What Protects You When You Own a Gun?

I hear the argument all the time that if you wear a gun, you will be able to protect yourself.  The more I shoot in tournaments the more I realize that it is not the gun that will protect you, it is the knowledge about guns and shooting that will protect you.  Without knowledge about your gun, you would be better off with a baseball bat.

I attended a concealed carry class for women.  In the class you have to know the laws and responsibility of what happens if you do shoot someone.  You also need to qualify that you can shoot the gun.  That is just what happened, the women were able to shoot the gun but that was just about it.  For many of the women, they shoot 100 rounds (that is 100 "bullets" or cartridges which is the proper term see other blog entry) and I could probably count 25 or so times they hit the target.  (BTW, men are not born knowledgeable about guns either so this goes for them also.)

With just the limited amount of shooting and expertise some of these women had,  they are a danger to themselves and to others.   Proficiency is much more then just being able to shoot a cartridge down a lane without hitting yourself or the Diva next to you.

Hitting your target is not easy.  If you think you are going to hit an evil attacker dead on without practice, trust me, you won't.

One of the things we practice for tournaments is muscle memory.  You don't have time to think when you have to shoot, run and duck bullets at the same time.  In tournaments and at home you practice over and over who to shoot first, how to line up a shot quickly, how to move backwards and shoot, and to run with your gun.

Running with your gun is much more dangerous than even running with scissors!

I found that for me to shoot attacker targets leaning around barrels to protect myself, my eyes don't line up in time to get a true shot.  I often completely miss the target. So my choices are I can ask attackers to please not make me shoot quickly from around my cover or come from behind my cover so the evil attacker is right in front of me or practice more.  Practice is my and your best option. My slow eye alignment will only go away with practice.

The first step is to start developing muscle memory.  That is because you don't have much time to think when an attacker is coming at you.  You have to have your muscles moving while your brain evaluates what you have to do.

1.  Practice with an unloaded gun at your house creating scenarios with attackers coming at you.  If you are in bed and you hear a window breaking, what are you going to do?  What are the most likely ways in which an attacker would enter the house?  What other obstacles would you add that will delay them and give you more time to prepare?  How are you going to make those shots?

2.  Find an IDPA club or local shooting range and try a IDPA tournament.  You don't have to be an expert shot to participate, you just have to want to have a great time learning how to shoot.  The club members are very helpful and generous with information, tips, and best practices.  Go to dinner afterward!  Yum.

If you have suggestions, be sure and add them in the comments for others to read.