William “Joe” Sellmer
Owner / Chief Instructor
Introducing William “Joe” Sellmer
We have been asked how we came up with the name “Parabellum.”
Several law enforcement officers, that are also good friends, chose the name for the range. Parabellum is actually Si vis pacem, para bellum, a Latin phrase meaning “If you wish for peace, prepare for war”
Our version of “Speak softly but carry a big stick!”
Parabellum is also the world’s most popular and widely used military handgun cartridge. Keep saying “Parabellum” over and over again …. guarantee it will grow on you!
People have asked how we came up with the idea to open a range. The truth is, it was my wife’s idea.
I have shot all my life, even having an FFL from 1981 thru 1996 during which time I was shooting competitively quite a lot. I had always said that I wanted to have a small gun shop once I retired. What changed all that is all the current interest in guns. With all of the people getting Concealed Carry Permits there are a huge number of people wanting and needing firearms training as well as armed self-defense training.
We saw an opportunity to help these people become safe, responsible gun owners and maybe learn to love the sport that I love. If you go to any local law enforcement agency you will find that they have people asking where they can get firearms training almost every day. We hope to help provide that training. At the same time, I have shot outdoors in bad weather and shooting indoors is much more fun. By offering an indoor range and training classes under one roof we can hopefully appeal to more people and offer the training people want.
At Parabellum our mission is to promote safe and responsible gun ownership and to leave our students confident that they can defend themselves.
This is the dream of my life, being able to open a gun range to educate and promote gun safety to responsible gun owners.
All Parabellum Instructors
William "Joe" Sellmer
Owner, Parabellum Firearms
Chief Firearms/Academy Instructor
About Joe
People have asked how we came up with the idea to open a range. The truth is, it was my wife’s idea.
I have shot all my life, even having an FFL from 1981 thru 1996 during which time I was shooting competitively quite a lot. I had always said that I wanted to have a small gun shop once I retired. What changed all that is all the current interest in guns.
Trevor J Maloney
Manager, Parabellum Firearms
Firearms Instructor
About Trevor
Trevor served 5 years active duty Air Force as a Security Forces Member doing Nuclear Weapons Security.
He is certified on all weapons systems and specialized in Crew Served Weapons including the MK19 grenade launcher. He also specialized in fire team and squad tactics.
Eric McElhaney
Senior Instructor
ILEA Instructor
About Eric
Eric has been a police officer since 1993 and a firearms instructor since 1998.
He has over 10,000 hours of instructing of police and civilians. He has taught a variety of things including: pistol, shotgun, carbine, physical tactics, ground fighting, and defensive knife training, as well as being a S.T.O.P.S instructor.
Kevin Muller
Firearms Instructor
Martial Arts Instructor
About Kevin
Kevin served 25 years in the US Army, serving in the Active Duty and Reserve as a Military Policemen and a Cavalry Scout.
While as a Cavalry Scout, Kevin served as a Drill Sergeant and a First Sergeant, running numerous light and heavy weapon ranges during his career. He has been active in the shooting sports since 2014.
Adam Sauer
Firearms Instructor
About Adam
Adam has served 21 years in the Army Reserves. For six (6) of those years, he served in a training battalion, training reserve units on squad tactics, perimeter security, convoy operations and Tactical Combat Casualty Care.
He has also served as a rifle and pistol instructor for his unit for over 10 years.
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Bruce A Mayo
Illinois/Utah CFP Instructor
About Bruce
Bruce is certified as an NRA Instructor and Range Safety Officer, as well as being a Utah and Illinois Concealed Carry instructor.
He is also a USCCA Certified Instructor in Concealed Carry, Stop the Bleed, Countering the Mass Shooter, and Emergency First Aid. He has trained at Frontsight in Parumph, NV.
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