Guns & Stuff

From the Desk of John Rourke – February 8th, 2017

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In the process of trying to set up some training for a few friends and potentially one group member. People will go out and buy a pistol or an AR for $500+ but make every excuse in the book not to spend a few hours training. Why the reluctance to pay for training? I get it money is tight but come on. Make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and don’t go out to lunch every day. In a couple weeks a defensive carbine and pistol class will be paid for. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – “Training is NOT shooting at paper between two narrow walls.”

People overestimate their firearm skills almost as much as their food storage levels. On a scale of 1 to 10 with 1 being Papa Smurf and 10 being John Rambo – where do your skills lie? Me? Realistically and being totally honest(as always) I rate myself a solid 5.

If you are sitting on your couch right now watching TV, reading this – and have never practiced switching to your backup weapon – while moving – your missing the boat(and will likely miss the target). Not trying to be harsh here but how many times have you shot off-hand? You’re right handed? What are you going to do when you are on the left corner of a building and need to shoot around it? What most people will do and expose themselves unnecessarily and pay the price. The smaller percentage of people will simply switch their rifle to the left side and engage – accurately –  with minimal exposure.

So you carry everyday? Awesome! How fast can you successfully draw your pistol? Be honest. Will it get caught on your shift while you fumble to grab the butt? Is there a round in the chamber? I hope so. Have you practiced grabbing your shirt with your off hand pulling it up high well away from your pistol so as to remove any opportunity for the pistol to get caught on anything? If not – the time to start is now.

Not healthy enough to “train” the way I describe? Then train to the level which you can. Truly cannot afford a $175 for a defensive firearms course? There are tons of YouTube training video’s to study and practice on your own. How about buy a book such as The Home Schooled Shootist?

Bad things happen to good people every day. Some significantly crappy things may be happening to many good people in the not too distant future. It’s time to get ready now.

But what do I know I’m only a 5.

Rourke

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14 Comments

  2. D. says:

    An old friend that I taught to shoot, once told me ” You can probably take down about 90% of the people that you may come across……..and the other 10% will probably be on your side”

    Reply
  3. Capt.Michaels says:

    Agreed. If you cannot afford to take an official pistol combat training course. Then do your best to simulate stress, without getting kicked off the range. Do try to get somewhere or pay for the ability to make moving combat pistol/rifle training. In a pistol range targets are not moving, they’re not shooting back, and they’re not putting stress on you from an advancing threat. The advancing threat on your life WILL cause your adrenaline to increase and your heart rate to go up. There is a big difference.

    For example, this only being small steps, go to the pistol range. Only put a 5 rounds in one magazine, 3 rounds in the next, leave a third magazine empty, set a timer to like 2 minutes, go through the loaded magazines, and then have to load at least 5 more rounds into the empty, and then try to hit the target center mass before the timer runs out. You can make similar variations with a back up weapon and firing it with your off hand.

    Perhaps you can go online if you cannot afford, but really need to, get proper training.

    https://www.personaldefensenetwork.com/gun-shooting-drills/

    Reply
  4. Zenblaster in SC says:

    A way to shoot under stress is to compete in IDPA, USPSA, 3 Gun matches and the like. I was a competitor for about 8 years and a certified Range Officer running club matches for a couple years in there. You will get an adrenaline rush and learn to handle it. You will have malfunctions and clear them under stress. Most matches are $10-$20 and the people are usually VERY helpful and friendly. I made some great friends from all walks of life.

    I remember being RO for a specific competitor who just finished a move & shoot course of fire. When asked to unload and show clear, his hands were literally shaking. I knew him from many matches, and he was currently a Police Officer. The pressure of challenging yourself to shoot a good score on the target, with a good time on the clock, and under the pressure of all your friends watching created a very interesting sort of training. I used to shoot as many as 7 matches a month, and I think this helped me tremendously.: Dealing with stress, developing muscle memory, being totally familiar with the weapon, failure to fire, jams, mag changes, etc. My favorite were the “assault courses”, meaning movement among several shooting locations and positions, many mag changes, and challenging targets and varying distances.

    Now I have taken two training courses like Rourke mentions and it was amazingly eye opening and well worth it! Everyone who is serious about being prepared should try to get training like this. But the local match is good practice, economical and fun. Both have their place and I wish I had more time for both.

    take care,
    Jonathan

    Reply
    1. jh says:

      I’m lucky that our carbine club does tactical and static shooting drills with carbines, handguns and combination of the two on a monthly basis. I use to love shooting IDPA until I realized I had created a “training scar”. During a class I took after about a year and a half of doing just IDPA, they were running a “hot range” and twice as soon as I was done with the course of fire later in the day instead of holstering I did the “If finished unload and show clear”. Just amazing how automatic you act when a bit tired.

      Reply
  5. 3rdMan says:

    I’m a LEO firearm’s instructor, train regularly on a dynamic range, and seek new firearms training. One of my favorite trainers being Travis Haley. So, how do I rate my self. A 7!!!

    Reply
      1. 3rdMan says:

        He’s probably the most down to earth guy you will ever meet!!! If you ever get the chance to train with him, do it. Worth every penny.

        Reply

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