Compiled by Gila Hayes
August was a big month for distributing copies of our Foundation’s booklet What Every Gun Owner Needs to Know About Self-Defense Law to Network affiliates all across the country. It is always enjoyable when affiliates have a few minutes to share a little about their activities. Passing along details about their schools helps members know who is working in the various regions all across the nation, so in this column we try to excerpt a sampling of our affiliates’ news. Since we heard from so many affiliates in August, this column will run long this month.
Lateif Dickerson, came into the Network in April of 2008 and is one of our earliest affiliated instructors. He is still going strong and giving Network materials to his students.
Dickerson and his crew at New Jersey Firearms Academy teach not only introductory pistol classes, but have training for rifle and shotgun shooters, knife defense, Jujitsu-based self defense as well as first aid and CPR certifications, group shooting events, retired police officer qualifications and more. See http://www.njfirearms.com/about/core-values. In addition, Dickerson is frequently in the news, called on as an expert when a story deals with firearms issues.
Bob Houzenga and Andy Kemp were also among our earliest affiliates, and at that time, Kemp was still located in the Midwest, although he later migrated to Idaho so now their school, Midwest Training Group, teaches pistol, rifle and shotgun classes not only in Iowa, but also in North Idaho. Cash in on these lifetime instructors’ skill and knowledge base and learn more about their classes at http://midwesttraininggroup.net.
Our affiliated instructor Ken Delahunt writes that he is starting to travel outside his home turf in New York City, taking the Network’s booklet with him when he teaches in AZ, PA, CT, MA and VT. When we first got to know him, Ken was teaching exclusively at NYC’s Westside Range, so it is great to hear that he’s expanding. You can learn more about him and Contreforce Group, his training organization, at http://www.contreforce.com/ken-delahunt/.
And speaking of getting around, one of our most widely-traveled affiliated instructors is Kevin Faherty of @ a Moment’s Notice, based out of Portland, OR. He teaches in his home state of Oregon, but also travels to WA, ID, MT, IN, WI and WY where his full-service UT, AZ and FL carry license classes include the fingerprints and passport-type photos required with the applications (with the exception of FL, which requires prints taken by a law enforcement agency). Faherty even helps with copies of other documentation required for applications and he gives the students the envelope and postage to mail in their permit applications! It is hard to beat that level of service! Learn how to participate in one of his classes at http://www.concealedsafetyclass.com.
Our affiliated instructor Jim Trockman writes that he is now teaching private classroom and live fire instruction for first time handgun buyers at the Uncle Rudy’s indoor range in Evansville, IN. Jim also blogs at http://www.gunsitelinks.com, so check there for more information about his training.
Joe Truesdale of One on One Firearms Training in Rocklin, CA has small group and private classes for Californians wanting to learn pistol, carbine or shotgun skills, as well as the training required for CA’s CCW license and the UT’s non-resident license, too. Joe recently asked for more of our Foundation’s booklets What Every Gun Owner Needs to Know About Self-Defense Law, which he gives to students when he talks about Network membership benefits during classes.
Alecs Dean at International Firearm Safety, Inc. in Ft. Myers, FL has a full slate of classes coming up this fall. While many of Alecs’ programs are NRA Instructor level certifications, he also has a combo American Heart Association CPR/AED, Bloodborne Pathogen, and Basic First Aid certification program running on Friday, Oct. 9th, that would be a great way to update on those vital skills. In addition, in September and October, Alecs is teaching a variety of NRA instructor courses. See http://www.internationalfirearmsafety.com/contact.html.
Mark Avery is our affiliated instructor at Sim Trainer in Dayton, OH, a facility teaching a wide variety of pistol courses, plus training in rifle or shotgun use. In addition to his concealed carry class, he offers a legal update, noting that Ohio’s concealed and firearms-related law has changed a lot since OH passed concealed carry legislation in 2004. To help armed citizens in their area stay up to date on the law, they bring in a municipal court judge to teach a concealed carry legal update in a four hour program scheduled each month. This is a great way to get a good update on changes to the law and it only costs $50, so now there is no excuse for not knowing the nuances of current OH gun law. See http://sim-trainer.com/civilian.php.
Low light shooting skills are the topic of one of Network affiliated instructor Steve Eichelberger’s popular firearms classes on several weekends in November. If you’re in the Bend, OR area, don’t miss the chance to hone this important skill under his tutelage. Check out his curriculum at http://www.firearmsinstructor.us/Live-Fire_Training.php.
John Duran, of Tactical Iron in Arvada, CO, focuses his pistol courses on helping concealed carry permit holders develop the skills they need, including “advanced skill sets often overlooked” in conventional training. To this effort, John brings 35 years as a martial artist and over 20 years experience as a self-defense instructor. He also offers training courses in knife combat, tactical tomahawk and urban/wilderness survival. Learn more at http://tacticaliron.webs.com/advancedhandguncourse.htm.
Frank Le Fevre at Saginaw Firearms in Saginaw, MN has a full slate of the NRA firearms classes, HR 218 qualifications for retired law enforcement officers, plus training required for the MN permit as well as WI and FL’s permit training. He tells all his students why Network membership is so important. Le Fevre explains that he gets the most satisfaction out of introducing first-time shooters of all ages to gun safety and marksmanship skills. Check out his website at http://www.saginawfirearms.com/home.html to learn more about what he does.
Dirk Sanders of Defensive Strategies gave folks in the Wichita, KS area a great summer discount on his eight-hour Kansas Concealed Carry class, cutting tuition back to $65, and that tuition includes range use, class materials, breakfast and lunch! Summer pricing remains in effect for his September 12th session, so I gotta ask, how could you beat that? Sanders teaches his programs on a range in Rose Hill, KS that features 180-degree angles of fire capability, reactive steel targets and more.
Sanders blogs on his http://defensivestrategies.net website that armed citizens in KS may fail to recognize the value of obtaining the KS state-issued concealed carry permit, since their state passed legislation allowing permit-less concealed carry–what is often referred to as Constitutional Carry. A state-issued permit, he notes, allows legally-armed Kansans inside the 1000-foot Federal Gun Free School zone, expedites firearm purchases and often increases reciprocity from other states, he accounts.
While an eight-hour CCH license class is just an introduction, Sanders explains that he packs in a lot of information to get armed citizens off to a good start and adds that at least his students will have recognized training on file should their use of force actions come under scrutiny by the criminal justice system. He makes a good argument for augmenting Constitutional Carry with voluntary training at http://defensivestrategies.net/if-constitutional-concealed-carry-sb45-passes-why-would-i-need-a-concealed-carry-permit/. It’s good advice!
Stacy Alexander of Savvy Shooters in Southeast Washington State reaches out to women with the NRA Women on Target program, plus NRA First Steps and NRA Basic Pistol classes, in addition to shorter private and group lessons as well as a two-hour personal safety seminar that does not entail shooting. Stacy writes, “Working mainly with women, I want to make sure they have information at their fingertips so they can be aware of the self-defense laws,” and we were happy to refresh her supply of What Every Gun Owner Needs to Know About Self-Defense Law for just that purpose.
Affiliates, please remember to let me know when you need more copies of the Armed Citizens’ Educational Foundation’s booklet and the Network’s tri-fold brochures by calling 360-978-5200 or emailing me at
While you’re at it, don’t forget to send me an email if you have any special events like open houses, special classes or other interesting tidbits that we can announce for you in this column. About 60 days advance notice is best since we publish only once a month.
Click here to return to September 2015 Journal to read more.