SHOULD FIRST TIME SHOOTERS/GUN OWNERS ENROLL IN TACTICAL TRAINING?

Spotify Episode 1: SHOULD FIRST TIME SHOOTERS/GUN OWNERS ENROLL IN TACTICAL TRAINING?

April 3, 2025, 4:12PM

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Marshall Collins started transcription

Marshall Collins   0:14Test, test, test. Perfect.Travis, let me let us know whenever you're back.I'll go ahead and get into the question.So from the frequently asked questions, the first question right off the rip is an excellent question. I have never handled a firearm. Can I enroll in Wilco training? The FAQ answer is, ABSOLUTELY! The expanded answer involves our training cadre.We've got a wealth of past performance shaping firearm fundamentals for novice, intermediate and professional participants. We'll get into in just a second what makes our approach to the firearm fundamentals applicable to beginner, intermediate and professional shooters, but Wilco Training Solutions has taught from the civilian side, from the DoD side, from the federal side, and the professional side .A wealth of different backgrounds, and we focus on speed and accuracy, and capturing those metrics for all of our participants.

I would like to turn it over really quick.To who wants to go first, Travis or Lorin to do a little bit more of an expansion on your first approach to training with Wilco Training Solutions. And if you've had previous training with folks other than Wilco Training Solutions, how do we differ?

Lorin Collins   2:06I mean, I can go first.

Marshall Collins   2:08Go ahead, Lorin.

Lorin Collins   2:09With the rock paper scissors. Although I can't see Travis so.I automatically win.

Marshall Collins   2:15There he is.

Lorin Collins   2:16So my first kind of experiences with the Wilco, quote UN quote, curriculum and style was really kind of before Wilco was born. When Clark and I lived in New Mexico, I didn't really shoot any firearms except for occasionally with some buddies in the desert, whenever I was a kid growing up. So going from basically never handling a firearm or and not being comfortable handling firearms to learning how to confidently and competently execute these fundamentals was a pretty fun and awesome experience.A lot of people don't like to learn from their significant others or friends.I'm very lucky that Clark is somebody who can navigate that situation and make it low stress, but the way that it is taught. It's taught in a sequence, so that you're understanding each step kind of builds upon itself and kind of sets you up for the next step.

So you're doing all of these repetitions in a sequential order where you start with your very basic kind of fundamentals and they build on, but as you're building on, you're getting more repetitions of the first fundamental just kind of added in to the next. And it's the way that people naturally learn a progression for any skill. So I think for people who maybe aren't comfortable around firearms or who maybe don't feel like they have the skills necessary to take a course like the Wilco courses are the perfect courses because it's broken down into simple, easy, manageable steps that then build towards the whole picture.And so there's really not a reason for anybody to go, “Oh, Nope, sorry, I can't do that. I'm not comfortable.” or “I don't have the knowledge to.” because it's built into the curriculum for you. And it makes it super easy to learn.

Marshall Collins   4:50You hit the nail on the head.One of the tough parts of marketing this training to folks is really OUR CADRE ARE APPROACHABLE LIKE THAT.Like you mentioned, people want to learn how to shoot.They do not want to learn how to shoot from their significant other, but the the Wilco cadre try to be humble enough and communicate enough and attempt to actively listen and put the material out there so that it's digestible and accomplishable. And with that being said, Travis, I'd be curious to hear your experience next.And you had shot before.In both the military capacity and in a contractor capacity.And then moving over to see how Wilco Training Solutions skins the cat so to speak.I'd be curious to get your take.

Travis Greiner   5:48Yeah. I mean, I think I think Lauren brought up a ton of really key and crucial points for, you know, someone who doesn't have the capacity of what happens when you put your hands on a firearm and you are going to engage a threat or anything along those lines. And I think it's probably the best if you don't have experience to get involved and get in a class.You know whether Wilco or not, because as long as you're getting the correct basics and fundamentals you're going to build a solid base.Alright, so if you don't have a base, it's vital that you go and insert yourself into a class that is going to teach you the fundamentals from the ground up, right?Because you see or like you know, I shot in the Air Force and then shot as a contractor and it was very much, “let's go out to the range. All right.You see this little front sight? You see that little circle? Make those… Put that in the other… and then squeeze.”It's like, “OK… cool.”I'm yeah, I can figure this out one way or another, and if you don't qualify, they're just gonna poke a pencil in your paper and you're gonna “qualify”.Right? And even as a contractor, you get a little bit more.Well, I think Clark you kind of ran us through our DoD qual for one iteration of our CRC and then we did another one at… where was it FT. Bliss or whatever. At the time it wasn't… I don't think you were doing full Wilco like standards for that contract fulfillment.It was like, “all right, let's go shoot DoD standards!”.

Marshall Collins   7:30Yeah.

Travis Greiner   7:31And let's you know, go about our day.

Marshall Collins   7:33Yeah.

Travis Greiner   7:34But still you provide a little bit more insight into it entirely and then you know, coming on with Wilco and then spending the week with you guys down in Florida, you know, getting it like kind of immersed in the Wilco ways and understanding the firearm fundamentals for both rifle and pistol and then executing the fundamentals on the range.Like seeing where, in the grand scheme of things, very novice shooter like as like shooters come, I'm comfortable with a with a weapon in my hand and can manipulate it and I feel effective. But you know it's there's so much in shooting that is required of your knowledge of the fundamentals. So getting the fundamentals from that experience and then applying them throughout the week.I felt more confident, you know, with the weapon system in my hand at the end of the week. Shooting whatever the qualification that we shot for the NRA, just how much better and tighter everything was. You know, Monday and Monday to Saturday or Friday when we shot. But I think it's paramount that, especially if you don't have, like any experience to get into a class and get the fundamentals and understand the weapon system itself and that way as you grow and you shoot more, you're still maximizing the fundamentals and that's going to make more lethal… even though everyone wants to avoid that term.

But when we're engaging with weapons like lethality is critical. But if you can't master the fundamentals, you're probably not going to be effective as a shooter when you know stuff hits the fan.

Marshall Collins   9:17Certainly.Yeah, yeah.I'm sure you and we all can attest there's a big difference between taking the firearm out-of-the-box, going out to the seven yard line, or the 25 yard line using it and then going and putting it back in the box.Versus, what we do with Wilco is you take the thing out-of-the-box and then you gonna wear it for 72 hours and you're going to manipulate that weapon system, and you're going to get a lot of valuable repetitions on the ins and outs and the functionality of the tool.Yeah, it's a unique approach. And I go back to the DoD specifically because that's what, that's what we know… the DoD.With the DOD, everything boils down to TIME AND MONEY, right?You know, to get folks out there on the range to get proficient, really proficient it's going to take time and it's gonna take money and a lot of times those are interwoven in the military spheres, but that's two things that they don't ever have enough of.It's time and money.So when you come out to Wilco, we dedicate.We know you've sacrificed the money to be with us, so we're gonna give you the time behind the weapon systems and you will learn every aspect of it to include putting the projectile where you want it to go and why and how to do that.Thank you for that perspective.Lastly, Dusty, I'd like to get your perspective.Because I think it's similar to mine coming up in the early Air Force learning kind of the… I don't want to even say the name, but I'm going to… learning the CATMS way of qualifying or shooting and then learning the Air Force Special Warfare way of shooting.And then what were the differences that you saw between those and what did Wilco kind of hang on to? How does it differentiate in, in your, in your mind?

Dustin Yeomans   11:41Yeah, of course.So I, going back before then, I was fortunate enough in high school to have a connection at FLETC.So there were a couple of gentlemen there that helped teach pistol fundamentals and a few rifle tactics when I was in high school and that kind of set the standard for what I thought a good instructor was… PATIENT, very PERSONABLE and very very INTELLIGENT, and methodical in teaching their fundamentals.

And then moving forward to the Air Force.I mean, it was not good at all.Basic training CATMS.I think CATMS had the capacity to be good instructors, but they were set to a script and you had a scripted shoot and you go out and do that. Shoot and then you're done.There wasn't a whole lot of instruct.

Marshall Collins   12:27And a time standard, right?

Dustin Yeomans   12:30In the time standard, yeah.

Marshall Collins   12:30You know, and a time, yeah, yeah.

Dustin Yeomans   12:32Exactly. So there wasn't a whole lot of like one-on-one instruction.There wasn't really any type of critiquing.It was, “Hey, here's our what we're gonna shoot today. Go shoot it.”“Here's the time standard.”“Here's the score standard again.”Thankfully, I had the foundation from the instructors at FLETC that allowed me to shoot well.But then moving into special warfare, even then, if you're not going to these specialized schools like Shaw or Mid South, or you don't have a dedicated instructor at your squadron, you're not gonna… there wasn't a whole lot of instruction on it.There wasn't the breakdowns that we do.And furthermore, my experience, and I think the reason why Wilco, is such a good training product for first time shooters in particular is, we've seen instructors and instructor styles that we don't like through the years.

Marshall Collins   13:32100 percent

Dustin Yeomans   13:34Yeah. And we've, we've developed ourselves and our product to be as personable to the widest range of students as possible.No matter the skill level, no matter their background, etcetera.So that that was my experience.

Marshall Collins   13:49That's key.

Dustin Yeomans   13:50Go ahead.

Marshall Collins   13:52Yeah, I was just going to say that's key because the customer is anybody and everybody.

Dustin Yeomans   13:59Exactly, yeah.

Marshall Collins   14:00And yeah, so.

Dustin Yeomans   14:01And we all know what it's like to go to a range and have an instructor that has an air of ego or arrogance about him and makes you feel maybe you're not up to snuff because you don't have the repetitions he does.

Marshall Collins   14:09Yeah.

Dustin Yeomans   14:15So we all know what that feels like and it doesn't feel good, and especially for first time shooters, we don't want to discourage people from enjoying what we love to do.

Marshall Collins   14:26I was gonna make a beret joke or a colored beret joke. But I won't.

Dustin Yeomans   14:33OK.

Marshall Collins   14:34Yeah, you know, I won't say the colors.Yeah, that's that's key, the customer is.Anybody am I frozen?

Dustin Yeomans   14:46No, you're good.

Marshall Collins   14:46No. OK, good 'cause I look, I look frozen on mine.

Lorin Collins   14:47No, you're good.

Marshall Collins   14:49So anyway, the customer, anybody and everybody, and we need to be able to accommodate anybody and everybody.Thankfully, though, the Wilco standards are set up that way and we will get into those standards in future blog posts and blog videos. But they're set up in such a way that the novice shooter has got something to attain, the intermediate shooter has got something to attain, and keep shooting towards, and then the professional shooter has definitely got something to maintain with regard to speed and accuracy and our standards.Furthermore, with future Wilco and different Wilco products like SRT level one, you get that base that we've been talking about here and then you start doing scenario based training.And you've got to have that base before you can go shoot, move and communicate. In and out of rooms, or in and out of different range setups or whatever the objective is.So Wilco does take and puts a massive emphasis on creating that 2 to 3000 repetitions of the right firearm fundamentals to set folks up for scenario based training in the future.And we offer both.We offer both of those.And again, there's something for everybody.

So to close I would go right back to the frequently asked question.I've never handled a firearm. Can I enroll in Wilco Training Solutions training? ABSOLUTELY you can. And we are here. Give us a call. Communicate with us.Tell us what your objectives are.So that we can put something together for your team, your unit, your squadron.Lorin, Travis, Dusty, thank you for your time.Anything else before we close out?

Travis Greiner   17:16Let's get it.

Marshall Collins   17:16Right on.Right on. We'll see you on blog #2. Thanks y'all.