It started with a Daisy BB gun in our grandparents' back yard, followed by a Rifle Merit Badge in the Scouts, and marksman qualification in the Air Force. I did not get into regular handgun practice until obtaining my concealed carry permit in 2006, and practicing at an indoor range about a dozen times a year for over a decade. My jobs in uniform were support roles, not combat, with pistol qualification a few times over 26 years.

My path to becoming a firearms instructor began in 2019 at the NRA Personal Protection Expo in Fort Worth, followed by a series of intermediate and advanced handgun courses in 2020, then NRA Pistol Instructor certification in 2021. Since 2020 the goal has been to learn as much as possible, taking every quality training course that is affordable and close enough to home. 

At the same time, I brought to my development as a shooter a lifelong effort to be an effective teacher. From tutoring classmates in high school, to teaching undergrad university courses in the 70's, military and professional classes and seminars in the 80s, 90s, and 2000s, into teaching post-graduate university courses, I approach every job as a teacher.

Today, I want to help new and limited experience shooters learn to improve their shooting, and also how to think about their use of handguns, especially legal aspects of carrying firearms and their use in self-defense. (Note: IANAL -I Am Not A Lawyer.) Complete firearms instruction must include both education, learning new information, facts, and ways of thinking; and training, improvement in skills and abilities. I do my best to offer both in every class.

Website: /dcshelton