I get this question a lot in various forms. Why did you start it? How did you think of it? The funny part is I didn’t set out to start a company or spend endless hours brainstorming one. I just tried to solve a problem I had.

It started with a problem – well actually two.

But let me back up a bit first and share some background on what led to this pivotal point in my life. I grew up hunting and shooting and was very comfortable with handguns but had never really considered carrying. A few years ago I began to feel that maybe it wasn’t as safe out there as it used to be especially as I watched the news over time. And now as a grandfather (wow does time fly) I learned that my wife and I could be profiled and targeted due to our age demographic as well.

So it seems as time went by I had gone from a strapping 20 year old black belt to a 63 year old target. So I adapted. These new feelings and circumstances led me to get my concealed carry license and to begin practicing shooting again. Everyone has there own reasons but these were mine.

So I practiced, and knowing I needed to practice correctly, I signed up for some training as well.  It’s a great plan, practice and training.  So what was the problem?  Simple really.  I wanted to get better at shooting but I really wasn’t.  Oh there were times I was sure I was getting better but then I tried to repeat my performance and stumbled. I was a pretty good shot but that wasn’t my goal. I had a couple of problems with the experiences meeting my expectations while both training and practicing.

Problem one.

I went to two training classes and learned a lot. In fact I was quite excited about what I learned. It gave me the confidence that I could practice using good technique and really improve. A great combo. But after each training class I left with nothing in my hands. I mean absolutely nothing.  Like you, I am a busy person. It took me two weeks to make it back to the range. When I prepared to go, I realized I couldn’t accurately remember how to run any of the drills. I could recall parts of them but not enough to know how to run them properly.

Then I thought, no wonder, we ran like 5 drills and all I remember thinking about was trying not to look stupid when it was my turn to shoot.  So I sketched up what I could remember on some 4″ x 6″  index cards and called the trainer to have him fill in some blanks. I also looked for the drills on the internet. There were some articles and videos but they were written differently and often incomplete. So I’m thinking – REALLY!  I just want to run a couple of drills properly.

Yes I was working pretty hard by this time just to understand how to run two drills. It was eye opening. So I added the new information to the index cards and set out to the range.

Problem two.

I went to the range several times and practiced the drills.  I would have both good results and mediocre results using two different pistols, a Glock 43 and Glock 19. What started as clear progress seemed to get blurry fast. I was putting in my time, trying to use good technique, shooting lots of rounds and writing things down. This led to another unsettled feeling. At the end of the day, I wasn’t sure I was any better when I left than when I walked in.

This was completely unacceptable.  Then the medical device engineer side of me kicked in.What was I thinking? I knew if I didn’t run the drill as designed and keep record results accurately that I wan’t going to see my true performance and comparing results would not be possible.

So I did some more research of several drills online and found a way to make sure I understood how to properly run them, and as importantly, found the performance requirements to measure my results against.  I then revised my index cards again.

So back to the range I went where some amazing things happened.

I practiced each drill for a few minutes and at the end I shot it for the record so to speak and logged in my accuracy and time results. Then I repeated the process for the next drill. I have to be transparent here. My first time using the cards I found I wan’t even close to as good as I thought I was. Yes it’s true. But then things changed. As I went back over time I could see some progress and it wasn’t in my head, it was on paper in black and white, by date, distance, drill, and gun. I was improving.

It got me so excited I could hardly stand it. I wanted to practice more and felt developing the skills I needed, that I saw in others, was actually possible for me too. If I could measurably improve my skills then my chances to prevail in a gunfight would go up. This would improve my chances of defending myself and more importantly, my family. Then I thought, if this is that important to me it is surely important to other people as well. I could share my simple idea to help them practice to prevail.

And that is a big deal. That day, I imagined what Live Fire Drill Cards™ might do to help others practice to prevail as well. I hope it helps a lot of people do just that. Especially you.