February 16, 2026

First Shots Proves its Value at Triangle Shooting Academy

By Tim Barker

Measuring the effectiveness of the First Shots^® program at Triangle Shooting Academy is an easy thing to do. It starts in the morning when the day’s students arrive and check in for the class at the shop in Raleigh, N.C.

“When we check them in, you can tell they’re quiet, a little nervous,” said Casie Bennett, assistant general manager. “But at the end when they’re coming out, there’s usually a big smile. And they’re lined up at our guest services desk, signing up for future classes or range cards.”

Triangle has been a First Shots (they call it “Basic Handgun”) participant for nearly 10 years. During that time, the program has proven its value both as a training tool and a way to create new customers.

It Starts with Training

From the beginning, Triangle saw the course as a great entry point for novices who were interested in guns and learning more about how to use them safely and effectively.

“We consider ourselves a training facility first, and a gun store second,” said Jay Nichols, the store’s education coordinator. “Obviously, you’ve got to start with good fundamentals. We typically have people start off with basic handgun as an introduction. It’s a very good steppingstone for our more advanced classes.”

After taking the First Shots class, students will often move on to the intermediate pistol class and other defensive pistol options. Or they may be looking for more training in concealed carry.

“Those are our two paths of training. Some people just want the concealed carry, while others want to get way into the weeds on the defensive pistol stuff,” Nichols said. “Basic Handgun is our initiation.”

The NSSF^® program provides most of the tools and resources needed to put on a class, which can be tailored to handguns, rifles, shotguns and suppressors. Support includes targets, ammunition, eye/ear protection and a First Shots handbook for each participant.

Bennett noted the NSSF-provided handbook makes a great take-home option for students who may find it challenging to absorb everything they hear during classroom instruction.

“It’s like drinking from a fire hose for beginners,” she said. “It gives them something to go back home and reflect on. And they might find it a month or two later at their house and say, ‘Hey, I need to get back in there.’”

“About 50 percent or more stay and become loyal customers. That could be in various ways, whether they sign up for membership, purchase a firearm or do additional training.”

— Casie Bennett, Triangle Shooting Academy Assistant General Manager

Good for Business

Training is great for Triangle’s customers. But it’s also great for Triangle’s bottom line, with the store making better margins on its classes than its firearm sales. Yet from the beginning, the goal was always to offer customers more than they were finding at other stores.

“We see a lot of different gun stores where they’ll sell you a gun,” Bennett said. “But then the people are walking out to their cars, and they’re like, ‘How the heck do I even operate this thing?’ We kind of wanted to get away from that.”

To make it work, they set out to make the store as welcoming as possible to every customer who walks through the front door — creating an environment where people feel comfortable wanting to learn. This focus has contributed to many of the solid relationships that have developed between the store and former First Shots students.

“About 50 percent or more stay and become loyal customers. That could be in various ways, whether they sign up for membership, purchase a firearm or do additional training,” she said.

Many people take the class just to see if they might like it.

“Then, they buy a gun right after class or come back in the next day,” Nichols added.

Focus on Comfort

One of the most important factors in running a successful training program — particularly for rookies — is understanding the insecurities and nervousness of people who are stepping into a foreign landscape (a gun range) that can be quite intimidating.

“Get on their level and make them feel comfortable,” Bennett said. “You’re building a relationship for them to come back. And they are never going to come back to an instructor that’s just angry, yelling at them or making them feel invisible.”

Triangle keeps its First Shots class size manageable, with no more than 11 students in a session. And with three instructors in each class, there’s little chance that someone is going to feel left out.

The store also offers multiple versions of its First Shots class, including co-ed, youth and women-only. The main free-for-all class happens four or five times a month, while the women-only course is offered twice a month.

It’s an easy way to make training more appealing to women who might feel intimidated sitting in a class filled with men.

“There are some women who will not come and train unless it’s women only,” Nichols said. “And we want them to feel included. We want them to use their Second Amendment rights and be trained.”

No matter who the customer is, the goal is the same: Triangle wants the range and its instructors to be welcoming and compassionate.

“They don’t make you feel like you’re an idiot because it’s your first class and you don’t know what you’re doing. That happens a lot in this industry,” Nichols said. “But our guys are good at making everybody feel like it’s everybody’s first time and it’s going to be okay. By the end of the class, everybody’s comfortable.”

Is First Shots Right for Your Range?

Do you want more customers? Is your facility equipped to introduce first-time shooters to safe and fun shooting? Do you have instructors and range safety officers who enjoy working with new shooters? If you answered “yes” to each of these questions — your facility is ready to reap the benefits of hosting a First Shots introductory course.

There are courses available for introductions to rifle/pistol, clay target shooting and — a new offering — suppressors.

An additional incentive to consider: Funding, which was previously limited to marketing efforts, is now available to qualifying NSSF member ranges, instructors and shooting sports organizations to help cover a variety of expenses related to First Shots hosting efforts. Hosts are eligible to receive $15 per First Shots participant, up to a maximum of $1,500.

To learn more or to sign up as a host, contact Ann Gamauf at [email protected] or Zach Snow at [email protected]. For more information on First Shots, visit the First Shots welcome page on the NSSF website.