Might be, if IPSC and PPC would get more practical & realistic folks would be more inclined to participate. And I am available to consult with either organization to improve their game plan.

He is “available to consult” so this must mean he has tangible ideas on how to raise participation. We will spread the word when he writes up his ideas and publishes them.

We are eager to hear how the good Sheriff would advise IPSC, USPSA, IDPA, NRA and other organizations to get more practical and realistic as a push to raise participation.

http://pistol-training.com/archives/4745

Most instructor “certification” courses are little more than one organization or person presenting a syllabus to a student and labeling them an instructor after paying a course fee and sitting through a presentation. Few have any specific skill standard that the so-called instructor is supposed to meet. Worse still, many folks pretending to be instructors lack even these minimal credentials and lean back on irrelevant experience such as police or military service.

A firearm instructor should be his/her own best student. A person that can’t teach himself to shoot can’t teach anyone else. This should be an evaluation of skill by a recognized, impartial third party and in front of witnesses. Formal certifications of instructor classes attended are good, preferably from multiple sources, showing exposure to various approaches is good but just the start. A true instructor must have demonstrated higher level ability. If not, the “instructor” is merely a parrot repeating someone else’s curriculum without really understanding it.

http://www.shootingillustrated.com/index.php/20870/the-downside-to-competition/

First, this article contains a few factual errors. For example, before claiming things are “required” in competition read the rulebook first.

PPC:
http://www.nrahq.org/compete/RuleBooks/Police/pol-book.pdf

USPSA:
http://www.uspsa.org/rules/2010HandgunRulesProof3web.pdf

Equipment and technique first designed in competition has found valuable use in tactical environments. For more on this, read:

http://firearmusernetwork.com/2011/12/22/competition-shooting-ftw-again/

Second, complaints about competition are against specific issues with specific events. An organized shoot can take ANY format the designers wish. Sheriff Wilson should describe the format he created to address the issues in his article.

Third, out of 80 million gun owners and 4.3 million NRA members there are less than 0.25 million classified shooters in the United States in any formal shooting competition. 98% of card-carrying NRA members have never attended an NRA shooting event.

Don’t worry, most gun owners aren’t participating in these events anyway. I’ve been a member of one gun club that was forced to shut down due to a lack of participation and membership. Sheriff Jim Wilson, thanks for your article and all your “help.”

Too many gun owners interested in tactical shooting – military, law enforcement and civilian alike – wrongly assume skill based on reputation rather than demonstrated, measurable skill. Thankfully, a few folks are big enough to recognize the folly of this and openly admit it when reality steps in. Here’s two examples.

Tactical Intelligence had this write up:

http://www.tacticalintelligence.net/blog/the-appleseed-project-a-review.htm

After lunch we fired course after course of the AQT. As mentioned earlier, those who score a 210 or higher on the course earn the Rifleman badge. Out of all of us, only one of our group earned this award. Surprisingly it wasn’t any of the adult guys (one of them being active military). It was a 12-year old girl! What a humbling experience that was! It made me feel a little bit better when I found out she was a competitive shooter. But hey, that’s what makes this event so great, it’s open to all, young and old, male and female.

Funny how so many people will claim competitive shooting is useless, possibly detrimental, until they shoot a scored course of fire with one. Then a competitive shooting background suddenly becomes a big, even unfair, advantage!

Huey’s Gunsight added this:

http://hueysgunsight.blogspot.com/2009/10/im-going-to-appleseed-shoot.html

“Dinky Dau” (a “red hat” instructing one of the students) is a woman. Gentlemen please check your egos upon registration.

Want another reason to check your ego, the young (I do mean young!) lady in the orange instructor’s cap in the background is only 13! She obviously can out shoot me because part of wearing that cap is scoring a 210 on their AQT qualifications, which I did not.