Making Shooters Better

Making Shooters Better is where real shooter stories turn into smarter training and preparation for everyone. Each episode dives into the journeys, wins, and lessons of competitors, instructors, and innovators from across the firearms world. Hosted by Terry Vaughan —former British Royal Marine Commando, Top Shot competitor, and firearms instructor—this show delivers more than talk. You’ll get the mindset, methods, and motivation to train sharper and perform better, on and off the range!

Making Shooters Better is a education podcast hosted by Terry Vaughan, with 43 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80.

Terry Vaughan hosts Making Shooters Better, a education show with 43 episodes published.

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  Episode #44

  The Dangerous Difference Between Confidence and Competence

  Oct 1, 20261h 23mS1

  You can shoot regularly and still not be training. Kyle Johnston learned that firsthand. After serving in the Marine Corps, Kyle spent nearly a decade building a successful career in filmmaking and media before returning to military service and ultimately becoming a Green Beret with the 19th Special Forces Group. When he returned to structured firearms training, something surprising happened: the shooting ability he thought he had began falling apart as soon as speed, movement, timers, and pressure entered the equation. In this episode of Making Shooters Better , Kyle and Terry explore what separates purposeful training from simply putting rounds downrange. They dig into: • Why firearms skills are far more perishable than many shooters realize • The difference between shooting for enjoyment and training for improvement • Why goals, drills, timers, and measurable data matter • How pressure reveals weaknesses that static range shooting can hide • Why dry-fire and at-home training can dramatically improve consistency • The value of discovering what you're bad at instead of repeatedly practicing what you're already good at • Why tactics and techniques should remain adaptable rather than becoming doctrine • The strange difference between the shooting community online and the one you'll actually meet at the range • Why experienced shooters have a responsibility to help newcomers rather than intimidate them • How Kyle balances training, military service, family, and his work with Unit Solutions Kyle’s experience offers a useful reminder for shooters at every level: Going shooting proves you can pull the trigger. Training tells you what happens when things stop going according to plan.

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  Episode #43

  Before You Carry a Gun, Make These Decisions

  Sep 24, 20261h 34mS1

  EPISODE SUMMARY After decades of teaching defensive firearms and tactics, John and Vicki Farnam argue that becoming harder to kill has far less to do with simply becoming better at shooting. We explore preparation as a way of life, recognizing and avoiding danger, the difference between force and violence, why instructors must adapt to their students, what happens psychologically when avoidance is no longer possible, and why some of the greatest victories in defensive training end without a shot ever being fired. EPISODE DESCRIPTION The hardest decision in a gunfight may need to be made years before the gunfight ever happens. John and Vicki Farnam have spent decades teaching armed citizens, law enforcement officers, and instructors around the world. But their philosophy of preparedness reaches far beyond marksmanship. In this episode of Making Shooters Better , former British Royal Marines Commando Terry Vaughan will ask John and Vicki to examine what it really means to be prepared. Why does John believe avoidance deserves more training than confrontation? Why does Vicki begin by asking students whether they truly believe they are worth protecting? Can observation actually be trained? What separates healthy vigilance from paranoia? Why can technically competent shooters still be dangerously unprepared? And what happens when all the avoidance, awareness, judgment, and preparation in the world still leaves you with one unavoidable decision? Vicki also shares the remarkable story of the 700-pound wild hog that charged her, the shot she ultimately had to take at roughly three feet, and what the experience taught her about the purpose of training under pressure. We also explore how firearms instruction itself can fail students when instructors teach the technique they know rather than the person standing in front of them, including lessons Vicki learned while helping instructors better communicate with female shooters. And perhaps most importantly, John explains why hearing from a former student who walked away, kept quiet, chose different friends, or simply decided not to go somewhere can mean more to him than hearing about a shooting his training helped someone survive. Because the ultimate purpose of defensive training isn't winning gunfights. It's making better decisions before one ever begins.

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  Episode #42

  Your Gear Isn’t the Problem: The Skills That Actually Matter in a Gunfight

  Sep 17, 20261h 18mS1

  Summary Wayne Dobbs has spent nearly five decades teaching people how to shoot, but his message is not really about shooting. It is about the gap between owning good equipment and actually being prepared to use it well. From grip and presentation to red dots, reloads, decision-making, and mental readiness, Wayne challenges some of the habits shooters cling to most tightly. Along the way, he explains why fundamentals matter more under pressure, why some impressive range skills may have limited defensive value, and why the most important tool in a fight is still the one between your ears. Episode Description What if the biggest thing holding back your shooting isn’t your gun, your optic, or your ammo? Wayne Dobbs has spent 46 years training shooters and 25 years in law enforcement, and he has some strong opinions about what actually matters when performance stops being theoretical. In this episode, Wayne breaks down why grip is so often misunderstood, how poor presentation can make a red dot slower instead of faster, why shooters may be overtraining certain skills, and what mental preparedness really looks like before a defensive encounter ever begins. This conversation goes well beyond technique. It is about building a repeatable process, understanding what your gear can and cannot do, and preparing for the moment when your expectations collide with reality.

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  Episode #41

  Proficiency Is Not Preparedness: Training for the Life You Actually Live

  Sep 10, 20261h 31mS1

  What happens when everything you've practiced works perfectly on the range, but the real world changes the rules? Tatiana Whitlock, National Director of Training for A Girl & A Gun Women's Shooting League, joins Terry Vaughan to explore the uncomfortable but essential gap between firearm proficiency and genuine preparedness. Tatiana began shooting as an adult and quickly discovered that mastering marksmanship was only the beginning. Her pursuit of defensive training eventually exposed a much bigger challenge: learning how to apply technical skills inside unpredictable environments involving movement, judgment, family members, changing conditions, and consequences that cannot be reset with another run of the drill. In this episode, Terry and Tatiana explore what she calls "training in context," including why shooters should train for the bodies they have and the lives they actually lead rather than some imaginary version of themselves. Tatiana also explains why skill development must evolve as we age, recover from injury, change lifestyles, become parents, change vehicles, move homes, or simply discover that the shooter we remember being isn't necessarily the shooter standing on the range today. The conversation takes an especially powerful turn when Tatiana shares an attempted home invasion she experienced while her children were inside the house. That event forced her to reconsider concealed carry entirely. Her conclusion: the firearm may belong to one person, but preparedness must involve the entire family. They discuss how families can build awareness and emergency responses without creating fear, why gamifying situational awareness can make children active participants in their own safety, and why a concealed carrier cannot afford to manage both a threat and an unprepared family simultaneously. They also examine the responsibility of firearms instructors: adapting technique to the individual rather than forcing every student into the same physical mold, teaching students to process information rather than simply perform drills, and creating training experiences that expose limitations without destroying confidence. Because the goal isn't merely to produce someone who shoots well under familiar conditions. It's to develop someone who can think, adapt, recognize, decide, and perform when those conditions disappear. In this episode: What "training in context" really means The difference between firearm proficiency and real-world capability Why fundamentals are universal but their application is personal How aging, injury, parenthood, and lifestyle changes affect defensive skills Why shooters need training that occasionally humbles them The danger of confusing range performance with preparedness Why concealed carry is a family skill Preparing spouses and children without creating fear Developing situational awareness through games and everyday experiences Why instructors must adapt techniques to individual students Training the brain to recognize, process, communicate, and respond Why the best defensive training prepares you for uncertainty rather than rehearsing a perfect script Tatiana's message is ultimately simple but demanding: Proficiency with a firearm is not the same as preparedness. Train for the life you actually live, because that is where your skills may someday have to work.

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  Episode #40

  The First 30 Seconds: Why Active Shooter Response Must Change

  Sep 3, 20261h 18mS1

  What actually happens in the first 30 seconds of an active shooter attack? According to Ed Monk, that question should sit at the center of every active shooter response plan. Ed is a retired Army officer, law enforcement officer, firearms trainer, author of First 30 Seconds , and a longtime researcher of active shooter events. His work challenges some of the most widely accepted assumptions about how schools, churches, businesses, and public facilities prepare for mass violence. In this episode, Ed explains why active shooter events are fundamentally a time problem , with victims potentially being shot every few seconds before law enforcement has even been notified. He challenges traditional lockdown policies and the familiar Run-Hide-Fight model, arguing that waiting for outside help can carry an enormous human cost. We also explore why people often fail to immediately recognize the sound of gunfire, the psychological barriers that prevent ordinary people from acting, and why someone already at the scene may be the only person capable of stopping an attack quickly enough to dramatically reduce casualties. For armed responders, Ed goes even deeper. He explains why active shooter response is very different from the typical close-range defensive encounter most shooters train for, why every shooter needs to understand the limits of their own accuracy, and why in a crowded public space there are no true “misses,” only intended and unintended hits. He also introduces the mental battle he calls “the monkey” , the overwhelming pressure to shoot faster than your actual ability allows. This is not a comfortable conversation. It is a conversation about what happens when prevention has failed, innocent people are being murdered, and someone has to act. For anyone responsible for protecting a school, church, workplace, public venue, or family, this may be one of the most important episodes of Making Shooters Better yet.

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