I have been a long time gun owner. The first time I shot a firearm was just after I got caught trying to break into my father’s gun case which held his WWII Walter P38 9mm pistol. My father would take it out and clean it in front of my brother and me, but he never really let us hold it nor did he give us the “firearms talk”. This led to me taking action, so I “tried to sneak a peek” at it myself when my parents were not home.  My father grabbed me by the arm, took me outside, loaded 3 rounds and said “Well, if you want to shoot it, go ahead”…and I did …it scared the crap out of me.

After my father calmed down and my hands and arms stopped hurting, he bought a .410 single shot rifle for my brother and me to share. Then we had the “firearms talk”. The “talk” was basic loading, sighting in a target and “don’t point it at anything you don’t want to kill”.  My dad was former U.S. Air Force Military Police; I guess he thought that was about all the training we would need.  We lived near several farms in rural Indiana, so we didn’t have to worry about finding places to shoot.

I guess I have always thought the “firearms talk” should have been a little bit longer or more involved. The first formal firearms training I received was at a Concealed Carry class I took to get my Utah and Florida licenses in May, 2013. The class was quite informative and the presenter was confident presenting the material,  using the NRA Guide to the Basics of Shooting as the classroom text.The class met the requirements for the 4 hour basic handgun fundamentals for Utah and, with the additional 4 hours (total of 8 hours), met firearms  “proficiency” testing  to meet the Florida standards.

The next class I took was from the same group of instructors.  It met the requirements for an additional 8 hours of training,for the Illinois Concealed Carry licence.

I had been shooting with novice shooters Prior to receiving my USCCA certification: people from my work, friends and family. I try to show them the things I had to learn with no formal training. People had always remarked that “you should teach this stuff”. The Range Safety Officers at the indoor range near my house started to refer to me as an instructor, I guess due to the amount of new shooters I was bringing to the range. I corrected them, of course, and informed them that these were just friends of mine.

I found the USCCA through a Gun Digest offer for a “free book” on home defense fundamentals.  I have since  received regular emails from USCCA and always find them informative. I met a USCCA Counselor,  Jason, and we started talking about “gun stuff”. He told me that he was offering instructor classes. That peaked my interest. He also told me about the program the USCCA offers.  I thought this would be a fun way to increase my ability to help my friends and family learn more. The thought of teaching the public really never occurred to me. Jason signed me up for the program and I started watching the videos. They were amazing. It was the best program I have ever seen, engaging and thought- provoking. I was hooked. I recently sat in on a class that Jason was teaching and I was blown away at how professional, in depth, and complete the class was. Jason introduced me to S.I.R.T. pistols and how the two lasers showed proper hold and trigger break.What a great training tool!!! I received my certification for the USCCA on 3/27/2016 and also with the Illinois State Police 4/18/2016. I am also a certified Range Safety Officer from the NRA.

Daniel Briggs

Villa Park, IL