What High-Level Training Really Gives You (ft. Farewell Firearms)

Joe Farewell joins John and Kaylee for a conversation about what high-level firearms training actually delivers, and why the answer is rarely what new students expect. Joe is a former law enforcement officer and SWAT sniper team leader who spent seven years in policing in Florida before leaving toward the end of 2018 to teach full time. He's also a competitive shooter who represented Team USA at the IPSC Rifle World Shoot, taking silver in 2019 and gold in 2024. He walks through how competition shooting is structured, from local matches up to nationals and the World Shoot, which he calls the Olympics of practical shooting, and what it takes to travel overseas with guns and ammo through the paperwork each country requires. A through-line of the episode is Joe's training philosophy. He measures everything against three goals: the desired level of accuracy, speed, and consistency. He argues shooting is shooting whether the purpose is competition, self defense, or military use, so the fundamentals stay the same even as the application changes. He built the Dry Fire Mastery programs in 2020 during COVID after learning to improve on roughly 50 to 100 rounds a week by doing millions of dry fire repetitions for free. He explains why isolating a skill in dry fire and fixing it raises performance, and why understanding the why behind a drill matters more than burning a thousand rounds a day on flashy work. Joe is direct about the biggest misconception students bring to advanced classes: they expect to walk away a far better shooter after two days. He compares it to taking a gym class for two days in a row and expecting to be ripped. The real value of a class is the homework and the understanding of what to train and why. The conversation moves to his move from Florida to California, the gun culture and growing matches he's found there, the new laws affecting California gun owners, and his view that growing the competition community can shift the state's politics. He closes on gear: he runs Atlas pistols and Cobalt rifles, but shows up to teach law enforcement with a stock gun so the work, not the equipment, makes the point. Questions this episode answers What does high-level firearms training actually give you, and what can't it give you in two days? Joe Farewell says the real value of an advanced class is the homework and the understanding of what to train and why, not an overnight skill jump. Expecting to walk away a far better shooter after two days is like taking a gym class twice and expecting to be ripped. How is competitive shooting structured, from local matches up to the IPSC World Shoot? It runs from local matches up through nationals to the IPSC Rifle World Shoot, which Joe Farewell calls the Olympics of practical shooting. He represented Team USA there, taking silver in 2019 and gold in 2024. What's involved in traveling overseas with your firearms and ammunition for a match? Competing abroad means working through the firearm and ammunition paperwork each country requires before you can travel with your guns and ammo. Joe Farewell did this to shoot the IPSC Rifle World Shoot internationally. What are the three goals Joe measures every shooting skill against? Joe Farewell measures everything against accuracy, speed, and consistency. He argues shooting is shooting whether the purpose is competition, self defense, or military use, so the fundamentals stay the same even as the application changes. What is dry fire, and why does it raise your performance for free? Dry fire is repetition practice without live ammunition, which lets you isolate a single skill and fix it at no cost. Joe Farewell improved on roughly 50 to 100 live rounds a week by doing millions of dry fire reps, and built his Dry Fire Mastery programs in 2020 around that approach. Why did Joe leave law enforcement to teach firearms full time? Joe Farewell spent seven years in policing in Florida as a SWAT sniper team leader before leaving toward the end of 2018 to teach full time. He now runs Farewell Firearms Training, focused mostly on law enforcement, military, and instructor development. What is the gun culture and competition scene actually like in California? After moving from Florida to California, Joe Farewell found a real gun culture and growing matches there, alongside new laws affecting California gun owners. He believes growing the competition community can shift the state's politics. Does expensive gear make you a better shooter, or does it get in the way? Joe Farewell runs Atlas pistols and Cobalt rifles, but shows up to teach law enforcement with a stock gun so the work, not the equipment, makes the point. The skill comes from training, not the hardware. Chapters 00:00 — Meet Joe Farewell 00:51 — Two paths: competition and law enforcement 01:54 — How competition shooting is structured 03:37 — Traveling overseas with guns and ammo 06:18 — The shooting community in Europe 08:25 — Leaving law enforcement to teach full time 11:26 — The classes Joe teaches and the three goals 14:36 — Dry Fire Crew and the Dry Fire Mastery programs 18:57 — New gun owners and what to buy first 21:06 — Moving from Florida to California 29:30 — From the Soapbox: the flaws students bring to class 34:35 — Does gear make the shooter? 41:36 — Gift from PSA and wrap-up About the guest Joe Farewell is a former law enforcement officer and SWAT sniper team leader who spent seven years in policing in Florida before leaving toward the end of 2018 to teach firearms full time. He is a competitive shooter who represented Team USA at the IPSC Rifle World Shoot, winning silver in 2019 and gold in 2024. He founded Farewell Firearms Training, where he trains civilians, law enforcement, and military units with a practical, real-world approach, and his current focus is mostly law enforcement and military classes along with instructor development. In 2020 he started the Dry Fire Mastery programs, including multigun, competition handgun, carbine, and home defense courses. He started shooting matches around age 19 or 20, has about 15 years doing this, and recently moved from Florida to California. He shoots Atlas pistols and Cobalt rifles. Key quotes "So when you look at the goals of it, it doesn't matter what the purpose is, the fundamentals are still going to be the same." — Joe Farewell "By isolating it in dry fire and fixing it, it will skyrocket your performance and it's free." — Joe Farewell "If you can build a solid foundation of the skill set, the hard skills that you need to be able to accomplish the task, then you can focus on the tactical problem at hand." — Joe Farewell "The number one misconception that most people think when they go to a class is that they're going to walk away and be a significantly better shooter after a two day." — Joe Farewell "the only way to get better is by pushing yourself outside of what's comfortable." — Joe Farewell "Knowing how to train and what to train and why to train those things I think is what you should be going into more advanced class looking for." — Joe Farewell