JimConway
Instructor
This article was taken from www.corneredcat.com with the permission of the author Kathy Jackson
Is formal training for you?
Why Not Take a Shooting Class?
By Kathy Jackson
Awhile back, I asked a large number of avid shooters -- people who own guns and carry them -- some questions that have long puzzled me. Here are my responses to some of the answers they gave me.
decorative element
The Question
I'd like to invite speculation about training from people to whom the following apply:
* You're into handguns for self-defense.
* You have a carry permit, and carry at least some of the time.
* You haven't had any training, OR you have had only as much training as your state requires in order to obtain a carry permit.
* You have no real intention of taking any firearms classes in the near future.
So how 'bout it, folks? If you carry a gun for defense but don't plan to visit a gun school -- why not? What are your thoughts & reasoning about this?
Send me an email.
The answers which I have received so far have been very instructive. I haven't (and won't) argue with anyone about whether they, personally, need or do not need training, so don't be afraid to tell me what you think. Collecting these answers has simply allowed me to target my writing, both here and elsewhere, and I'm grateful for those who have taken time to write to me.
If there's a common trend, it is that most people who have never gone to a gun school simply do not see the need for doing so. Professional firearms instruction can be quite expensive, and many people suspect they will not receive value equal to the money spent. The awful truth is that most gun schools and firearms instructors in general have done a really poor job at communicating what it is that they do and why they do it. As a result, people who have never been to a gun school often do not understand what benefits they might expect to receive from formal firearms training.
"I can teach myself how to shoot."
Let us start by discussing the difference between education and training. To educate someone is to provide them with facts about something. To train them is to teach them how to do something. When I learned to drive, I took Driver's Education (sitting in a classroom taking notes) and followed it up by taking Driver's Training (ain't dual brakes grand?). College education is followed by on-the-job training.
Firearms schools generally provide both education and training. Both firearms education and firearms training are important, but of the two, training is the most critical. If your education is lacking, you might mess up your own life by breaking a law you didn't know existed. But if your training is lacking, you might kill someone by accident.
The distinction between education and training is very important to people who, like me, tend to be self-taught in most things. An avid reader and a lifelong autodidact, I soon discovered that defensive handgun is one of the subjects that does not easily lend itself to self-teaching. Very little of what a defensive handgunner needs to know can be learned from a book or from websites such as this one. Like most physical skills, defensive handgunnery is best learned through hands-on training.
"No, really. I can teach myself how to shoot."
A good class shows you exactly what you need to work on, why you need to work on it, and how to get better at it. Then you go home and teach yourself how to shoot.
Some people dislike the idea of being shown the basics of stance, grip, trigger control, and sight alignment. They think they already know those things, or can figure them out on their own. The fact is, there is no shooter on the planet, including the legendary greats such as Rob Leatham or Brian Enos, who cannot benefit from good and specific coaching on the basics. Or as John Farnam says, "There's no such thing as an advanced gunfight." Good shooting always comes back to the basics.
"I'm not Rambo ..."
One of my respondents opined that he isn't Rambo, just an ordinary citizen who carries a gun for self protection. I can certainly appreciate that perspective. How could a normal person fit in among all the police, military personnel, and armed guards in a shooting class?
Guess what. That's not quite the way it is.
Who do you think fills most firearms classes? I'll give you a hint: it ain't the cops. Police departments usually have their own trainers, and usually work with certified police instructors on dedicated ranges. It's a rare officer who gets extra firearms training on his own and pays for it himself. It ain't the militree, either. They've got this thing called Basic Training which the military folks believe imparts all the ballistic wisdom a soldier needs to know.
So who's left? Accountants and office workers and housewives and lawyers and auto mechanics, that's who. No matter how the gun school sells itself in its advertising, the fact is that most of its students are ordinary citizens who do normal stuff for a living.
" ... so I don't need that high-speed, low-drag ninja stuff."
Here is a look at some of the typical skills taught in firearms schools, and how they apply to ordinary citizens in real life.
Most people believe they are already safe gun handlers. Many do not believe they need to be taught the first and most basic lesson most instructors stress: the ability to safely manipulate a firearm. I'm here to tell you, those who haven't had a class from a competent instructor often overestimate their abilities in the safety department. The folks I've seen in classes who are notoriously the most dangerous are the people who've been shooting for years and think they've already got the safety thing down pat. I'd be willing to lay out money, by the way, that 98% of the folks who read this will think I am not talking to or about them -- and the other 2% will be offended that I've insulted their unsafe gun handling because after all, they haven't shot themselves (yet!).1
Safe gun handling includes the ability to load or reload your firearm quickly under stress. Again, this one sounds kind of silly to most of us; what are the odds of needing to reload in a hurry? Are we going to take on a horde of invading zombies by ourselves? Doesn't seem likely. Yet this skill is simply a subset of safe gun handling. If you cannot easily load your firearm quickly under stress, without pointing it at any important body parts, and without losing muzzle awareness, then you have not yet completely internalized how to handle your firearm safely. And if that is the case, you are at risk of negligently shooting yourself or a family member if you ever need to handle your home-defense firearm under the extreme stress of a home invasion.
decorative element
All That Ninja Stuff
* Safely manipulate a firearm
* Reload quickly and safely
* Shoot accurately
* Shoot quickly
* Draw from a holster
* Multiple targets
* One-handed shooting
* Moving targets
* Moving while shooting
* Working in low light
Accurate shooting is usually next on the syllabus. Again, most people reading this probably already consider that they are accurate enough. Yet a fellow who opines that if he were engaged by a criminal at 15 feet he would simply "fire in the direction of the target" is not only at risk from an attacker - he is a risk to the rest of us. You are responsible for every bullet that leaves your firearm, not just the ones that hit the intended target. (An aside: Most people are unable to judge distances at all, let alone to do so accurately under stress. That poor fellow might surprise himself someday by trying to shoot at someone who is a lot further away than he has ever tried to shoot at the range.)
Once accuracy is achieved, speed is often stressed. Firearms instructors show their students how to bring the gun out of its holster and onto target quickly. How fast is fast enough? How much time would you have to draw and fire if you were attacked? When a student asked defensive firearms instructor John Farnam that question, Farnam replied, "The rest of your life." While the answer sounds flippant, it cuts right to the heart of the issue. You do not know, in advance, how fast you will need to be. But it is a good idea to learn to become as fast and as accurate as you are able.
Continued
Is formal training for you?
Why Not Take a Shooting Class?
By Kathy Jackson
Awhile back, I asked a large number of avid shooters -- people who own guns and carry them -- some questions that have long puzzled me. Here are my responses to some of the answers they gave me.
decorative element
The Question
I'd like to invite speculation about training from people to whom the following apply:
* You're into handguns for self-defense.
* You have a carry permit, and carry at least some of the time.
* You haven't had any training, OR you have had only as much training as your state requires in order to obtain a carry permit.
* You have no real intention of taking any firearms classes in the near future.
So how 'bout it, folks? If you carry a gun for defense but don't plan to visit a gun school -- why not? What are your thoughts & reasoning about this?
Send me an email.
The answers which I have received so far have been very instructive. I haven't (and won't) argue with anyone about whether they, personally, need or do not need training, so don't be afraid to tell me what you think. Collecting these answers has simply allowed me to target my writing, both here and elsewhere, and I'm grateful for those who have taken time to write to me.
If there's a common trend, it is that most people who have never gone to a gun school simply do not see the need for doing so. Professional firearms instruction can be quite expensive, and many people suspect they will not receive value equal to the money spent. The awful truth is that most gun schools and firearms instructors in general have done a really poor job at communicating what it is that they do and why they do it. As a result, people who have never been to a gun school often do not understand what benefits they might expect to receive from formal firearms training.
"I can teach myself how to shoot."
Let us start by discussing the difference between education and training. To educate someone is to provide them with facts about something. To train them is to teach them how to do something. When I learned to drive, I took Driver's Education (sitting in a classroom taking notes) and followed it up by taking Driver's Training (ain't dual brakes grand?). College education is followed by on-the-job training.
Firearms schools generally provide both education and training. Both firearms education and firearms training are important, but of the two, training is the most critical. If your education is lacking, you might mess up your own life by breaking a law you didn't know existed. But if your training is lacking, you might kill someone by accident.
The distinction between education and training is very important to people who, like me, tend to be self-taught in most things. An avid reader and a lifelong autodidact, I soon discovered that defensive handgun is one of the subjects that does not easily lend itself to self-teaching. Very little of what a defensive handgunner needs to know can be learned from a book or from websites such as this one. Like most physical skills, defensive handgunnery is best learned through hands-on training.
"No, really. I can teach myself how to shoot."
A good class shows you exactly what you need to work on, why you need to work on it, and how to get better at it. Then you go home and teach yourself how to shoot.
Some people dislike the idea of being shown the basics of stance, grip, trigger control, and sight alignment. They think they already know those things, or can figure them out on their own. The fact is, there is no shooter on the planet, including the legendary greats such as Rob Leatham or Brian Enos, who cannot benefit from good and specific coaching on the basics. Or as John Farnam says, "There's no such thing as an advanced gunfight." Good shooting always comes back to the basics.
"I'm not Rambo ..."
One of my respondents opined that he isn't Rambo, just an ordinary citizen who carries a gun for self protection. I can certainly appreciate that perspective. How could a normal person fit in among all the police, military personnel, and armed guards in a shooting class?
Guess what. That's not quite the way it is.
Who do you think fills most firearms classes? I'll give you a hint: it ain't the cops. Police departments usually have their own trainers, and usually work with certified police instructors on dedicated ranges. It's a rare officer who gets extra firearms training on his own and pays for it himself. It ain't the militree, either. They've got this thing called Basic Training which the military folks believe imparts all the ballistic wisdom a soldier needs to know.
So who's left? Accountants and office workers and housewives and lawyers and auto mechanics, that's who. No matter how the gun school sells itself in its advertising, the fact is that most of its students are ordinary citizens who do normal stuff for a living.
" ... so I don't need that high-speed, low-drag ninja stuff."
Here is a look at some of the typical skills taught in firearms schools, and how they apply to ordinary citizens in real life.
Most people believe they are already safe gun handlers. Many do not believe they need to be taught the first and most basic lesson most instructors stress: the ability to safely manipulate a firearm. I'm here to tell you, those who haven't had a class from a competent instructor often overestimate their abilities in the safety department. The folks I've seen in classes who are notoriously the most dangerous are the people who've been shooting for years and think they've already got the safety thing down pat. I'd be willing to lay out money, by the way, that 98% of the folks who read this will think I am not talking to or about them -- and the other 2% will be offended that I've insulted their unsafe gun handling because after all, they haven't shot themselves (yet!).1
Safe gun handling includes the ability to load or reload your firearm quickly under stress. Again, this one sounds kind of silly to most of us; what are the odds of needing to reload in a hurry? Are we going to take on a horde of invading zombies by ourselves? Doesn't seem likely. Yet this skill is simply a subset of safe gun handling. If you cannot easily load your firearm quickly under stress, without pointing it at any important body parts, and without losing muzzle awareness, then you have not yet completely internalized how to handle your firearm safely. And if that is the case, you are at risk of negligently shooting yourself or a family member if you ever need to handle your home-defense firearm under the extreme stress of a home invasion.
decorative element
All That Ninja Stuff
* Safely manipulate a firearm
* Reload quickly and safely
* Shoot accurately
* Shoot quickly
* Draw from a holster
* Multiple targets
* One-handed shooting
* Moving targets
* Moving while shooting
* Working in low light
Accurate shooting is usually next on the syllabus. Again, most people reading this probably already consider that they are accurate enough. Yet a fellow who opines that if he were engaged by a criminal at 15 feet he would simply "fire in the direction of the target" is not only at risk from an attacker - he is a risk to the rest of us. You are responsible for every bullet that leaves your firearm, not just the ones that hit the intended target. (An aside: Most people are unable to judge distances at all, let alone to do so accurately under stress. That poor fellow might surprise himself someday by trying to shoot at someone who is a lot further away than he has ever tried to shoot at the range.)
Once accuracy is achieved, speed is often stressed. Firearms instructors show their students how to bring the gun out of its holster and onto target quickly. How fast is fast enough? How much time would you have to draw and fire if you were attacked? When a student asked defensive firearms instructor John Farnam that question, Farnam replied, "The rest of your life." While the answer sounds flippant, it cuts right to the heart of the issue. You do not know, in advance, how fast you will need to be. But it is a good idea to learn to become as fast and as accurate as you are able.
Continued