Iโve been around guns most of my life. Grew up shooting with my father. Got my first concealed carry permit in 2007 and jumped straight into defensive firearm training at a facility I probably wouldnโt recommend now. But the intent was always there โ to get better, to stay sharp, and to take the responsibility of carrying concealed seriously.
Iโve had great instructors over the years. Iโve taken solid classes. Iโd say Iโm a decent enough shooter. But I hit a point recently where I realized something: my training had slipped. My skills and knowledge could always improve, but what I was really missing was consistent structure. I wasnโt following a program. I wasnโt pushing progress. I was coasting.
Thatโs where this โmid-life shooting crisisโ thing comes in โ more of a personal reset, a realization that I needed to step back and re-commit to improving, with structure and purpose.
What Does โBetterโ Even Mean?
Iโve been carrying concealed since 2007 and always felt it was important to stay sharp. Early on, I took several training courses and got hooked on improving my skills. But if Iโm being honest, a lot of my training over the last couple years has been reactive โ reviewing gear, squeezing in live fire when I had time, maybe taking a class here and there.
It wasnโt bad โ just inconsistent.
Life gets in the way sometimes. Whether itโs running your own business, being a parent, or just the usual day-to-day grind โ training often ends up on the back burner. And lately, I started feeling like that lack of structure was catching up to me.
This really started when I decided to make some content focused around shooting the Ace Virtual Shooting System for 30 days to see if my shooting improves. I had been using it off and on for a few months and while it seemed fun, I wanted to see if it translated into real-world shooting. And thatโs where I started going down this rabbit hole.
What does โbetterโ actually mean?
Do I just run some Bill Drills and if Iโm faster after the 30 days, does that make me better?
And thatโs what Iโm now calling my Mid-Life Shooting Crisis.
I didnโt want to just throw technology at the problem. I wanted to build a foundation and track real progress. So I opened my Kindle library and looked through the books I already had and started going through Ben Stoegerโs Dryfire Reloaded again โ a no-nonsense, proven training system that just seemed to click for me at that time. I also started watching the daily videos Ben Stoeger and Joel Park have been putting on YouTube, most of the time answering listener questions and deep diving into specific topics or techniques.
I started with the New Shooter Program from Dryfire Reloaded โ not because Iโm a beginner, but because it lays a baseline I can track and build from. Five days a week. Elements, standards, stages, and scenarios. Something to stick to.
Since then, Iโve been mixing things up a bit โ still incorporating Stoegerโs fundamentals and drills, but tailoring some days to focus on what I feel I need most. Iโm also bringing those into VR โ running doubles, Bill Drills, and other standards from the book, then tying it together with full stage runs to keep things practical.
Dry Fire, VR, and Staying Consistent
I split time between Las Vegas and Louisiana. I converted my office in Louisiana into a dry fire dojo โ felt walls, scaled targets with Velcro, and movement boxes to simulate realistic distances.
While I have a lot of different dry fire tools, I started with the scaled targets and most of the time using my real gun and my SG Timer 2.
For the month of July, while my son was on vacation with his mother, Iโve been in Las Vegas. I live with my girlfriend, so having a dry fire dojo in the living room 24/7 is out of the question โ so I adapted.
I found a dry fire app for the Apple TV โ of course thereโs an app โ called Dry Fire TV. Itโs a one-time $24.99 purchase and itโs actually a great tool. You can display static targets, simulate movement, or just pause the screen and run your own drills. Iโve been using that with my SG Timer 2 and dry firing with my guns.
The Ace Virtual Shooting System has been another big part of my training out here. Iโve been running their โseriesโ โ multiple drills strung together that let me work transitions, entries, exits, and movement. I focus on fundamentals instead of trying to โgameโ the scores. Weโll see how it all translates in a real match. Some USPSA shooters think VRโs great, some donโt โ Iโm going to find out for myself.
Finally Pulling the Trigger on USPSA
Back in June, I made the decision to start shooting USPSA. Iโd thought about it for years but always told myself I didnโt have the time โ that it required a ton of training or prep. But I started seeing people say the same thing over and over: just show up. Itโs fun, it tests your skills under pressure, and you can see your progress through USPSA classifications.
So when I saw that Grand Master Joon Kim was teaching a class while I was in Vegas, I reached out. It said โmatch experience required,โ but he told me to come anyway โ Iโd still get something out of it. And I definitely did.
We focused heavily on movement and transitions, which are areas Iโve known Iโve needed to improve. That after-action report is coming next.
Originally, I was planning for my first matches to be on September 7 at Desert Sportsmanโs Rifle & Pistol Club in Las Vegas and September 14 at MCTA in Mississippi. I didnโt even know about any other local matches.
After I posted a picture from Joon Kimโs class on Instagram, my friend Brad Jones commented telling me to come do some shooting with him when I was back in town. I didnโt realize at the time, but heโs a USPSA Carry Optics Master shooter. While we were texting about meeting up to shoot on Saturday, he mentioned there was a Cajun Action Shooters match at Palo Alto Gun Club the next day. After thinking about it, I figured why not and signed up.
We met up for some practice on Saturday, and afterward we both saw that the match had been cancelled due to standing water. Bummer.
I also saw that a new club had just been created in Las Vegas and was holding their very first match this Sunday, so I signed up. Itโs called the Battle Born Shooters Club, and itโs being held at Pro Gun Vegas โ the range I just became a member of and where I took Joonโs class.
If youโre going to any of these matches, hit me up โ always good to meet other shooters.
Gear Will Be Shown โ Obviously
This isnโt a gear review series…
This isnโt a gear review seriesโฆ
But Iโll definitely be showing off some gear. Iโve got a lot of it โ some Iโve reviewed, some I havenโt. If it helps me shoot or train better, itโs going to get mentioned. Right now, Iโm running a Blue Alpha battle belt setup that Iโve been dialing in as I prep for USPSA. Huge thanks to them for sending me two complete belt setups โ Iโll be breaking it all down in an upcoming episode. And honestly, who doesnโt like talking gear?
Big Thanks to Ammunition Depot
Huge shoutout to Ammunition Depot โ the official ammo sponsor of USA Carry. Theyโve been making sure Iโm stocked up for live fire, and their support makes it easier to stay consistent. If youโre looking for fast shipping and fair prices, check them out.
Whatโs Next
Next up: the after-action report from Joon Kimโs class. It was the exact kind of training I needed โ a deep dive into movement and transitions, and a perfect lead-in to stepping into USPSA for real.
This series is about rebuilding structure, showing the work, and seeing where it leads. Letโs get better.
