Compiled by Gila Hayes
With spring officially “sprung,” our Network Affiliates are busily launching their 2015 training season with lots of new activities and continued programs. We’ve been in touch with a lot of our affiliates and they have so much going on that this will be a somewhat longer than usual report.
Our North Idaho Affiliated Instructor Robert Smith has announced a seminar entitled Defensive Use of Force Options scheduled for Thursday, April 23, 2015 from 6 to 10 p.m. at Harding Center, 411 North 15th Street, Coeur d’ Alene, ID 83814.
Smith, who teaches this seminar, is an expert witness in use of force who has been teaching firearms and related topics for three decades and is director and guiding force behind the Fernan Rod & Gun Club in the National Forest outside of Coeur d’ Alene, ID.
In this seminar he addresses how much force is appropriate for defense, and when or when not to use it, as well as the ethical, moral, and legal parameters within which one may use deadly force. It is his aim that seminar participants develop a heightened sense of security awareness needed to avoid or survive a criminal assault, and that self-defense actions they undertake will be court defensible in the aftermath. Seminar tuition is $50 (and is free to Fernan Rod & Gun Club members).
While the Defensive Use of Force Options seminar is open to general public, pre-registration required because class size limited. Call 509-993-1508 for further information, or to register send $50 tuition and your name, address and phone number to: SAFE (Security Awareness & Firearms Education), P.O. Box 864, Post Falls, ID 83877. http://safe-llc.com
Dennis “Dub” Smith of Firearms Professional Training in Round Lake Beach, IL is holding a Tax Season Sale on state-recognized Concealed Carry Licensing courses required prior to making application for your Illinois, Wisconsin and Utah and Florida non-resident concealed carry licenses. P.F.T. also teaches several levels of pistol, rifle and shotgun classes, and has set aside a program specifically for senior citizens and Scout masters, and a gun cleaning program, as well. We recently sent a resupply of the What Every Gun Owner Needs to Know About Self-Defense Law booklet to Smith who writes, “I hand these out to all of my students and strongly encourage them to join your organization.” His April schedule is posted at http://www.firearmsprofessionaltraining.com/.
The training courses required for New York State pistol carry licenses, Florida concealed weapon licenses and Utah’s concealed firearm permit are the focus of Michael and Tania Costello’s Interstate Concealed Carry in Kingston, NY. In addition to the training, they can help students get the finger printing and passport-type photos needed for license applications. Learn more about their programs at http://www.interstateccw.com/services. The Costellos are new to the Network and we welcome them warmly and look forward to seeing their students become Network members, too. After all, armed citizens telling others about the protections they enjoy as Network members is a big part of how we grow!
We also extend a big Network “Welcome!” to Jeremy Gill, of Practical Defense Training in Albuquerque, NM. Jeremy teaches a 15-hour NM Concealed Carry License course, as well as skill-building programs that focus on practical applications of pistol skills, in either group class settings or through one-on-one instruction. Jeremy also runs Albuquerque Armory and you can read more about this new Affiliated Instructor’s operation at https://www.abqconcealedcarry.com.
Our friend Jay French at CCW Breakaways recently shared some happy news with us when he wrote that their family business, which sells very nice trousers with built in ambidextrous pocket holsters, has a great new U.S.-based supplier which has started shipping product! Jay and his family sell a high quality innovative concealed carry product, and it is so nice to hear that they’ve weathered supply line problems–something that can trouble almost any business, large or small. See http://www.ccwbreakaways.com/.
Jay adds, “I think it is going to be a while before our shelves are fully restocked . . . but we’ll be making incremental gains.” Congratulations to the French family for getting through the tough times. Members, if you pocket carry a small pistol, you might find just the carry solution at CCW Breakaways. The owners are Network members just like you and it really is nice to support our own.
In Castro Valley, CA, our long time affiliated instructor Gary O’Brien is keeping busy and creating lots of opportunities to tell students about the Network. Gary focuses on each individual student, offering one-on-one, personalized instruction and making sure that students who are new to the gun understand the fundamentals before they ever go to the range.
When I asked about his classes, he stressed that he doesn’t teach multi-student classes, adding, “All my training is one-on-one. By teaching in a one-on-one, one-hour lesson, the student has me standing next to them, and positioning both their hands, and trigger finger on every shot. I also hang two 8 1/2 x 11 pieces of paper with 6-inch circles as targets. When we get enough holes, we change the paper. We want to know were every shot is going. How else can you make corrections if you don’t know what you are doing wrong? I love teaching beginners; they are always amazed at how much you can learn in one hour.”
This philosophy of focusing on the individual student’s needs extends to his work with local, state, and federal law enforcement agents whom he coaches in rapid fire, holster work, working under time constraints and movement drills that match their actual work environment, his website explains. Learn more about Gary and his training at http://www.obrienpistoltraining.com.
Affiliates, please remember to let me know when you need more copies of the Armed Citizens’ Educational Foundation’s booklet What Every Gun Owner Needs to Know About Self-Defense Law and our tri-fold brochures by emailing me at
Click here to return to April 2015 Journal to read more.