{"id":114301,"date":"2025-12-31T20:11:59","date_gmt":"2026-01-01T02:11:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/?p=114301"},"modified":"2025-12-31T20:11:59","modified_gmt":"2026-01-01T02:11:59","slug":"114301","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/?p=114301","title":{"rendered":""},"content":{"rendered":"

Firearms Instructors Talk Changes Coming in 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

Lee Williams –<\/p>\n

Our country was much more troubled and dangerous when Joe Biden was president, but thankfully times have changed, according to several current and former firearm instructors.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere was a lot more concern about how things were going to go,\u201d said Mike Magowan, chief operations officer for Florida\u2019s\u00a0Self Defense Emporium<\/a>. \u201cThere\u2019s not as much panic now as there was then.\u201d<\/p>\n

Magowan has taught more than 30,000 students how to shoot safely over his 30-year career. He started as a sniper in the U.S. Army\u2019s 101st<\/sup>\u00a0Airborne Division and has earned a host of national certifications and accreditations.<\/p>\n

He and several other instructors discussed current trends and predicted what will happen in 2026.<\/p>\n

Suppressors were a common topic, especially if they finally end up outside of federal purview and can be purchased easier. Everyone mentioned teaching a fully-suppressed class.<\/p>\n

The largest national trend that\u2019s occurring right now involves smaller 9mm full-capacity handguns specifically made for concealed carry. Everyone predicts their popularity will continue to grow throughout the new year<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

There are dozens of models available from a large portion of the firearms industry, and prices range from several hundred dollars to several thousand. These smallish shooters, everyone said, will dominate the market.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople are looking for smaller pistols with more capacity,\u201d Magowan said. \u201cWe\u2019re still riding the\u00a0Sig P365\u00a0wave. There are a lot of people coming in for CCW training and permits. The trend is definitely small pistols that hold lots of bullets.\u201d<\/p>\n

The firearms market has become much more stable now that Biden is out of office, according to retired instructor and gun shop owner Mike Young.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe market was always the same whenever there was a Democrat in office. Prices would go up and things would get scarce,\u201d Young said. \u201cI remember when Obama was elected. You couldn\u2019t even get .22. It\u2019s always weird when you have a Democrat leading the White House, and smooth sailing when you don\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n

The biggest national trend, Young said, will be the ability to buy guns, ammunition and related products without having to worry that the government will try to take them away.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s a big win for all of us,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Finding the right instructor, everyone said, can be difficult, but it is well worth the time and effort. The key is talking with them before you meet at the range.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would ask how long they\u2019ve been teaching and why are they teaching,\u201d Young said. \u201cI loved selling guns but loved teaching classes much more. You\u2019d see that person get it and the light would turn on. It made it the best. That should be the biggest question: Why are you doing this? Do you love it or are you trying to earn a paycheck? I loved it and miss it every day. I miss the interaction with students and customers.\u201d<\/p>\n

Magowan mentioned that one of his former students recently walked out of another instructor\u2019s $600-per-day class because he did not feel safe.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat I tell people is to make sure your instructor actually cares about what you\u2019re getting out of it,\u201d he said. \u201cI would rather teach for free than not have students get their money\u2019s worth. I want an instructor who is going to move me forward with the right techniques and tactics. I want someone who actually cares about me, not a big r\u00e9sum\u00e9 guy. I\u2019ve seen guys with massive r\u00e9sum\u00e9s who actually suck at teaching.\u201d<\/p>\n

Everyone warned about online or \u201cInstagram instructors\u201d who can actually harm the industry.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re people who just want to do flashy things with no purpose,\u201d Magowan said. \u201cThese are guys who shoot fast but don\u2019t ever show you their targets.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Firearms Instructors Talk Changes Coming in 2026 Lee Williams – Our country was much more troubled and dangerous when Joe Biden was president, but thankfully times have changed, according to several current and former firearm instructors. \u201cThere was a lot more concern about how things were going to go,\u201d said Mike Magowan, chief operations officer … Continue reading “”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36,17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-114301","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-gun-schtuff","category-self-defense"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114301","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=114301"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114301\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":114302,"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114301\/revisions\/114302"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=114301"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=114301"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=114301"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}