Read about one of these tactical trainers in Memphis -- you know the kind, does 2-3 day handgun course, carbine course, etc. -- a couple weeks ago. Can't remember his name but he is apparently pretty well known.So far I have never been called by a student that told me they were alive & their assailant was not & training saved their life. Hope I never get that call. I know personally one Instructor who has.
He apparently has had 60-some students that have been in gunfights. All but 2 prevailed in the gunfight. The 2 people who did not prevail were unarmed when the gunfight started.
There is a lesson there as I sit in McDonalds drinking my morning coffee with my 1911 on my hip. Sometimes it slays me all the people discussing the lastest uber-mini pocket .380 with 4+1 rounds that they need to buy because they "can't" carry a full-size handgun. I never knew of anyone who got into a gunfight that said, "I wish I had a smaller gun and less ammo."
Anyway, it is my most sincere wish that I am lying on my deathbed sometime in my 80's reflecting on my life and saying, "You know, I carried everyday for decades and never needed that gun." But I won't say it was a "waste of time".