A lie left unchallenged becomes the truth. -- Tom Gresham
Error of opinion may be tolerated, where reason is left free to combat it. -- Thomas Jefferson
As long as man's beliefs, or any part of them, are based on error, he is not completely free, for the chains of error bind his mind. -- Bruce R. McConkie
You are entitled to your own opinions, but you are not entitled to your own facts. -- Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan
Ten people who speak make more noise than ten thousand who are silent. -- Napoleon Bonaparte
Hoplophobia Kills. Support your local radical gun rights extremist! —
Jeff Knox
Home of the Three-Peaks Shooters' Club (an NRA Junior Affiliate)
I don't teach firearms courses to make money. I teach because I believe in, and fight to defend, our right to own and use firearms for defense, fun, sport, hunting. I am doing my part to ensure the shooting sports remain safe. Because teaching firearms safety, for me, is essentially a service to the community and not a business, I don't have an established schedule for classes. I teach whenever is agreeable to the students and fits my schedule (see below). I usually teach the classroom portion in my Cedar City, Utah home to keep costs down for the student and go to the nearby range at Three Peaks to shoot. I will also teach at other locations provided by the students. The city (yup, I had to get a business license) allows me to have up to 6 students per class in my home.
NRA course duration includes range time and may vary depending on student needs. I usually have materials on hand to teach the NRA courses with short notice. Most NRA courses are $50 per person ($70 per couple) which includes classroom materials. The Home Firearm Safety and Eddie Eagle courses are free.
TheUtah Hunter Education Course is mandatory for hunters born after 1965. Utah has two ways of completing Utah Hunter Education. The most common is the traditional classroom method. This is what I am certified to teach. The state also offers an Internet version where most of the classroom material is covered online without a live instructor. On completing the online portion, you go to the range with a certified instructor. Again, I'm not certified to conduct the shooting for the Internet version. The traditional course takes about 12-15 hours. The course is organized in six lessons which include wildlife identification and survival as well as firearms safety and use. I usually teach the course in 4 evening sessions of 3 to 3-1/2 hours (Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday and up to three hours at the range on Saturday). I like to get started at 6:30 PM. The shooting on Saturday will be scheduled for a time that is convenient for everyone. I can usually bunch the lessons into two days if desired. I usually need as much as a couple of weeks notice to get training materials from the state for this training. On the first night of class, you will need to bring a
Utah "Hunter Education Registration Certificate" ($10 from a dealer that sells hunting and fishing licenses). There is no other charge except the cost of your ammunition. When you satisfactorily complete the training, I sign
your "Hunter Education Registration Certificate" and it becomes a small-game hunting license. The shooting portion is done with a 22-caliber rifle. I have some rifles students can borrow if you don't have your own. There is no age restriction, but I find that children under age 10 have a hard time passing. I require children under 12 to have a parent, guardian or other adult relative present during all training. Parents are always welcome and encouraged to join older children as well. Even teens seem to feel more comfortable in the class if a parent is with them.
I also teach the Utah Bowhunter Education course. This course does not replace the above mentioned Utah Hunter Education course for archery hunters -- these hunters must still complete the basic Utah Hunter Education course mentioned above before purchasing their hunting licenses. The Utah Bowhunter Education course currently is not mandatory in Utah.
The Utah Concealed Firearms Permit Utah is considered the most desirable CCW permit in the nation. It is recognized in 33 states, does not require listing of any specific weapons, is valid for 5 years, has a low initial and renewal fee, and is available to all US citizens. The concealed firearm permit is not for those who are willing to shoot to kill, and to shoot first and ask questions later. The permit is not a license to kill and does not, in any way, alter the permit holder's responsibility to obey the same lethal-force laws applicable to non-permit-holders. It merely restores the constitutional right to carry the most effective tool to fight for one's life if necessary. The way I teach the Utah Concealed Firearms course is to combine the Utah concealed firearms requirements with the NRA Personal Protection In The Home course. Classroom time is about 4-5 hours. Range time varies -- we shoot until the students demonstrate good safety practices and proficiency -- typically 1-2 hours. If we do the classroom portion and the range portion in one day, you can plan on about 8 hours total. My state-approved syllabus includes shooting both a semi-auto and a revolver. If you have your own, that's what I'd like you to shoot so that you will be comfortable with your own gun. If you don't have one or the other type of handgun, you can use mine. I have both revolvers and semi-autos that you can use for the training or just to try out. You'll provide your own ammo for the gun you plan to shoot the most. You'll shoot 50-200 rounds depending on experience. If you are a public school employee (K-college), see my section on guns in school. I charge $50 per person or $70 per couple. If a spouse doesn't want or need the certification, she/he is still welcome to attend for free. You'll also pay a $65.25 application fee to the state. I discount my fee to $20 per person for school employees, college students (age 21 minimum), Armed Citizens' Legal Defense Network members, and veterans of any US military conflict since the American Revolution. If you have a Purple Heart, it'll be my honor to give you the course for free.
Boy Scout Rifle Shooting, Shotgun Shooting, and Archery Merit Badges. I will work with Troops or with individual Scouts as needed. Course duration varies with the needs of the Scout(s) but plan on times similar to those listed above for comparable NRA courses. Boy Scout training is free unless the Scout is seeking other certification such as the Utah Hunter Education Course when appropriate fees are charged.
I help out a bit with local 4-H Shooting Sports activities. If you want more information on 4-H shooting opportunities, please contact me or the Iron County Extension Office. or, you can go to the website of the 4-H Shooting club with which I work.
Anyone attending any of my classes is welcome to bring a family member or two to audit the course at no cost provided the class size does not exceed 6 total attendees. This will give those family members some very useful safety and awareness information and maybe even have some fun. Parents of minor students are especially encouraged to attend. If the family members attending the same class want the course certification, I will give them a $30 discount, but no course materials. Even anti-gun family members are welcome with the understanding that I'm here to provide safety training -- not to debate the merits of gun rights. (For my side of the gun debate, go to my Hoplophile website.)
NRA policy requires you to take NRA Basic Instructor Training if you have not taken it in the past 2 weeks no matter how many times you've taken it in the past.
Minimum class size for instructor training is 4 instructor candidates.
To calculate the cost of your training, add the cost of each discipline-specific course you need plus the cost of Basic Instructor Training. Likewise, to calculate the time needed for your training, add the time needed for each discipline-specific course you need plus the time needed for Basic Instructor Training. Because many of the courses have overlapping content, the fees given above are maximums. Once you decide what you want to do, I'll let you know what the total financial and time investment would be.
The above fees include the NRA instructor application fee. I'll file the application for you. I give a $30 discount off the total to registered 4-H or BSA adult leaders who are also NRA members. (If you aren't currently an NRA member, I can sign you up with a $10 discount.) I give the training to registered 4-H or BSA youth leaders (ages 13 through 17) for the cost of the application fee only.
On completion of this training, new instructors ages 13-17 may receive NRA Apprentice Instructor Status. New instructors ages 18-20 may receive NRA Assistant Instructor Status. New instructors ages 21 or older may receive full NRA Certified Instructor Status.
All my training requires the following standards for successful completion:
A written test with a passing score,
A Shooting test with satisfactory demonstration of shooting proficiency and safety awareness,
Attitude -- my sole and personal judgment as to the student's demonstration of maturity and mental and emotional fitness to possess a firearm
.
Naturally, I cannot and will not teach anyone who is "restricted" (felons, persons with a misdemeanor domestic-violence conviction, persons who have been adjudicated mentally incompetent, drug/alcohol addicts, or minors without written parental permission) so don't ask. If you are currently restricted from possessing a firearm and have learned to behave yourself, I suggest you go to Criminal Record Expungement and Sealing and Expungement Links for assistance in clearing up your criminal record.
Call (435) 590-7569 or (435) 867-5976 for more information or to schedule your training. Or, you can send me an email by clicking here.
Jul 25 (Sat) - TBA - Utah Hunter Education Course Field Day
Jul 27 (Mon) - 8am to 9pm
Jul 28 (Tue) - 8am to 9pm*
Jul 29 (Wed) - 8am to 9pm *
Jul 30 (Thu) - 8am to 9pm *
Jul 31 (Fri) - 8am to 9pm *
Note: Any classes scheduled on the dates marked with an asterisk (*)
are subject to last-minute cancellation due to possible work schedule
changes imposed by my employer. At this time, I do not anticipate any
class cancellations.
If you don't have a gun to train with, I have several you can borrow. If you don't already have one, I suggest you do NOT buy a gun until after the training -- we'll talk about things to consider when buying a gun.
The
next activity of the Three-Peaks 4-H Shooting Club will be pistol-shooting on Saturday,
11 July at
2 PM. The activity will be handgun shooting with rimfire and centerfire
handguns. Federal law requires all youth who want to shoot to possess written
parental permission to handle handguns and handgun ammunition. The club is always open to new youth members and to adults who
want to help in a leadership role. The club has a website at
www.three-peaks.org.
If you want to schedule any of the above training or, if you want to receive monthly email notices of future gun safety training opportunities, call me at (435) 590-7569 or send me an email.
An overlay map showing the extent of gun-free school zones (see 18 USC 922(q)) shows how the law places anyone carrying or transporting a gun at high risk of continually committing a federal felony. Yet, this prohibition does nothing to stop crime of any kind, especially in school zones. What the law does do is provide a safe work environment for criminals bent on harming school teachers and their students. This law has left millions of school employees and children defenseless.
Fortunately, Utah law allows persons who are trained in the safe handling of firearms and in the laws related to the use of deadly force and who pass a background check to obtain a permit to carry a concealed firearm. In Utah, this permit allows the carry of a concealed firearm within these gun-free school zones -- including the classroom. To me, common sense says the best and most cost-effective control on violent crime, whether at home, the workplace, school, or church, is the presence of law-abiding, trained citizens as provided by the Utah concealed firearm permit process. The cops invariably arrive just in time to do nothing more that conduct an investigation and hold a press conference.
Banning guns on the campuses of public schools and colleges will not keep guns off the campus. Criminals, by definition, do not obey the law -- even gun laws! If a disgruntled student or teacher chooses to shoot up the campus he or she does not care whether guns (or any other weapon) are banned or whether he or she has a concealed firearms permit.
Crimes and upset students are a behavior problem -- not a gun problem. Statistically, more crimes are averted or stopped by the mere presence of a gun than are committed by a gun -- even on college campuses. Statistically, per capita violent crime is highest in those cities and states that have banned guns. Guns are generally banned in all school zones nationwide, yet school shootings still happen. Why? Bad guys don't obey laws -- even gun laws! (Even in Great Britain and Australia, where handguns are completely banned, the criminals still manage to get them.) Imagine the difference if the bad guys knew that there was even a 1% chance of encountering a teacher or other adult trained in the use of a gun and carried it. Utah law allows for that added level of security.
Recent high profile murders in schools in Canada and the US prove that “gun-free school” laws are a delusional scheme to make hoplophobes feel good but do not deter criminal attackers. Instead they seem to lure psychopathic killers seeking to harm others, while minimizing the risk that they may encounter an armed victim. The Columbine shootings happened despite numerous state and federal laws being violated by the killers. In response, Colorado added more gun ban laws. The federal government then enacted “gun-free school” laws. Experience shows that they did no good. We should no longer tolerate any attempts to disarm law abiding citizens with silly schemes that criminals will never obey. Tragically, there will be school shootings again, but they will happen with, or without any gun laws anyone can think of. Disarming victims is not the solution!
I discourage engaging into a hostile environment or situation. However, the ability of a school employee to carry a firearm may mitigate such situations and will, at the very least, afford individual protection for the carriers themselves. If those carriers have control or responsibility over a classroom full of children, that same protection will tend to encompass those children as well. The weapon must be under the carrier's control at all times. It must be maintained quietly and discreetly.
I recommend that if an employee (armed or not) is in her classroom or other securable location and becomes aware of a violent situation that she immediately close and lock her classroom door after gathering all adjacent students into the classroom. This will be her and the students' shelter. If that employee has access to a firearm she should only engage the intruder if her classroom shelter is breeched.
In the wake of the nation's recent rash of school weapon incidents, a couple of concealed firearms instructors in Salt Lake have begun a policy of allowing school employees to attend their concealed firearms classes at no charge. Like them, I offer my Utah concealed firearm instruction at no-charge to all public school employees in Utah's Iron county as well as to staff and faculty of Utah higher education entities in Iron county.
The 275-acre Three Peaks Shooting Range, operated by Iron County, Utah is
the home of the Utah Summer Games shooting events.
There is no charge to use the range.
The range is unattended.
The range area currently has a 300-yard range, a smallbore/pistol range, a
cowboy-action range, and a police range. Plans are in the works for a 1,000-yard range.
How to get there: From Main Street in Cedar City, drive west on Highway 56 (200 North). After traveling 5.3 miles turn right on Iron Springs Road. After another 5.4 miles, turn right onto a dirt road. After 2.0 miles, you'll see the range on your left.
Shoot only from the designated shooting stations on the concrete pads, setting your targets at the appropriate distance from the concrete pad. Don't go 300 yards downrange to the backstops to shoot. That wastes the entire 300-yard range behind you that somebody else may need.
If others are using the range, coordinate trips downrange for target checks, etc.
Don't use the signs, trash cans, and privies as targets!
Sadly, already we have grossly inconsiderate folks who are taking their household trash (old TVs, vacuum cleaners, tables, ironing boards, lawn mowers, car batteries, transmissions, etc.) to the range for use as targets. If you're adult enough to shoot, you're adult enough to have consideration for those who use the range after you leave. When you leave, please take your targets, expended brass, and other trash with you.
For more information, call the Iron County Parks Manager, Charlie Morris, at
867-7329.
In Washington, DC the response time for a 911 call measured 47 minutes. With that kind of delay you can see that it is very important for you to be able to survive on your own for those 47 minutes. -- www.themarksman.com/defense.html
Another major soapbox issue for me are the concealed carry laws now being passed by the majority of states. Thirty three states now have some form of "shall issue" CCW. This means that if you're qualified, not a criminal, and not crazy (well, within reason), the state must issue the permit. No politics allowed. It is my opinion that every shooter/gun owner should take the classes, do the background check and get their permit, even if you don't intend to carry! Ignore the paranoia about the background check and the finger prints! What is important is that we, the shooters let the Gov'ment know that we can't be cowed, intimidated or scared into giving up our Constitutional rights simply because they put artificial and moronic obstacles in the way. When half the shooters/gun owners in the country have CCW (by the statistics, that's 1/4 the population of the country!), our "crime problem" will vanish, and so will much of our other crime problem (Gov'ment) at the same time. Do your part -- go get your Concealed Carry Permit. -- Geoff Beneze (www.beast-enterprises.com)
A 2004 Zogby Values Poll, surveying 1,200 voters nationwide on issues that included firearms and hunting issues examined differences in thinking between people living in the states that voted for George Bush in 2000 (Red states) and Al Gore (Blue states). The survey examined how Americans feel about Right-to-Carry laws, with the pollster asking: "Currently 36 states have laws that allow residents to qualify for a permit to carry a firearm to protect themselves if they pass a background check, if they participate in firearms training and pay a fee to cover administrative costs. Do you feel this is a good law or a bad law?" Voters overwhelming favor these self-protection laws by a margin of 79% to 18%. Right-to-Carry drew better than 70% support in every demographic group, with even non-gun owners indicating their backing by 73% to 23%.
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I help out a bit with local 4-H Shooting Sports activities. If you want more information on 4-H shooting opportunities, please 
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