About Us

Our Mission

Most training websites will show you strong, tough guys festooned in all manner of tactical gear. Sometimes even law enforcement. Nothing wrong with that – after all, training and practice is for everyone at all skill levels!

Shooting Blanks is working to cater to the newer, or more casual gun owner. People who until a few years ago have never considered owning a gun – but now feel a need to protect themselves and others, or to finally take up an interest in the shooting sports.

Maybe you got a gun years ago, shot a box of ammo from the range when you got it, and never picked it back up again, and now you’re thinking if you own it, you should at least be proficient at it. Maybe it’s time to show the spouse how to use it safely?

Whatever the reason, we’re here to help!

Our Goal

To enable and foster a culture of safe and responsible gun ownership to those outside the traditional “gun culture”. While we emphasize the importance of choosing quality accessories and safety equipment, and work to help you learn to safely maintain that equipment, we’re not here to sell you match grade barrels for your guns, $800 sighting systems, and tactical gear to help you dress up to blend in with your local law enforcement SWAT team. Again, for those into those sorts of things, that’s great. But that’s not you, and that’s not us.

Emphasis will be on the following:

• Safety
  • It does you no good if the biggest armed threat in your home is yourself or your loved ones. No disrespect intended, but if you don’t practice regularly with your firearm, build safe habits, and make plans for safe storage and use – you could become the most heartbreaking kind of statistic.
• Confidence
  • If you’re not confident and experienced with your firearm, you might not be willing (or able to use it) when the time comes.
• Proficiency
  • This kind of goes along with Safety and Confidence, but don’t just be confident about your skills, be able to brag about your skills. Post a target full of holes, everything in the center circle and impress your friends on social media. #sharpshooter
• An informed consumer
  • The only thing that hurts worse than getting an expensive accessory is to find out you grabbed the wrong one and now you have to pay restocking and get the right one. The old saying “buy once, cry once” about expensive but necessary items has a lot of truth to it.
• Compliance with the law
  • The law lays out a lot of traps for us gun owners along the way, generally through ignorance of firearms or what existing legal requirements are when writing new laws. Knowing the nuances of how to own, store, transport, and use your firearms could keep a burned out tailight from turning into a felony charge.
  • We seek to address this in an apolitical way. There won’t be any ranting about the Clinton administration in our classroom. No “free men don’t ask permission” sort of chest thumping about regulations. The goal is to make sure our students are aware of the responsibilities that go along with their second amendment rights, so we can enjoy them to the fullest extent possible and avoid anything that stands between us and a peaceful sleep in our own bed every night.

Our Qualifications

Our trainer, Paul Timmins, is a USCCA Certified Instructor and Range Safety Officer. He has been around firearms most of his life, and over the last several years has trained hundreds of youth on safe use of BB Guns at Scouting events.

Are you new to firearms? Are you afraid of them? Been there, done that! With individualized coaching we can meet you where you’re at, and build up your skills and confidence at your pace until you are confident and proficient.