My training experiance

**Shawn.L** · 12-03-09, 17:07

when I first started to take training classes last year I posted this over on pafoa. I know there are much more experianced people here, but i have also seen a few guys who are just testing the waters post.

Thought I might post this here to give some perspective to those who are maybe thinking about taking some classes or just starting out.

Originally I started carrying a gun because I just thought it was a good idea. "Better to have it and never need it then need it and not have it" comes to mind. "Something is better than nothing", and the like.

I didnt give it too much thought. I was glad to be a responsible adult, I was happy to be safe, and be able trust myself with an item so potentially dangerous. And I really enjoyed going to the range every so often and doing some shooting.

I am guessing that experiance so far is pretty typical.

As time went on I injested more information. I got sometimes conflicting advise from friends, some of whom where LEO, some internet aquantances.

I started to see that while I understood the gun mechanically, and intellectually, the only thing I could actually do was use it at the range. And even then I wasnt so good.

I shot with more people. I started to go to the PAFOA group shoots. I saw guys drawing and shooting, moving and shooting, hitting moving targets. All this was great fun, and I started to get more into the sports aspect of shooting in a very limited way.

There was no moment of truth, or removal of denial for me. But slowly, over time, I came to realize that while the stuff I was making up along the way or picking up from others may work out OK on the range, it wasnt to my advantage in a self defense senerio.

And then there had to come the mental connection that I wasnt just carrying a pistol because "something was better than nothing" but because it was a real posibility that one day I may need to protect my life, or the life of someone I love.

It was during this time that I started to really look into taking a training class.
I must admit I was little intimidated. I didnt want to openly admit I needed basic training, I mean, afterall, I was a pretty good shot! And then there was the money. I had a gun wish list that just kept growing and growing.

So I saw the FIRE one day handgun clinic.
It wasnt a large investment in time, I didnt need to use any vacation days from work, and it was cheap.
I heard the glowing reviews online, and the community I was in both online and in the real world was very encouraging about the value of professional training.

So I admited I didnt know as much as I would like others to think I did, and I signed up.

It was great.

I had a great time, I listened, I learned, and I found out useful things to practice the proper way. Most importantly I learned a proper presentation and that I had my mags in the pouch backwards.......

Yes, it was basic, very basic. And yes a good portion of the day was spent on safe gun handling. And yes I needed every second of it.

After the one day I was no longer intimidated, I saw the value of what I learned, and I practiced.
I no longer had a problem admitted that I didnt know. The funny thing is that now that I could say what I didnt know I actually had more knowledge than when I wouldnt admit I didnt know.

And I wanted more.

This was the end of summer, and classes where over for the year. So I decided next year I would make a real commitment to training. And I did.

I sold a gun (GASP), and used the proceeds to pay for the FIRE inst. 3-day Basic Tactical Pistol with Giles Stock.
I bought and locked up the ammo for the class, thankfully before the panic of '09.

Attending this class I was excited, but I still had something to prove. On day one I shot an itsy bitsy one hole group at 15 yards with my 1911. Giles commented that I "understood" and I was pleased. The other shooters saw my shooting and I felt good. I am not bashful to admit I wanted others to know I was good.

But what I learned during that class was that while I was capable, I was not consistant.
I saw it in myslef and others. I saw quality wax and wane. I saw new shooters out shoot me, and I saw good shooters fail. I could produce, but I could not produce on demand.

And I couldnt hope that when the moment of truth comes, its on one of my good days.

During the class we would change time limits, ranges to target, target size, series of shots, shot placement. We where not allowed to get comfortable. And we did a lot of repeating. Lots of presentations. Lots of scanning, tac loads, drills.

And so my commitment to training has been enhanced. I know more now then I did then, and I can practice good techniques instead of the stuff I thought was working.

I learned that some of the info I got from friends, online and otherwise, was good. And that some was bad. But I didnt have a good filter before and had no way to weigh out and judge information.

The biggest thing I took away from the 3-day though wasnt from the range.
It was the second day sermon on mental preparadness, and the frank discussion on what it means to take a life. It lead me to some deep thinking, and honest self appraisal.
It lead me to understand the need to get from the shock of a sudden encounter, to the calm of a prepared mind.

If there ever comes a time when I am all that stands between my child and an attacker, I want to be able to think clearly. Those decisions are already made.

I have also signed up for the FIRE inst. Tactics I course this year. I have a weapon retention and disarms class in August, and am looking at taking a class with George from Modern Combative Systems in September.

I still want to buy a lot of guns.
I still love target shooting.
Lately I have been getting more into gun games.
And so my experiance with firearms has widened, and so has my life, and how I experiance the world around me.

I have a little more confidence, and a little more calm in my life.

I'm not just carrying a gun because it "better than nothing", I am carrying a gun because its a a good tool, and I know how to use it.

and a reply one post later

I know that was true to some degree for me.

But there was also a disconnect between me carrying a gun, and having a full and honest appraisal of why.

I have had this conversation with a few people lately. Time and again I have come say that I dont carry a gun just in case I have to do some impromptu target shooting. I carry a gun for self defense.

That has a lot of weight. Often we graze right over what that means. It means that one day I very well may need to use the pistol to save a life. There is nothing more sacred in this world than life. And so there may be no more important thing I ever do.

By default the handgun will be the tool I will need when I least expect I might need it. If I knew I was going into something that could get me or my loved ones killed I wouldnt have gone. So if I need it, I will need it FAST, I wont have time to figure out what to do then. Those desicions must already be made.

I spent a long time walking around with a tool made for a job I didnt know how to do, and hadnt honestly admitted just what that job was and how important it could be.