Tom’s Instructor Credentials:

• NRA Training Counselor
• NRA Chief Range Safety Officer
• NRA Certified Pistol, Rifle, & Shotgun Instructor
• NRA Certified Personal Protection In The Home Instructor
• NRA Certified Personal Protection Outside The Home Instructor
• Texas License to Carry Instructor
• Defensive Pistol, Rifle, & Shotgun Instructor
•  3 Gun Competition Instructor

Tom Dowdy, owner of Handgun Skills, LLC, is a decorated Vietnam veteran and was an expert marksman in the US Army.   He is a Life Member of the National Rifle Association, an NRA Training Counselor, and a Front Sight Lifetime Guardian Member where he completed defensive shooting training in multiple years.  He has had extensive NRA training through six NRA basic courses and seven NRA instructor courses, Combat Focus Shooting with pistol and carbine through I.C.E Training.  While Tom is an independent instructor, he is the primary NRA instructor at Thunder Gun Range, 17234 FM 1314, Conroe, TX 77302. Tom has been the Match Director since 2014 for the monthly Multi-Gun Matches at Thunder Gun Range.  As an NRA Training Counselor Tom trains and certifies others as NRA Pistol, Rifle, Shotgun Instructors, Range Safety Officers, and Chief Range Safety Officers.

Tom has a patient but razor focused teaching style that allows students to learn in a relaxed atmosphere aimed at a high retention of the material taught.  Tom follows an eight-step method of teaching that is very effective in students learning through mastering the simple and then progressing to the complex fundamentals in shooting.  Tom is very quick to recognize shooters weaknesses and adept at helping them overcome their weaknesses.  Tom’s and Handgun Skills, LLC goal is to enable students to improve and hone their shooting skills through highly skilled instruction and training on their own once they learn the proper fundamentals.

David Gaines is also a NRA Training Counselor and an independent instructor that has worked with Handgun Skills, LLC for several years.  He is an MBA, has a diverse background that includes, being a licensed paramedic, Program Director of a college EMS program, working in the oilfield services industry, then moving into the firearms business as a Federal Firearms Licensee, gunsmith, and certified firearms instructor.  David’s style of teaching mirrors the Handgun Skills philosophy of providing focused training in a relaxed atmosphere where students retain a high percentage of material taught.

David’s Instructor Credentials:

• NRA Training Counselor
• NRA Chief Range Safety Officer
• NRA Certified Pistol, Rifle & Shotgun Instructor
• NRA Personal Protection in the Home Instructor
• NRA Personal Protection Outside the Home Instructor
• Texas License to Carry Instructor
• Certified Gunsmith