Lesson One

I showed up to my first lesson terrified. Sancho tried to put me at ease but the table in front of me, laden with firearms, was daunting.

He gently explained each one. Handgun: single action, double action; shotgun; rifle; semi-automatic.

My head was spinning. And my guts were churning.

They made me so nervous.

That resulted in ridiculous nervous laughter. I was embarrassed by all that I didn’t know. I took copious notes, as if writing it down would make it simpler. It was like a crash-course in a foreign language.

Sancho asked me what I wanted to learn. And why.

I didn’t have a good answer, for him or for me, actually. I thought it was to learn something new. To not be so scared. Maybe it was to master something new. It was clear part of my journey would be to find answers.

But at least I was starting. And I felt I had an able partner.

So, Lesson One was to learn about the firearms.

There was:

Heckler & Koch (H&K) Universal Self-Loading Pistol (USP) .40 S&W

Sig Sauer P226 Mk25, 9mm

Glock 19 Gen3 (9 mm), extended threaded barrel

Sig Sauer 1911 Spartan (.45 ACP)Remington 870 Tactical Pump Action, 12 GA – 2 3/4” and 3”

Daniel Defense MK18, 10.5” barrel AR-15, 5.56x45mm NATO/.223 REMSpringfield M1A, 7.62x51mm NATO/.308 WIN

So my first task was to unload and safety check each one. The Canadian Firearms Program focuses heavily on PROVEIt safe so we spent much of the lesson loading and unloading the guns. I was clearly at Unconscious Incompetence.

I had trouble remembering where safeties were on each gun. Or did they even have manual safeties (a Glock has three built in safeties, but does not have a safety button like some other handguns)?

Was it restricted or non-restricted? What made it so?

Was it single or double action? Semi-Automatic? Pump action?

All mind-blowingly complex at the outset for someone who had no exposure to any of this.

But the gentle, confident nature of Sancho encouraged me to continue through the lesson. And, in the following week, to review my notes every day. And watch YouTube videos from other trainers that Sancho recommended.

Like Travis Haley, Kelly Venden and Pat McNamara

And so, with Lesson One, we began the journey to Conscious Competence. It will be a long journey. And I know it won’t be easy.

I also knew that I’d found an able partner in Sancho, who could not only help me overcome my fears as we go along, but develop my skills.

The Vital Four ACTS of Firearm Safety

Assume every firearm is loaded

Control the muzzle direction at all times

Trigger finger must be kept off the trigger and out of the trigger guard

See that the firearm is unloaded

PROVEit safe

Point the firearm in the safest available direction

Remove all ammunition

Observe the chamber

Verify the feeding path

Examine the bore each time you pick up a firearm