Firearms instructors have a passion for teaching others in the proper use, safety and tactical application of firearm handling. These are skills that develop over many years of training and knowledge gathering, staying up to date with changes and current applications. These philosophies are not only necessary but are crucial to the success of self-preservation when faced with a deadly encounter. Some people say “Practice makes perfect!” That is a false statement, “Perfect practice, makes perfect!” You can practice something all day long but if you aren’t practicing it perfectly, at the end of the day, it’s still wrong and not beneficial to you. What you do on the line while you’re practicing will be exactly what you do in a stressful deadly encounter. The time to properly learn self-preservation is not when you are in the fight for your life. Handling and applying the proper use of a firearm should be second nature to you. Your eyes, ears, hands, hand/eye coordination, muscle memory, tunnel vision, auditory exclusion, target acquisition and the fundamental principles of firearm use shouldn’t be something that you are trying to figure out or are learning for the first time in a deadly encounter. When it comes to most things in life, I like to apply the “5 P’s”, Proper Preparation Prevents Poor Performance. There are two types of firearm usage, target shooting for score and training for a deadly encounter. With target shooting, you are looking to maximize your score in a competition. With survival shooting, you are trying to hone in the skillset and balance of speed and accuracy as well as quickness in firearm manipulation to gain the advantage over your adversary. The idea behind surviving a potentially deadly firearm encounter doesn’t start when someone has a firearm in their hand, it happens well before that occurs. As a person who has the ability and privilege to carry a concealed firearm, it is crucial to have a constant situational and environmental awareness when you move throughout your daily life. You must be able to be acutely aware of your surroundings and pick up on and identify the actions of others that don’t fit the normal mode of behavior for the particular environment you are in.
Scott has been a Firearms Instructor since July 2011 and certified by one of the nation’s leading federal agencies. He has trained and proven to be 100% efficient in the use of handguns, shotguns, and patrol rifles. Scott trains active Law Enforcement Officers that want to brush up on tactical applications and scenario-based firearm handling. He also trains civilians and certifies through annual qualification retired Law Enforcement Officers under the federal “Law Enforcement Officer Safety Act” more commonly referred to as “L.E.O.S.A.” or “hr 218”. Scott has many clients from a broad spectrum of Law Enforcement backgrounds that train and qualify with him. He has been handling and firing firearms since he was 8 years old. He was trained and instructed by his Father who was a Law Enforcement Officer. Scott joined the United States Marine Corps. right after graduation from High School, where he was exposed to various types of weapons and firearms. After he completed his obligation as a U.S. Marine, he joined the San Diego Police department in California. Once again, the training in tactics and firearms handling was superior to most agencies in America. Scott was involved in a major incident early in his career, he and his partner were pursuing an armed robbery vehicle at 90+ mph when a passenger sat on the door frame and fired several different weapons through the windshield of their patrol vehicle. It was his training and experience that persevered and all three suspects were taken into custody with minor injuries to the officers.
Additionally, Scott has been an Armed Security Officer (A.S.O.) trained by the Federal Air Marshals for 15 years. His main purpose is to ensure any private flight that enters or exits Reagan National Airport in Washington, DC, is secure, lands and arrives as planned. Due to the close proximity to all the major government facilities, it is federal law and mandatory to have a trained, armed individual on each flight. Throughout the many years in law enforcement, criminal investigations and private security work on many different levels, including government contracts, the training and experience Scott has obtained from many of these backgrounds are considered uniquely diverse and at the highest level of weapons handling, retention and use.
The services that Scott provides are at the top of the spectrum for maximizing survival during a deadly armed encounter. The philosophy is to never play on equal ground with your adversary, always train and practice at a higher level. The individual who thinks he/she knows it all but has not mastered anything is usually the victim. Practice properly and perfectly, do not cut corners, be consistent with your training protocols and most importantly, do it safely.