08/06/2026
This past week, I lost one of my favorite shooting buddies— There are people who teach you how to shoot. And then there are people who make you fall in love with it.
Don was the latter.
He was the largest influence in my life when it came to fi***rms and the shooting sports. He didn’t just show me the basics — he ignited something deeper. He took a spark of curiosity and turned it into a real passion, a love for the craft, the discipline, and the community that surrounds it. There’s something rare and special about the people who do that. They don’t just instruct. They empower. They open a door and then walk through it with you, laughing the whole way.
Even with the years between us, shooting with Don always felt like being on the range with my best buddy. He had this youthful spirit that refused to age. We’d laugh like old friends, trade stories, and push each other just enough to get better. He never sugar-coated a single thing. If your grip was off, he’d tell you. If your ego was getting in the way, he’d tell you that too. And somehow, that honesty made every correction land softer, because you knew it came from someone who truly cared whether you improved.
Don carried a lifetime of experience — military special forces and law enforcement — but he never wore it like armor. He shared it freely, with the quiet confidence of someone who’d already seen what most of us only train for. That experience, paired with his approachable, youthful energy, made him the kind of mentor you don’t just respect. You enjoy. You look forward to seeing. You miss the second he’s gone.
Don will be greatly missed. Not just for what he taught, but for how he made the range feel like home, and the people on it feel like family.
Thank you, Don, for the passion you passed on. It lives on in every round I send downrange, and in every person I try to inspire the same way you inspired me.
