Business Spotlight: Get firearms smart at Carson Guns and Training

There's a fresh nugget of wisdom found at 1804 E. William Street, site of the giant golden rock that had once marked the location of a pawn shop for years.

A new firearms retailer opened at the space in September, bringing with it a wealth of knowledge and experience that owners Randall and Jennifer Brooks of Carson City hope to impart to area gun owners, as well as to the gun-curious.

Carson Guns and Training is far more than a firearms store, said Randall Brooks, whose credentials in professional firearms instruction are extensive. It's a classroom and training center first and foremost.

"The majority of this is training," said Brooks, who is an appointed National Rifle Association (NRA) Training Counselor, an NRA Instructor and Chief Range Safety Officer, a Nevada and California-approved Concealed Carry Weapon (CCW)/Concealed Firearm Permit (CFP) Instructor, International Association of Law Enforcement Firearms Instructors (IALEFI) Master Instructor Graduate, and a California Department of Justice Certified Firearms Instructor. "A lot of gun stores teach stuff on the side. We like to look at ourselves as a training company that sells guns on the side."

Brooks said his business is all about teaching people the right way to handle firearms; to use them safely, competently and responsibly.

"When my students leave a class, I want them to feel comfortable with their firearms," he said.

While only about 600 square feet of the building's space is devoted to classroom, he said it is the most significant part of his business and where he spends most of his time.

"We base most of our stuff around the classes, everything from someone who has never held a gun before all the way up to instructor certifications," said Brooks, who has nearly 20 years of professional experience in firearms education, including a few years spent as a sworn peace officer in Northern Nevada.

Brooks said he started Advanced Firearms Training and Consulting in Carson City four years ago, and still operates that venture as part of Carson Guns. He moved his business Sept. 1 from 1502 N. Carson Street to the old pawn shop building along William Street.

"I started Advanced Firearms Training and Consulting in 2012 after seeing a need for a highly qualified and safe firearms instructor in the Carson City area," he said.

His teaching philosophy is more hands-on, he said, and student-focused by giving each client the time and attention they need to learn the concepts adequately.

"If you are not safe or comfortable swinging a hammer at a nail you can easily smash your thumb," Brooks said. "If you are not safe or comfortable with your firearm much worse can happen. Train with me to be comfortable with your firearm. My class sizes are limited so my students get my full attention. You won't be just a number in my class."

Brooks said he trains all ages and abilities, too, from youth as young as five years old to hunters and seasoned law enforcement officers needing re-certification or just to keep their skills sharp.

"We certify law enforcement, civilians and all the way down to youth," he said.

Teaching children at a young age is key to avoiding problems and dangerous situations in the future, Brooks said, because their natural curiosity is satisfied in the right way through proper education.

"You can't child-proof a gun," he said. "You have to gun-proof the child."

This education, he said, starts with training parents to respond appropriately to their children's questions about guns and to not necessarily take a hands-off approach.

"What I tell a lot of people bringing guns into their homes for the first time is that kids are curious. They're going to want to look at the gun and check it out," he said. "The rule in my house is, if they want to look at a gun, they come and ask me. No matter what I'm doing, I stop what I'm doing, I make the gun safe, pull it out and sit down with them and address their curiosity right there."

Brooks admits a child's timing isn't usually conducive with that of the parents or guardians, but he said it's important to address their interest right away before children decide to take it upon themselves to satisfy their curiosity on their own.

"It's kind of an inconvenience for the adult, but if they don't do that, then the kid's going to do it on their own and start exploring," he said. "The idea is that if you satisfy that curiosity and answer their questions, they'll come to you again as opposed to snooping. If children know they can go and ask, and are welcomed, they don't feel they have to go behind mom and dad's backs."

Brooks said his youth-centered education and training is different from the NRA's well-known Eddie the Eagle program, which is safety-focused as opposed to teaching students about firearms use. He teaches children not only safety fundamentals, but also responsible and proper handling of firearms before, during and after a shoot.

But the education received at Carson Guns isn't limited to the classroom, Brooks said. There's also time devoted to learning through hands-on experience, either with live fire at the Carson Rifle and Pistol Range off Flint Drive or using a brand-new computerized simulator now available in a 700 square-foot space at the rear of the business.

The simulator is projected onto a big screen using a computer terminal, giving users a virtual reality-like experience in a safe, secure and contained environment where they learn how to use firearms the right way.

Firearms used with the system are inert, Brooks said, which means they are benign and do nothing other than emit an infrared laser that only the system can detect. The gun is used as a mouse or game controller with the system to navigate through and select programs, as well as for shooting at the on-screen targets.

Some of the inert guns, he said, actually do simulate recoil with an active slide but no projectile. This feature helps users learn better control techniques consistent with the way a live firearm might bark and kick in the hands of its user.

The system does include fun shooting games for both children and adults, Brooks said, but its focus is on training and education.

"The simulator is two-fold," Brooks said. "We have self-paced usage and instructor-based training."

Self-paced programs are those in which the user is in control of the scenario, he said, like simulated range fire. Instructor-led programs, though, puts the teacher in charge of an environment that students must respond to in virtual reality situations.

There's a simulated range where clients can select paper or steel targets, silhouettes, moving targets and timed sequences. When you miss your target at this range, even the dust kicks up, just like at the live-fire range. There is even wind resistance factored into long-range rifle shooting programs, Brooks said.

Certification classes, he said, will run the gamut of range target shooting and simulated scenarios featuring actors that give users a real-life experience in not only deciding to use lethal force, but applying split-second critical thinking skills essential for civilians seeking a CCW permit as well as for law enforcement officers.

Ever wonder how you would react if you actually faced a situation where you might have to use your firearm in self-defense or in defense of others? The simulator at Carson Guns puts you in the heat of the moment, so you know how it feels the instant before having to decide whether or not to use lethal force.

The gun simulator at Carson Guns is drop-in and fee-based, Brooks said. There's an online schedule to see when there's an opening, he said, and clients are able to reserve available time.

The simulator schedule and pricing can be viewed here on the Carson Guns and Training web site or like the business on Facebook here.

Brooks said tools like the simulator help to reinforce the concepts of firearm safety and responsibility in a controlled environment, but it is still just a portion of the whole training experience a client receives at Carson Guns and Training.

Putting all of the concepts and experiences together, he said, will make the firearm user and the community better and safer all the way around.

"I truly feel it is everyone's responsibility to be safe around firearms," he said. "If you are going to own, posses or use a firearm be sure to get the proper training. You don't just get to buy a car and start driving without someone showing you how to put the gas in and operate it safely, why would you not get proper training for a firearm?"

Carson Guns and Training is open Monday through Friday from 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The business is open Sunday by appointment only.

For more information call Randall or Jennifer Brooks at 775-350-7800 or email them at sales@carsonguns.com.