Marty eJournal column pixby Marty Hayes, J.D.

I admit I was struggling to come up with a topic to write about this month, and then all of a sudden, I got a phone call. Problem solved!

The phone call was from one of the Network’s Affiliated Instructors, Jay Okimoto, the director of Crosswalk Readyness, Tucson, Arizona. He was calling to invite me to speak at a gathering of over 200 people, many of them not necessarily gun owners but instead, self-reliant people, who live in and about rural Northern Arizona. Typically, I would not have the time to travel so far to such an event and at such relatively short notice, but as fate would have it, I will be attending Gunsite the prior week, and the Family Preparedness Training event, sponsored by Crosswalk Readyness and SHOTS Ranch to benefit Oath Keepers (http://oathkeepers.org), is being held just two hours away from Gunsite! So, not only am I accepting Jay’s invitation, but I also wanted to invite the Network members who live in the area to come and check it out, listen to me talk about self-defense law and aftermath issues and take some other pretty cool training seminars.

Here are the details (followed by contact info):
Dates: October 2-4, 2015
Place: SHOTS Ranch, Kingman, AZ

Training Offered:

  • Legalities of Use of Deadly Force in Self Defense
  • AZ CCW Certification
  • Small Game Harvesting
  • SPOT Trace SAT Coms
  • Intro to Force Multiplier Tactics
  • Defensive Shotgun 1
  • Prepping Bulk Wood and Chainsaws
  • Defensive Carbine 1
  • Art of Survival/Self Reliance
  • Intro to FRS/GMRS/HAM Radios
  • Intro to Criminal Deviancy/Awareness
  • Homestead Construction Topics
  • Greyman Sheepdog
  • Intro to Pistol Combatives
  • NRA RSO Certification
  • New Gun Owner
  • Austere Water Processing/Storage
  • Intro to the Defensive Carbine
  • EMP and Electronics Protection
  • Intro to Bushcraft Skills
  • Portable Generators and Electricity
  • Intro to TCCC
  • Intro to Low Light Pistol
  • Intro to Urban Survival
  • Prepping with Propane
  • SHTF Human Corpse Issues
  • Defensive Pistol II
  • Intro to Welding
  • Intro to Land Nav/Orientating
  • Defensive Hunting Rifle

Is there anything on the above list you would like training in? I see a whole bunch of non-firearms related classes that I will be looking into attending while I am there. Especially that Intro to Welding, as welding is something I have wanted to learn for a lifetime.

So, how much does this cost? According to Mr. Okimoto, not much. Volunteers with a passion for the subject matter are offering most of the instruction, and due to the generosity of corporate sponsors, the class fees of $3-10 will mainly simply cover the cost of supplies. I think it is affordable!

About the Venue: SHOTS Ranch is a 1300-acre privately owned training facility that specializes in self-reliance skill-set development and instruction. They are located on the east side of the Cottonwood Mountain Range at an average elevation of 5400 feet, approximately 42 miles west of Kingman, AZ, approximately two hours from Las Vegas and three hours from Phoenix. Check them out on the web at http://www.shotsranch.com.

How do you get more information? The details of the event are being finalized as you read this, so if you are interested, simply drop Mr. Okimoto an e-mail and he will send you all the details when they are finalized. His e-mail address is This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

In closing, I would like to comment that I am very impressed with what Mr. Okimoto and SHOTS Ranch have put together and I really look forward to participating. Our gun culture needs more of this outreach, so watch for my report in an upcoming eJournal.


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