Firearms

So, you’ve had your first Shooting Lesson; what now?

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Author ScotShot Scott is an NRA and USCCA certified Instructor and Training Counselor in a range of firearms, and home and personal defense disciplines. In an Alternate Universe, he is a husband, father, grandfather, scientist, musician, educator and grumpy old professor. Just your average reactionary, short, fat, old, bald guy!

It might surprise you to know that only a small percentage of gun owners ever take a lesson from a Certified Instructor. Congratulations! You have taken the first step into becoming a Responsibly Armed American! Let’s talk about some initial things you can do to build and grow your new skill. Remember, “Use it, or Lose it!”

Most people who have become new gun owners in the last couple of years are thinking primarily about home and personal defense. In this post, we will focus there. Here’s an interesting little factoid. Over 80 percent of defensive firearms use takes place at the distance of between 9 and 15 feet, so don’t worry about further distances until you’re comfortable with that.

It’s also important to be aware that the TV visual that you only need one shot is, well, made for TV. In reality, you’ll need more, and you’ll want to shoot them pretty fast. So, while we aren’t target shooting, we *are* shooting with focus. We’re shooting with a Defensive Focus.

Here are the gory details. If we need to shoot in defense of our life, or the life of a loved one, then we must do so with purpose. That purpose is to “Stop the Threat”. How is the threat going to be stopped? Does the attacker turn and run when they see our defensive firearm? If so, there is no longer a threat and we can no longer justify shooting. This is important, Tigers!

But if we *do* have to shoot, then we must stop the threat as quickly as possible. The best way to do that is to shoot several times into the heart and lung area. This area is generally referred to as the “High Center Chest”. This is the best way to diminish the attacker’s ability to feed their brain with blood and oxygen. That is what will stop the threat.

So, where is High Center Chest? Take a moment and find a sheet of plain printer paper and fold the long end in it until you have a square. Now, hold it against your chest. Voila! High Center Chest. Easy peasy. Any shot inside that 8 1/4 inch square is an equally effective defensively focused shot. Do you think you could shoot rapidly into a target that size at 9 – 15 feet? Of course you could! So, how do we practice? Let’s hit the range!

We find the plainest target we can lay our hands on. Forget about the zombies and the balloons and the bunnies. Forget about anything with a target and rings and numbers and X’s. These are for different kinds of training. Our ideal target is the “Q” target and every range has them. Now, we either tape on our folded printer paper, or simply draw a square of about 8 – 9 inches with a thick sharpie, then run the target out to 10 – 12 feet.

We safely remove the gun from its case and set it down on the table with the muzzle pointed downrange, and the slide locked back. Load a magazine with five rounds. We bring the gun to a firing condition. We establish our proper two-handed grip and bring the gun back to our chest with the muzzle pointed straight downrange. This position is called “High Compressed Ready” and it’s the only “ready position” we should use. OK – good to go? Let’s fire one shot. We will keep both eyes open and focus on the square.

Extend the gun straight out to the target until both arms are as straight as we can make them, and into our line of sight of the target. The gun should be right in front of our eyes. Our finger should be off the trigger. We should not need to move our head down to find the gun. We should be able to see the gun right in the middle of the square. We touch the trigger but we don’t move it. We press the trigger to discharge one shot. We lift our finger back onto the frame of the gun and return it to High Compressed Ready (HCR).

Did the shot fall anywhere inside the square? Then it’s a ‘hit’! Score ‘1’ for you and ‘-1’ for the bad guy. Now we repeat. We extend the gun, touch and press the trigger, and return to high compressed ready with our finger on the frame. We always look at the target with both eyes. We’re going to repeat this until we can get every shot somewhere inside the square at 10 – 12 feet. This will generally not take more than 15 rounds, but if it takes us a few more, that’s ok.

OK! Now, multiple shots. We load five rounds and extend fully to target as before. We take as much time as we need to let the gun settle back into the square before firing a second time. Now back to HCR. Both shots in the square? Excellent! Extend again and fire three shots, again taking the time we need to get the gun settled and all shots in the square. Use two five-round magazines on this exercise. If we want we can do it again but firing all five shots into the square. That’s good work and 40 or 50 rounds well spent! Time to say “Well Done, Me” and call it a night.

So, let’s review. We are training ourselves to know how quickly we can fire while still getting our shots in the square. The more holes, the less blood to the attacker’s brain and the quicker we will stop the threat.

  • We are training initially only between 9 and 15 feet;
  • We are focusing on the target;
  • We are working from high compressed ready;
  • We are extending the gun fully with both arms, up into our line of sight on the target;
  • We are *seeing* the sights within the target square, but we are not *using* the sights;
  • We are touching then pressing the trigger, letting the gun settle back into our line of sight on the target between each shot;
  • We fire multiple shots as quickly as we can without going outside the square.

We are balancing speed and precision, and learning to shoot with a defensive focus.

Did you enjoy this post? Did you disagree with this post? Either way, please leave a comment ising the link at the top of the page!

Basic Preparedness – One Woman’s Journey, Part 2

~ grant.gallagher ~ 1 Comment

Author Tara Fleming is 56 years old, a 25 year resident of NJ, mother of 3 and employed in financial services. This is the second of two blog posts.

We reviewed some ideas for how to prevent and avoid emergencies in Part I. Now we will review some ideas for preparedness for disasters, small and large.

If you are comfortable, you may want to learn to safely and responsibly operate a firearm. Many ranges offer their own training courses, but there are great independent trainers, such ScotShot LLC and Compass Defense LLC, who may work better for you. If you are a woman, you may want to join an association such as Armed Women of America, which has Shooting Chapters across these United States. This really does make it much more comfortable for the beginner to learn along with others at the same level, or benefit from the wealth of knowledge of more experienced shooters.

If you do decide to explore this self-defense option, it is incumbent upon you to undertake the appropriate training for safe handling and operation of a firearm. Be prepared to spend time and money. Understand that training and practice should be continuous and consistent. It is a serious commitment, but very rewarding and worthwhile. You will need to check the laws in your state regarding required permits and licenses. The best place to start is with your local police department website, where you will be able to find the necessary forms and applications. You will also want to join an association such as US Law Shield, to protect yourself from legal events.

Pay attention and be aware of your surroundings! This is super important, especially as we age. It may seem obvious and natural but I guarantee you that it is not. We must make a conscious effort when out and about to keep our minds clear of distractions, eyes up and forward and remain aware. This is not saying to be paranoid and fearful when out and about, in fact it is the exact opposite. It is not complete relaxation, such as when we are at home, but neither is it a state of high alert, which would be very stressful. It is somewhere right in between. Just a slightly elevated state of awareness is what we should work towards. This takes practice, but it can become intuitive.

If able, you should consider learning a self-defense skill, such as Krav Maga, which does not depend solely on strength or size for effectiveness.

Learn about long term food and water storage. An organization called Outdoor Core has an excellent set of short on-line classes that covers a wide range of preparedness ideas and skill-sets, including one on preparing food storage in your home.

Form or join a preparedness group or club in your local community. Your friends and neighbors are a good place to start. It is good to have a reliable local network of like-minded individuals. Take advantage of free resources, too – the Federal Government makes a great starting point.

Prepare a “bug-out bag”. This will help you get to safety if you have to move in a hurry. You can buy them, or build one of your own, that is tailored to your specific needs. This can be as simple as a back pack with some basic supplies, or as much as you can reasonably carry.

Have a plan to get in touch with family members, understanding that cell towers may be down or overwhelmed. Agree on a meeting place out of town for extended communications disruptions or emergencies. Many towns and cities have citizen volunteer organizations, such as fire departments, police auxiliary and emergency management offices. Consider joining one of these organization as the training and knowledge you will gain is priceless.
Consider getting your HAM radio license so that you can be a communications resource for your community. This is a bit involved but if you are mechanically inclined, you may want to give it a go. Again, you may want to start with Outdoor Core and their Ham Cram course.

Take a first-aid and/or CPR course from the Red Cross. I’ve taken a few courses and really learned a lot. You would probably want to take some of the courses every year or every other year to keep your skills sharp.

Please keep the gas tank full or nearly full in all of your vehicles. Please. If you have to leave the vicinity in a hurry, chances are so will everyone else. You do not want to be stuck on a gas line or worse if the gas station is closed. I have gone from someone who drove around perpetually on “E” to now filling my tank once it is half empty.

There is a lot to learn in the world of preparedness. It is important not to become overwhelmed and discouraged. Remember, take it one step at a time and do your best within the scope of your finances, skills, ability and available space. If you are able, consider dedicating one evening per week or one day per month to preparedness activities. This can be done in an enjoyable and fun way, especially along with family and friends. It should not take away from your other regular life activities, but rather should enhance them. It is very likely that some of the things you already enjoy doing or skills and knowledge that you already have (exercising, gardening, firearms training, canning, fixing cars) are also prepping activities!

So have fun, learn new skills and share your knowledge with others. Be part of the solution, not part of the problem! To quote the great Creek Stewart, “It’s not if, but when.”

You’re not Alone !

~ grant.gallagher ~ 2 Comments

Author Heidi Bergmann-Schoch is a United States Concealed Carry Association multi-discipline instructor and Training Counselor (instructor-trainer), as well as a multi-discipline instructor for the NRA and a Chief Range Safety Officer. Public Safety orientated, she has served working nights as a Nationally Registered Paramedic and a Police Officer working patrol, training and handling a Patrol/Narcotics K-9 and an adjunct Tactical Officer. She does some of her best work in the dark. Spending a good part of her life breaking, training, and showing horses, she understands the art of compromise and the benefits of Advil. She can usually be found on her farm with her husband and a plethora of animals, as well as plenty of bees.

You’ve bought your first firearm! You’re excited and a little nervous that something you would never have considered owning 3 years ago has come home with you to help keep you and your loved ones safe. Every once in awhile, you get together and go shoot for an hour then head home, satisfied you’ve shot “well enough” and fairly confident of your abilities.

A few lessons and classes later you realize you really like to shoot! It’s fun while you’re there! Perhaps your spouse, friend or a relative has a gun too, so you may already have a companion to go to the range with. However with busy lives, one thing leads to another and next thing you know, it’s been a month since you visited your favorite noisy place! So why don’t you go more often? Seems your shooting buddy has been busy with no time to spare. If you were bowling or playing bocci chances are you’d be out there once a week, having set aside a particular time to get together with a group.

If you didn’t have a group but wanted to interact in one, or form one, you could put a notice up on the community bulletin board or even make an announcement on Facebook that you were looking for participants. But what about with firearms? It’s hard. Many of us keep this pass-time quiet, either going alone or with that one trusted friend, so when they’re busy, we become frustrated and our enthusiasm wanes.

I’m pretty open about my involvement with guns, explaining to anyone who will listen how they can be a very safe and effective part of a home defense plan.  I’ll go on to mention they are a fun hobby, an investment (I use this one on my husband!) or a means to harvest dinner. I have many friends who have firearms and many who do not but don’t object to the idea (..they know who they’re running to when the zombie apocalypse happens!). But that’s my life and I’m lucky to have it. I don’t have neighbors who get suspicious when they see a laser beam briefly shine out a window because I’m using a laser target in the living room. My neighbors don’t care if they see me loading the car with heavy rectangular bags or long oddly shaped ones.

Finding friends with similar interest in gardening is one thing, but how do you find like-minded people who like guns? Mention it to the wrong person and suddenly you’re the latest, juiciest topic of conversation in your HOA! The looks, the whispers….just the kind of attention you don’t need!

So how DO you make firearms friends? Start with your local range. Become a member and ask when the best time is to arrive and have some practice time that’s not terribly busy so it’s not too noisy. Weekdays in the morning or early afternoon are usually the best. People who are there aren’t rushing to send a few rounds downrange on their lunch hour. It’s a more leisurely atmosphere and the members there usually have some time on their hands. Maybe it’s a retirement hobby for them. But how do you break the ice and start up a conversation, particularly if you’re new and uncertain? Ask them about their gun! Firearms owners LOVE to talk about their favorite gun, target, latest gadget and how long they’ve been shooting. You can make a friend and learn something new as a bonus!

What about trying to find someone in your neighborhood to go shooting with? That’s a bit trickier. If you have a community center, find a class at the local range you may be interested in and post details on the bulletin board. You don’t have to leave your name, just attend the class and see if a neighbor shows up. Try starting your own group. Post a notice of a meet up at the range.  If you’re nervous about what people may think about the topic, make sure no one is around when you put it on the board. Go ahead, look over your shoulder! It may sound a bit “cloak and dagger” and it IS our 2nd Amendment right, but sadly we know not everyone we meet believes this. Don’t put your name on the notice, but do show up at the range on time. Don’t be surprised when your neighbor from two doors down walks in!

It may take a little bit, but you’re sure to find some friends on the range! Gun owners tend to be friendly, practical people who appreciate others who share their interests. Take that first step, head out to your favorite noisy place and make friends!