Not One

This weekend was my weekend to work at FPF Training.  There is another person who works for John; I work when he can't.  This weekend's class was the Conceal Carry For Self Defense.  This is a basic shooting course, but generally most of the people who take the class have had experience with shooting.  This was a special class. This class was full of first time and novice shooters.

We had 12 students in the class about half were women and 4 had never touched a gun before. Only 2 or 3 had their own guns and gear, everyone else used our equipment.

We had a husband and wife team.  I can't remember if the wife had shot before, but her husband had never shot a pistol.  I believe he had shot a rifle or shotgun a couple of times.  They were a really fun couple.  They also brought along a friend.  Not sure about his background. I didn't spend a whole lot of time with him, but he turned out to be quite a shooter.  In addition we had 2 females, they were friends, neither of whom had ever shot a gun before. I let one of them use my M&P for the weekend.  She and her husband(he is signed up for the next course) are serious about buying a gun for her and after talking with her and talking about what she is looking for, where she is at and her size etc, John decided that my gun was probably a good fit(I had told John he was welcome to borrow it way before he had talked with her, so he knew it was ok to make the offer).  Day one I carried John's M&P .45...sweet!  Day two I carried my Glock.

We also had a Navy Commander.  He had some experience and was comfortable with guns. Nice, nice guy. We had a gentleman who has carried for about 3 years and has taken other classes, but he wanted some fine tuning.  Another gentleman that was in the Army and again, he knew his way around a gun, but I don't believe he had a lot of experience with self defense type shooting.  He had a great sense of humor.  I really enjoyed chit chatting with him.  We had another husband and wife team. They are gun bloggers, but I will wait and see if they post about their training.  If they out themselves, I will link them here(edited...I got the go ahead for the link Country Tea And Bullets. Her and her husband Mr. Tea rock).  I have met and shot with the wife before, but it was the first time I had met the husband in real life.  What a treat.  Unbelievably kind folks.  They kept my hot water cold in their cooler and I can not tell you how much I appreciated that. They both have guns and carry them daily and they most certainly can shoot well.  I think they were looking for more intense training for self defense and that is why they took our course. ***Edited***As an aside, Mr. Tea read my blog first and in those beginning days offered me a lot of support and advice.  He then told his wife Country Tea about my blog and she sent me an email asking about carrying with one in the chamber.  We developed a friendship and started getting together to shoot from time to time. When they signed up for the class I wasn't working for FPF Training  yet. I was tickled that I got to work the weekend they attended.  We made some fun memories and developed our friendship a bit more.

Finally, we had a family of 3.  A mom, a dad and their 17 year old daughter.  The mom and daughter had never touched a gun before.  Neat story.  Their friend bought the course for them.  He wanted them to be trained and he paid for all of them to attended.  Crazy cool.  The dad was a hoot.  I spent a lot of time down on their side of the line, so we bonded or at least I did.  The 17 year old was a powerhouse and took to shooting like a fish to water.  You all would have really enjoyed watching her develop.

It is strange how in the course of 2 days one can feel connected to 12 people she had never met before, but I do.  I loved them all.  Every single person there impacted me in someway.

I was deeply touched, in particular, by two of the women.  One woman, a brand new shooter, asked to talk to me.  We were in the part of the class where John is giving context to the training.  He shows videos and discusses the many issues surrounding self defense.  Anyway, watching those clips and listening to John, she was reminded of her own fresh experience and she was a little emotional. At the break, she shared a story(not a bad guy encounter, but a gun story) that had happened to her just a week or so earlier. I asked her if she had told John and she said , "Oh, no,  I haven't told anyone."  "Please don't tell anyone." I thought it was a great story of her personal fortitude and mental toughness and I thought it was a story that should be shared, but she was not ready to do so. I was blessed and humbled that she would share with me something so personal to her.  I do hope she decides to tell the story to more people, because it's a great story.

The other lady was the mom of the 17 year old daughter.  Super lady.  I probably identified with her because for her own reasons(not from a bad guy encounter) she was not fond of guns or the damage they do.  She was very nervous and timid as she was shooting,  I tried to be a support to her without interfering with John.  By the end of the class her skills and confidence had grown tremendously, but, of course, I never thought I had any barring on that.  After the course she gave me a hug and told  me she felt better just having me there.  I was glad that my presence was a tiny bit of a comfort for her. 

No secret that I love to shoot.  That I love to be around guns and do gun things, but my life has always been and to this day, remains about relationships.  I care about people.  This job is amazing because I work for a man I respect and I get to fulfill my passion for all things firearms, but it is the people that show up weekend after weekend that make it worth it.  It's cheesy.  It's a cliche and it's a 100% true. On the weekends I work, I get up at 4:30am and I don't get home until about 7:30pm.  Your gonna have to take my word for it, but I am pretty much on the go and on my feet all of that time. This weekend I did not fire one shot, NOT ONE, but it might have been the best time I have ever spent on the range. The days are long, but the people make them short.  Being with them is one of my favorite places to be.

Outside of chit chatting with the folks, I did my usual stuff: cleaning gear, putting up targets, fetching things for John, taking pictures(when I remembered) and because there were a high number of new female shooters, I got to talk a lot about peeing with a gun on.  Much of my time working for FPF Training  revolves around peeing.  Who knew?  What is even more odd is that I actually enjoyed it. I know what you are thinking, "Really, that excites you?"  Why, yes, yes, it does.  I loved that these women felt comfortable enough to come ask me and I loved that I could help. 


It is quite an experience to see someone hold a gun and shoot it for the first time.  To see them nervous and shaky, but determined to take that first difficult step forward and to actually pull the trigger, it was like no other experience I have had. With each new shooter that took that step I had tears in my eyes.

Inspiring.

The first shot is inspiring, but it is the last shot, that very last one, that one is exciting.  This is true for each and every person who comes through the training. I love to watch their confidence grow and to see them improve upon whatever skills they have, be it none at all, or seasoned.  They all walk away with more tools than they had when they first arrived.  Witnessing immediate and tangible results is crazy cool.

I am thankful to everyone who came out and let me be a part of their lives for a weekend.  I was truly blessed.

P.S. I would like to point out that not only didn't I cross my legs one time, I also noticed every single time someone else did and I was kind enough to point that out to them.  I am not entirely sure they appreciated it as much as I did, but  I like to share the love.  More good news. John name a move after me.  It is a move starting out with legs crossed and followed by a twist. It is used when addressing a threat from behind.  It is not as flattering as it sounds, though.  It is a move NOT to do and the honor comes with a fair amount of mocking.