfully, there will be opportunities for further instruction at later dates at either minimal cost or no cost to you depending on the conditions of the instruction required. Feel free to ask my competitors or folks who have taken other courses if they get a continual relationship with their instructors once they have taken the course.
The lecture portion is $55 dollars. The shooting portion is $25. You do not need your own firearm and .22lr ammunition and targets will be provided by me for class. If we are at a range offering a free a day that is one matter where you might not have to pay a fee to use the range. If you wish to do the shooting portion at a more convenient time, receive instruction at a range where you will have the option to rent firearms(rental of firearms by range is not tied to this class) and receive instruction on them once you have completed the course, or for one-on-one instruction there will likely be a fee to use the range, and depending further on details, an additional sum to the fee, feel free to ask for details. If you do the lecture portion one day and then the shooting portion with me at a free day at the range on another and only wish for the bare bones to shoot .22lr for qualification, it will run you $80.
THE FREE DEMONSTRATION ONLY CLASS
This class does not give you credit for completing the course. It gives you a partial knowledge and insight into the class. Essentially a free sample to see if you want to pay to do more. You will not receive class materials to keep, and will not be able to partake in the shooting portion of the class or receive private instruction with only the ‘FREE DEMONSTRATION ONLY CLASS’. When you take the class you can opt to take the remaining portions at another time with full payment for the lecture. The class is held at a Public Library generally and I cannot sell services on the premises so if you wish to take the rest of the class afterwards you must either let me know ahead time or seek with the classes immediate end to complete the class.
Generally there is a coffee shop nearby where the rest of the course can be completed, granted I’ll expect an extra five dollars paid to me(which can be paid in cash) to patronize the store so they are not put out by us being there for an hour. I reserve the right to deal with up ten people in this manner and will do it with no fewer than three so please ask ahead time to coordinate with other potential clients, some exceptions can be made at my discretion regarding the fewest amount of people. You may opt to prepay for the whole class, meet at the library and then meet at a local coffee shop(of my choosing) to complete the lecture, for this you may pay by check but the check must clear ahead of time and that generally requires two to three days and you may pay up to a month ahead of the class.
TARDYNESS WILL NOT BE TOLERATED
If you are late I will not give you full credit for the class in regards to the lecture portion, if you show up late for the shooting portion you best call me to let me know so I can hang around and if you are more than half an hour late than you have to have an additional ten dollars with you to pay for a tardiness penalty for being late. If you are late for the lecture portion you will be required to come to a later course to make up what you missed, also if you have to leave early or an emergency arises you may attend the course for the missing portions at no additional cost, just additional time. And I will decide when you may make up the time. If you miss the class entirely, so long as I get a phone call the day before, or an email predating by three days, there will be no additional cost, but space to attend may be an issue and you may have to wait. If you do not call or e-mail, then you will be at my mercy for how long you have to wait to finish the course
