Tell us who you are, where you grew up, where you live, and where you teach. Hello! I am Mindy Kay Ray, born and raised in Texas! I grew up on several acres outside of Waco, Texas in a small town called China Spring. It’s a stone’s throw from the beautiful lake in Whitney, TX. I now live in the North Fort Worth area and primarily teach in Texas.   Were you ever in the military, law enforcement, or any other profession in which possession of a firearm was necessary? I come from a pure private citizen background. I’m a firearms competitor in pistol, rifle, and shotgun.   Would you name ..read more

Tell us who you are, where you grew up, where you live, and where you teach. My name is Doug Greig and I currently live in Franklin, Texas with my wife Shannon. We moved to Texas in 2019 after living in Vermont for all of our lives. I currently teach all over Central Texas for Greig Performance Shooting (own company with my son), KR Training, Palisade Training Group, and Crosshairs Texas.   Were you ever in the military, law enforcement, or any other profession in which possession of a firearm was necessary? I served a total of 24 years between Active Army and the Vermont Army National Gu ..read more

My personal experience with potentially dangerous persons is limited to my capturing at gunpoint an intruder in my apartment during the nighttime while relatively young and hugely untrained, during forced entries with other deputies while performing Writs of Possession, performing a dozen or so arrests on bench warrants, watching other deputies interact with suspects refusing to immediately comply, and training obtained under such outstanding instructors such as Tom Givens, Craig Douglas, Paul Sharp, Cecil Burch, and others. While living for several years in downtown Dallas I had over thirty e ..read more

I have been teaching for nearly thirty years, and in that time my partners and I have taught exactly two classes at indoor ranges. One of our major concerns, other that gunshot-related injuries, broken ankles, and heat exhaustion, is bullets leaving the range. No matter how hard we may try there is no possible way to control every single action a student on the line might take in a class, and twice I have seen students negligently fire a round from a rifle held at high ready while the instructor was explaining the upcoming course of fire. During a law enforcement-only Dignitary/Witness Protect ..read more

Most students do not know that a handgun bullet fired on a horizontal plane can travel over 100 yards before it hits the ground and even then skip a considerable distance with enough velocity to injure or kill. Under certain environmental conditions a 9mm round fired at an optimal angle may travel perhaps as far as a mile before it strikes the ground. I have read but cannot confirm that they can travel over 2,000 yards. There will always be a reasonable probability that non-combatants may be found within bullet-striking distance in most of the places in which violent assaults take place. Manag ..read more

When I heard the announcement of the formation of the Firearms Trainers Association (“FTA”) I was intrigued. The FTA mission statement included the development of an organization that was designed to legitimize, serve, and develop the profession of firearm trainers without getting mud-sucked into politics. Benefits included written safety briefings, waivers of liability, pre-class medical checklists, assistant instructor waivers, and use of the FTA logo. The FTA constantly publishes videos and articles that offer training tips and tackle challenging situations and scenarios that firearm traine ..read more

Members of the Firearms Trainers Association members receive as a benefit legal liability training coverage at no additional cost. We are frequently asked if unarmed combatives and force-on-force training are covered, and the answer is yes. I have been a martial arts, defensive tactics, and firearms student and instructor since the early 1980s, and am currently a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu brown belt. I earned a black belt in Tae Kwon Do in the early 1980s (back in the day when sparring injuries were frequent and broken bones were common) and since then have taken multiple combative classes from Crai ..read more

CCW Safe’s number one most common claim is the criminal charge of brandishing. It typically happens when concealed carriers are in a confrontation and are angry and allow their emotions to overcome them. Simply lifting up their shirt and pointing towards a gun to show they are armed to someone who is not armed is an excellent way to be charged with an assault. The only way to justify the brandishing of a weapon is when they are in fear for their life. Simply lifting up their shirt to show they are armed may be judged by the same standard as if they drew their weapon and fired.  If the con ..read more

Many students have never been advised by a trainer to seek cover or taught how to properly use cover should they become caught up in a gunfight. It is important that students know that during the most common types of street crime seeking cover may not be possible, and there is actually not that much cover to be found inside of most modern-day homes and apartments. Cover might be described as a barrier that will stop or deflect incoming rounds. Its effectiveness is dependent on the type of firearm being fired at the student and is a function of weight, velocity, and even construction of the inc ..read more

One of the nicest  private outdoor ranges I have ever been to is the 5-Oh Range owned and operated by the principals of CCW Safe and the Firearms Trainers Association. The range is located near Tuttle, Oklahoma and is  in close proximity to both Oklahoma City and Norman and less than 25 miles away from the Will Rogers Airport. The range has two shooting bays at this time. The bay closest to the clubhouse/classroom has eight shooting stands and multiple concrete shooting positions that permit shooting from distances out to 100 yards. The clubhouse/classroom is no less impressive, and ..read more