Self-taught or trained? Are you really prepared for a fight?

One of the chief concerns trainers have — People don’t know, what they don’t know. When it comes to guns, for many, they are so ingrained in our culture, folks just assume they know what to do, and how to do it. Often, what they’ve seen on TV or in the movies is not a good example of safe and proficient gun handling.

In most states, the training required for carrying a handgun on your person, concealed or open is minimal. While in my heart I’m a firm believer that a right shouldn’t be legislated, my experience as a License to Carry Instructor has taught me people need training, and if they won’t get it on their own, maybe it should be required, like Driver’s Ed. Almost daily I watch people handle guns like they were a set of keys or a monkey wrench, with no regard for where they are pointed and with their finger on the bang! lever. Scary.

Training Starts With Safety

The title of this article promises training can help you at any level, so let’s start with the basics. Your initial training should cover the well-established safety rules. They may be worded differently, and the order may be changed slightly, but these rules start with:

1. Always keep the gun pointed in a safe direction.
2. Keep your finger off the trigger until you’re ready to shoot.
3. Always treat every gun as if it were loaded.

There are additional rules such as knowing your target and what’s in front of and beyond it, knowing your gun and ammunition, being healthy, alert, and sober when shooting, and others that may be related to where you shoot and the firearms/ammunition used.

Telling someone the safety rules usually doesn’t sink in immediately. For the first hour or two of instruction, we’re constantly having to remind people to keep the gun pointed in a safe direction and keep their finger off the trigger. When they finally get it, I often wonder if they really got it or they just want the instructor to stop bugging them about it.

Seriously, it takes concentration until the habit is learned and ingrained in your muscle memory. This rarely happens without some instruction and does not automatically kick in with instruction. The safety rules associated with handling firearms are listed, usually in red letters, in every firearm instruction manual on the planet — but who reads instructions?

Gun Handling

Every gun has parts that move during the shot, including the gun frame. Especially with semi-automatic handguns, these parts have pinch and scrape zones that can do considerable damage to your hands — if you don’t know how to properly hold the gun and execute the required movements/grip. There are parts that must be loaded, and parts that must be put in the proper starting position before firing. There are parts that move rapidly during the shot.

In a basic firearms course, you should learn how to:

• Load and operate your gun
• Stand comfortably
• Grip the gun for maximum control
• Mitigate recoil
• Align the sights
• Smoothly operate the trigger
• Breathe and follow through to get the next shot on target.

Many people assume they know these things, but in class or at the range, we see a wide variety of positions and grips that are not effective and some which can get you hurt.

Hitting the Target

Accuracy doesn’t come about by instinct or luck. It’s a process of learning to align the front sight properly with the rear sight, point the aligned sights at the target, and smoothly move the trigger straight back until the shot is fired. If we all did that correctly on every shot, we’d all be world champion shooters with very tight groups around the aiming point.

However, that’s not what we usually see, is it? Mastering sight alignment and a smooth trigger pull is facilitated by learning to stand comfortably, holding the gun correctly, positioning your finger on the trigger properly, and moving it smoothly straight back instead of pushing or pulling it to one side or jerking the gun so that the shot goes wide. Good technique also involves follow-through that helps get you back on target and ready for the next shot.

Without training, people develop a variety of ways to hold a gun. However, rarely do they discover what a little time with a qualified instructor can teach them.

If you took the step to get some basic training, good for you. Let’s say you passed the proficiency test — if one was required in your state — and got your permit. If your training stopped there, you should probably make an honest assessment about whether you’re really ready to defend yourself with your handgun under the pressure of a surprise attack.

How can you tell?  Find an instructor who can teach you to draw from a holster or purse, move to cover while having to defend yourself, and reload when you’re under fire. You should learn to clear a jam quickly and under pressure. The same goes for engaging multiple targets, targets converging on you or moving laterally to you. For most of us, initial exposure to this type of training is a real eye-opener. I know it was for me. I not only played army when I was a kid, I was in the Army, in a war with a job that got me shot at. Oh, how much I’ve forgotten!

Performing Under Pressure

The first thing you learn during intermediate training is often, “I was not ready to defend myself!” Okay, buckle down and learn. You’ll sweat, get frustrated, and eventually get better. You’ll learn to become more confident. Hopefully, you will realize the skills you develop must be practiced and practiced often enough they become automatic.

I’m not talking about training for SWAT, Personal Protection Details, or SEAL Teams. I’m talking about training for ordinary people like you and me. I’m a Granddad who gets around on a mobility scooter, but I intend to be ready and competent should the need arise. My family also expects this of me.

Even though I’d grown up owning and shooting guns, when I got serious about being armed on a daily basis, I did some training and was confident. I practiced my newly-learned skills concerning stance, grip, aiming, breathing, and trigger control until I could consistently put all my shots within a small group. But this was shooting at paper targets at relatively close range at my own pace.

Recently I had the opportunity to try another type of training at a live-fire indoor shooting cinema. This is not simulation training — all shooting is done with live ammo. The targets are projected onto one or more large white screens. Cameras and microphones triangulate and capture your shots electronically. You see your hits and misses, and the simulator produces responses based on where your shots land. The response may be a visible hole, or the target may fall, disappear, or spin, depending on the programming.

I started my session shooting at fixed silhouette targets to ensure I was aiming and grouping correctly, and the computer was picking up my shots. Then, I moved to a projected version of steel plates that I knocked over easily. Next, came moving silhouette targets at various ranges coming in from the left and right. I nailed them. Then onto targets mounted on spinning wheels — one going clockwise, the other counter-clockwise.  I missed a few.

Next up were timed targets, pop-up targets, shoot-don’t shoot scenarios, and I was missing all over the place. The instructor knew I was an experienced shooter, so he gave me some latitude to figure it out myself. I didn’t. When he told me to look at my grip, I couldn’t believe it. I know the basics of how to grip a gun. I teach the basics of how to grip a gun. When the pressure was on, I had loosened my grip, opening it up and, therefore, allowing my shots to go wide.

I determined to practice every week until I got it right. The next week I started off doing better, so the instructor cranked up the speed. Sure enough, I started forgetting the basics again.

The basics do matter. I learned this through advanced training. That’s not all I learned. I have several “favorite” handguns. My first choice for a carry gun is typically a Commander-sized 1911. I have several and usually shoot them all well. One of them is 9mm, but I’m really a .45 ACP guy. Let me rephrase that. I was a .45 ACP guy. Sometimes, the arthritis in my thumbs, wrist, and shoulders whispers 9mm to me. On those days, I carry a Ruger LW Commander 9mm or one of my other favorites — a SIG 229 or an M&P — both 9mm. Guess what I learned as the shooting challenges got faster and faster? The width of the grip matters.

One of the instructors running the Cinema range held my hand up and said, “Short, stubby fingers.”  I said, “Yes. That’s what I’ve always been told, and why I don’t play the piano.” To which he responded, “I’m not talking about music. I’m talking about shooting a gun that fits your hand, so you can keep your grip closed and your wrist behind the gun.” I’m an experienced instructor, but every time I train under another instructor, I learn; I get better. Practicing with an experienced eye to provide insight and instruction is even more beneficial. Try it and you’ll be amazed.

Are you prepared to perform in a gunfight or high-stress shooting situation? How do you know? Do have a shooting or training tip? Share your answers in the comment section.