The world of firearms is punctuated by those that know.
Know how to shoot, obviously, and more than that, they often know how to shoot under stress while performing to an extreme degree of competence. They are dedicated, practiced, and steady under fire.
In the old days, we’d call them gunfighters, but these days most of the best shooters serve as instructors.
For the benefit of everyone, the world has become a safer place, and gun fights are far less common. Competent shooters are still common, and they often go on to teach and make more competent shooters.
I’ve been thinking about the world of competent and cool shooters and wondering who exactly are the best gunfighters and instructors?
Not just today but historically. This led me down a rabbit hole, and I think I’ve compiled an extensive list of the best gunfighters and firearms instructors of all time. So let’s get into it.
Best Gunfighters & Trainers
1. Wild Bill Hickock
While movies would have us think gunfights were a scheduled occurrence in the old West, that simply wasn’t true.
They were more common than now, but they weren’t an everyday affair for most people. Wild Bill Hickock was involved in so many that he stood out enough to be famous.
Wild Bill lived an exciting life; at 21, he was elected constable of the Monticello Township. A year later, he rode for the Pony Express, where he fought a bear and actually won. In 1861 he got into his first gunfight that we know of.
After that, he served in the Union Army during the Civil War. After the war, he killed Davis Tutt in a duel, the first quick-draw duel recorded. This set the stage for the stereotypical Old West shootout. Hickok put a round through Tutt’s heart at 75 yards.
He’d later go on to be a lawman and was involved in seemingly endless shootings and shootouts. Many were controversial, and Hicock was always quite quick to pull his gun. He was no hero, but he was certainly a gunfighter.
He met his end at Deadwood when a coward name Jack McCall shot him in the back of the head.
2. Bass Reeves
Bass Reeves led a fascinating life and served as the inspiration for the Lone Ranger. He was one of the most effective Marshals of all time, a gunfighter through and through, but he remained a family man known for his politeness, charm, and courteous manner.
Bass Reeves was a black man born as a slave and only freed after the Civil War ended. During the war, he fled from the Confederate that owned him and remained in Indian Territory, becoming known to the Natives and learning their customs, languages, and tracking skills.
Indian Territory used to be lawless, so outlaws, killers, and desperados would hide there. Eventually, Deputy Marshalls were sent in to retrieve those with warrants. Bass Reeves left his family and farm, pinned on a badge, and began capturing fugitives.
He was known for his large frame, white horse, and ability to gun sling with his two Colt pistols. Reportedly, he was ambidextrous and a very skilled marksman. He would bring in or kill many fugitives.
Reeves was often credited for his intelligence tracking and planning skills.
3. Frank Hamer
Men don’t get much tougher than Frank Hamer. At 16, he killed his first man, McSwain, who had shot him in the back with a load of buckshot.
It was his first of many gunfights and many wounds. After he recovered from the wounds, he hunted the man down.
Frank Hamer would later become a lawman, a Texas Ranger, City Marshal, special investigator, deputy sheriff, and a Ranger once more. He fought bandits, bootleggers, and other desperados.
In his time as a law enforcement officer, he led a battle against the Ku Klux Klan and reportedly rigged enforced law and order. He saved at least 15 people from lynch mobs. He’d go on to be in over 50 gunfights, shot 17 times, and left for dead at least four times. He and his wife even fought off a pair of would-be assassins who ambushed them.
His most famous venture was the ambush of Bonnie and Clyde.
4. Charles Askins
When discussing successful gunfighters, it’s smart to understand they weren’t always good men. Charles Askins, for example, was a prolific gunfighter, but his history and legacy are steeped in controversy. Askins served as both a lawman and a soldier.
He fought in the European Campaign of World War II and worked with the U.S. Forest Service and the Border Patrol for decades. In his autobiography, he claimed he was in a gunfight at least once weekly while working for the Border Patrol.
Later, he joined the Army and landed in North Africa, Italy, and at D-Day. He would later work for the American government up until Vietnam, where he trained South Vietnamese soldiers in shooting.
Askins was a champion competition shooter and a very successful big game hunter. He would later become a gun writer and firearms instructor.
5. Jeff Cooper
Jeff Cooper is a name familiar to any gun guy or gal. He created what’s known as the Modern Technique of pistol shooting.
His techniques influence generations of shooters. Because of Jeff Cooper, we shoot handguns with two hands, use our feet and stance, and work a modern and effective draw stroke.
The Modern Technique is a bit outdated, but the shooting stances, draw, and grip Cooper invented have been built upon and modernized.
Cooper was a U.S. Marine officer who served in the Pacific Theatre and later served in the Korean War. He would become a high school and college professor for over a decade. Eventually, he founded the American Pistol Institute.
His time as a teacher helped him become one of the most legendary firearm instructors ever. Cooper began teaching police officers, soldiers, and eventually civilians the art of the handgun.
He wrote several books and several gun magazines and maintained his shooting school, which is now Gunsite Academy. He even had a big hand in creating IPSC and defensive shooting competitions.
To this day, he influences the world of modern shooting.
6. Jim Cirillo
Jim Cirillo might be one of the last modern gunfighters who was also a firearm instructor. He sadly passed in 2007 but left behind a fascinating legacy.
Cirillo started his career as a beat cop in the NYPD and eventually became a member of the Stakeout Squad.
New York in the 1960s, 70s, and 80s was a violent place. Violent crime skyrocketed, and the NYPD responded by creating the Stakeout Squad. These men were essentially an anti-armed robbery force. They’d use street intelligence to determine stores, bodegas, and others likely to be robbed by armed men.
They would then ‘stakeout’ the location and wait for the robbers to make their move. When they did, the officers would spring their trap. As you’d imagine, armed robbers weren’t always keen to go quietly.
This led to the Stakeout Squad and Jim Cirillo being experienced gunfighters. Cirillo killed 11 men in his time in the Stakeout Squad. He later retired and became a well-known firearm instructor and advocate for training.
7. Pat Rogers
Pat Rogers made a huge impression on the firearms and police world. It’s a telltale sign that he was extremely well respected that every year a Pat Rogers Memorial Revolver Round-Up is held and attended by some of the most vaunted instructors in the industry.
His career is legendary. He was a Marine, served as a tanker and infantryman, fought in Vietnam, and eventually retired as a Chief Warrant Officer 2. He served as a correction officer and NYPD officer.
Rogers’ list of assignments in the NYPD is vast and impressive, and he did everything from beat patrol to hostage negotiator and received 54 decorations. He started EAG Tactical and became one of the most requested instructors in the country.
He trained police officers, soldiers, SWAT teams, and the everyday Joe.
Keep in mind he started this in 1989; at this time, private firearm instruction wasn’t common, and he helped make it what it is today.
8. Ken Hackathorn
Ken Hackathorn has been there and seen that, and so has his mustache.
The man behind the stache is a former Green Beret and Law Enforcement officer with one of the longest instructor resumes out there. This includes Army Special Forces Small Arms Instructor, NRA Police Firearm Instructor, FBI Certified Firearm Instructor, and many more.
He’s trained Special Operations forces, SWAT teams, and even the FBI’s Hostage Rescue Team. Hakathorn’s triangle everyone from small local police forces to major metropolitan teams. Yet, he still makes time to train the average Joe or Jane, looking to be well-armed and skilled.
He’s seemingly a master instructor. While shooting skills are important, and the man can certainly shoot, it also matters how much you can teach. A legendary instructor for a reason, he knows how to transfer information efficiently and effectively to various skill levels.
He’s a prolific writer with articles in Guns and Ammo, Soldier of Fortune, Combat Handguns, and many more. He is also a founding member of IPSC and IDPA. The guy is a titan of firearm instruction and influence.
9. Greg Ellifritz
Greg “Gorillafritz” Ellifritz is a big man with an even bigger resume.
He spent 13 of his 25-year career in law enforcement as a full-time tactical training officer for his department. Under his guidance, he created a very modern and capable police agency.
Outside of training, he served as a sniper, field training officer, patrol officer, armorer, and more. He taught classes at the Tactical Defense Institute for 17 years and later founded Active Response Training.
Ask yourself this, what do you want to learn? Do you want to learn close-quarters combative with knives? How about a medical class? Maybe you want to run a gauge or a revolver?
Well, he has you covered. He teaches a ton of classes on how to make holes in people and how to fix holes in people. The man has over 4,000 hours of formal training in various skills, weapons, and instruction.
If you want to know something, he can likely teach it.
10. Rob Haught
Rob Haught is the Jeff Cooper of shotguns. He started as a police officer and served for 30 years behind a badge.
He told Primary & Secondary about how he became the man for shotgun instruction during that time. It boils down to the fact that it was the long gun of choice for his era of policing.
As such, he dedicated himself to becoming highly skilled with the gun and eventually became the go-to guy for modern shotgun instruction. Haught’s influence on the world of shotguns is cemented in his invention of the push/pull technique.
This recoil-reducing technique opened the door for shooters looking to master the shotgun. The shotgun is not an egalitarian weapon and is often rough on smaller shooters. His technique made it so anyone could effectively use the shotgun.
These days Haught runs SYMTAC consulting with his son, and they travel the country teaching their techniques and being a huge influence on the return of the gauge to the modern conversation.
11. Darryl Bolke
Darryl Bolke blends gunfighter and instructor well. He worked for a Southern California police department for 19.5 years and was the department’s head SWAT team trainer for 17 years. He also served as the primary instructor for all firearms the agency used.
While working for this department, he was injured during an on-duty violent confrontation. Since then, he’s been a firearm instructor bringing his skills to the masses. His plenty skilled in a variety of platforms outside of the standard modern handgun and rifle.
From revolvers to shotguns, Bolke knows his stuff and teaches under the Hardwired Tactical banner. Classes include everything from First Responder Pistol to extreme close-quarter’s classes.
He packs a lot of real-world experience into his courses and goes beyond just teaching someone to put a bullet into a target. He also teaches pre-conflict cues, unknown contact management, and more. It’s real-world training for real-world people.
Final Thoughts
I could keep listing instructors. We live in an era where many qualified professionals teach firearms tactics.
This certainly isn’t a conclusive list of the best instructors and gunfighters, and that list would quickly turn into a book.
With that in mind, let us know who you think deserves to be on the list in the comments below! For more firearms instructors we like, check out the Top 5 Firearms Instructors (That You Can Still Learn From).
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