MANSFIELD, Ohio – Jarrod Needs is the entrepreneur behind Trigger Time LLC, a business that provides the class necessary for an Ohio concealed carry license, but with a twist. Needs’ classes are taught from a defensive shooting standpoint.
“We’re different from most instructors,” said Needs, who explained that everything in his class applies to defensive shooting rather than standard target practice.
The 12 hour class covers a wide range of topics in addition to proper handling of a firearm, including proper backstops in a defensive shooting situation, reactions in a stress situation, and even the repercussions, both legal and psychological, of a shooting.
“Psychological stuff? You’ll never find that in a standard pistol class,” noted Needs.
Needs explained one of the reasons students sign up for the defensive class. “Average [police] response time for a violent felony happening is over ten minutes throughout the country, and there are still areas of our country where it’s over 24 hours,” he said.
One student at a recent class, who described herself as “elderly” and requested not to be identified publicly, stated that she was taking the class as a way to feel safer after her home had been burglarized. She explained that she came in the back door as the burglar exited the front door. She had a security system installed immediately, and said that the suspect was never apprehended.
“You’ve got to protect yourself,” she said. “If you don’t, you’re letting the bad guys win.”
To help students better understand their responsibility as armed citizens, Needs has a guest law enforcement officer address each class regarding use of force and concealed handgun laws.
The class also features videos that are, as Needs described, “rather gruesome.” “We try to be very honest,” he said, “It’s the reality, it’s gruesome stuff. It’s not all puppy dogs and butterflies.”
Needs added that each class covers everything from the best weapon for self-defense as well as the best ammunition, and each selection is backed up with extensive research. “We try to base everything on reality and be as accurate as we possibly can,” he said.
The class offers two hours of actual firing range time. Needs noted that the shooting instruction covers shooting with and without the gun’s sights. “It’s pretty intense,” he added, “I get a lot of people telling me I’m making them nervous because I’m yelling out commands and stuff, but it’s defensive shooting.”
Trigger Time offers not only the introduction to defensive handgun Ohio CCW class, but also an advanced class, as well as a basic pistol class and even private instruction.
Rodney Travis said he selected Trigger Time for himself and his wife because all skill levels were welcome, and his wife had no firearm experience.
Travis, a U.S. Army veteran, followed through with the advanced class. “The courses that I took with Jarrod have taught me the laws and techniques needed for protecting myself and loved ones,” he said.
Needs, who has been shooting since he was approximately seven years old, is a regular contributor to publications that specialize in defensive shooting. He has a background in security as well as corrections.
Needs currently employs one instructor besides himself, Todd Gandee, who has been shooting since the age of five and became a certified instructor in 2013.
Trigger Time LLC holds classes regularly, and is currently offering gift certificates, as well as a 20 percent discount for all 2015 Introduction to Defensive Shooting/Ohio CCW classes if booked during the month of December. Needs added that, for groups with a safe place to shoot and a place to hold class, he will bring Trigger Time to them.
For more information, or to sign up for a class, visit their website or their Facebook page.
