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Thunder Ranch offers expert training in defensive shooting skills on a 900 acre ranch in Texas. Learn from Clint Smith, a legendary instructor with decades of experience and a legacy of teaching law abiding citizens.
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Clint Smith, President, and Director of Thunder Ranch® is a...
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Clint Smith, President and Director of Thunder Ranch®, is a Marine Corps veteran of two infantry and Combined Action Platoon tours in Vietnam. His experience includes seven years as a police officer during which he served as head of the Firearms Training Division as well as being a S.W.A.T. member and precision rifleman.
- How Did You Get Started in The Firearm Instruction Business?
- You Did A Couple of Tours in Vietnam? We Heard You Were Shot?
- When Were You Presented A Purple Heart?
- What Was It Like at Gunsite Back then?
- Was This About The Time You Came Up with The Urban Rifle Concept?
- So, What'd You Do After Gunsite?
- How Did You Start Thunder Ranch?
- It Got Weird Between You and Jeff Cooper…Did You Guys Ever Work It out?
- What Is Your Take on The Current Crop of Trainers?
- Do You Approach Open Enrollment Classes Differently Than Mil/L.E. Classes?
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Clint Smith:I really began teaching when I was in Vietnam in '68. I was in USMC CAP Unit 2-4-3, a combined action platoon. The job there was to teach the Vietnamese how to use their weapons and tactics so I actually started teaching with the limited knowledge I had at that time as an 18-year-old Marine. I had gone to Vietnamese language school, but...
CS:I was shot in March of 1969. I had about 20 days left of a 13-month tour. We were setting up an ambush and we got in a lit bit of a bind. So we called in “Puffs,” what you know these days as Spectre Gunships. They were firing for us and we had some people in a bad spot so we turned the guns on and everybody was trading rounds back and forth. The...
CS:I didn't get the letter from the Commandant of the Marine Corps and the appropriate paperwork for the Purple Heart until 2002. When I got it I got a whole bunch of other stuff I didn't know about. I got a Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry, a Vietnamese Civic Action award, a Marine unit commendation… I can't remember it all, but I went from “I got a ...
CS:I was at Gunsite when they brought Louis Awerbuck there. He was brought in on a green card kinda thing from South Africa. I knew him well, taught with him. That was cool. There weren't a lot of people doing this kinda thing back then. It was still pretty new and Mr. Cooper was the catalyst for a lot of the firearms training schools we have today...
CS:No. I did SWAT for a lot of years in the '70s and that's where I started developing some urban concepts. I started the urban rifle thing in early '84, after I left Gunsite. The format was very simple; how to teach people to fight with a rifle inside what we'd normally consider pistol range. So, I laid the foundation for that. Some people say I d...
CS:In 1983 I started my own business, International Training Consultants. My teaching continued and I was honored to be able to start the training division for Heckler & Koch America in '86. Before and after this I spent 10 years on the road teaching all over the country to students from all different occupations and skills levels.
CS:There was a transition period in the '90s when my friend, Mr. George Matthews, tried to buy Gunsite. But when Mr. Cooper found out that I was going to be the operations guy, he said no because I guess he was still grumpy that I'd left, and this was a decade later. He decided to sell the school to Richard Gee instead. Had they sold Gunsite to Mr....
CS:Yes. Mr. Cooper came to the grand opening of Thunder Ranch Texas. He and I also taught a General Purpose Rifle Class together at Thunder Ranch in Texas. Heidi and I were also honored to take Mr. Cooper on his last hunt in Del Rio Texas for his first American Bison. A few months before he died we exchanged letters that will always be between he a...
CS:In the last 32 years I have seen a lot of people come and go. What you say about other people says more about you. The only thing I would do as a student in today's training world is try to find out who your instructor is for the class. Do they provide proof of credentials? A bio? Do they have insurance and do they ask for credentials from their...
CS:Loading the gun is loading the gun…there is no difference in a fight in your home in a hallway than behind a sand dune. It's all about understanding basic gun handling. But, there are subtle differences in some cases for my military students. For example, I teach military members that if you have shot the threat and have to move forward over the...
Learn about Clint Smith's life, career and legacy as one of the godfathers of modern tactical training. He shares his stories from Vietnam, Gunsite and Thunder Ranch, where he teaches students how to shoot and survive.
- Rob Curtis
Sep 10, 2019 · Learn about the history and philosophy of Clint Smith, a renowned firearms trainer and founder of Thunder Ranch. He shares his experiences in Vietnam, Gunsite, HK America and more in this exclusive interview.
