t has been nearly four years since Paul Everett Gomez died, in Seattle WA. Paul was on his way to British Columbia, to deliver his unique brand of training. Paul had two flagship courses, 1. RPM…”Robust Pistol Manipulation” that was Paul’s unique spin on ambidextrous gun handling, both shooting, loading, and fixing malfunctions, with EACH hand and one-hand-only, and 2. “Urban AK,” which was essentially, utilization of the AK at distances normally reserved for pistol and shotgun work, that is, inside of 25 yards. Paul slept on my sofa bed, the night before he departed Nashville for Seattle, and he left his carry pistol, a Glock 19, and his, “bag gun,” an underfolding AKM, in my possession. Paul stayed at my house regularly, every couple of days, and this was the custom when he flew to places he couldn’t carry at.
I first met Paul at a Tactical Response, “Fighting Rifle,” course in about the Fall of 2006. Paul and I were the only students in a class of ten, and we were the only students using AK variants. At the time, the carbine itself cost less than $350, and a case of Wolf ammunition was $99, and sometimes you could find it for $79! Very inexpensive by today’s standards. Magazines were plentiful, and could be had for $8 to $10 each. Well, Paul and I were, at first, the odd men out, as everyone else in the class had an M4 of some sort, along with the flashlights, and red dot optics that work so well with the Stoner family of carbines and rifles. Paul and I had simple, wood stocked rifles, with simple nylon slings, and iron sights. They were about as, “stock,” as an AK could get. The weather was cold, and there was even some snow on the ground, but despite the precipitation, neither of our rifles had any malfunctions, and we both finished the class admirably. Our friendship was forged from there on out.
