Ten Ring Accuracy teaches people how to properly fire, store, and transport firearms, as well as laws surrounding the use of deadly force.
By Jason Lewis
Many people purchase firearms, but according to retired LAPD detective DeShon Andrews, a lot of them do not take the time to become properly trained in using the firearms, which can be a danger to themselves as well as the people around them. He launched Ten Ring Accuracy to teach people the ins and outs of using firearms.
“I’m not against firearm ownership because it’s your second amendment right, but I’m kind of leery of the public being armed because most people don’t receive training,” Andrews said. “That’s why I got into this. You have people out here with these guns who have absolutely no clue what they’re doing. I believe that people should own a firearm with the caveat that they would take the time to become proficient with it. The worst time to find out that you don’t know what you’re doing is when you’re being attacked. That’s the worst time to find out that your firearm hasn’t been oiled. That you don’t have proper sight alignment and you pull the trigger and you hit some child. You’re responsible for every bullet that comes out of your gun.”
Ten Ring Accuracy was launched this year, with the first classroom session being held at All In Coworking in Inglewood followed by a shooting session the next day at Insight Shooting Range in Artesia. Andrews assembled a team of instructors who all have law enforcement and/or military backgrounds, and they are certified instructors.
Out of the first 21 students who have been trained, 20 of them did not have any experience with firearms.
“Some of them had never fired a firearm before,” Andrews said.
The course teaches the students how firearms operate, ammunition, malfunctions, sight alignment, and proper trigger press.
“We teach them everything,” Andrews said. “We start from the bottom of firearm ownership and marksmanship, and then we build people up from there. From their stance to their grip, a smooth trigger press. And we do it over and over again until you feel comfortable.”
The novice students pick up the basics pretty quickly, and they are excited when they test their newly learned skill.
“There’s nothing like the ‘aha’ moment where a student who has never fired a gun puts it all together and they start hitting a 10 ring,” Andrews said. “They want to high five and jump around and do all of those things.”
Andrews does warn that becoming proficient takes time, and that everybody picks up the skill at a different pace.
“You can’t learn marksmanship in four hours,” he said. “I mean, the police academy is seven months, and we shoot on a regular basis. It’s a perishable skill. It’s like a golf swing. You can hit it straight down the middle on Saturday but on Sunday you’re shooting all over the place. It takes practice and repetition to be proficient in firearm marksmanship. Everybody is an individual so there is no timeframe. You practice until you get it. I’m not going to say, ‘In two weeks you should be great!’ You can’t put a timeframe on it. I know people that went to the same police academy that I did, came in with me, and they had to do extra training. You go until you’re proficient.”
Students are able to work with the instructors well beyond the first class.
“We don’t want it to be a one class and out and you go out and think that you’re John Wick,” Andrews said.
An extremely important part of the training is learning the laws in the state that a person resides in or is using the firearm in. There are many news stories of shootings that spark social media debate over what is legal and what is illegal, with the general public showing that they do not have a good understanding of firearm laws.
“A lot of people think that they can do certain things because they saw it on Facebook, YouTube, or TikTok,” Andrews said. “You simply can’t do those things as far as self defense and use of firearms. They will land you in jail. My class always begins with a one-hour Q & A on laws relating to firearm ownership, use of deadly force, and things of that nature.”
Self-defense laws vary from state to state, with California having stricter gun laws than other states. Andrews points out that a person cannot use deadly force to protect property or to shoot a fleeing person, even if the person is in their house.
“Even if someone breaks into your home and they have a knife, and you draw your gun on them, if he drops the knife and runs away, many people think, ‘He was in my house, I can shoot him,’” Andrews said. “Yeah you can, but then you’ll be going to jail. Because he’s unarmed and he’s leaving your residence.”
The class also teaches the legal ways of storing and transporting weapons.
Many people purchase firearms to protect themselves against home invaders. Many women today live on their own, which may explain why 75 percent of Andrews’ students have been women. Over half of them have been over the age of 50. Andrews said that women are more willing to take a class, opposed to men who typically try to learn on their own.
“This is just an opinion, but I think that guys are meatheads,” he said. “They think that they can do everything and they don’t need any training. Something about firearms, it becomes a macho thing. It’s a tough guy thing. They want the biggest gun that they can own like it’s a trophy. Women take it more seriously and there’s no ego involved. They really want to learn. Some of my male students say, ‘I know, I know.’ Well if you know so much, then why aren’t there many holes in the paper in front of you? Or why does it look like a shotgun pattern?”
To enroll in Ten Ring Accuracy classes, visit www.tenringaccuracy.com and follow them on social media.
