[Doubletaps'Rus]

The more time that I spend on various gun boards the more that I am shocked. There seems to be very little emphasis on TRAINING! Folks will drop 3 grand for a custom 1911 and then balk at spending 500 bucks for a class to learn how to safely deploy it under realistic self-defense conditions.

Many think that they know how to shoot. Punching holes in paper on a bright, sunny range is vastly different from when you have literally 1.5 seconds to make a shoot/don't shoot choice in a dark parking lot, or worse, your home.

We should develop the attitude that when a friend new to shooting comes to us and announces that they are going to buy a gun our response should be: "Great! And where are you going to go for training?"

The current antigun climate guarantees that every CCW involved in a shooting will be under more scrutiny than ever before. We have the right to Keep and bears arms. With any right comes responsibility. Those of us who want to carry a concealed weapon, have a profound obligation to become trained in safety, marksmanship, the legal process of knowing when we are justified to use force and how to survive both the shooting incident and its aftermath. We owe this to ourselves, our families, those we will carry around and our fellow armed citizens.

Today, an adult is viewed as being socially remiss if they don't know CPR. I look forward to the day when the same attitude prevails towards carrying a concealed firearm.

[yamen1999]

When I come across someone who has a gun, or is buying thier first gun, I usually relate how much fun I had at the gun classes I have taken. I then give them the name of the places I've trained. The encounters so far have been enjoyabe doing it that way.

[Glock30Eric]

Yup! You are right!

[Doubletaps'Rus]

I am sick of hear about folks packing a gun in their glove box and thinking that their armed while they spend hours on end away from their car. Or they get a gun and a few boxes of ammo and feel that they are ready to defend their home. The attitude is scary.

[Sensai]

Can't argue with that logic.Firearms training is a life long commitment to education and training. And by training I mean training on a regular basis at a reputable defensive handgun school (or rifle whichever the case may be) There are quite a few of these spread out across the Country, the one I use is Practical Firearms Training in Alderson, WV. They are reasonably priced and offer many different levels of training. Defensive handgun 1,DHG 2 HG CQB, advanced handgun, low light, vehicle based incidents, skills maintenance. Also precision rifle, tactical rifle, tactical shotgun.Owner and senior instructor are marines, leo, and train police swat teams, police, military personnel, private security contractors and civilians.They actually have three locations, WV, Montana, and Pennsylvania.Check it out on the web.It might be close to you.

[Glock30Eric]

Originally Posted by Doubletaps'Rus

I am sick of hear about folks packing a gun in their glove box and thinking that their armed while they spend hours on end away from their car. Or they get a gun and a few boxes of ammo and feel that they are ready to defend their home. The attitude is scary.

Well, if they just got it and they are working to build it then its understandable. Unless he's a Navy Seal.

[Mr. Blandings]

Just this evening, my darling daughter(who recently decided to move out on her own) asked if I would give her one of my guns. "I could go out and buy one," she said, "but why should I spend hundreds when you have lots of them?"

My response?

"I can't recall a time that you have ever pulled the trigger on a live firearm, and if there was such a time it was at least six years ago. You don't know the first thing about the laws of self defense. You are the absolute perfect picture of a person who has no business having a firearm."

It pains me knowing that she is out from under my wing defenseless, but all attempts to keep it from being so over recent years were shunned by her.

[Gallium]

Originally Posted by Doubletaps'Rus

The more time that I spend on various gun boards the more that I am shocked. There seems to be very little emphasis on TRAINING! Folks will drop 3 grand for a custom 1911 and then balk at spending 500 bucks for a class to learn how to safely deploy it under realistic self-defense conditions.

Many think that they know how to shoot. Punching holes in paper on a bright, sunny range is vastly different from when you have literally 1.5 seconds to make a shoot/don't shoot choice in a dark parking lot, or worse, your home.

We should develop the attitude that when a friend new to shooting comes to us and announces that they are going to buy a gun our response should be: "Great! And where are you going to go for training?"

The current antigun climate guarantees that every CCW involved in a shooting will be under more scrutiny than ever before. We have the right to Keep and bears arms. With any right comes responsibility. Those of us who want to carry a concealed weapon, have a profound obligation to become trained in safety, marksmanship, the legal process of knowing when we are justified to use force and how to survive both the shooting incident and its aftermath. We owe this to ourselves, our families, those we will carry around and our fellow armed citizens.

Today, an adult is viewed as being socially remiss if they don't know CPR. I look forward to the day when the same attitude prevails towards carrying a concealed firearm.

Yet in the news all over the country there are literally, dozens of people every week who grab a gun to defend their lives, and are not beset by tragedy.

Training is not over rated. I consider myself "well-trained" (I am an instructor trainer for firearms in most "civilian" disciplines, and then some + instructor for things not directly related to guns)...but the statistical data available to us does not substantiate your claim or concern.

I advocate to anyone who is interested in guns to get training, and I go thru life that we must all individually , carefully weigh and balance our decisions as to our lifestyles, guns, etc.

[Doubletaps'Rus]

Gallium,

While there are many successes each week, there are also a lot of questionable shootings because people don't know when they can appropriately use force. There is also the stat that the antis throw out about the owner's gun being used on them. I wonder how many would have been able to retain that weapon had they gotten training.

But the point of the post was the notion of the gun owner being a leader and by training, educating him or herself, and by setting a positive example being a person who can be the best ambassador for gun ownership possible.

Our future depends upon this kind of conduct, IMHO. I have yet to attend Mass Ayoob's MAG 40 (I hope to in 2013) because it provides training in the legalities of use of force that can save you after the shooting. I know a bit of the material covered. I know enough to know that training that is regular and documented may save your from going to prison if you face and overzealous or antigun prosecutor.

My goal is not just surviving the gun fight.

[SpringerTGO]

Originally Posted by Doubletaps'Rus

Gallium,

While there are many successes each week, there are also a lot of questionable shootings because people don't know when they can appropriately use force. There is also the stat that the antis throw out about the owner's gun being used on them. I wonder how many would have been able to retain that weapon had they gotten training.

But the point of the post was the notion of the gun owner being a leader and by training, educating him or herself, and by setting a positive example being a person who can be the best ambassador for gun ownership possible.

Our future depends upon this kind of conduct, IMHO. I have yet to attend Mass Ayoob's MAG 40 (I hope to in 2013) because it provides training in the legalities of use of force that can save you after the shooting. I know a bit of the material covered. I know enough to know that training that is regular and documented may save your from going to prison if you face and overzealous or antigun prosecutor.

My goal is not just surviving the gun fight.

People should get the amount of training and expertise they are comfortable with. For some, that means weekly (if not more} sessions at the range, classes, etc. For others, their life doesn't revolve around their firearm(s). The "statistic" of weapons being used against their owners opens up a whole different can of worms. I think more people would be discouraged from gun ownership if they were pressed (or forced) into weapons retention training.
Of course it would be great if everyone who carried was an expert, but to a lot of us, gun ownership is a right and not a lifestyle.


Should we all go out and get special training for our cars, boats, motorcycles, etc? We are much more likely to use them and our lives (as well as those around us) are just as dependent on proper usage.