About DFTA
A single instructor teaching Maryland students to handle a pistol safely, shoot it accurately, and carry it responsibly for personal defense.
Defense Firearm Training Academy is a Maryland pistol and personal defense training practice run by a single instructor. Students learn to handle a handgun safely, shoot it accurately, and understand exactly when and how the law allows it to be used.
Every course is taught personally by a Maryland Qualified Handgun Instructor and NRA Qualified Range Safety Officer, in small groups where nobody is left behind, beginners included.
- Based in
- Owings Mills, MD
- Established
- 2026
- Class size
- Small group / 1-on-1
Your Instructor
Certified, experienced, and focused on one goal: making every student safer and more competent with a pistol.
DFTA Lead Instructor
NRA & Maryland Qualified Handgun Instructor
A certified firearms instructor focused on turning uncertain first-time owners into confident, law-abiding carriers. Every class is taught personally, no assistants, no large groups, no shortcuts.
- 01NRA Certified Pistol Instructor
- 02NRA Qualified Range Safety Officer
- 03Maryland Qualified Handgun Instructor
- 04Small class sizes with one-on-one correction
- 05Range time supervised directly, not delegated
What you learn
Whether you have never touched a handgun or carry one every day, instruction moves through the same six pillars, classroom first, range second.
01
Safe handling
The universal safety rules, loading and unloading, storage, and how to make a pistol safe in any condition.
02
Pistol fundamentals
Grip, stance, sight alignment, trigger control and follow-through, the mechanics that make accurate shooting repeatable.
03
Carry and concealment
Holster selection, safe presentation, re-holstering and carrying responsibly through an ordinary day.
04
Maryland law
The legal framework for owning, carrying and using a firearm in Maryland, and what the law expects of you.
05
Defensive mindset
Awareness, avoidance and decision-making, understanding when a firearm is the answer and when it is not.
06
Live fire
Supervised range time where classroom instruction is applied under the eye of a Range Safety Officer.
Who trains here
- First-time owners who have never handled a pistol
- Applicants preparing for a Maryland HQL or Wear and Carry permit
- Carriers who want to rebuild their fundamentals properly
- Anyone learning to defend themselves and their family responsibly
Four things every student leaves with.
Nothing here is theatre. Each course is built around the same four outcomes, in the same order, every single time.
01
Safety
The rules that never bend, on the range and off it.
02
Fundamentals
Grip, stance, sights and trigger, drilled until they hold.
03
Judgment
Maryland law, threat assessment, and when not to draw.
04
Confidence
Carrying calmly, because the training is already done.