Instructing Others About Firearms – Figuring out Who You Are & Roughing It

From time to time we are asked to teach a class outside of the regular classroom. We have taught in businesses, homes, churches, machine shops, around kitchen tables, at deer camps, garages and a few times on a deck or porch. Often it is at a family home or business and a place where several families like to meet and feel comfortable. Sometimes the place is where a family member, who doesn’t travel well due to health issues, can join us. We have even worked around milking schedules on a dairy farm. Our one requirement is that shooting space has to be nearby and safe.

Teaching Others About Firearms on AllOutdoor

We normally have access to electricity. That means we bring in a projector, laptop, and screen to give the talk content, along with several handouts. At one deer camp there was no electricity so we printed out copies of our slides and walked the various family members through the content. It was sort of a “theater in the round” experience and several students let it be known that they didn’t like some of our content and they certainly didn’t think that taking a quiz at the end was necessary. If I remember correctly getting into the hunting camp also required full use of my truck’s four-wheel drive capabilities.

Newer homes often have TVs that will accept bluetooth, Wi-Fi, or HDTV connections. So, staying up to date on some technology makes traveling much easier.

Over time I’ve added a few tools: I have my own generator (a Honda 2000 inverter), several hundred yards of extension cords, and a rechargeable 300w Jackery battery station that would power my projector for at least a couple of hours. We also have radios for moving people to and from the range if we have large groups. None of this would be necessary if we just stayed in one place and made the class always come to us.

We have learned that being flexible in terms of where teaching happens means we have some additional classes taught in a year. I also do not want to be in competition with the “big box” indoor ranges that have their own staff and can do large numbers of students at the same time and utilize their own space. We are not them. Our niche is “we can come to you.”

My point is: you need to know who you are, be who you are, and teach within your situation and skills. Being a firearms instructor is hard work and making a profit is difficult. Not being who you are just makes it more difficult.

One last observation: have you ever packed for a vacation or long road trip with a bunch of children. Boxes and bags for every conceivable situation. When you travel to someone’s home or business you feel like that parent. We do not travel light or fast. But that is a small price to pay for enjoying our work.

Phil Godding

Dr. Phil Godding wears many hats and has accomplished a lot in the fields of higher education, neuropsychology and forensic psychology. His favorite hat, were he to actually wear hats, would be blaze orange with the word “teacher” on the front. Dr. Godding teaches in classrooms, courtrooms, hospitals, ranges and coffeeshops. The other odd thing about Dr. Godding is that he reads eight to ten different books at any given time. This time of year you will likely find Dr. Godding in a deer stand, repairing a deer stand or thinking about preparing a deer stand.