Clay Smith

Department
Instructor, Handgun

“Helpless Civilian” by trade (my day job is cubicle-type office work for a company in the 401k business).  My shooting background starts with my dad. He was a competitive trapshooter for most of his life, so he got me into shooting long guns when I was about 10. I picked up an interest in handguns and other firearms of a “defensive” nature around 18. That eventually led me into pistol competition sports (IDPA and USPSA) and led me to seek out professional training. The majority of my professional training has come from TDI (started taking classes back in 1997, and started working there as a part time instructor around 2003). I also try to get out to other training opportunities as time/money permits. Those include NRA Instructor Certification, Glock Armorer’s Certification, Training from Tactical Response in Tennessee, and Bob Vogel (Professional USPSA Shooter), Roger’s Shooting School in Georgia. I still shoot IDPA and USPSA matches when my schedule allows (generally just local matches). No military or law enforcement background (just lots of friends who are cops and soldiers).