by Gila Hayes
Gun safety, carry licensing and justifiable use of deadly force in self defense are only a few of a large range of topics about which citizens buying guns need instruction and refresher training. Several of our newest Affiliated Instructors combine these related needs in their services to their student/customers. It is hard to choose just one or two affiliates, but this month, let’s pick one from each coast, a Long Island, NY concealed carry instructor and gun store owner, and, from the opposite side of the nation, a California firearms instructor and gun store owner.
In Santa Rosa, CA, Scott Gabaldon leads the family gun store’s classes on subjects ranging from handgun safety, concealed carry, home defense and a lot more as described at https://www.g4firearms.com/g4-firearms-courses/ . Scott draws on training he has taken with our Advisory Board member Massad Ayoob, as he provides expert witness services in court, as well as being certified to teach the MAG-20 live-fire course.
In addition to stocking guns, ammunition, and all the accessories like range bags, eye and ear protection and more, G4 Firearms also has a membership program that gives their customers a discount on classes as well as access to indoor training simulator programs that cover the gamut from basic shooting skills to high-pressure decision-making scenarios. Scott gives students and gun store visitors copies of our Educational Foundation’s booklet What Every Gun Owner Needs to Know About Self-Defense Law, adding to the knowledge they take away from visiting the Gabaldon family gun shop.
On the opposite coast, New York continues to struggle with the state’s over-reaction to the USSC Bruen decision, but that hasn’t slowed student demand for the training required for concealed carry licensing and license recertification. Our New York affiliates are handing out even more copies of What Every Gun Owner Needs to Know About Self-Defense Law than ever and introducing the Network to lots of great men and women we’d not yet had the privilege of meeting
On Long Island in the community of Wantagh, NY Jeff Hirschman’s students are keeping him busy. Jeff made time to chat with me between classes and serving customers in QC Hunting & Outdoor Sports which shares space with his long time business, QC Scuba. With growing student enrollments, Jeff and his crew maintain two beautifully-outfitted classrooms to meet the needs of students who come for the state-mandated training applying for and recertifying for concealed carry licenses. Students come to fulfill the training requirement, but they leave with so much more. In Jeff and his team, they find new mentors and through them they learn of more resources.
If you are in the neighborhood, drop in and get acquainted with Jeff and his crew. QC Hunting & Outdoor Sports is at 3282 Sunrise Highway in Wantagh, and while they don’t have website with classes listed, they’re active on Facebook or you can go old school and call them and ask about training at 516-826-7222.
With anti-gunners and our government doing everything possible to portray armed citizens as misanthropic, maladjusted lone wolf types, being able to walk into the local gun shop and enjoy conversation and get advice about guns, ammunition and further training is a much-needed boon. From New York to California and the cities and towns in between, our Network Affiliated Instructors provide that kind of mentorship, and serve as resources to which a new or experienced armed citizen can turn with questions or just to share information about a mutual concern. If its been a while since you took a shooting skills refresher course or if your state mandates training before license renewal, think about patronizing the affiliates listed at https://armedcitizensnetwork.org/our-affiliates/map and when you can, support the affiliates who are supporting the growth of our big Network family.