From: gwyn@smoke.brl.mil (Doug Gwyn)
Newsgroups: rec.guns
Subject: Re: When You Need to go BANG BANG
Date: 14 Apr 92 14:30:48 GMT
Organization: U.S. Army Ballistic Research Laboratory, APG, MD.


In article <53064@mimsy.umd.edu> kdlin@laplace.ee.ucla.edu (K. David Lin) writes:
#...  I am aware of some personal defense training classes.
#But how far do I have to go? Note that one can go crazy and spends lots
#of time/money on this thing. Another point is how useful these classes
#are? Are they equivalent to read a book on this subject? How can they
#create a life threatening situation for training?

Obviously it would be absurd to prepare for possible future defense of your
life by subjecting yourself to definite current danger to your life.  The
best that realistic training can do is to help you develop attitudes and
habits that will likely stand you in good stead in the event your ever do
find yourself in fear for your life.  Preparation can give you confidence
in your ability to do the best you possibly can in such circumstances,
which goes a long way towards improving your odds of survival.

There are some practical suggestions for developing these skills without
having to invest your whole being into it:

	Personal instruction, such as offered by the Lethal Force
	Institute, Chapman Academy, Gunsite, etc.

	Non-firearms forms of martial arts instruction, to learn self
	discipline under combat conditions.

	"Cowboy and Indians" activity such as paintball (which I'm
	not comfortable recommending) and Laser Tag (or whatever that
	outfit is called in Dallas and elsewhere, where live teams
	hunt each other with low-powered lasers while wearing "hit"
	sensors, all under computer control).  This may be your best
	bet if you take it seriously enough.

	IPSC and other "practical" pistol ranges exist in several
	locales.  If you take them seriously as simulations of dangerous
	scenarios, you can learn to handle the mechanics of defensive
	use of firearms, cover, etc. fairly well.  This should add to
	your confidence as well as practical skills.

	Devise your own "simulations" (like Practical Pistol scenarios)
	at the target range; be sure you don't jeopardize anyone's
	safety though.  For example, decide that you're going to walk
	around the corner, spot the assailant WITH A WEAPON AIMED AT YOU
	(This is important!  Also practice NOT shooting at targets that
	do NOT aim weapons at you!), duck back behind cover, draw, and
	plant three quick shots in "stopper" areas.  Or as a variation,
	decide that after two torso shots you're going to see that the
	assailant is unimpaired and will therefore place at least two
	more shots to other stopper areas.  Use targets that are fairly
	close, for the most part.

	For practical exercises in quick sight placement, etc. you
	should refer to Brian Enos' book entitled something like
	"Practical Shooting -- Beyond Fundamentals" (advertised in
	various shooter magazines).

#When I started shooting, my trigger finger flinched. After 3 months
#of practices and thousands of rounds, it went away. But how can I gain
#experiences on this life threatening situation? Is there anything I can
#do to make me more calm in a situation like this? Thanks.

Really, you have to prepare the proper attitude in advance.  You should
naturally be frightened, but not incapacitated by your fear.  This means
that you must have PREVIOUSLY "internalized" the attitude that, "Well, I
don't like being in this situation, but by golly I'm going to make the
best of it.  I AM GOING TO SURVIVE.  I have more life yet to live and am
not going to let some worthless creep take my rightful place in this world.
He made the mistake of starting this regrettable encounter, but I'm going
to be the one who ends it.  I have the skills, I have the will, and I have
right on my side.  I will prevail."  Of course, to internalize this you
need for it to be really true, which is where the confidence obtained from
preparation and practice comes in.

Also keep in mind that not every noise in your house is caused by thugs.
Some may be mice, a drunken neighbor whose key accidentally worked your
lock, intruding policemen, or other non-threatening causes.  If you have
that in mind while responding, but also are prepared for the possibility
that it really is trouble, you should find that you're relatively calm.
(I related an incident previously in this newsgroup, wherein I (day
sleeper) awoke to the sound of conversation from my apartment living room.
You can bet that I was armed while checking it out, but I wasn't shaking
or nervous since I reminded myself that I really didn't yet know exactly
what the situation was and it might be benign.  As it turned out, the
apartment complex's maintenance staff were changing the air-conditioning
filters and hadn't made an effort to see if anyone was at home before
waltzing in.  I doubt they ever realized I was armed as I confronted them.
But they easily COULD have been burglars, in which case if they hadn't
cooperated with being held for the police it could have gotten really
nasty -- but since I knew I was in the right and that the situation was
under control, I was calm.  There would be plenty of time after the police
arrived to have a nervous reaction, no time for one in the present.  This
is a matter of self control or discipline, as is emphasized in martial
arts training.)

-----

By the way, every time you practice shooting you should learn something
(as Brian Enos says in his nifty book).  Last time I was at the range I
observed that my slow shots were more widely scattered than they should
be, and after studying the hole distribution on the target I decided to
practice a while without ammo, looking for the explanation.  Holding the
gun in firing position and squeezing the trigger (no ammo), while
varying several factors one at a time, I determined that I had developed
a tendency for my middle finger on my firing hand to pull backward
against the gun's grip as I squeezed the trigger otherwise properly
between index finger and base of the thumb.  As I exaggerated this error
I could see the sights move in accordance with my observed shot pattern.
Loading up again, I proceeded to empty 15 rounds of .40S&W from a nearly
stock G22 into a 1-inch group at 21 feet (actually, there was one near
outlier which corresponded to a shot that I KNEW I had botched before it
even fired), thereby confirming that I had discovered the problem and
corrected it.  I relate this merely as an example of the sort of thing
you should continually be aware of during target practice.  Observe,
identify departures from the ideal, analyze the causes, devise corrective
measures, practice doing it right.