As part of a team of NRA certified pistol instructors, I have the privilege of teaching students the proper knowledge, skills, and attitude to safely own and shoot a handgun. The course we teach includes, obviously, the requirements that are set forth by the NRA, but we also go way above and beyond that. We take what is normally a 10 hour course, and making it into a rich, 24 hour program of instruction. For example; we have an attorney that discusses concealed carry laws and advises the students on how to behave following a self-defense shooting.
All of this takes a great deal of preparation beforehand. The classroom must be set up, the other instructors have to be rounded up, students must be registered and their fees paid. The ammo and guns are provided for those students who havent provided their own. And then there is range day.
Now, range day takes the most preparation of all that we do. Each instructor attempts to pitch in to make things click smoothly and on schedule. Our range is located in a desolate, mountain area called Badger Flats. It is a high altitude place that is cold and snowy in the winter, and hot in the summer. There aren't any in between seasons. It's also about an hours drive from where we conduct our classroom sessions. We always strive to have one instructor available per student at the range. This not only makes the range events safer and more supervised, but it also affords more individual attention for each student. We normally bring along about 20 firearms of our own ranging in calibers .22 rimfire to .50 BMG. We permit the students to fire a few rounds from each one of them. We've even got a guy who does a muzzle loader demonstration. The students shoot everything from UZI's to lever action rifles. We call this our round robbin event.
This month however, range day went anything but smooth. It had been snowing the night before, and there was an estimated 4 inches of snow on the ground. We normally bring along a motor home to provide refuge from the cold and to make lots of coffee, hot chocolate, and snacks for everyone. Late in the evening before range day, we had learned that that, Bob, who normally drives up the motor home in the morning, had other pressing commitments, so I was volunteered to perform this task instead. The plan was that Id procure the motor home, drive up to the range with my kids, camp out at the range the night before, and have everything ready to go when the students showed up the following morning. It sure seemed like a fun plan to me!
Class lasted until 11 p.m., so the kids and I arrived at Bobs house at midnight to pick up the motor home. Bob conducted me around the motor home pointing out each of the controls and compartments, when he looked and me and remarked,Gee Emmett, it looks like the right front tire is flat. Sure enough, its flatter than Farrah Fawcett, I thought, so now what? Well golly, Ive got to go to the 24 hour Walmart anyway to get some grub for breakfast, so I might as well pick up a couple cans of Fix-A-Flat and maybe that will help seal the tire? Well folks, let me tell you that Wal-Mart is certainly a creepy place at 1 a.m. in the morning. Everyone, including the store clerks, were meandering around the place like zombies, so I guess we fit right in?
So now it's 2 a.m. and now were back at Bobs house. Two cans of Fix-A-Flat barely raised the tire, so now were hooking up one of those tiny, portable compressors that run off a cigarette light plug. I wonder if the compressor will burn out before the tire has 20 psi in it? Well that compressor didn't burn up, but its now 2:30 a.m., and were on our way to a gas station to fill up the tire with the proper 65 psi. It sure is hard to dodge deer on the road with a heavy motor home that has its front tire almost flat - especially a motor home I've never driven before.
Now it's 3:00 a.m. and were now finally on our way, or so I thought! Driving along in the warm motor home, I am relieved to be making some progress toward our destination, but I'm getting quite sleepy now. My house is located at the halfway point between our point of departure and the shooting range, so I decided wed make a quick stop, get the dog, some more pillows and blankets, and a nice, warm shower before we headed out to Badger Flats. A smelly instructor wouldnt be good for the students.
(........to be continued)
