Squad Drills First Range Day Event

On April 30th 2022 myself and 3 of my closes gun range friends and fellow Brownells BOP agents who also are the founding members of Squad Drills, hosted our first ever range day event at Gun Craft in Ruskin, Florida.

The event was attended by over 20 individuals ranging from ages 18 to 68. People from all over the state of Florida joined is in a first ever event where we promoted fun while training. Some of the people who attended have connected with myself and the other Squad Drills members via Instagram and had “internet only” friendships. But, as soon as we all met in person the friendships grew exponentially. Different levels of shooting experience, different backgrounds, religions, races, political views, shapes, sizes, genders all joined to take a chance on meeting strangers in the name of positivity in the 2A community. The day was filled with laughter, smiles, high-fives and friendly competition. It truly was a day to remember where positive vibes were plentiful. We started the day with a safety briefing and group introduction so connections could begin. Then we randomly picked partners (battle buddies) for the day to help make event more inclusive and to support some of the team style drills we had planned. The battle buddy system was great as it was randomly selected, it got people to make new connections and also have someone there supporting you as you are performing the drills. Battle buddies were there to help call out hits, give feedback to their shooting partner, cheer them on, help them during the drill to remember specific stages and communicate with one another during team specific drills as they depended on one another. The drills for the day included the Point 1 Tactics Cold Start, RollerDecks Drill, Transitions and movement and VTAC barricade. For most of the drills the group had to participate in a single line while the other 20 people watched them. I heard often that the shooter felt nervous as others were watching, which turned out to be a great thing as it simulated stress and forced the shooters to focus on their skills and the task at hand. This type of pressure is hard to manufacture in a training environment, but is invaluable when you can feel it as it requires you to rely on your training. Everyone who attended, including myself, felt the pressure to perform in front of the other shooters and their battle buddy. We ended the day just setting up at shooting lanes and chatting with one another, sharing our guns, shooting each others guns and just sharing in what tools we brought with us that day. I made some new friendships, gained some unexpected respect and also a new perspective on my influence I have with the mission statement of “Progress Not Perfection”. I am truly thankful for everyone who attended and gave me the platform to share what I have learned, what I believe in and the resources that have helped me get to the position I am in the 2A community.

A huge shoutout to Brownells, RangerProofGear and Zaffiri Precision for supporting me and the Squad as we promote making range day fun and the power of positivity in supporting one another to achieve our independent and shared goals.