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October 3, 2004
by GREG TUTTLE
Of The Gazette Staff
The handguns cracked in sequence along the firing line as Pat Goodale
tapped each shooter on the back. On cue from the firearms instructor, each
let loose a rapid two- or three-shot volley from a handgun held firmly at
the hip.
Cary Allen felt a muzzle blast hit her face as the man standing next to
her fired. It was too much for the 28-year-old Billings woman; she stepped
back and off the line.
After a few minutes, Allen gathered her nerves and rejoined the other six
shooters. With some encouragement and instruction from Goodale, Allen was
back to shooting her borrowed 9mm Glock semiautomatic.
Four hours and 300 rounds later, Allen was ready to go shopping for a
Glock of her own.
"It was a little intimidating at first," Allen said. "But I enjoyed it a
lot."
Allen was one of seven area residents who gathered on a recent Saturday
at the Yellowstone Rifle Club for a lesson in handgun shooting and safety
from Goodale, a retired U.S. Marine who operates a business called Practical
Firearms Training.
The handgun classes are offered intermittently in Billings by Goodale and
are held at either the Yellowstone Rifle Club or the Billings Rod and Gun
Club. Goodale's business is based in West Virginia, where he operates a
110-acre shooting range. Most of his customers are in law enforcement and
the military, he said.
Goodale, 52, is well-known in circles of firearms enthusiasts. He has
trained special operations forces and law enforcement SWAT Teams. He has
worked around the world as a security consultant and is executive vice
president and director of security operations for ARC3, a Billings company
that specializes in terrorism threat assessment.
"He's kind of the real deal," said Ted Campen, a 79-year-old Billings
firearms enthusiast who has taken Goodale's handgun class three times. "He's
serious about it."
The handgun class for citizens is a one- or two-day course designed to
"demystify" handguns, Goodale said. The entry-level course includes a
three-hour lecture in which Goodale covers issues from safety and gun
operation to the use of deadly force.
"It gets people thinking," Goodale said. "It's not just about shooting
and making noise."
During the recent class, Goodale told his students they should develop
what he described as a "mental trigger" - a personal resolution about when
it is appropriate to use a handgun in self-defense. He suggested that his
students think about using only the amount of force necessary to end a
threat.
"The threat is over when he surrenders, falls down or runs away," Goodale
said.
He also explained that physical reactions people have to stress can
affect motor skills and a person's perception of time and events. Even
trained police officers involved in a gunfight can rarely recall how many
times they fired their weapon, he said.
Goodale said studies of police shootings have determined most gunfights
last an average of four seconds. Training and self-control can make the
difference in surviving such an encounter, he said.
"The very best gunfight I was in was observed by me from about a mile
away," he said.
On the shooting range, Goodale lines up students shoulder to shoulder,
and with the help of several assistants, or range officers, he teaches the
basics of gun handling. The lesson includes how to withdraw a weapon from a
concealed holster to firing on the move.
He also teaches how to shoot from a defensive posture, a stance where the
handgun is held firmly against the hip to prevent it from being bumped or
grabbed by an assailant.
Those who have taken the class give it high marks.
"I've learned some techniques as to the close-in retention position,"
said Jack Wunder, an experienced shooter who took Goodale's most recent
class. "I've never fired a gun right next to my body before."
Wunder said he signed up for the class to maintain his skills and
appreciated Goodale's emphasis on safety. A geologist in his mid 50s, Wunder
said he grew up in Kentucky and has lived all over the United States.
"Montana is a pretty gun-friendly state, certainly compared to California
and Massachusetts," he said.
Allen said she took the $125 one-day course to "increase my comfort
level" with handguns.
"I don't own a handgun, but I will eventually," said Allen, a program
manager at a Billings business. "It was informational - nerve wracking, but
informational."
A petroleum engineer, Campen said he grew up around firearms and received
training in the merchant marine. He has a concealed weapons permit, and is a
competitive shotgun shooter. He takes Goodale's class to keep his shooting
skills sharp, he said.
"I don't get a chance to shoot as much as I like," he said. "I've never
seen anybody teach from a line like he does. He's right in there. He wants
you to learn."
Michelle Clark owns a day care in the Heights and took Goodale's class
last year. She teaches hunter education and hunts with her family, but
didn't have much experience with handguns. She and her husband now own Glock
handguns, which she said are kept locked in a safe separate from the
ammunition.
"I wasn't looking for self-protection as much as I love to go out
practice shooting," Clark said. "At this time I'm not interested in a
concealed weapons permit, but that could change."
Goodale said women account for about 40 percent of his clients. Most
women are interested in handguns for self-protection, he said. Campen said
one class he attended included four women and two men.
"There are young and old, men and women, all shapes and sizes," Campen
said.
Goodale said he teaches the handgun class to about 250 people a year in
Billings and in West Virginia. The classes are limited to about 12
participants. Many of his clients are professional people, he said,
including doctors and lawyers. Some of the doctors have told Goodale they
are concerned about protecting themselves from drug-related crimes.
"Bad guys think doctors can get drugs," he said.
Federal regulations
The Federal Gun Control Act, 18 U.S.C. § 922, prohibits the transfer of a
firearm to a person who:
• Is under indictment for or has been convicted of a crime punishable by
imprisonment for more than one year.
• Is a fugitive from justice.
• Is an unlawful user or is addicted to any controlled substance.
• Has been adjudicated as a mental defective or committed to a mental
institution.
• Is an illegal alien or has been admitted to the United States under a
nonimmigrant visa.
• Was discharged from the U.S. military service under dishonorable
conditions.
• Has renounced U.S. citizenship.
• Is subject to a court order restraining him or her from harassing,
stalking or threatening an intimate partner or child.
• Has been convicted in any court of a felony or misdemeanor crime of
domestic violence.
Since Feb. 29, 1994, when the Brady Act went into effect, through Dec.
31, 2003, more than 53 million applications were checked and approximately
1,102,000 were blocked.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics
Greg Tuttle can be reached at 657-1320 or at gtuttle@billingsgazette.com.
PHOTOS
by David Grubbs / Gazette
Staff
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Aiming to educate:
Instructor stresses safety, proper
use of force
