I’ve been around guns most of my life. Grew up shooting with my father. Got my first concealed carry permit in 2007 and jumped straight into defensive firearm training at a facility I probably wouldn’t recommend now. But the intent was always there — to get better, to stay sharp, and to take the responsibility of carrying concealed seriously.
I’ve had great instructors over the years. I’ve taken solid classes. I’d say I’m a decent enough shooter. But I hit a point recently where I realized something: my training had slipped. My skills and knowledge could always improve, but what I was really missing was consistent structure. I wasn’t following a program. I wasn’t pushing progress. I was coasting.
That’s where this “mid-life shooting crisis” thing comes in — more of a personal reset, a realization that I needed to step back and re-commit to improving, with structure and purpose.
What Does “Better” Even Mean?
I’ve been carrying concealed since 2007 and always felt it was important to stay sharp. Early on, I took several training courses and got hooked on improving my skills. But if I’m being honest, a lot of my training over the last couple years has been reactive — reviewing gear, squeezing in live fire when I had time, maybe taking a class here and there.
It wasn’t bad — just inconsistent.
Life gets in the way sometimes. Whether it’s running your own business, being a parent, or just the usual day-to-day grind — training often ends up on the back burner. And lately, I started feeling like that lack of structure was catching up to me.
This really started when I decided to make some content focused around shooting the Ace Virtual Shooting System for 30 days to see if my shooting improves. I had been using it off and on for a few months and while it seemed fun, I wanted to see if it translated into real-world shooting. And that’s where I started going down this rabbit hole.
What does “better” actually mean?
Do I just run some Bill Drills and if I’m faster after the 30 days, does that make me better?
And that’s what I’m now calling my Mid-Life Shooting Crisis.
I didn’t want to just throw technology at the problem. I wanted to build a foundation and track real progress. So I opened my Kindle library and looked through the books I already had and started going through Ben Stoeger’s Dryfire Reloaded again — a no-nonsense, proven training system that just seemed to click for me at that time. I also started watching the daily videos Ben Stoeger and Joel Park have been putting on YouTube, most of the time answering listener questions and deep diving into specific topics or techniques.
I started with the New Shooter Program from Dryfire Reloaded — not because I’m a beginner, but because it lays a baseline I can track and build from. Five days a week. Elements, standards, stages, and scenarios. Something to stick to.
Since then, I’ve been mixing things up a bit — still incorporating Stoeger’s fundamentals and drills, but tailoring some days to focus on what I feel I need most. I’m also bringing those into VR — running doubles, Bill Drills, and other standards from the book, then tying it together with full stage runs to keep things practical.
Dry Fire, VR, and Staying Consistent
I split time between Las Vegas and Louisiana. I converted my office in Louisiana into a dry fire dojo — felt walls, scaled targets with Velcro, and movement boxes to simulate realistic distances.
While I have a lot of different dry fire tools, I started with the scaled targets and most of the time using my real gun and my SG Timer 2.
For the month of July, while my son was on vacation with his mother, I’ve been in Las Vegas. I live with my girlfriend, so having a dry fire dojo in the living room 24/7 is out of the question — so I adapted.
I found a dry fire app for the Apple TV — of course there’s an app — called Dry Fire TV. It’s a one-time $24.99 purchase and it’s actually a great tool. You can display static targets, simulate movement, or just pause the screen and run your own drills. I’ve been using that with my SG Timer 2 and dry firing with my guns.
The Ace Virtual Shooting System has been another big part of my training out here. I’ve been running their “series” — multiple drills strung together that let me work transitions, entries, exits, and movement. I focus on fundamentals instead of trying to “game” the scores. We’ll see how it all translates in a real match. Some USPSA shooters think VR’s great, some don’t — I’m going to find out for myself.
Finally Pulling the Trigger on USPSA
Back in June, I made the decision to start shooting USPSA. I’d thought about it for years but always told myself I didn’t have the time — that it required a ton of training or prep. But I started seeing people say the same thing over and over: just show up. It’s fun, it tests your skills under pressure, and you can see your progress through USPSA classifications.
So when I saw that Grand Master Joon Kim was teaching a class while I was in Vegas, I reached out. It said “match experience required,” but he told me to come anyway — I’d still get something out of it. And I definitely did.
We focused heavily on movement and transitions, which are areas I’ve known I’ve needed to improve. That after-action report is coming next.
Originally, I was planning for my first matches to be on September 7 at Desert Sportsman’s Rifle & Pistol Club in Las Vegas and September 14 at MCTA in Mississippi. I didn’t even know about any other local matches.
After I posted a picture from Joon Kim’s class on Instagram, my friend Brad Jones commented telling me to come do some shooting with him when I was back in town. I didn’t realize at the time, but he’s a USPSA Carry Optics Master shooter. While we were texting about meeting up to shoot on Saturday, he mentioned there was a Cajun Action Shooters match at Palo Alto Gun Club the next day. After thinking about it, I figured why not and signed up.
We met up for some practice on Saturday, and afterward we both saw that the match had been cancelled due to standing water. Bummer.
I also saw that a new club had just been created in Las Vegas and was holding their very first match this Sunday, so I signed up. It’s called the Battle Born Shooters Club, and it’s being held at Pro Gun Vegas — the range I just became a member of and where I took Joon’s class.
If you’re going to any of these matches, hit me up — always good to meet other shooters.
Gear Will Be Shown — Obviously
This isn’t a gear review series…
But I’ll definitely be showing off some gear. I’ve got a lot of it — some I’ve reviewed, some I haven’t. If it helps me shoot or train better, it’s going to get mentioned. And honestly, who doesn’t like talking gear?
Big Thanks to Ammunition Depot
Huge shoutout to Ammunition Depot — the official ammo sponsor of USA Carry. They’ve been making sure I’m stocked up for live fire, and their support makes it easier to stay consistent. If you’re looking for fast shipping and fair prices, check them out.
What’s Next
Next up: the after-action report from Joon Kim’s class. It was the exact kind of training I needed — a deep dive into movement and transitions, and a perfect lead-in to stepping into USPSA for real.
This series is about rebuilding structure, showing the work, and seeing where it leads. Let’s get better.
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