Gun training courses experience surge in sign ups: 'People don't want to be the victim anymore'

Crime, defunding police, fear of uncertainty and unrest after natural disasters or another pandemic are fueling gun ownership and interest in gun schools.

"There's a lot of things, a lot of chaos that happens, especially like big cities, and, you know, people don't want to be the victim anymore," says Eric Stieber, attending a week-long handgun class at Gunsite Academy, a massive gun training school near Prescott, Arizona.  

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More than 40% of US households have a gun and Americans buy more guns every year than new cars. But owning a gun isn’t the same as knowing how to use it. 

"If you buy a piano, you’re not Billy Joel. If you buy a gun, you’re not Wyatt Earp. If you buy a gun, you need to practice," says Kevin Regan, a Maryland real estate executive. 

"The number one takeaway I got from this experience is - don't go out and buy a gun and just go down to the shooting range and think that you're trained, because you are not," says Texas trauma surgeon Bill Morgan.

Morgan had just finished 10 minutes inside an indoor simulator known as the Playhouse, a concrete block house where students face cardboard targets in virtually every room. Some carry a gun, others carry a purse or a beer in their hand. Students are expected to clear the house – shoot the bad guys and spare the innocent. Miami investor Ari Paul said it’s more stressful than it appears.

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"I live in Florida, where I think something like a third of all households have a firearm. So it’s not a terrible skill to have," he says. "No one should buy a firearm unless they were prepared to train intensely and treat it seriously. Because I think without proper training, you're more likely to do harm than good."

Training includes shooting human silhouettes that spin on a wooden frame. Students are given a few seconds to land shots to the head and heart from 3, 5, 10 and 15 yards.

They also navigate a ravine with about a dozen hidden steel targets and are expected to nail it in the first two shots.  

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"This part was fun," said Arizona chef Eric Stieber. "But there's all the things you have to think about of real life situations, of it's not going to be a steel target. It's going to be a human being behind that. And that's a lot of responsibility to take with you." 

It’s not just handguns. Gunsite owner Buz Mills added combat tactics with AR-15 and bolt-action rifles. More than 10% of students are women. 

"I think there are a lot more, especially women who are interested in shooting and handguns and protecting themselves," says retiree Cindy Hartin.

"I'm a little cautious when I mention it to friends and family, but most people are really excited to hear and ask me lots of questions."

That’s different from 10 or even 20 years ago when Mills says there was more of a stigma attached with gun ownership. Today, that isn’t so much the case in most of America, where Supreme Court decisions and state laws are more friendly to gun rights.

"Are people in general, becoming more comfortable being associated with firearms than they had in the past?" says Mills. "Yes, and that is absolutely the truth. Because firearms are becoming more mainstream.