Networking

Compiled by Josh Amos

It looks like spring is here and winter is finally relaxing its hold on all of us, so it’s time to get out and do some shooting! Many of us have reinvigorated training schedules and are getting back out to the range. As training starts back up, our goal this year is to have each affiliate give out 200 of our Foundation’s booklets What Every Gun Owner Needs to Know About Self-Defense Law to their students.

Affiliates, if 200 hundred students is a hard goal to reach, we encourage you to distribute booklets at ranges, gun shows, matches, gun shops, or any of the many places you meet up with responsible armed citizens. Check your booklet inventory before summer starts! If you need more booklets to give out to your clients, please contact us and we will get you resupplied.

I’ve had a great month teaming up with a lot of outstanding affiliates from one corner of the nation to the other! Let me introduce you to three standouts:

If you are in Washington State, I recommend our friends at West Coast Armory. They work out of two locations – their range in Bellevue and a gun shop in Issaquah, both east of Seattle.

West Coast Armory’s range in Bellevue is a 31,000 ft. indoor range, gun rental, pro shop, and shooting simulator. The indoor range bays are clean and feature OSHA/EPA certified air systems, AR500 steel bulletproof partitions for improved safety, and each bay has a wheelchair accessible shooting stall and chairs available for bench-rest shooting. They offer a range rental program that has dozens of pistols, rifles, and shotguns available for rental, and they also have a new simulator that lets you train in a state of the art, first person, and interactive shooter experience.

The trainers at West Coast Armory (Josh, Keith, Gracie, Brett, Steve, and Tyler) are a great bunch of top-notch trainers who are known for being knowledgeable, kind, and willing and able to help their students succeed wherever they are at with their shooting skills.

If you are in Fort Myers, FL, check in with Sara and Jason Ryan at Athena’s Armory. They’ve got the bases covered with gear and guidance with their firearms training classes and an online store. As certified NRA instructors, the Ryans teach a great line up of core classes: FL Concealed Weapons Permit, handgun fundamentals, handgun selection, private lessons and more. They pay attention to the communication styles and different needs of all their shooters be they men, women, beginner or more advanced. They also have an online store and work hard to review products, books, and equipment that they offer for sale, so that they can share their educated thoughts and opinions with their customers.

If you want great training without a lot of ego in Illinois you need to contact John Boch and his association of trainers at Guns Save Life (GSL). John and his pals at GSL are a dedicated group of firearms instructors from all walks of life who are likewise dedicated to helping armed citizens get quality defense training. John and GSL work to make their training effective and enjoyable for everyday people by teaching and empowering them with the skill sets they need to avoid becoming a statistic. Check them out at http://gsldefensetraining.com.

John has been a great Network supporter, telling people in IL about the importance of belonging to the Network and we hope our members support him, too. I was intrigued by his course offerings, and one in particular…Personal Protection for Teens.

OK, I thought, at first glance, “Protection for Teens?” I mean teens? Teenagers? Aren’t all teens brain damaged, hormone crazed, lazy, social networking, insolent, walking disaster areas? Maybe they are and maybe they are not very likeable sometimes, but that makes it too easy to write off teenagers. In my opinion, there are some darned good kids out there, despite all the doo dah that comes with teenagers (and I have raised three). In fact, they are our most at risk group of people out there. I recently went to college and finished off some degrees. While I was there I saw first hand what this generation of teens is up against and it is not pretty. So I applaud John Boch and Guns Save Life for caring enough to get off of the sidelines and make a difference through this teen safety program. Bravo!

To read more of this month's journal, please click here.