Are you properly prepared???

[sully]

Are you properly prepared to defend yourself or someone else?

As an Instructor I need to ask if I am properly training and preparing people for employing firearms in self defense. Employment for the purpose of this discussion is weapon handling skills, tactics, and shooting skills.

Are you honest when you evaluate your knowledge and skills at the range and while in the field?
Are you confident in your skills, abilities and knowledge?
Do you feel properly prepared if they were to be involved in a self defense situation?
Does your loved ones know what to do if something bad happens and you need to defend them?
Do you honestly practice for the what if scenarios?
Do you practice with your loved ones for the what if scenarios?
Are you loved ones confident in their knowledge and plans of action/reaction?
Are you 100% confident in your choice of firearms, ammunition, and other self defense tools?

None of us get up in the morning knowing that today could be the day that we might be involved in a self defense shooting. As an Instructor, I believe it is my responsibility to train people properly instead of qualify them.

"We will never rise to the occasion, but rather default to our level of training!!!"

Stay Safe,
Greg Sullivan "Sully"
Chief Instructor
www.thedefensiveedge.com

 

[goalie]

I would be better prepared if you would put some dates for future handgun classes up on your website. Another Highroader who I have gone shooting with lately has taken your class has me feeling inadaquate and in need of more training. (Hey, my wife bought it )

Oh, and do you ever have guys run through your carbine course with an AK? I have done the AR thing extensively in the service, and am wondering just exactly how good I would be with my SAR-1.

 

[Double Naught Spy]

Like so many things, being properly prepared is something of a false idol. I am properly prepared until I encounter a situation in which I am not. That is just like saying 5 shots is enough, unless it isn't.

I am prepared for a lot of things, but no doubt I could encounter a whole multitude of situations where I would not be prepared.

Sadly, I am probably about as prepared as cops are prepared in that I have had training in handling a lot of the more typical and more likely sorts of situations, although I probably train more. I am not adequately prepared to handle overwhelming force. Had I been in North Hollywood during the bank robbery with my CCW, I probably could not have stopped the body armor clad, machinegun weilding bad guys any better. I am not prepared to take on a team of trained attackers or a mob.

My sort of preparedness concerns your typical everyday crackhead mugging, burglary, home invasion scenario that most of use are most likely to encounter.

My family has practiced home evacuation plans, use of our fire extinguishers, and have first aid kids and we carry said safety items in the car as well. We all have assigned duties. So basically we have a level of preparedness that is probably much greater than that of our neighbors, but is still quite limited.

There is always a higher level for which you are not prepared.

 

[Jarhed]

Well Hell Double Naught Spy

What if they skim a hat at ya?

(wonder how many get this)

 

[El Tejon]

Of course I'm prepared I own a gun and have a lot of common sense.

Sorry, couldn't help myself!

 

[porciniman]

I think Double Naught Spy said it best:
"I am properly prepared until I encounter a situation in which I am not."
Vb

 

[1911Tuner]

Prepared?

Being prepared is more a state of mind than of equipment and training.
Marksmanship practice teaches us to hit the target. IDPA and IPSC teaches us to engage multiple targets at known distances under
fairly controlled circumstances...under pressure. It helps, but it's no guarantee because the one thing that's absent from a killing situation is
any sort of control. We fire precisely because things have gotten out of control.

Can you turn from a decent human being into a killer of men in a heartbeat?
Most can't. It's hard to deliberately make a decision to kill, and do it
without hesitation. Whether that hesitation comes from not being
eager to end a life, or from fear of the legal aftermath, hesitation is
hesitation...ane he who hesitates is often lost.

John Wayne addressed the question in his last acting role as J.B. Books
in "The Shootist."

"It's not being fast or even accurate that counts. It's being willing.
Most men, regardless of need or purpose, aren't willing. They'll draw
a breath or blink an eye before they can pull the trigger. I won't"

So the issue isn't about how well trained you are. It's not about how well
you did in last Saturday's match. The issue is...Can you draw and fire at
another human being at the drop of a hat...without drawing a breath or blinking an eye? It's a question that is well worth pondering.

Luck!

Tuner

 

[R.H. Lee]

The issue is...Can you draw and fire at
another human being at the drop of a hat...without drawing a breath or blinking an eye? It's a question that is well worth pondering.

Yes it is. I am an accountant, not a "shootist", and have experienced only two potentially life threatening events where the outcome depended entirely on my actions.

The first was completely unexpected, I was piloting a small aircraft into a controlled airport, on final, ready to land. The pilot of another aircraft behind and above me was arguing with the tower, refusing to "go around", per the controller's instruction. Apparently the other plane did not see me, and I did not see him. Repeated orders to "go around" were ignored, as the other pilot continued to descend. I knew I was in danger, and asked the tower for instructions. Immediately, I was told to turn 90 degrees right, and did so without hesitation, although I knew I could collide with another aircraft in the traffic pattern if the tower was wrong. I later learned that the other aircraft was only seconds from dropping on top of me-which would have been fatal for us both. In retrospect, I acted swiftly and calmly. It was only after I landed that the adrenaline rush hit me-my legs were so rubbery I could hardly walk.

The second event was a surprise Rottweiler attack. I was a property manager serving a legal notice behind a closed gate. As I approached the front door, a BIG Rottie came running around from the back of the house, full speed, spit flying. I instinctively grabbed the OC off my belt while yelling at the top of my voice and raising my arms. The dog hesitated, for just a split second, and I hit him in the eyes and nose with a stream of OC. What seemed like a long time, but I'm sure was only a few seconds, the dog yelped, turned around, and headed back around the house. With shaking hands, I taped the notice to the door and beat a hasty retreat.

Neither of these events come close to what many of you have experienced, especially against armed opponents. They do give me some insight into how I might handle a confrontation. The overwhelming element for me both times was FEAR. I suspect it would be the same in an armed confrontation.

 

[lee n. field]

Are you properly prepared to defend yourself or someone else?

HA! Illinois law bars me from being properly prepared, most places and times.

 

[Mannlicher]

gee, I just don't know for sure, but I rekon I am.

Maybe I should sort through the list of highly qualified instructors here, and ask for some instruction.

 

[Double Naught Spy]

Being prepared may be more of a state of mind than training or equipment as without the proper mental framework, all the right training and equipment means nothing. However, if you have ever been in an emergency with a professional without his equipment, you find out just how critical it is to not just have the proper state of mind, but also the training and equipment.

They are individual elements, but they work in concert. Take away in one part of the three, and you can have an inadequate or even a useless result.