2019 Training & Shooting Report

I will always be a student!

Around this time last year, I read an article from Greg Ellifriz where he reviewed the training
he attended along with the number of rounds he had fired for the year. I was impressed with the detail
in his article and decided I would keep a better record of my training class hours and practice time. Although I
created a “Curriculum Vitae” several years ago that I keep updated, I thought keeping a detailed log of
my training/shooting could help me identify not only areas to improve but also serve as a yearly record
to add to the various certificates I earned.

In order to record my data, I created an Excel spreadsheet. Page 1 has all the classes/training I attended,
conferences attended, along with the dates and the number of hours. The amount of professional class
time I took for 2019 was a lot more than I thought it would be. I had a total of 240 hours of
classes/training. I attended several conferences last year that I have never attended before. They were
KR Training’s Emergency Preparedness Conference, Tom Givens’ Tactical Conference “Tac Con”, and
Tom Givens’ Rangemaster Instructor Reunion. KR Training’s Emergency Preparedness conference
included a couple of days of various subjects such as Medical Considerations Post Disaster; Kubotan;
rifle & pistol range time; chain saw safety; emergency get home bags, and other interesting topics that I
haven’t really been exposed to. Karl offers this conference every year in January and it’s worth anyone’s
consideration. The other conference I attended for the first time was “Tac-Con”. This 3-day
conference offers some of the best self-defense firearms instructors classes in the country. It is literally
a “who’s who” in the industry and a true opportunity to get exposure to elite instructors at one training
venue. Nowhere else am I aware of can one learn from Massad Ayoob, Tom Givens, Claude Werner,
John & Vicki Farnam, Gabe White, Karl Rehn, Greg Ellifritz, John Murphy, Tatiana Whitlock, Ed Monk –
just to name a few. The third new conference I attended was Tom Givens’ RangeMaster Instructor
Reunion. It’s offered once a year and only “Certified” Rangemaster Instructors are invited to attend. A
Certified Rangemaster Instructor has attended the Rangemaster Instructor class and passed all 3 range
qualifications at 90% and the 5-page written test at 90%. What I enjoyed about this conference is it’s
totally geared to a firearms instructor and all the material is dedicated to training techniques,
equipment issues/updates relating to training, and techniques for conducting range activities. Plus you
have the opportunity to network with quality instructors from around the country. I am
attending this one again in 2020.

The longest conference I attend is the annual A Girl & A Gun Conference. Being a Facilitator,
I attend the 2-day leadership development, the optional extra training day and the other days of classes.
It’s a full 7-day conference but I don’t think there is any training like it in the world. 450+ women come
from all around the country to learn, fellowship, network, and enjoy our Second Amendment rights. I
have attended every conference except the first one. When the class catalog comes out a few months
before conference it’s like Christmas. There are over 40 pages of classes/descriptions and options. If
you can imagine it , it’s available. Self Defense, competition, Dry Fire, Situation Awareness, First Aid,
Rifle, Shotgun, Sporting Clays are available – you name it. They even have a Helicopter company that
comes out every year and ladies can sign up to shoot an AR out of a helicopter. My first conference I
thought that was nuts; my third conference I signed up and did it. It was amazing!! ☺ I cannot
recommend A Girl & A Gun enough to any ladies around the country. It’s the largest women’s only
shooting organization in the U.S. with over 130+ chapters all over the country. They offer other events
and shooting opportunities and it’s a great way to make friends with other like-minded ladies. There is
truly something for everyone in this organization. Feel free to ask me about AG&AG anytime.

Another “special” training that I attended was the training school at Glock USA in Smyrna Georgia. A
Girl & A Gun (AG&AG) headquarters has managed to obtain this training opportunity for all the chapter
leaders around the country. Since the class numbers are limited, you need to register early. We were
able to take the one-day Glock Armorer class and the 2-day Glock Operator training. Glock is not my first
choice in pistols due to my small hands, but I came away with a lot more appreciation for the pistol and
its reliability. Plus it was awesome to take those 3 days of training with my fellow AG&AG Facilitators.
I obtained several additional “Instructor” certifications in 2019. In February, I took John & Vicki Farnam’s
DTI Instructor course. It was a 24-hour course that is designed to train you to be an effective defensive
handgun instructor. I learned several tips on managing classroom, answering questions, instruction
techniques, and identifying student technique issues. We even ran several hours of low light shooting in
the dark which was fun. A Girl & A Gun Women’s Shooting organization rolled out their new Pistol
Instructor Program at conference. All the Facilitators were invited to qualify, which consisted with the shooting test (90%
on the FBI Qualifier) and class. I was happy to be one of the Facilitators who obtained that Instructor
credential. This past fall I attended the NRA’s Concealed Carry Weapon (CCW) Instructor class. I really
enjoyed this new program. I have a lot of NRA’s Instructor credentials but have not ever taught any of
their classes. I liked this one. NRA has updated materials in this program and I think it’s a good class to
offer since it’s relevant to learn good carry techniques, equipment, when to shoot, and since NRA is so
recognizable, the public is more apt to attend this class rather than your branded class. I hope to offer
this class soon as a next step after the handgun license.

I attended other classes this year. Tatiana Whitlock was close by, so I attended 5 different
classes from her. She is another one of those excellent instructors that is a joy to learn from. Gabe
White’s Pistol Shooting Solutions was an incredible fast paced 2-day/1,000 rounds and I
learned some solid techniques to improve speed with accuracy and some excellent Dry-Fire ideas. If you
like shotgun I highly recommend Tom Givens’ Defensive Shotgun class. It’s only one day and
you learn efficient techniques for handling and shooting the shotgun under stressful conditions. Plus,
it’s so much fun. Finally, I ended the year with attending the NRA Chief Range Safety Officer class.
Completing this class certifies me to teach the NRA Range Safety Officer class. This is another class I
would like to roll out this new year.

Page 2 of the Excel Spreadsheet documented my shooting round count. My round count for 2019 was a total of 8,953. I am at the range all the time but don’t get the
opportunity to shoot for myself so I was surprised at this number. One thing I did was color code the
dates/events of my shooting. If it was a training class, it was left white. Blue dates where times I went to
range and would practice. Whenever I get the opportunity to go to the range for me, I always have a
plan for targets and techniques I want to work on. I love going out to the range. It really is trigger
therapy. The drill I always start with and conduct it cold is the FBI Qualifier. I never warm up before I
shoot this drill so I can get a base line of how rusty I might be. ☺ I used yellow to highlight the dates I
attended the Arms Room Shooting League and pink for my Loaded Ladies/A Girl & A Gun events that I
was able to shoot. Setting up my round count this way I learned several things from reviewing my
shooting opportunities from 2019. Most of my round count was from training, which I knew already.
However, I learned that although the Arms Room Shooting League is a low round count event, I found
attending this league allowed for more regular practice dates. Plus, it’s fun and my husband did this with
me. (He isn’t a big shooting fan.) So, if you live in Houston
around our area I strongly encourage you to come join The Arms Room Shooting League. It’s a fun
family type atmosphere; think bowling league but with guns. ☺The number of dates I went out to the
range in 2019 for me was less than once a month. It’s clear that I need to get a serious dry fire program
established for home to get more practice in. For my 2020 training document, I have added 2
additional pages. One for Dry-Fire and one for Books/Reading material. I’m glad I took the time to keep
the 2019 training log in such detail, it has given me some insight on where my strengths and weaknesses
are and has made it easier for me to set up my 2020 goals.

Lastly, the main reason I wanted to write this blog is to help anyone that is shooting and feeling like they
are bored or becoming stagnant. Documenting your practice may give you some insights on what you
can do to add some life back into your shooting. If you do feel bored/stagnant I want to encourage you
to take some training classes. At first you may be really intimidated and feel you are not good enough
to take certain classes or you may be the only female but step outside that comfort zone and do it. If
you live in the Houston area come see me at the Arms Room. We have two women’s’ programs that
meet each month and I offer multiple classes. Another Texas training venue I highly recommend is Karl
at KR Training. Any class at his range will be exceptional, and he has written a book that can
give you some good drills to conduct on the routine basis too.

So Happy New Year! And I hope to see you at the range.