New CHL looking for advice

[KRM45]

Some good advice here... Congatulations on the CHL and the new pistol.

[.45mac.40]

Brewster.....
A big 10-4 .....
Where, when...alone... ?... with a family member ? How will they react ??
Walking a parking lot...getting into your vehicle, about to shut tha' door ...? The guy stepping out from behind a tree, wanting to know if ya' have any loose change ?
Way too many situations ...!
One thing though, since being CHL, I pay more attention to my surroundings... BUT ?

No .. you didn't hijack this post ... Any communication of any kind, any where here ... is a plus, and a training phase for me.

Brewster, You've been here longer than me ... Question, Any idea how many of us will be attending the TCHA annual at Kerrville this March ? ?
Mac

[Excaliber]

I still wonder how I will react to an unforseen situation !
Mac

Great point, I wonder the same thing about myself. I can only hope that if a bad situation ever occurs, I will be capable of handling the situation. Don't get me wrong, I don't doubt myself, but I don't have a crystal ball either...

Hopefully this isn't considered a thread hijack, but it is related to the topic. Two questions for everyone:

1. Do you think that "practice" is emphasized to the point where it's not in balanced with mental preperation?
2. If you had to choose, would you rather be a great shot at the range but cursed with great jitters, or someone who is cool as a cucumber with limited practice with their weapon (but competent with it) ?

I don't claim to know the answer to either question; I'd care to know the input of others. I tend to think we should strive for both, so we don't have to settle for one or the other.

Either / or won't get you out of a really bad situation. You need both.

[stroo]

1. Proper practice ought to also prepare you mentally. In other words, you not only need to practice shooting your gun, you also need to practice Cooper's color codes by using them and various scenarios by going over them.

2. I really think this is a false dichotomy. I would rather be both cool and able to shoot accurately at the range. While if I had to choose, I would choose cool, I don't really know how to train to produce "cool"; maybe competitions and hunting would work. However, I can learn how to shoot accurately. So I work on what I can, shooting accurately. Moreover, in my experience "cool" is not a static thing. Somedays I react to problems cooly; other days I don't.

[Excaliber]

1. Proper practice ought to also prepare you mentally. In other words, you not only need to practice shooting your gun, you also need to practice Cooper's color codes by using them and various scenarios by going over them.

2. I really think this is a false dichotomy. I would rather be both cool and able to shoot accurately at the range. While if I had to choose, I would choose cool, I don't really know how to train to produce "cool"; maybe competitions and hunting would work. However, I can learn how to shoot accurately. So I work on what I can, shooting accurately. Moreover, in my experience "cool" is not a static thing. Somedays I react to problems cooly; other days I don't.

"Cool" for serious social work means two things:

1. Being able to keep your heart rate within the optimum range to limit the performance hindering effects that occur above that level.

2. Executing preplanned and preexercised tactics appropriate to the scenario you face. If you have prepared yourself this
way, you can "call up those programs" and use them successfully. Target shooting and static hunting will not
prepare you for the use voice commands / move / shoot / seek cover / control light and other tactics you need to survive a
deadly force encounter.

Be aware that cognitive skills deteriorate rapidly with accelerated heart rate. That's a fancy way of saying that you'll lose a whole bunch of IQ points for the duration of the encounter. If you're counting on being able to come up with a good plan on the spot as the situation unfolds, you should be aware that you most likely will be unable to do so because of the effects of life threatening stress on brain function. I won't bore you with the medical details, but I'd be happy to point to good reference material if anyone is interested.

[stroo]

Agree with your definition of "cool". I do find that somedays I get far more excited about things, including faster heart rate, than other days. Maybe it is just me.

You made the point about practice/training much better than I did.

[mez1st]

Thank you all for your thoughts and advice. I will look into the reading material and work on mental focus/stress training. .45mac.40, I agree that since I started carrying this past week, I pay much more attention to my surroundings. Brewster, I agree that mental preparation does not get enough emphasis. I hope this does not fill my mail box with hate mail but I wonder if a ten hour course on the CHL laws is enough to qualify someone to carry a firearm. The untrained unprepared could be as much a danger as the BG in a public area scenerio. I know we have the right to keep and bear arms and I intend to do so, but if like Brewster mention, a person is rattled enough to fumble when it counts target marksman won't be enough.

Right now I am just getting used to actually wearing and carrying the pistol, which is a change in behavior, dress, walk, etc. I found myself in a retail store the other day almost in sensory overload from everything going on around me, wondering if my pistol handle was printing through my shirt, the guy in front of me arguing with the clerk, the group of tattooed thugs approaching from my nine o'clock, the man arguing with his wife at my five o'clock, and my inability to decide if I wanted the 24 or 36 pack of AAA batteries for all the toys my kids got for Christmas (maybe this part should go in the Wally Walk thread.) But I'm sure you all know what I mean, this is going to take some getting used too. The responsibility entrusted in us as CHL holders and regular carriers is one not to be taken lightly. Being the new guy on campus I appreciate that there is a forum where some of the seasoned veterans can help us newbies learn the ropes. How did we every get along without the online community.

[Skiprr]

The responsibility entrusted in us as CHL holders and regular carriers is one not to be taken lightly. Being the new guy on campus I appreciate that there is a forum where some of the seasoned veterans can help us newbies learn the ropes. How did we every get along without the online community.

Think of this online community as a "force multiplier": together, sharing knowledge, we're better than we could ever be standing alone.

[brewster]

Think of this online community as a "force multiplier": together, sharing knowledge, we're better than we could ever be standing alone.

Fantastic quote, Skiprr! Charles should consider putting that in the banner of the site. It's amazing how much we can learn from each other on a site like this....I know I'm very grateful for it. In addition to self-defense, I've always said that those of us with CHLs are the "invisible army" that may be the ones who have to respond to a situation in public before the police arrive in order to save lives (if we choose). For example, I was in that mall in Salt Lake City (Feb '07) two days before that nut started shooting innocent people. Glad I wasn't there when it happened, but what if I had been? So, we're all on the same team...not just in defense of ourselves, but each other. To effectively do that, we must know the law, be prepared, and know ourselves. This "force multiplier" helps us do just that.

[Excaliber]

Thank you all for your thoughts and advice. I will look into the reading material and work on mental focus/stress training. .45mac.40, I agree that since I started carrying this past week, I pay much more attention to my surroundings. Brewster, I agree that mental preparation does not get enough emphasis. I hope this does not fill my mail box with hate mail but I wonder if a ten hour course on the CHL laws is enough to qualify someone to carry a firearm. The untrained unprepared could be as much a danger as the BG in a public area scenerio. I know we have the right to keep and bear arms and I intend to do so, but if like Brewster mention, a person is rattled enough to fumble when it counts target marksman won't be enough.

If you look at the historical record, CHL holders rarely screw up badly. I would take that as evidence that the 10 hour course is sufficient to enable folks so trained to carry concealed weapons safely. If the record on driver's licenses were half as good, our vehicle accident rates wouldn't be nearly as horrific as they are.

There is a big difference between being prepared to carry safely, and being prepared to manage a deadly force incident successfully. The 10 hour course, like driver's training, introduces you to a lot of areas that need much more work before competence is attained.

Whether one follows up and develops competence, or figures the need for training ends when the plastic comes in the mail is a matter of personal responsibility. When everything is rosy, it's easy to conclude that both approaches are OK. The differences become starkly apparent when the chips are down and deadly force must be used to protect life in an incident that may last only 2 - 5 seconds start to finish with no do overs, followed by an emotionally wrenching and expensive aftermath that drags on for months or years after the sound of the last shot is long gone.

[CopOnce]

All these suggestions and recommendations are really great, but there's one that was pounded into our heads while in the police academy and thought of while working the streets is; when all of these suggestions and recommendations fail; think – I’d rather be tried by twelve than carried by six.

[BluHog]

Being the new guy on campus I appreciate that there is a forum where some of the seasoned veterans can help us newbies learn the ropes. How did we every get along without the online community.

Exactly my sentiments as I read through this slightly older thread and so many others. I thank all the participants here.

[SouthPawPara]

As someone else said you can never be sure what you will do if the moment arrives. But you can do a bunch of things to prepare.

First, make sure that you are willing to shoot someone who is attacking you or yours. You need to be mentally prepared to do that.

Second, use silhouette targets for practice. It may sound odd but it is supposed to desensitize you to some extent against shooting humans. It also trains you where to shoot.

Three, read. Read the scenario posts on this site and others. If you have thought about what to do in particular situations, you are more likely going to respond in that way if the situation ever occurs. Read Massad Ayoob and Chris Bird's books. They will prepare you for the aftermath of a shooting. Read Jeff Cooper's books to learn the color code. There are a number of videos in the market that can also be very helpful.

Fourth, get additional hands on training. Learn how to use cover, move and shoot, etc. If you can do force on force training you might want to try that.

Fifth, take in Charles' use of deadly force presentation if at all possible. It is excellent.

Sixth, try IDPA.

Seventh, practice, practice, practice. And do it in different forms. Dry fire regularly including drawing and moving in your dry fire practice. Get an airsoft gun and practice point shooting, shooting while moving, etc. Get a .22 so that your cost of actually firing isn't that hig.

Finally, pray that you never have to use your gun.

Good post, couldn't agree with you more.

[iamomeed]

you can enrol in special training classes or even Jui Jitsu or self defense combat classes. Some of my friends enrolled in some tactical weapons classes.

[Silverhawk]

What is IDPA??

Tks!