My Experience

Hi, my name is Clint Simon

The first firearms class I took was about 45 years ago. The last 25 years of continuous experience of getting trained, training others, competition shooting, designing courses of fire and running practical shooting competitions.

Note:
The practical shooting competitions I put on I called Utah Shootouts. I still have that website but this is my updated, more user friendly, new one as of Sept 2023. (with pictures)

Designed and ran monthly practical precision shooting competitions for 7 years.

A note about my volunteer efforts at the North Springs Shooting Range. I designed and ran 65 Practical Precision Shooting Competitions in 7 years. Designed reactive steel targets with stands. Built 125 of them on the range including two new shooting venues, "Along the Ridge" and "Over the Edge", donating all the money I took in as "Match Fees:" to building up the range;

Practical shooting competitions are ones that you dream up any shooting positions you can and different scenarios as the course of fire.

Sample video:
https://youtu.be/fu2QnZVCDYM

8 years instructor, teaching "For Credit" Rifle and Pistol Marksmanship Classes at the University of Utah

I have been officially teaching private firearm classes since 2008.

I Was asked several times by a S.W.A.T. Trainer to design courses of fire and run his officers through as part of their training.

After all the private classes I've taught in the last 15 years, teaching U of U students for 8 years Rifle and Pistol Marksmanship Classes, 4 times running S.W.A.T. officers through training courses I designed, 3 times teaching free Utah Concealed Firearm Permit Classes to Utah grade school teachers, just MAYBE the highlight of my teaching career was Saturday, Nov 4, 2023. I taught 9 Girl Scouts, 7 to 9 years old, BB gun safe shooting skills at the Bountiful Shooting Range.

With the big ear muffs and glasses on they looked like they were space travelers. And packed on the bench like sardines. I always require an adult with under age kids and these parents were really great always standing behind their kid like I asked them to do as a safety officer but they coached their kids very well. It made the class move along a lot faster than me coaching each kid myself.

I have to add that I have always said that the biggest group of firearms instructors in the world is "dads". But I guess I better add moms, because each of these girls had their moms standing right behind their kid instructing them.

The Utah Shooting Sports Council, Utah Gun Exchange, Utah Shootouts and the University of Utah College Republicans all combined have sponsored a dozen Free Teacher and other school employees, Utah Concealed Firearm Permit Classes. I taught 3 of those classes and finger printed people or taught familiarization of hand guns in the rest of them.

Just the classes I taught or helped with, there was over 1100 Utah school employees that got their concealed permits, since in Utah you still need a permit to carry into a grade school. And besides the few instructors that taught these classes there are hundreds of other certified Utah Concealed Firearms Permit Instructors teaching classes.

And did you know that over 95 percent of mass shootings in this country are committed in gun free zones, where even permit holders cannot carry? Including gun free school zones. I should add here that there is several definitions of the term "mass shooting" and when you expand the definition to include people that got hurt fleeing the scene of a shooting without getting hit by a bullet the percent drops down to about 82% happen in gun free zones.

So should those pushing for gun free zones be charged with conspiracy to murder?

Two more things about concealed carrying.

Getting a permit is a start but if you carry a gun, get as much training as you can and be practicing.

And we all need to be extremely safe, responsible and always stay in control of ourselves with firearms.

I spent about two dozen days at the Bountiful Lions Club Shooting Range in the 1990's being instructed by and learning from an Army Sniper.

I have taught firearms classes at both the Cabela's stores in Utah for their NRA week.

I started competing in major regional shooting competitions in 2001 and tons of local rifle and pistol compititions since then.

I am currently not just volunteering at the Bountiful Lions Club Shooting Range anymore. They hired me as Range Master to run the whole range Thursdays and Fridays. On Saturdays when there are usually more shooters, I just run the Pistol Range as the Range Safety Officer.

I have taken dozens of in person training, DVD and on line classes. Including 4 live classes from Law Enforcement Instructors and 4 live classes from a former Olympic shooter and Marine Corp Sniper School Rifle Instructor.

Also helped more than a dozen other shooting organizations as range officer, instructor, finger print taker, etc.

Such as:

*Utah Shooting Sports Council

*Utah Gun Exchange

*Utah County Metro S.W.A.T.

*Rocky Mountain Precision Rifle Series

*Quiet Riot of the National Precision Rifle Series

*Mule Deer Foundation

*Utah Defensive Pistol League

*Utah Precision Marksmanship Society

*Cedar Valley 3 Gun

*Utah Republican Party (I would have helped the Democrats too)

*Salt Lake Corporate Games

*Youth Hunter Education Challenge

*U of U College Republicans (I would have helped the Democrats too)

*Primary Children's Hospital sponsored a child safety program of giving away lock boxes, the size to hold a hand gun. We instructed people on how to use them.

*Layton chapter of Well Armed Women, I taught these wonderful ladies how to shoot with both eyes open.

*And last but not least - Utah Shootouts, My own shooting competition and training organization. Now called Salt Lake Firearms Training. No more putting on competitions.

My Certifications

2004 - International Defensive Pistol Association

- Safety Officer

2009 - National Rifle Association

- Rifle Instructor

- Pistol Instructor

- Range Safety Officer

2019 - Pistol Coach-Level 1

2009 - Utah Concealed Firearm Permit

- Instructor

2009 - Utah Precision Marksmanship Society

2009 -Pistol Marksmanship Instructor

2012 -Rifle Marksmanship Instructor

2012 -Range Safety Officer

I charge for private classes. Everything else above I have volunteered time and money. I have volunteered so much, I must really enjoy working for free.

As a side note:

I have been so heavily involved with the shooting sports and firearms training, I've got asked many times if I'm a Military Veteran. No I'm not, I got rejected during Viet Nam War as I was about to sign up. I would get terrible back pains which had me bed ridden for up to a week at a time. After dozens of trips to chiropractors and doctors, this turned out to be a disc that sometimes pressed against the nerve. After much physical therapy I'm able to pretty much keep it in place now.

Also I used to say I teach beginner to advanced rifle and pistol classes but with all my knee pain I could hardly walk. So I now have two fake knees since 2021. Doing physical Theropy since 2019, I still can't move like I used to and demonstrate more advanced techniques, I can still teach and coach more advanced techniques and still love teaching beginner students.

Thanks for your interest,

Clint