Get Trained!

If you make the decision to carry, or otherwise maintain a firearm for self-defense use then it is incumbent on YOU to get properly trained.

When you pick up a firearm with the intention of protecting yourself, or your family, you are equipping yourself for a potentially violent encounter. God willing you will never have to engage in one of these, but if you do you are not target, or sport shooting. You are now involved in the self-defense/combat application of the firearm. There is a big difference!

When you seek out training there are several topics you want to make sure that the instructor(s) are going to cover:

1. Threat identification & de-escalation 2. Survival/combat mindset 3. Cover vs. concealment 4. Movement & movement while shooting 5. Presentations & shooting from concealment holster 6. Vocalization 7. Post-shooting action 8. Close proximity engagements

There is more but I just want to get you thinking about this. Additionally ask the instructor about their experience. Not what class they sat through to get their instructor certification, but real world application of the techniques they are instructing.

Be very careful when it comes to tactics and techniques. There are a million and one self-proclaimed "Tactical Instructors" out there, and a million and one ways to execute a fancy looking technique. The reality of it is that as soon as someone starts shooting back at you 99.9% of these fancy techniques fall apart. Never be afraid to ask the question, "Why does this work, and will it work for me?" Self-defense techniques are not universal, don't let yourself get caught trying to pound a square peg into a round hole.

Firearms do not magically provide protection against the monsters that walk among us. A gun is a tool! It's an innocuous collection of moving metal and plastic/polymer parts that responds to the input of the operator. Just because you pick up a stethoscope does not make you a doctor. It's your responsibility to seek out and obtain the "Appropriate" training for the job that you want this particular tool to accomplish. Failure to do so can, and most likely will, have ramifications. Never forget, it's your ass, take some ownership of saving it!