Professional Training
with Dave Brown
TRAINER - WRITER - SPEAKER
“If you love what you do, you'll never work a day in your life.”
Dave Brown was a firearms safety specialist and professional instructor. He worked primarily with government agencies, law enforcement officers and military units on weapons handling, safety and marksmanship.
Learning in the fast-paced world of competitive pistol shooting, Dave trained with some of the fastest and most accurate shooters on earth. After being approached to provide the same type of advanced training to firearms professionals, he began to realize that these skills could save lives and would be especially useful in the field of police weapons training, where instruction at the time was dominated by stationary shooting exercises and outdated techniques. Vowing to approach police training as a science, he studied the performance of the human body under stress and integrated that into modern dynamic shooting techniques. He began writing about his common sense approach to practical firearms training in 1995, eventually becoming one of few civilians considered an expert in police weapons training.
His knowledge of firearms and his high standards of safety led Dave to become one of the primary subject-matter experts in the design of the Canadian Firearms Safety Course, literally helping to write the book on firearms safety in Canada. Dave has now written over 80 magazine articles on firearms training for a variety of police publications, been recognized in court as an expert witness and lectured on the science behind firearms training for the Canadian Association of Journalists, University of Manitoba Law School, National Judicial Institute and the Court of King's Bench of Alberta.
Widely sought after by the film industry as a firearms specialist, Dave has become an integral part of many movie and stage productions. Considered one of the top firearms safety specialists in the business, Dave was the keynote speaker at the 2002 Halifax conference on Safety in the Film Industry, opening speaker at the 2012 Action on Film International Film Festival in California, keynote speaker at the University of Winnipeg Student Film Festival, guest lecturer at both the University of Winnipeg and University of Manitoba film school and seminar presenter at the 2016 Annual Conference of the Canadian Institute for Theatre Technology.
Dave's career in film has now been profiled three times in the Winnipeg Free Press and in 2018, Dave was presented with an Honorary Award for his lifetime of work behind the scenes in the Winnipeg theatre community.
He has been invited to speak on the topic of firearms safety in film to groups all across Canada and the U.S. and media outlets around the world.
Firearms Safety Coordinator
As Firearms Safety Coordinator, Dave Brown advised film and theatre productions on safety issues, trained cast on safety and handling techniques and supervised gun handling on film sets. Known for his calm approach and professional manner, he has worked with hundreds of talented cast and crew and been firearms trainer to many of the top names in Hollywood.
Dave has taught workshops in firearms safety for the film industry across Canada and in Los Angeles, written articles for both the Canadian Society of Cinematographers and the American Society of Cinematographers on firearms safety in the film industry and helped develop a safety training module for all IATSE film and theatre technicians across North America.
His tireless efforts towards greater safety awareness in the entertainment industry has been recognized around the world. Dave has been interviewed by numerous media outlets over the years, recently appeared on an episode of the Discovery Channel to talk about firearms safety in the film industry, and his work on safety hazards with blanks has resulted in a common sense approach to blank gunfire, now known as "Brown's Law" in his honour.
Firearms Writer
In 1998, Dave Brown was named Tactical Firearms Editor for Blue Line Magazine, Canada's largest police publication. Always pushing for a better understanding of the science, he has contributed articles on police weapons training, police vehicles and officer survival. In 2007, as a respected expert in the field of police firearms training, Dave was invited to testify in Ottawa before the House of Commons standing committee on national security on the topic of arming Canada Border Service Agency officers. He continues today as a contributing writer on police firearms and training.
Training Specialist
Dave Brown helped design the Canadian Firearms Safety Course and Canadian Restricted Firearms Safety Course. Representing the Canadian Department of Justice in Ottawa, Dave also traveled across the country to teach training techniques to other instructors and to train Justice employees on regulations, licence forms and conflict resolution.
After working his way up to the status of A-Class IPSC and Master Class PPC shooter, Dave used those skills to design and deliver a wide range of advanced practical firearms training courses to police, military, tactical teams and government agencies. He coached the Canadian Military Police combat pistol team and trained Military Police units on advanced tactical pistol skills.
Dave has been particularly recognized for his skills in shotgun training for bear defence. His courses have been adopted by multiple government agencies for employees working in bear country, and his unique programs of shotgun training have become widely known for their practical approach to shotgun safety and handling.
Public Speaking
As a firearms safety specialist, competitive shooter, coach and writer, Dave Brown has appeared before multiple groups to talk about everything from sport psychology, firearms safety in the film and theatre industry to the science behind how police are trained to use firearms.
SAFETY - ACCURACY - RESPONSIBILITY
Winnipeg, CANADA