People who are new to shooting and this business of personal defense often wonder if signing up for a defensive handgun school is really worth it. There are also others who have been around firearms most of their lives, hunting, plinking or target shooting, who may wonder if they will actually learn anything new in a defensive handgun class. Let me put it this way: taking a defensive shooting class from professional trainers is one of the smartest things you will ever do. Here are some of the things that you can expect to learn in that important training experience.
Without a doubt, the most important lesson a student can take home with them is safety. Different guns can have a different manual of arms, so it is important that the student know how to properly load, unload and fire his or her particular defense gun. But, it is also just as important to know how to field strip that gun for cleaning and how to deal with the various malfunctions that might relate to that particular model. In that basic class, one also learns about the safety concerns connected with having a loaded firearm on one’s person throughout the day. I believe that you have every right to own and use a defensive firearm, but I also think that you have an obligation to those of us around you to exercise your right without placing us in danger. Safety on the range, in the home and on the street is critical.
This same basic class also exposes the student to defensive marksmanship. It is nice to be able to hit the target, but the defensive shooter must be able to do this as quickly and accurately as possible, and often under adverse conditions. The basics of marksmanship are still there, breath control, sight picture and trigger squeeze, but the defensive shooter has to learn to compress those functions to get an accurate shot off quickly. And he or she must connect the speed and accuracy with the draw stroke and movement.
It is not only important for the defensive shooter to learn to shoot accurately. They must also develop defensive tactics that serve to thwart any attackers and give the advantage to their side. Such skills as awareness and use of cover are important as are an understanding of personal defense law.
When you think about all of the important topics relevant to the defensive use of firearms it quickly becomes apparent that one can’t learn it all in a week’s class. But that basic school provides the foundation for future learning, for continued learning. The basic school isn’t the end of anything; however, it is hopefully the beginning. We take classes to learn. We practice what we learn. And we sign up for more classes to learn more.
My friend Clint Smith admonishes students to “Fight Smart.” And I think that this is exactly what he is getting at.
