DALTON, Ga. — Nearly 40 retired law enforcement officers turned out March 21 for the annual Old Timer’s Shoot hosted by the Whitfield County Sheriff’s Office at its Training Center and Firing Range on Old Prater’s Mill Road.

Among those taking part for the first time was recent Whitfield County Sheriff’s Office retiree Rick Swiney, to whom the training center was dedicated last summer. Back for a second time as a retiree was Phillip Herren, who had overseen the Old Timer’s Shoot as training coordinator for several years.

They were joined by 36 more fellow officers from a wide range of agencies including the Atlanta Police Department, Central Intelligence Agency, Cohutta Police Department, Dalton Police Department, Department of Corrections, East Ellijay Police Department, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Georgia State Patrol, Motor Carrier Compliance Division, Roswell Police Department, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and Whitfield County Sheriff’s Office.

“We ended up having over 1,000 years of service with us,” said Lt. Juan Martinez, who took over in 2017 as training coordinator after Herren’s retirement.

Inside the year-old training center, the retirees listened to a block of instruction from Martinez on use of force and de-escalation before heading to the firing range, where they were scored after using either semiautomatic pistols or revolvers to fire several rounds at targets from four distances, including 25, 15, 7, and 3 yards.

Those are the requirements, per state regulations, for these retired officers to renew their annual concealed carry permits, Martinez said.

Of course, just getting to be with other law enforcement officers, active and retired, is a lot of fun for the participants, he said.

“It’s always fun for them to be able to get together and tell old war stories and hang out and reminisce and talk to people that they served with when they were actively involved in law enforcement,” Martinez said. “Plus, a lot of us younger guys are learning a lot of the neat stuff and how things have changed since back in the day.”

The day ended with participants enjoying the annual grilled hamburger and hot dog lunch, where even more memories were stoked.

Martinez pointed out that beginning May 1, with the help of drug seizure funds and the Whitfield County Public Works Department, the pistol range will be updated with concrete lanes at the various yard markers.