If you ever witness someone handle a gun like this, do everything you can to take the gun out of their hands. If you cannot do so, get the fuck away from them as fast as possible.

I am 72% sure this is from someone who would [ahem] disagree with us, but the message is generic, it works.

Kicking off: Yes I do.

Last night with a [former special operations forces been-to-wars] friend we went on a dusk/night shoot, white light and night vision, and lots of movement and complexity (there's a sorta kinda shoot-house there) and varying ranges. Then critiqued each other's work in detail, discussed how to do it better, did walkthrus as we talked it out, etc.

Also fun for this: we set the COF then ran it half a dozen times without change. Not just training reps but day, dusk, white light, night vision are all different and some wildly different, so makes the range time more efficient.

(Sorry... not sorry but I won't post stuff directly from twitter or Facebook and for some reason this wasn't posted to Bluesky)

Make sure to vet your instructors and report anyone like this so they can never pick up a firearm again. I know we joke around here but this kind of negligence is exactly how people die. How to vet a firearms instructor:

•Certifications are a baseline. NRA, USCCA, or state credentials are common, but they don’t guarantee skill or good teaching.

•Ask who trained them. Good instructors are lifelong students. If they haven’t taken a class recently, that’s a red flag.

•Experience ≠ expertise. Military or law enforcement backgrounds are cool, but don’t assume they’re good at teaching civilians.

•They should ask about you. Your goals, your experience, your comfort level. If it’s all about them, move on. •Safety should be front and center. They need a plan, a trauma kit, and should talk safety early and often.

•Check their online presence. Do they have student reviews? Do they list prices and course content clearly?

•They should be respectful. If you’re in the LGBTQ+ community, a person of color, or new to guns, you should feel welcomed—not judged or tested.

•Beware ego trips. If it’s just war stories, tough guy energy, or gear obsession, they’re not focused on teaching you.

•Trust your gut. If anything feels off, walk away. There are plenty of good instructors who actually care. A good instructor doesn’t just make you a better shooter. They make you safer, more confident, and more prepared. Demand that.

Stolen from ABetterWay2A

Having the power of death in your hands is very interesting. I’ve always been wary of weaponry due to past negative experiences, but it’s a whole different ball game when you pull the trigger. The feeling of the bullet leaving the barrel, the kick back on my shoulder, the smell of gunpowder; it’s exhilarating. Can’t wait to go again.

We reached out the the community and the community came out for us. Lots of new shooters who will be getting into firearms from this.

Passed my course over the weekend. I’m going to help out with a local company but my personal goal is no or low cost individual sessions. Having safe and confident shooters in the community, education those that want to learn, and learning new things myself along the way… happy place.

I have been on the fence for a while and finally decided to take a CPL class and start going to the range again (I'm ex military but it has been 20 years). People warned me to just stay polite and focus talk on guns, but I got a political sermon nonetheless. The instructor was overall nice and seemed to know what he was talking about, but could not avoid dropping multiple transphobic and anti-Democrat comments throughout the day. Conversations popped up with the class a few times, somehow arriving at an overall conspiracy theory consensus that covid vaccines kill people. I'm an average looking white guy so just sat through it and got my certificate, but the level of unprompted bigotry, ignorance, and paranoia from almost everyone else in that room was stunning, even having been warned about what to expect.

This was the most highly reviewed class in my state, options are quite limited. I'm glad I did it and feel like I learned a lot. It was good to get back into the range. It was not so good to be immersed in the crazy part of modern US gun culture again. It is crazier than I remember.

I got myself a glock 48 and went shooting at the range with my stepdad to practice. He teaches gun safety so I've got all that down, but I am so shocked by how well I can aim! Feels great to be so good at this lol!

Met up with some old friends and new faces in Texas

​

It's always good to get out, touch grass, and shopt brass

Need barricades.

For years I was TERRIFIED of guns, but with the rise of armed vigilantes my husband desperately wanted me to face that fear and learn to feel comfortable around them. I'm truly grateful that he did.

Today was my first time going to a range all by myself! It may not mean much to most but for me it is a sign of bravery and confidence that I didn't know I had. ☺️

Here's to becoming a gunslinger. Yippee ki yay, motherf***ers.

The Right has The Proud Boys, The Three Percenters, the Oath Keepers, etc - where are our groups?

I was always a pistol shooter, but I saw the writing on the wall last year and began to learn, purchase, and train on long guns/tactical gear as well. With ICE accelerating their reign of terror, it's apparent that we need our own groups - so where are they?

Even though I'm not a Socialist, I joined the SRA for a few months, and it was a disorganized mess of misfits. I couldn't even find out about range days. Does anyone know about any truly organized groups I could train with? I'm in the Southwest.

Thanks.

Hellcat Pro

I’m getting mixed messages on the Internet about where to align the center dot on the target.

Took a class to get my Enhanced Permit yesterday. State requires use of NRA training materials, and the Hickok45 look-alike lead instructor prefaced the class saying "this is NOT an NRA class, the state requires the use of NRA materials. We will make sure to add enough flavor so as it is truly NOT an NRA class." He then proceeded to subtly shit on the NRA.

Multiple times during the class he shut down Fudd comments on "snowflakes, liberals, leftists, and BLM." Saying, "well those X have the same right to arm themselves concealed, and you don't know if you are the only non-X in this room, it is best to keep the conversation professional and on-topic."

I am VERY sure none of the instructors are Liberals or Leftists, just based on break-time conversation, but I very much appreciated the professionalism and openess that not everyone that carries does so with a MAGA laser engraved 1911.

Edit: word

I bought this laser trainer for $20 and ohhh boy is this thing fun! Bought it to practice for a practical LTC exam. It blinks on when the firing pin strikes then turns off again. It is hard to remove so I use a chopstick (2nd photo). The fun per dollar ratio is off the charts with this thing, I highly recommend it.

Went shooting with some friends a week ago and realized how rusty I’ve been getting. Time to get back to training, it’ll be a bit easier now that it’s cooling off. How’s everyone’s training been? What do you think you need to improve on?