About Summit
Summit Firearms Academy exists because people kept asking the same question after their concealed carry class: "Do you offer additional training?"
That question is the entire reason this business exists. Most people who complete a CCW course walk away with legal permission to carry - not with real proficiency, and not with a clear sense of when they should use what they've learned. Learn more about the person who kept getting asked that question, and why the answer became a full training academy built around judgment first.
My Story
Firearms weren't a childhood tradition passed down through family. They came from a family friend, someone who introduced them early and treated them as something to be understood and respected, not feared or glamorized. That early exposure shaped a lasting interest in how people learn to handle a firearm safely and confidently.
That interest led toward the military - eight years in the U.S. Navy, including nearly a year in BUD/S training. That experience built a foundation in discipline and decision-making under pressure, but it wasn't the whole path. A second career followed, this time in education: an MBA from Pepperdine University, and now graduate study in Organizational Leadership at Brown University.
Somewhere in between, concealed carry instruction became a decade-long thread - first in Arizona, then Utah as well - teaching close to 10,000 students how to legally carry a firearm. Summit Firearms Academy is the answer to what came after: a place for those same students, and new ones, to keep training once the legal class was over.
Why I Teach This Way
Most firearms training focuses on capability - how to shoot faster, more accurately, more aggressively. That's not where instruction here starts.
Every class begins with a different question: how do you avoid needing to use the firearm at all? Judgment comes before marksmanship. Understanding when force is legally and morally justified matters more than group size on a target. Shooting mechanics still get taught - thoroughly - but only after that foundation is in place.
This isn't a philosophy borrowed from a book. It comes directly from a decade of watching what CCW graduates actually needed once their class ended: not more shooting, but a better framework for the decisions that come before ever drawing a firearm.
Experience & Education
10+ years teaching concealed carry courses in Arizona and Utah
~10,000 students trained over the course of that career
8 years of U.S. Navy service, including nearly a year of BUD/S training
MBA, Pepperdine University
Master of Organizational Leadership (in progress), Brown University
Teaching Philosophy
Avoidance first
The best outcome of any class is a student who never needs to use what they've learned defensively. Avoidance, awareness, and de-escalation are taught before - and alongside - shooting mechanics.
Judgment before marksmanship.
Knowing when to act matters more than how tightly you can group shots on a target. Legal and moral decision-making is treated as a core skill, not an afterthought.
Adult learning principles, applied deliberately.
Adults learn differently than students in a classroom setting. Training here is structured around how adults actually absorb new, high-stakes skills - with room to ask questions, go at your own pace, and build confidence incrementally rather than all at once.
What You Can Expect From Me
The same instructor, every class - not a rotating roster of staff
Patience with questions, especially from first-time owners who feel unsure or embarrassed asking them
A training relationship that continues past a single class, through private instruction (coming soon) and ongoing membership for those who want it
Continue Your Journey
Understanding the philosophy is the first step. Here's where to go next.
New to Firearms?
If everything above sounds like the kind of instruction you want, Intro to Handgun Safety is the first step - built for complete beginners, with the same judgment-first approach.
Already Carry, Want to Build Real Proficiency?
A decade of CCW instruction shaped this next step directly - the Building Confidence Workshop turns permission into real proficiency.
Want one-on-one attention?
Private Instruction puts Chandler's full attention on your specific goals for a full 90 minutes - Coming Soon.
Want Ongoing Access and Coaching?
Membership keeps you connected to this same teaching approach between classes, not just for one session.
Wherever You Start
You're starting with the same person, the same philosophy, and the same standard - no matter which path you choose.