Training and the First-Time Gun Owner

Considering everything that happened in 2020, it’s hard to really call it the year of anything. So for our purposes, let’s call it the year of the first-time gun buyer.

Throughout the year, shops across the nation watched inventory levels plummet as novice gun buyers snapped up anything and everything that could be used for concealed carry or home defense. First, they were spooked by COVID. There was a summer marked by social unrest. Then the November elections shook things up.

Record numbers of guns passed into customer hands. For many of those people, it was the first experience with gun ownership. Of course, having so many new buyers also opens new opportunities for shops that offer training programs of different flavors.

“There are those people who just want a gun, but there are also those who want to learn about their guns,” said Jacques Clerc, president of Inner 10 Weapons and Training in Omaha, Neb.

The shop has been open for about four years. Before 2020 came along, they were offering a couple CCW classes a month. Today, they’re running three a week, each maxed out at 15 students. The class is generally geared toward new shooters, though they urge total newbies to consider taking a more basic introductory course first.

“We don’t recommend they jump into the concealed carry class if they just opened the packaging on their gun,” he noted.

For those customers, they offer a First Shots class in cooperation with NSSF. The class, offered twice a month, is designed for the true first-timer. The cost is $25, but the fee is refunded at the end of the class — in the form of a store gift certificate. Most of the costs, including ammo, are covered by NSSF.

“All we have to provide is the facility, the instructor and the firearms for use in the class,” Clerc added.

Rentals Overcome Challenges

Dealing with novice shooters can be a challenge for any range, particularly when there are so many of them. At Rockland Indoor Shooting & Education in Pearl River, N.Y., one of their strategies is a more hands-on approach — especially valuable with this inexperienced group. They try to start the customer at the rental counter before buying anything.

Every gun rental is essentially accompanied by one of the shop’s instructors. More experienced shooters are allowed to shoot without this level of supervision, but employees work closely with those less experienced shooters.

“You pretty much get an instructor for the hour,” said Don Nelson Nolasco, sales manager.

The shop also offers a range of classes, from basic NRA courses to law enforcement training and an advanced gun-handling class (the Art of Gunfighting) for experienced shooters.

The key to turning these new buyers into repeat customers is getting them to connect on some level with the gun.

One of their biggest draws is the private lesson. These hour-long classes have proven to be attractive to first-timers.

“I think we’re about one month out in terms of booking private lessons,” Nolasco confirmed. “At this time last year, we were doing one to three of those lessons a week. Now we’re doing eight to 12.”

The range has retooled the lessons substantially in reaction to the 2020 buying surge. These used to be refresher courses for people wanting to brush up on skills. Now, they deal more with the basics — from gun cleaning to accessories to basic shooting.

“They’re geared more toward people who have never touched a gun before,” he said.

“If every shooter took a concealed carry class and then went on to participate in IDPA, our quality of marksmanship would go through the roof,” he asserted. “Your heart rate goes up. Your hands get sweaty. It’s as close as you can get to a real-life scenario without risking real bodily harm.”

Nolasco, in New York, agrees on the value of getting customers to see the social aspects of firearms. While watching customers on the range, he’s always on the lookout for someone who might be ready for a challenge.

“I get to watch from behind the glass. If it looks like someone is getting to the point where shooting down a lane is becoming stagnant, I’ll suggest they come back and watch a USPSA match,” he informed.

There’s also the social aspect of simply gathering at the shop and range — and talking with others about guns. Newer customers can learn from some of the veterans. Unfortunately, current events have put a damper on the age-old practice of showing off a gun and offering to let others shoot it.

“It used to happen more — before the ammo shortage,” Nolasco added.

Ammo Shortage Impact

The shortage has also impacted one of the range’s preferred methods of dealing with customers interested in buying their first gun. While the shop encourages those people to try different options from the rental wall, not everyone is ready to tackle common self-defense calibers. So, they’ll start them off with a .22 to instill some confidence before moving on to something bigger.

“With the climate like it is now, we can’t do it too much,” Nolasco said.

The shortage also makes it tough to keep feeding the range. Obviously, this is less than ideal for operations reliant on range rental fees and ammo sales.

In Nebraska, Clerc said they’ve been forced from time to time to pull some guns off the rental wall because they can’t find ammo for them.

It should be cooperative. When you don’t have what someone is looking for, send them to another shop. We should all be helping each other.

Don Nelson Nolasco, Sales Manager Rockland Indoor Shooting & Education Pearl River, N.Y.

“It has been insane. I’ve got distributors who send me four or five boxes of ammo a week. It lasts me a day,” he reported. “Now I have a guy who goes around and purchases ammo from all the stores. I buy it from him. This is what you have to do to get ammunition. We’re buying it from anybody who has it.”

It’s put the store in the uncomfortable position of paying as much as 50 cents a round for 9mm ammo. Of course, those higher prices are passed on to the rental customers, who now pay around $30 for a box of ammo.

“There are people who will squawk at the price, but the new shooters have no clue these are hyper-inflated prices,” he said. “It’s not something I’m pleased about, but my profit margins are cut in half.”

What If You Don’t Have A Range?

If you don’t have a range at your shop, no one needs to tell you about the difficulties you might encounter in trying to offer training for your customers. Still, there could be some opportunities if you think outside the box.

Clerc suggests setting aside some space for a classroom (if there’s room) or even just a small area for training without live fire. Or maybe consider options with airsoft or laser training aids.

“They’ve got some pretty cool stuff out there and it doesn’t even require a range,” he said.

You might also consider looking around to find a local range with which to form a partnership of some sort. An outdoor range without a retail operation could have the space to allow you to offer training classes. Even if it’s another retail competitor, there could be opportunities at a time when the industry should be looking to work together, Nolasco said.

“It should be cooperative,” he proposed. “When you don’t have what someone is looking for, send them to another shop. We should all be helping each other.”

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