ABOUT US

The Left of Center Story

Left of Center Gun School began when a close friend of mine confided a very personal story.  After being sexually assaulted at gunpoint as a teen, she was terrified of guns her entire life. With millions of guns in the United States, and the number growing daily, she was forced to face the fact that despite her own liberal activism, guns weren’t going away any time soon.  She was far from ready to own one, but she’d come to believe that knowing how to safely load, unload, and accurately shoot a firearm were skills she needed to learn.  She looked into classes at her local shooting range, but they were always taught in big groups that offered little personal attention, and she felt like she’d be judged for not owning a gun or being part of gun culture.

Thus my liberal, terrified-of-guns LA friend came to me, her conservative, ex-military, ex-Tennessee cop pal and asked me to show her the ropes. In a single day of focused instruction, not only did she break through her lifelong fear of guns and learn to shoot with confidence and accuracy – she had fun doing it.

When she posted her experience on social media, she expected to take criticism from liberal friends. Instead, she was inundated with private messages from people who confessed to feeling just like her. Questions about potential courses and requests for my contact information poured in. It dawned on both of us that there was an important niche to be filled – fun, apolitical, boutique firearms training for folks who’d otherwise be afraid, embarrassed, or reluctant to seek it out at their local range.  Left of Center Gun School, with its unique training techniques and personalized approach to every client, was developed to fill that niche.

Bio

David Selmo is a gifted teacher who makes every classroom session an entertaining, energetic, and motivating experience. His diverse background uniquely equips him to bring Left of Center Gun School’s course material alive with real world know-how that’s both educational and enlightening.

As a former paratrooper and US Army Infantry Officer of the Operation Desert Storm generation, Dave draws on years of military and more recently, police experience.  He’s formally trained at an expert level on a wide variety of weapons, and was a Michigan State Champion on the M-14 rifle.

An experienced lecturer with a Master’s degree in Maritime Archaeology, Dave has published groundbreaking research and addressed both public and academic audiences about his work related to ancient shipwrecks.

Dave’s singular approach as an instructor is focused on helping clients master safe, practical, hands-on skills in a fun and enjoyable way.

“It gives me a tremendous sense of personal satisfaction to meet a client who is terrified of guns, and lead them on a transformative journey that not only mitigates their fear, but results in complete confidence and competency.”