Tell me a little bit about yourself.
I was raised on a farm, close to where I currently live and have been shooting since I was a little boy. Between the ages of 21 to 30 years old I was a full time police officer, while also being a firearms instructor and SWAT team member. I started International Defensive Pistol Association (IDPA), United States Practical Shooting Association (USPSA) and International Practical Shooting Confederation (IPSC) competitions when I was 19 and have been doing it for almost 20 years now.
I’m a three-time World and 24-time National Champion among many lesser titles and feel I have truly devoted my life to it. In 2012 I left law enforcement to shoot and teach full-time. Besides still competing, most of my time is spent teaching shooting classes all over the world to a wide variety of people.
What age were you when you first started shooting?
I received my first Daisy BB gun when I was six and first shotgun at nine years old, which was a H&R single shot 20 gauge. After I received my shotgun I started hunting and have been doing it all my life since. To this day I still hunt deer, bear, coyote, racoon and squirrel with my family and childhood friends. At 15 I got my first handgun, a Smith & Wesson Model 19 357 revolver and also decided I wanted to be a police officer. I started competition with an H&K 45 and after a few years of trying different guns I settled on Glock pistols and have been shooting them for almost 15 years now.
Who introduced you to shooting?
When I was little my dad would have initially taught me to shoot but at 15 when I got into handguns and an interest in competitions, I learned and discovered everything else on my own from reading books and watching anything I could get my hands on. I initially wanted to be good with a gun from a realistic and practical perspective and have always kept that approach. It was through that, that I discovered competition and realized I had a knack for it.
What’s been the most valuable lesson you have learned from shooting?
Simply that if I work hard and stay disciplined it can take me places in the world.
Why did you choose to specialize in pistol shooting and what do you think makes a good pistol shot?
Honestly it was probably from watching so many westerns as a kid. I was enthralled with men who were fast and good with pistols. The Dirty Harry movies with Clint Eastwood probably did as much for me as anything. At 15 or so I still didn’t grasp the difference between movies and reality and as to what makes a good pistol shot, it’s so many things, but if I had to pick just one it would be trigger control.
Who has been the most influential teacher in your shooting career and why?
Well I never really had one teacher. I learned a lot from other people, but it was always indirectly by reading or watching things. As for a mentor though who I would say influenced me the most, it would have to be Dave Sevigny.
Tell us about your pistol competition set up.
I have shot different divisions and guns but in recent years its mostly been a Glock 24 40 cal in USPSA Limited Division. I use my own-brand pistol sights — Vogel Dynamics — and do my own trigger jobs. I have always re-loaded my own ammo as I can tailor it to exactly what I want. The 200gr Hornady HAP bullet is the best one out there and I would choose to use it even if I wasn’t sponsored by them.
What has been your proudest achievement in shooting and why?
Probably winning the IPSC Handgun World Shoot in Greece the day after I turned 30. That match only takes place every three years and is like our Olympics.
How do you prepare for competitions in terms of training and practice?
I feel like I could write a book on that but generally I practice in one form or another every single day. I have always spent more time with a pistol dry firing than shooting and still consider it very important. I also feel it’s more important how you practice, than what you practice, and I think many people don’t get that. So much is about being in the right mental state and paying attention to the right things, not just going through the motions of certain drills. I’m also very big on the mental side of performance.
How has your career helped with competitive shooting?
Well I basically feel my career to a large extent is competitive shooting. Although I teach so many classes these days, I don’t make it to as many matches as I used to, the focus is very often on what it takes to excel in competitive shooting — it is never far from my mind.
How long have you been a Hornady sponsored shooter?
I’ve been sponsored for about three to four years now and I am very thankful and appreciative for the support that Hornady has given to me. So often shooters just go with whatever company will give/offer them the most and I can honestly say I have not done that. In shooting I received my first form of sponsorship about 15 years ago and have had many since then, but as time goes on, and I have done better for myself, I have sought out sponsorship less and less. These days I just have a select group of sponsors that I really believe in and would wholeheartedly recommend to anyone and Hornady is definitely one of them as they make the best pistol bullets period.
