Southwest Colorado's homegrown firearms training school and full-service gun shop — concealed-carry classes, a MILO judgment simulator, private lessons, and big-country courses on a private ranch between Bayfield and Pagosa Springs. And it started at the lake: its first storefront opened in December 2015 in the former game room at Pine River Lodge. Owner JJ Rouanzoin is a U.S. Army veteran whose law-enforcement career includes the Southern Ute Police Department and Durango PD.
Logo courtesy of Colorado Gun Fighter · photo credits
Who they are
Born at Vallecito, at home in Durango
Colorado Gun Fighter's first storefront opened in December 2015 right here at the lake — in the former game room at Pine River Lodge, where co-owner Dawn had come home to join her family's business (early visitors occasionally wandered in looking for the pool table). The little shop did more business in its first three months than it had projected for its entire first year. In 2018 the couple won Bayfield's approval to relocate — they told the Durango Herald they wanted their sales-tax dollars supporting Bayfield and more room for teaching — and by 2020 the business had upgraded to a larger home on Sawyer Drive in Durango, where it is today. It now describes itself as “the leading firearms retailer in Southwest Colorado and the Four Corners” — and it's still the training-first shop it was in the game-room days.
JJ built the training side on a career of carrying a gun professionally: the U.S. Army, where he was a staff sergeant; a sergeant's post with the Southern Ute Police Department in Ignacio; and service as a Durango Police officer. Certified as a gun instructor by the NRA, he told the Herald back in 2016 that teaching was his favorite part of the job — clients ranged from oil-field crews to staff at a rural school district. That culture shows up in the testimonials the shop shares: first-time buyers — including one who wrote she'd been ignored at other gun shops — describe being treated with patience and respect. And when the Herald covered the shop's 2018 move plans, it reported the store already kept suicide-prevention information on hand, with JJ blunt about it: if an employee has reservations about a sale, “we'll refuse the sale.” A quiet local example of the watch-out-for-each-other ethic this valley runs on.
A CCW class in session · image courtesy of Colorado Gun Fighter
New Colorado law · effective Aug 1, 2026
Buying a semiauto after August 1? There's a new class for that
Colorado's SB25-003 takes effect August 1, 2026: from that date, buying — or receiving a transfer of — most semiautomatic rifles and shotguns with detachable magazines (and gas-operated semiauto handguns with detachable magazines) takes two things. First, a firearms safety course eligibility card from a county sheriff — an online application with photo ID, a background check, and fees (the state's application portal opens July 20, 2026, and counties differ on how quickly they're processing, so check with yours). The card isn't proof of training — it's your ticket into the class. Second, a state-standardized safety course from a sheriff-verified instructor, completed within the five years before your purchase: a 4-hour basic course if you have CPW-verified hunter education, or a 12-hour extended course over at least two days if you don't — in-person only, with a 90% score to pass the exam. The card itself is also good for five years. A concealed-carry class does not count toward any of this (or vice versa), and firearms you already own aren't affected. A federal court challenge (Del Toro v. Polis) was still pending as we wrote this in July 2026 — no court had blocked the law. This is our plain-English read; the authoritative details live at Colorado Parks & Wildlife.
Where CGF fits: they tell us a course for the new requirement is in the works alongside their existing classes. If a purchase is in your plans, call (970) 422-8261 to ask about timing and get on the interest list.
Training
From first shot to a thousand yards
Classroom and simulator sessions run at the Durango shop; live-fire training happens on the Keyah Grande ranch. Prices below are as published on their site — confirm current pricing and dates when you book.
🎯 Concealed-carry (CCW) classes
Basic $200 · Advanced $300, which by their description adds legal advice from the local District Attorney. Colorado's current CCW format is a minimum 8-hour class with a scored live-fire qualification; CGF pairs it with MILO simulator time. Qualifies Colorado residents to apply for the permit.
🖥️ MILO simulator
A theater-screen judgment simulator drawing on the MILO system's library of 800+ shoot/don't-shoot and de-escalation scenarios. $150/hr/person with a certified instructor — or $75/hr with an operator who runs the system but isn't a certified instructor (their own upfront label).
👤 Private lessons
One-on-one or small-group, $150/hr/person on the simulator or live fire (live fire: ammunition not included; rental guns available on request).
🏠 Self-defense & home defense
A 3-hour self-defense class ($150) covering handling, marksmanship, and the legal side — plus in-home home-defense sessions ($150/hr, 2-hr minimum) that include a walk-through safety assessment of your own house.
🏔️ The Keyah Grande Experience
Full training days on a private 5,000-acre ranch between Bayfield and Pagosa Springs (per CGF): pistol, rifle, and shotgun courses, night vision, vehicle work, tactical medicine, wilderness survival — up to a 4-day package with precision shooting out to 1,000 yards. Call or email for dates and pricing.
👥 Groups, agencies & pros
Custom packages for military, law enforcement, and private groups, plus MILO group sessions (3–8 people). The shop is a certified Glock Blue Label dealer and stocks law-enforcement lines.
The shop
A full-service gun store, too
The Durango storefront is a complete shop — firearms, ammunition, optics, and accessories, with a deep Class 3/NFA specialty: suppressor sales with in-house fingerprint scans and photos for the ATF paperwork, and even a titanium .50-cal suppressor of their own, the CGF CODAK-50. Sister company Gunfighter Cartridge Company manufactures their own ammunition, specializing in frangible rounds, and the gunsmithing bench does optic cuts ($165, or $100 with an optic purchase), cosmetic slide cuts ($300), and Cerakote finishes ($195) — shipping extra if you mail work in.
Good to know
Before you go
Where: 146 Sawyer Dr Unit D, Durango — about 45–55 minutes from the lake (US 160 through Bayfield, or Florida Road). Training days at Keyah Grande are between Bayfield and Pagosa Springs.
Hours: Wed–Sat 10 a.m.–6 p.m. · Sun 10 a.m.–4 p.m. (no Mon–Tue hours posted — call ahead).
Booking: by phone — (970) 422-8261. The class calendar is embedded on their site.
New to shooting? Rental guns are available on request for training — you don't need to own a firearm to start.
CCW note: the class qualifies Colorado residents to apply for a concealed-carry permit through their county sheriff.
Prices: as published on coloradogunfighter.com in July 2026 — formats and pricing have shifted with Colorado's 2024–2026 law changes, so confirm when you book.
Get in touch
Book a class or visit the shop
Call for class availability, private training, or the SB25-003 interest list — or just stop in and ask questions. Their reviews say that's welcome.
