2025 Guardian Conference: A Milestone Year of Training, Community, and Excellence

The 2025 Guardian Conference concluded this past weekend in Oklahoma City, marking five years of bringing together some of the nation's top defensive firearms instructors and dedicated students committed to protecting themselves and their loved ones. Over 110 Americans gathered to learn, teach, and support American gun owners in what proved to be an exceptional weekend of training and community building.

Five Years Strong

This milestone year brought a special recognition for those who have made the Guardian Conference a cornerstone of their annual training cycle. Attendees, instructors, and staff members who have participated in all five years were presented with custom Spyderco knives—a fitting tribute to their loyalty and commitment. I, having missed the first year of our company's event, didn't earn a knife but I was excited to honor those who did!

Among this distinguished group stands Chuck Haggard of Agile Training & Consulting, the only instructor with perfect attendance across all five years. His dedication exemplifies the spirit that has made this event a success, and we're grateful to him and everyone who has invested in building this community.

World-Class Instruction

The 2025 conference brought together an impressive roster of 12 instructors and instructor teams, blending trusted returning experts with exciting new additions. Returning instructors included Brian Hill, Chuck Haggard, Riley Bowman, Wayne Dobbs, AJ Zito, Tyler Tharp, Kaery Dudenhofer, and the CCW Safe team of Don West, Shawn Vincent, and Jennifer Chance. New to the official roster this year were Dan Brady, Caleb Causey, Adam Winch, and Zach Cox, bringing fresh perspectives and expanding the breadth of expertise available to students.

Comprehensive Curriculum

Across three intensive training days, students had access to 28 unique courses delivered through 65 total training sessions. The curriculum reflected a complete approach to defensive firearms training, covering far more than just marksmanship fundamentals.

Classes were available focused on the defensive use of handguns, shotguns, and AR-style rifles. Beyond firearms manipulation, the conference addressed critical supporting skills including medical gear and trauma response, the legal aspects of self-defense, vehicle defense tactics, and threat de-escalation.

Technical topics ranged from pistol-mounted optics and ballistics to extreme marksmanship and competitive shooting fundamentals. Students could develop skills in low-light tactics, shooting on the move, shooting from diminished positions, dry fire practice, and every aspect of pistol performance imaginable.

The schedule ran from Friday morning through Sunday afternoon, with training blocks from 8:00am to 12:00pm and 1:30pm to 5:30pm each day. Friday evening featured specialized low-light courses at Wilshire Gun, giving students the opportunity to apply their skills in challenging conditions. Between training sessions, attendees gathered for continental breakfasts and lunches, creating natural opportunities for networking and building the connections that make this community strong.

The HK Challenge: Competition Comes to Guardian Conference

A standout addition to this year's event was the HK Challenge—a USPSA-style competition stage available throughout the weekend for all attendees. What made this particularly meaningful was that most participants admitted they had never tried competitive shooting before, yet just shy of 75% of conference attendees took on the challenge.

The stage was open to any firearm, ensuring everyone could participate regardless of what they brought. Throughout the weekend, HK provided loaner firearms including the new VP9s and the HK CC9—all optic-equipped—available for use in any class. These high-quality firearms were especially popular during the HK Challenge, giving students hands-on experience with well-made guns many might not otherwise have the opportunity to shoot.

On Sunday, Danny K. was announced as the winner of the HK Challenge, taking home an HK VP9K handgun. Additionally, all participants were entered into a random drawing for a Holosun optic, ensuring everyone who stepped up to the challenge had a chance to win.

Growing and Evolving

The conference continues to reflect important trends in the firearms community. This year, 19% of attendees were women—a demographic that represents the largest growing segment of gun owners in the nation. The Guardian Conference is proud to serve this expanding community, providing serious training opportunities for all who seek to develop their defensive skills.

Exceptional Support from Our Partners

None of this would be possible without the generous support of our sponsors. CCW Safe, our presenting sponsor for all five years, was present throughout the weekend ensuring attendees had an exceptional experience and sponsored Friday night's dinner. Taurus USA, a returning sponsor, sponsored the venue where attendees enjoyed daily lunches in the Taurus USA Bullpen.

New to the Guardian Conference this year, Mags N Co provided all ammunition used by instructors and offered discounted ammunition to attendees. Over 15,000 rounds of their ammunition were fired throughout the weekend without a single report of an ammunition failure—a testament to their quality and reliability. Their team was also onsite participating in classes and supporting the Second Amendment.

In addition to CCW Safe, HK, Taurus USA, and Mags N Co, additional support came from TacticalRX, POM Pepper Spray, The Firearm Trainers Association, BarrelBlok, EDC Belt Co, Gunfighter Gun Oil, KSG Armory Holsters, Holosun, Iron Soldiers Coffee Company, Ready Up Gear, RangeTech Shot Timers, Health Markets, and the Paulsen, Reissner, & Curtis Law firm, who sponsored Sunday's celebration dinner.

Looking Ahead to 2026

The 2025 Guardian Conference demonstrated once again that there is tremendous appetite for high-quality defensive firearms training delivered in a supportive, community-focused environment. As we celebrate this year's success, we're already looking forward to next year.

The 2026 Guardian Conference will take place September 18-20, 2026, in Oklahoma City. Tickets are now available, and for a limited time, you can take advantage of Early Bird pricing with a $100 discount on tickets. Guardian Nation members receive an even greater benefit with a $250 discount.

To everyone who attended, taught, supported, and made the 2025 Guardian Conference possible—thank you. You are building something special, and we can't wait to see you next September.

For more information and to secure your Early Bird tickets for 2026, visit the Guardian Conference website.