Massad Ayoob Deadly Force Lecture Sept 10, Wallingford, CT

[John O]

An Evening with Massad Ayoob
A Blue Trail Range Funds Raiser - Sept 10th

Readers of gun magazines such as Combat Handguns, American Handgunner, etc. will be most familiar with Massad Ayoob from his articles dealing with the various potential legal hazards resulting from the use of deadly force and his evaluation of various new model handguns. Mas is much more than a “gun writer”. He is a sworn police officer, champion shooter, court certified expert witness and founder of the Lethal Force Institute. Along with Jeff Cooper, Chuck Taylor and Ray Chapman, etc. he is one of the original “big name” instructors has long been acknowledged as the leading expert on the civilian use of deadly force in self-defense with students paying up to $1500 to attend his training courses.

Every fall for over a decade, in association with Defense Associates, Mas has been conducting his LFI1 course at Blue Trail Range. Over the years Dave Lyman and his staff have been very accommodating and now that the range has been unjustly attacked Mas has volunteered his services to help raise money to pay their legal bills.

One night only - At 7:00 PM on Wednesday Sept 10th Mas will conduct a 2 hour lecture on the Use of Deadly Force followed by a ½ hour Question & Answer period. Donations to attend are $50.00 and all proceeds will go to the Save Blue Trail Range fund. The subjects covered will be of interest to anyone who either carries a handgun or keeps a firearm at home for self-defense. Topics will range from why the internet can land you in jail, the actual circumstances that must exist to justify the use of deadly force, street vs. at home tactics, interaction with the police after an incident, the realities of the legal (not justice) system and others.

This is a rare opportunity to spend time with one of the country’s best instructors and help keep the state’s only outdoor public shooting range in operation – all at a very low cost. Much of what you hear on this subject is inaccurate and if believed can land you in serious trouble. The information you receive can save you thousands of dollars and much heartache. Initial plans call for the event to take place at Blue Trail Range but it may be moved to Meriden if the response exceeds the facility.

To attend:
Mail your $50.00 check, payable to Save Blue Trail Range, Inc, plus a note referencing Massad Ayoob and including your name; e-mail address and phone number (so we can notify you of a location change) to: Blue Trail Range, 316 North Branford Road, Wallingford, CT 06492
Or
To pay by credit card call Defense Associates Monday through Friday 6:00 – 9:00 PM at 203-261-8719.
Need more information? Email [email protected] and supply a phone number and time we can contact you.

Update

Subject: Massad Fundraiser - CHANGE IN MEETING PLACE


We look forward to a very informative evening with Massad. We have changed the meeting place from Blue Trail Range to the Wallingford Rod & Gun Club. This club is right across the street from the Blue Trail Range. Their driveway is on the opposite side of the road on the right if you are coming from Route 68. The doors will be open at 6:30PM, Massad will speak from 7PM--9PM. Refreshments will be available for a nominal fee and a cash bar will be open from 8PM until 10:30PM for those that want to do some networking after the seminar, catch-up on the current activities at the range, and visit with Massad.

We appreciate your support and look forward to seeing you on Wednesday evening at 7PM.


www.SaveBlueTrailRange.org

Shooting is an Olympic Sport
NRA Benefactor Member

Deborah W. Lyman

 

[Underwhere]

September 10th is tomorrow.

I don't think we'll have time to mail our checks in. So call-in-credit card is probably the way to go.

I might try and make this but it's far.

 

[Reptile]

Article: Gun owners learn ways to safely defend themselves

http://www.nhregister.com/articles/2008/09/21/life/doc48d5ce4f178dc189464345.txt


Gun owners learn ways to safely defend themselves


Sunday, September 21, 2008 3:15 AM EDT
By Jim Shelton, Register Staff

WALLINGFORD — In a sense, Massad Ayoob and Frank Cornwall are in the testosterone reduction business.

Their aim, both on the firing range and in the classroom, is to move the mind-set of private gun ownership as far away from Rambo-type machismo as possible. Their focus is on WHEN to shoot a gun, not just HOW to shoot a gun.

"Responsibility and power must be held in equal balance," says Ayoob, a nationally-known firearms instructor, author and director of the Lethal Force Institute in Concord, N.H. "A gun is an emergency tool we hope we never need to use."

In Connecticut, Ayoob works with Cornwall’s Defense Associates, a Fairfield-based company that teaches firearms safety and ‘lethal force management.’ Each autumn, Ayoob and Cornwall collaborate on a multi-day course on the use of lethal force at the Blue Trail Range here, drawing students from around the country.


"The shooting is secondary here," says Cornwall, who lives in Trumbull. "We have two goals: instill good safety practices and obtain a minimum skill level. People take this class for the same reason they might take a defensive driving class. Defense of yourself. Defense of your family. You don’t want to cause an accident or do anything to harm the general public."

Over the course of four days here, students tackle everything from proper stance and accuracy to post-traumatic responses in the moments after a shooting, and the thought processes involved in making the decision to shoot.

"Unless you’re a sociopath, killing people is a very foreign thought to you," Cornwall says. "The last thing these guys have after we’re done is a Rambo complex."

HOME ON THE RANGE

The first two days of this class are out on a secluded field away from the Blue Trail Range’s primary shooting area. There is a long, wooden structure on one side that has benches and provides cover from the weather. On the other side, Cornwall and his crew have set up a line of individual paper targets.

More than a dozen students are here on this day, each of whom paid $800 for the class, plus the cost of their ammunition, lodging and transportation when necessary. Some of the students are local, but others have come from as far away as Nevada. Each man has his own handgun, holster, ear and eye protection.

"We get a wide variety of skill levels and backgrounds," Cornwall says, as the students gather up their gear to work on shooting fundamentals. "Guys with military backgrounds and guys who bought a gun three months ago."

This class is unusual, he says, because there are no female students. Normally, the class includes several women.

"OK, this is a dry drill," Cornwall tells the class, after he lines them up in front of the targets. "Take your stance, then move down to the ready and relax."

After Cornwall has checked each man’s stance, he sends them back to get their ammo.

"Draw to the ready!" he shouts. "Nice and smooth. Nice and ready. And ... load! Please remember to use the slingshot method! And ... unload!"

Now they’re ready for their first live drill, six rounds fired at the target. They put on their ear protectors.

"No points for going fast right now!" Cornwall says. "Most people tend to shoot too fast," he says later. "That’s the biggest problem we have in this part of the training."

Gabriel Penagaricano of Glastonbury hits four of six shots within the heart of the target area with his Smith & Wesson. He’s been carrying a firearm in Connecticut for three months.

"I’m a lawyer and a pilot, also," he says. "To be honest, I wouldn’t fly a plane or go into court without proper training. I came here because Massad Ayoob is a world-renowned trainer."

Also here is Dan Kingman of Dracut, Mass., who is an auxiliary police officer with a college degree in criminal justice.

"I’ve already learned a new holstering technique today," Kingman notes. He says he’s read several of Ayoob’s books and is taken with Ayoob’s approach to using firearms.

"It all ties into this. Shooting is not just a mechanical thing. It’s a cognitive thing, with a lot of practice and thought," Kingman says. "I want to do it in the most safe, professional and efficient way I can."

Kingman scores on all six of his shots, then again when he fires six rounds in a shorter time frame of eight seconds.

FIRE WARNINGS

Robert Doheny of Ledyard also hits all six shots in the center target area. He’s an active duty serviceman in the Navy, and he has Smith & Wesson and Glock handguns with him.

"I want to know everything I can about firearms," Doheny says. "Pretty much all the legal aspects. What’s going to be difficult for me is keeping the military and civilian rules separate."

"He’ll know the differences by Sunday," volunteer range officer Charlie Gager says.

As the students continue to work with Cornwall, Gager discusses the decision-making aspects of the training.

"This course teaches you about being situationally aware," he says. "The more knowledge you have, the more responsibilities go along with it. The best gunfight is the one you walked away from before it started."

Before the weekend is through, students examine shoot-don’t shoot scenarios regarding when to use lethal force, as well as information about the physical and emotional consequences of firing a gun at another person — right down to the shaking of one’s gun hand in the seconds after firing.

"You’re a Cro-Magnon trying to hold a hanger," Gager says.

Meanwhile, Cornwall has the men shooting rapid-fire sequences. He spends time with each of them, honing their technique.

"Take the opportunity to work on your trigger control!" he tells them. "Take the opportunity on every shot!"

Cornwall says that whether it comes to techniques or philosophy, his students typically share the skills they learn in Wallingford with their friends and family. Many students decide to purchase gun safes or lock boxes, if they don’t already have them.

"You can argue over firearms as a privilege or a right, but these people legally carry firearms," he says. "They want to be proficient. The idea isn’t to be Dirty Harry, it’s just to get through your day."

DEADLY DECISIONS

Ayoob takes over during the final two days.

He’s the author of such books as "In the Gravest Extreme," and "Armed and Alive," and has taught gun courses around the country since 1981 through his Lethal Force Institute.

"I teach them the gun is an analog to a fire extinguisher," he says during a late afternoon break from classroom work on Saturday. "It lets you cut a lane of safety for yourself and your loved ones."

Using videos and classroom lectures, Ayoob, 60, gets to the central issue of when to use deadly force. He tells students such force is justifiable only in cases of immediate, unavoidable threat of death.

Yet how can a person make such an evaluation on the spot? Ayoob discusses three factors: ability, opportunity and jeopardy.

Ability usually involves a weapon or number of attackers. Is someone coming at you with a knife or a gun? Is a violent man attacking a child in front of you? Are four men confronting one person?

Opportunity, according to Ayoob, has to do with whether the attacker is able to immediately become a deadly threat. Does he or she have a weapon, or simply threatened to get a weapon?

Jeopardy is about intent, Ayoob says. "Have there been actions or words such that anyone would construe that the person’s intent is to use deadly force?" he asks.

All three factors are crucial for a gun owner to consider in advance, he advises, stressing that "having a gun doesn’t mean you’re the police, or that you don’t need the police."

What’s more, there is the matter of whether a gun owner is ready and willing to use lethal force. Only by knowing the full range of consequences and thinking about them in advance can a person make safe decisions.

"In a dangerous situation, you’re not going to have time to cognitively rationalize everything," Ayoob says. "For any moral man or woman, the thought of killing another human being is a repugnant one."

Jim Shelton can be reached at 789-5664 or [email protected].

 

[packingungal]

Be great to attend a class like this - anyone know how to find out?? Thanks for posting Reptile!!

 

[Reptile]

Be great to attend a class like this - anyone know how to find out?? Thanks for posting Reptile!!

Here is Massad Ayoobs website.
http://ayoob.com/


I'd imagine that the 2009 schedule will be listed in a month or two.

He does LFI-1 every September in Wallingford, CT.