As a gun owner and competitive shooter, I am getting increasingly concerned about the people who purchase a gun, load it up and tuck it under their bed to protect themselves. No training, no experience with a gun, no hunting, no practice and no training beyond a concealed carry license.The purchase of a gun alone to fraught away a team of bad guys and gals is often pure theatrics! (Or a poor political campaign.)
Bad people don't come into your house, give you time to fumble around for the gun (where did you "safely" hide it?), turn on the lights, position them in a full Monty while you take 3 to 5 seconds to shoot, find out the gun is on safety, find the safety, and then shoot. Bang! You missed. Another Bang! and he/she is still coming.
There are stories in the news of people who have, with no experience, protected themselves with a gun. They are lucky. I would rather not rely on luck alone.
This is what I have learned shooting IDPA competitions:
1. You need to know where your gun is, be able to get position-ready, and evaluate what you are going to do in seconds. Like 3 or 4 seconds, not 60 or 120 seconds.
- It has taken months of competitive shooting and practice to develop muscle memory to take the gun out of the holster, load, keep the finger off the trigger until ready to shoot and, at the same time, not sweep the good guys. There is more! Keep the pistol downrange, evaluate target strategy, keep behind cover and shoot. After three months, I'm still minutes behind my fellow shooters. If you want a gun to protect you, join IDPA or take a tactical defense class otherwise you could bea danger to yourself rather than a savior to others.
- Your best defense is to be aware of your surroundings. Your best advantage is to surprise them that you are ready and able. This means your house has to be locked and alarmed, you have to know how bad people will come in, and you need to know how you can use your house layout and structures to protect yourself until the police come. Secure doors and windows and an alarm system is often more effective than a gun. Oh, is your cell or phone just as easy to find as your gun?
- If you keep guns in your house your greatest danger is ignorance of gun safety procedures for you, your family and visitors. In IDPA you are taught if you pick up a gun, you first check to see if it is loaded, if you can do so safely, point down and shoot just to check. Last week while at practice I was loading up to go home and picked up my gun. I was sure it was not loaded, but followed the rules. Guess what I found Divas? No magazine but there was a round in the chamber ready to fire.
- Shooting at a still target in a range gives you false confidence. After I got my first handgun from my son, I went to the range and shot targets. It didn't take long to "tear a hole out of the center". I felt as if I was a great shot. After three months at IDPA I realize that I need to learn a lot more in order to protect myself in a gun fight. Aiming at something and pulling the trigger is only one out of 1,465, 832 things you need to know to protect yourself.
5. Bad people will have to reload. If they are not trained, this can be your best bet to get the upper hand.
- In IDPA shooters have belts with loaded magazines that, with one quick sweep of the hand, they can reload a gun. It takes months of practice to get up to a turtle's pace. Bad guys with guns in their pockets are counting on doing their damage with a couple shots or the threat of a shot. If they have to reload, it can take a long time to fumble around for a fresh magazine and even longer if they have loose rounds in their pocket. This is your best time to run or get yourself together. Frankly, unless really have proven you are a crack shot, I advise running like the devil.
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