Shooting Expert Spotlight: Tanner VanPelt
I have been looking forward to writing this article. I have a special spot for the armed forces of this country. My little sister, Kalireyna, is deployed right now on the USS Normandy, so to hear from active service members or vets is always something that interests me.
Tanner VanPelt served in the Marines from 2002-2006 and was deployed twice: 02-03 as a heavy machine gunner, and again from 05-06 as a Scout Sniper. He grew up hunting and fishing in Northern Idaho, and after serving his four years in the Marines, came back to enjoy the Northwestern lifestyle. He has been with North 40 for a long time and his story with us is interesting as well. He actually applied with his new born son in the back of his car with his wife, "I had been in the hospital for about three days, hadn't seen a gun in as long- figured I could drop an app on the way home." His wife must be a patient woman.
"I wanted to work for North 40 because I had heard about their gun selection, around 200 guns or so back then- I knew they weren't like other retail stores who stock 10 guns and say they have a "Sporting Goods" department. I knew when I walked in and saw the counter and the selection, they weren't messing around."
"I enjoy this job because behind the counter is a world I am familiar with- you know, I think it's a big reason you see a lot of vets working in sporting goods and gun shops. It gives a sense of continuity coming back to the civilian side of life." Tanner said as a vet, he loves coming in to work at North 40 where he's given the opportunity to "play with guns behind the counter all day" and act as an educator to all skill levels of marksmen and hunters in the Ponderay area. "The management team has been really cool here. They let me organize courses with some of our locals here. We get to work with some great firearms and talk shop all day."
While it seems like an easy day at the range, Tanner is actually coaching the shooters that come in utilizing the same knowledge he gained in the Marine Corps Sniper School. "Getting to get out there and show these guys the difference in these rifles- I love every minute of it and I am always learning something, too. There's so much to know when it comes to firearms, there's never really an end to it."
From highly specialized reloading questions to the more general knowledge questions like, "What kind of gun should my daughter get to hunt ducks?" Ponderay is lucky to have a source of information like Tanner on the floor, and so are we as a company.
If you guys are interested in talking with Tanner, come into the Ponderay store, or email us here.
Thank you to Tanner, my little sister and all the vets who have kept this country safe. The US officially recognized the end of World War I and later made Veterans Day an official US holiday with these words (Office of Veterans Affairs, www.va.gov):
Whereas the 11th of November 1918, marked the cessation of the most destructive, sanguinary, and far reaching war in human annals and the resumption by the people of the United States of peaceful relations with other nations, which we hope may never again be severed, and
Whereas it is fitting that the recurring anniversary of this date should be commemorated with thanksgiving and prayer and exercises designed to perpetuate peace through good will and mutual understanding between nations-
An Act (52 Stat. 351; 5 U. S. Code, Sec. 87a) approved May 13, 1938, made the 11th of November in each year a legal holiday a day to be dedicated to the cause of world peace and celebrating the veterans who help that become a reality.
Happy Veterans Day. Enjoy your freedom.