Firearms safety instructor shares more than 20 years of knowledge

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This article was published 10/01/2019 (2641 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A seasoned firearms instructor will be in Dauphin this week, promoting the safe handling of guns and training for firearm certification.

Leonard Gray will be running a non-restricted firearms safety course on Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Parkland Rec Complex Lion’s Den.

Based out of Ste. Rose du Lac, Gray traverses Westman passing on his knowledge to new students.

“I go wherever I’m asked … It gives me something to do on the weekend,” Gray said lightheartedly.

Gray heads the class using a guideline put together by the Canada Firearms Centre.

Using a PowerPoint presentation, deactivated firearms and deactivated ammunition, Gray aims to make the course easy for his students to understand, while teaching them to operate their firearms safely.

The class will cover the major components, types and actions of firearms, basic safety practices, ammunition, operating firearm action, handling and carrying guns safely, firing techniques and procedures, care of non-restricted firearms and the owners responsibilities in regards to the safe storage, display and transportation of guns.

“I just enjoy helping the student,” Gray said. “It’s not hard if you pay attention to the class. You get everything you need for the exam.”

Seeing the smile on his students’ faces when they successfully pass their exam is the instructors greatest award, Gray said.

Finding that many students are concerned they won’t be able to remember everything needed to pass the exam at the end of the course, Gray said the secret to success in the classroom is listening to the instructor’s teachings.

Gray plans on hosting courses roughly twice per month in Dauphin, until July.

“It seems to get busier every year,” Gray said.

His greatest hope is that his students take the importance of gun safety to heart, especially in regard to the handling of firearms.

Gray has been teaching firearms safety since 1998.

Non-restricted firearm training involves guns typically used for hunting, like a shotgun or rifle. Hunter safety classes deal with the rules and regulations of the sport. Restricted firearms training usually involves working with handguns or smaller rifles that can only be discharged at a licensed gun range and cannot be used for hunting.

“Guns are kind of my passion,” Gray said. “I’ve been around firearms since I was five years old.”

The industry itself has remained fairly static. The biggest change Gray has seen is the number of women who attend his classes.

Most of his courses are composed of about 75 per cent women. When he first started teaching, there were on average only about one or two women in a class.

Now he sees gun ranges becoming an increasingly popular hobby for women, along with hunting.

A common misconception Gray encounters in the classroom is the assumption about who is required to take the course.

Students often cite Indigenous people as being exempt from the training.

This is unequivocally untrue, Gray said.

“Everybody requires the course. It doesn’t matter what nationality you are,” Gray said.

It can also be a struggle when some students think they know more about gun laws and safety than their instructor.

“I’ve had people in the course tell me what the gun law is, instead of what I’m telling them,” Gray said.

» ckemp@brandonsun.com

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