My Training Rant

[BarryinIN]

Short version:

If you have thought about taking any firearms training, but have never gone...GO!

If you haven't thought about training...You probably should!

Stop putting it off, or saying you will go sometime, or telling yourself you are shooting OK without it.

You WILL gain from it unless your instructor is an absolute moron.

Long version:

I wanted to go a long time ago. When cleaning out my Mom's house a couple of years ago, I found a Gunsite brochure that I sent for in 1981.

I didn't go then. I put if off. And I kept putting it off.

Like most people who consider training, I either didn't have the money or couldn't get the time off, or both at once.

So I kept putting it off.

Sound familiar?

That describes a lot of people.

Time went by, I got a back injury that both made me look like an obvious target from my hunchback walk. It also made it hard or impossible for me to defend myself or even run away. It also limited how far I could travel, eliminating some choices in training sites.

I should have gone earlier.

Then I got married and had kids. Now I had more to protect than just my own sorry self. Those same responsibilities also made it harder to get free time to go.

I should have gone earlier.

That illustrates the sad fact many encounter:

The more some people need training, the harder it is for them to get it.

My point is to get it when you can.

I could have done it before if I had known more about where to go...or bothered to find out. It's a lot easier to find training now than back then, but I could have gone if I tried hard enough.

There are more schools than ever out there. Besides the big name facilities, there are several "traveling schools" out there also. They come to all areas of the country.

As far as expense goes, you can spend a lot if you want, but many of the traveling schools have three-day classes than run around $450. There are some top-notch instructors doing one-day classes for $125.

How much was the last gun you bought? Or that last ammo order? You can get a great class for the cost of many holsters.

Can you afford $450 and three days time (two days of which are probably on the weekend anyway)? I hate to use the cliche, but it really could change your life. Many lives have been extended by them.

Will it help?

That's partially up to you. If you go in there thinking you know everything already, you probably won't gain a thing. Don't bother. If you go in there ready to learn, you should learn a lot, and probably more than you expected.

I used to think I would you have to go across the country to get good training. I was wrong.

When I found out about some training nearby, I looked into it and all the classes were full except one- Intro to Defensive Pistol. I signed up, and a friend of mine asked why I was bothering with an "intro" class. That got my ego cranked up, and I started thinking about that.

By the time the class came around, I wondered if I had made a mistake. The following is not bragging (not much to brag about), but to explain how wrong I was: I had shot HighPower (rifle) matches for years and had won some local matches; I had shot a few different competitions and done from fair to pretty good depending on which type- from "C" class in IPSC to winning some bowling pin shoots. Nothing spectacular, but nothing too terribly sad either.

After talking to my friend, I began to wonder what I would gain from an "Intro" class.

That was stupid of me.

Within 15 minutes on the range, and maybe five shots fired, I had learned a bunch. The instructor had spotted and corrected things I had been doing wrong for years and may NEVER have caught on my own. Had I spent the money that class cost on ammo, I would have just continued doing the same things for that many more shots.

I should have gone earlier.

I've taken several more classes since then, and have gained a lot from each one. I've never EVER heard anyone walk away from a class complaining that they didn't learn anything or failed to get their money's worth. Everybody wants more.

Do yourself a favor and go.

[wwillson]

Barry,

You bring up many great points, but I'd like to add the aspect of training recency. When you do get training, don't let what you learned rust away. Make it a point to practice as much as you can and as often as you can. It might make you feel self conscious to practice drawing from your defensive rig and shooting at a cardboard target 10 feet away over and over again when others are watching. Just do it. God forbid that if you ever need to, then you might stand a chance at defending yourself. If you go through a class and never practice again, you're chances of self preservation decrease exponentially.

Wayne

[BarryinIN]

Excellent point.

I like to think that training teaches us how to practice.

Unfortunately, it seems some take a class and feel they have done all they need to do. That is better than those who buy a gun and figure they have done all they need to do, but not good enough in my opinion.

As the saying goes, there is "trained" and there is "has been exposed to training". If someone takes a class and thinks they have done enough, they missed the point.

I posted that rant because I don't want anyone repeating my mistakes. I wanted to get some training practically from the time I knew there was such a thing, but put it off.

It seemed hard to do at the time, but it only got harder as time went on.

As I laid out in my case above, obstacles to training only get stronger and more numerous as time goes on. The need never, ever, decreases.

[RebinPA]

Training is always a good idea. Even if you know a lot, or think you do. You just might learn something or have the piece of mind that you're good enough if you don't.

Sometimes it can help someone decide if shooting is something they really would like to get into before investing in a gun and accessories. I provide training for free as my time allows with my historical firearms. My charge is the learner pays for supplies/ammo used for the day. 2 out of 3 come back for more lessons. I've had one student able to put 3 out of first 6 revolver rounds in the shirt pocket of a chest representative target at 50ft. That was their first rounds of the day.

[BarryinIN]

Side rant: If you take a class, start early gathering up everything on the required gear list. Start as soon as you sign up, to make sure you will have it when the class comes.

FedEx left a while ago. He brought the blue gun (weighted plastic training gun) I ordered for my last class. The class held three weeks ago.

I'll have it for my next class, I guess.

When I signed up for this class I ordered this "gun". It was a suggested, but not required, item in the course description. Although some would be available there, it was highly suggested by past students to bring my own rather than goof around trading one back and forth. I wanted one anyway for my IDPA safety briefings and had been putting it off. And one use as a mold for a Kydex job, and it's a tax deduction.

I carry a HiPower most of the time, so wanted a HiPower blue gun obviously.

Finding a Glock or 1911 blue gun is easy.

It turns out finding lots of different weighted plastic blue guns, or knives, bats, bottles, etc, is easy compared to a HiPower.

I knew they made them. I just had to find one listed for retail. To complicate things, they make them with the hammer down or hammer cocked...and I wanted the hammer cocked model for extra realism...and less availability.

This is why I didn't cancel the order when it didn't arrive in time for the class. I still needed one, and since I found a place that sold the one I wanted, I stuck it out and waited.

I ordered it five weeks before the class, and it arrived three weeks after.

The point is: If going to a class, get everything ready well ahead of time.

Well ahead of time. Especially ammo. Buy or load it, put it aside, and don't use it for anything else (except emergencies). Believe it or not, there are people don't figure out the need for ammo before the class.

I usually sign up for classes months in advance. This gives me time to get what I need, think of things I didn't think of at first, find class reviews and see what might be useful, or simply to save up the money to get these things. This class sort of fell into my lap 5-6 weeks before it was held, which was short notice by my standards and made me nervous. It looked like I only needed the blue gun, but I was afraid I'd think of something else with a week to go.

I get pretty carried away about preparing for a class, but classes aren't free, so I want to get the most out of it. I want to be learning, and not fighting equipment or wishing I'd brought something else. It seems stupid to spend a bunch of money on the class and do whatever needs done to get there, only to spend the class wondering if you will run out of ammo at noon the last day. I don't know how they do it, but some people just show up and hope for the best. Optional little things I can see skipping, but not basics like gun, holster, magazines, and ammo. I've seen them arrive with half the ammo called for in the course description.

"I thought I'd buy the rest once I got here. Is there a WalMart around?" Yeah, see if they tires too, in case you need a spare some day.

I see people come to class with one gun, when I know they have others just like it at home but left them there. If their gun fails hard enough, they are screwed for the day when they could have just walked to the car and got Gun #2. I've seen people try to get through an 800 round/three day class with two magazines. He would have held us all up constantly stuffing mags had the instructor not "offered" two loaners. He spent a thousand dollars on tuition and ammo, but wouldn't buy another $23 mag or two?

Bring everything they say. Extra if you can. Start accumulating it early, to ensure you have it. If they took the time to put something on the gear list, there is usually a fair reason for it.