That stuff will get you killed on the street – Part II

Porta’s Cat made an excellent response with his thoughts on this subject. My response was a little large so I decided to make another post to continue the discussion.

P.C., Very glad you put your thoughts in on this subject. No beatings here, just more thoughts and thought provoking questions. Thank you.

First – Let’s set up the fact that you are NOT one of the people I speak of in my post. We all check in regularly on your site and know you spend considerable time at the range. I’m speaking about the person that doesn’t.

Now we all must understand that if any of us were up against 16 other shooters, we would all die. Period. But what about one? That’s what we’re really talking about. In the vast majority of self defense encounters, it’s 1 vs. 1. On the outside, 1 vs. 2, but even then the odds are dropping fast.

But how will YOU handle that 1? How will the stress of that encounter diminish your skills? Will the remaining skill level be enough to survive?

This is where competitive shooting has a distinct advantage over only training on your own. It’s the unexpected, the unknown and the out of normal routine that forces the shooters to adapt and build new skills.

We have all seen them. The shooters that can’t shoot without a right foot forward stance, or someone that has to first check their grip before firing, and the list goes on and on. But can you realistically see doing that in a gunfight? “Oh my gosh, I’m about to get shot, but wait let me adjust me feet.” I don’t think so.

And that’s the match director’s job, to mess with your shooting norm, get inside your head. Put you in positions, stances, situations that you wouldn’t normally think of. How do we know this? Because most of us here are match directors or have been. And we still walk up to stages and say, how did they think of that?

If you train alone, you are trapped in your own version of what you think will happen and how you will handle the situation. You rarely will force yourself to do things you don’t like to do. That’s what each stage brings to the shooter and his/her skills. Those really big stages you speak of put the shooter into overload, makes you think fast and deal with the stress.

And again, because someone posted a video of a stage with a whole bunch of targets doesn’t mean that if that same shooter had to deal with 1 threat target he would freeze. He wouldn’t suddenly forget how to grip the gun, align the sights and pull the trigger. It just doesn’t make good video and that’s why you don’t see it on the net.

Did they have a stage that required you to shoot on one knee, under a car, inside a car, while moving laterally, prone, or weak hand? Didn’t do very well on those stages? Maybe you should practice them. You may need that skill in the future. So why not take that information, use it and benefit from it? That is what started this all. Examine your skills and make improvements to them. Don’t train in a vacuum.

I tell new shooters all the time, I know if we all lined up on the range and no one cared we could shoot perfect center hits all day and night. But for some reason, if I put a no-shoot target next to a threat target, it will get shot. Standing still, moving, whatever, it will get shot. Put a pepper popper in front of a no-shoot at 10 yards and you would think the bullet has a mind of its own. It’s called stress. Whether it’s me trying to keep up with Catfish or someone not wanting to look bad in front of the other shooters, you have to deal with the stress of the situation.

Do you need to be out there 5 times a week and attend every match in the land? Hell no! I’m just suggesting that you get to a few matches a year, more would be better but a few will do to let you know how you’re doing. Also, look around at who’s there. Are they all local shooters just out to have a good time and joke with their buddies or is it the week before Nationals and some guys are really bringing their A-game? How you compare at each match will also help you assess how you’re doing.

Bottom line, you can’t think of, or prepare for every scenario you may encounter or be forced to deal with. Don’t think because you go to the range and shoot holes in paper that you are developing a complete set of skills.

Semi Random thoughts from this week

Maybe not so random after all.

3 news articles caught my attention this week, all dealing with some aspect of the ongoing war against the islamo-terrorists...

First off, ABC news should once again, be banned from any further news conferences hosted by either the White House or the Pentagon. Their complete and total lack of moral direction is clearly displayed in this story where they go to the trouble of sharing with the world why the bombs in London did not detonate as planned. Wanna bet the terrorists don't have the same problem in the future? What a bunch of complete and total idiots. I don't give a rat's ass if the information was declassified or not. Show some freaking common sense.

The crybabies at CAIR are at it again. Seems that they really don't have any appreciation for the truth, or as they say, the truth really does hurt, doesn't it. Anyone who can argue the point that radical islam is not a spreading cancer, I'd love to hear your logic.

And finally, I'll leave you with a bit of humor. It would seem that this fellow is my kind of guy. Anyone who would kick a burning terrorist in the nuts hard enough to damage a tendon in his foot deserves a pint or two on me.

The One

I have read about The One on Blackfive some time ago. Saw that his story had come out in book form and will pick up the book for some reading soon. Take 13 or so minutes from your life and watch his interview and give thanks that young men such as these are out there fighting for us.

H/T to Outlaw 13 for the interview link.

Local CHL holder stops robbery in its tracks

Sounds like someone deserves an atta-boy!

A group of robbers hit a grocery store and a lady inside calls her husband, who's outside - and who happens to hold a CHL.

Said husband comes in, confronts the three turds and shoots one of them in the ass.

What do the Police say, to the law abiding fellow who was protecting his wife?

We certainly don't encourage that," said Lt. J.D. McCarthy with the Fort Worth Police Department. "We ask that, most of the time, contact the police department and let patrol officers handle those situations."

Yes, heaven forbid a law abiding citizen take the necessary steps to protect himself from the criminal element in our midst. The problem, Lieutenant, is that THERE WEREN'T ANY FREAKING POLICE OFFICERS HANDY AT THAT MOMENT IN TIME! What in the bloody hell would you like us to do? Lay down and hope that the robbery doesn't turn into a shooting?

Herein lies the fallacy of the police protecting the law abiding citizens. The police do an outstanding job of deterring crime WHEN THEY ARE PRESENT! The police do a rather poor job of deterring crime when they're not around.

Sounds to me like someone deserves a commendation from the Fort Worth police department for making their job quite a bit easier. Chances are, that without this law abiding citizen stepping in, the robbers would have, at the least, made off with a tidy sum of loot. At worst, he stopped someone from getting killed, raped, or beat up.

Bravo!

Things you won't see on TV

Any doubt that we're the good guys? Read Michael Yon's latest dispatch.

At the same time our press and the slimeballs in Congress complain about the so-called mistreatment of the animals in Gitmo, you've got a group of jihadi Doctors out and about trying to blow up more innocents and the slaughter continues in Iraq. Nah, those in the power filled halls in DC aren't out of touch. Not at all.

You'll note of course, that AQ and their brethren are slaughtering their muslim comrades left and right. In fact, more muslims are killed by other muslims than anyone else. Why is it we don't hear about that I wonder.

Frankly, no matter how strong and victorious in battle our military forces are, this war is going to be won when average muslims get tired of being slaughtered by other muslims and decide there's a better way.