In regard to the recent SurvivalBlog article The Defensive Pistol, by W.R.B.: In the aspect of training, he states that you should not to seek out local trainers
Well, as of last December the NRA broke the 80,000 mark of certified instructors, and while the majority teach the basic rifle, pistol and or shotgun courses, there are a number of them that teach more advanced courses.
NRA offers Personal Protection courses (read that as defensive handgun) for both in the home, and outside the home.
A limited number will soon be offering a new course titled Defensive Pistol, which is a pretty intense pistol fighting course.
It may well pay to check out your local trainers, and see what they offer. I would rather see people get some training locally, than none at all, if they can’t afford one of the expensive schools, and some of those local guys can be pretty sharp.
I’ve never been to Front Sight, or Gunsite, but I’ve trained with some of the bigger names, including Massad Ayoob, Blackwater, Todd Jarrett, Larry Vickers and Ken Hackathorn. There is nothing wrong with professional training.
But if your skill set is lacking, you can be over your head very quickly in a “professional class”, whereas a local trainer can help you build a strong foundation, that when you take an advanced class you actually come away with something.
Something else the large schools have a formula, that they teach classes by, it is like a cookie cutter, same approach to every student, a friend of mine who is in a wheelchair attended the school that “trained” 60,000 people in one year, they just put him on the line and expected him to do everything the rest of the class did, ever try lateral movement in a wheelchair?
For preppers on a budget, can they afford $900-$1500 for 3-5 days of training?, plus transportation, lodging, meals, and ether shipping or paying above normal prices for ammo on site? When there may be a local trainer or a regional school a couple hour drive away that will charge half that?
There are also nationally known trainers that travel, Tom Givens from Rangemaster, Massad Ayoob, John Farnham, Ron Pincus, are some I can think of off the top of my head. If you do not have to buy airline tickets, and pay for rental cars you might afford more than one class. It is also good to take courses from different instructors, if you keep going to same guy, you keep learning the same thing.
The old axiom “You get what you pay for” applies to firearms training, I’m always suspect of free or lowball priced classes.
Quantity does not make up for quality
As to firearms choices, while Glock is a good choice, it is not the only choice, and as long as the caliber is 9mm or bigger you’ll be okay, you just need to learn your gun.
As to caliber I highly recommend 9mm, for several reasons, one being price, if the ammo is affordable you’ll practice more, 40 S&W cost about 40% more and 45 is about 70% more costly. Also less felt recoil, the less recoil the less you’ll have a tendency to flinch. Also over years and years of shooting that repeated recoil does a number on your joints. Todd Jarrett has pretty much retired from professional shooting his wrists and elbows have worn out.
“It is not what you hit them with, it’s where you hit them with it, that counts”
Mindset
“The purpose of fighting is to win. There is no possible victory in defense. The sword is more important than the shield and skill is more important than either. The final weapon is the brain. All else is supplemental. ” – John Steinbeck
You will be well served to put as much time into this, as you do shooting, and I’d recommend a starting point of reading “On Combat”, by my friend Lt. Col. Dave Grossman (retired), as he says “Amateurs talk hardware, professionals talk software”.
The mind is the ultimate weapon, the gun is just a tool, not much different than a socket wrench, or a car jack.
But you have to use the tool on a regular basis to become proficient with it, if you only drove your car twice a year, you would likely not be a good driver, if you only shoot twice a year you likely won’t be skilled in the use of arms.
75 percent of the learning takes place after the event, unless you take what you learned in class and apply it to your training, you will only get 25 percent of what you paid for.
As I tell my students I sow the seeds, it is up to them to water and fertilize what they learned, for it to come to fruit.
As I am one of the “local” guys, two retired cops came here, both had 30 years in, and both said they learned more from me in three days than they had in 30 years of law enforcement. – J.D.F.
Sir,
As a Certified Instructor in more than a dozen disciplines for more than 25 years, I agree with much of what W.R.B. wrote. I do however, take issue with more than a bit of it.
The large corporations charging hundreds, or thousands of dollars per class, which you boast of traveling to, and attending several times a year, are beyond the reach of many who may be seeking help and guidance here. To imply that only they are capable of proper training, is an insult to the innumerable Instructors who may not have the corporate presence, but are equally, or better qualified nonetheless. I do not believe that the thousands of students who have taken my self defense course’s over the years are any less capable of defending themselves, or protecting those for whom they are responsible, than you apparently think you are. Practice is the key to performance. You’ve been taught that, and they are taught that. There is far more to self defense training than putting 1,000 rounds downrange in the shortest period of time with the most expensive gun you can afford. One of the major differences is, my students have access to me 24/7. If they require help, or guidance, they simply have to call. Any day. Any night. Anytime.
Do you have the home phone numbers of your very expensive corporate instructors? Will they speak with you in the middle of the night, should you need them? I think not. But I can assure you, were one willing to do so, you would be receiving a bill in the mail for their time, and the inconvenience you caused them.
A word to the wise… There is a glaring and distinct difference between confidence, and overconfidence. In my experience, the latter will usually get you killed.
[Some deleted, for brevity.] Regurgitating the mantra of the corporate entities and framing it as “advice,” does not, in and of itself, constitute the necessary credentials to dismiss, or discount those who are not national corporate entities, but that are equally qualified. You do the readers here a disservice, and deserve to have been taken to task for it. – R.F.D.
Jim,
This is in response to the article “The Defensive Pistol” by W.R.B. I must respectfully disagree with W.R.B.’s statement that “full metal jacket ammo is just fine.” My first point is this: in recent ballistic tests, 9mm ball out-penetrated .223 bullets in sheet rock and ballistic gel. I think it is safe to say that it will perform exactly the same in humans. I wholeheartedly agree with W.R.B. that we must get training. But I find it hard to believe that any competent trainer would miss such an obvious oversight in ammunition choice.
I just recently completed a DTI course with John Farnham, and this exact issue was discussed in his opening lecture. We do not get to pick where our gunfight will happen. What if it is at your local mall? What if it is in a restaurant? Or at the parking lot of a State Fair? These are all densely populated locations in which our full metal jacket round could over-penetrate our perpetrator and kill an innocent bystander.
You are responsible for your bullet and its final resting place. Alan Korwin and Mas Ayoob have educated the defensive shooter adequately in this regard. You will be prosecuted and serve jail time if you can’t articulate why you chose full metal jacket ammo, when defensive ammo is provided for the marketplace, for these very reasons, i.e. over-penetration. You are carrying a defensive handgun to stop an attacker as quickly as possible. Your life and the lives of your family may depend on a one-shot stop. Corbon, Hornady Tap, and Speer Gold Dot defensive ammunition are fast-expanding ammo designed to stop the fight. Full metal jacket was never designed to be used in a fighting or defensive gun, except as outlined by the Geneva Convention (which is why our soldiers are forced to use it.)
I think W.R.B. needs to do some legal homework. He has the tactical part down, but has missed the legal implications of carrying the wrong ammo. This could be very misleading to a lot of people!
Thanks for providing the best blog on the net! – Belle Ringer