Quote:
Originally Posted by Badger52
There's very little Guv-mandated I'm in favor of; but I believe it's in folks' interest to seek out on their own varied, dynamic training. If nothing else, it can help one assess their own limitations.
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For me, this is spot on! A few years ago I was proud of my shooting until I was challenged by a friend of mine (firearms instructor for our deputies) to take it up a notch and work through the various courses offered at the range. From force on force to urban combat, etc, my eyes were widely opened to a great deal of deficiencies. I dropped the ego really damn fast and realized if I was to improve I would have to attack my weaknesses and make them my strengths.
Shooting static targets at 10 meters or less is fun practice and I'm all about fun, but to truly grab the tiger by the tail you have to push outside your comfort zone and be willing to cross-examine your skill set. At least that's how I learn YMMV. I continue to train and rehearse scenarios, too, and I'm far from QP level proficiency. Those guys are on the high dive while I'm in the 3' wading pool.
Now, doing it in real life with tear gas in a densely populated darkened room while being completely out-gunned, surprised, etc? I try to mentally rehearse that and all I can think is, "MY GOD...what horrible odds - how on earth would I close distance and gain some sort of advantage? Or would I even be somewhere I'm not allowed to carry?" - probably no to the latter, though I can't avoid all gun-free zones, sadly.
Thank goodness our theater still allows us to carry, however, my 17 rounds chambered in 9mm versus 100 rounds .223/5.56, shotgun, etc...those numbers do not support my life expectancy, but I'd like to think I'd go down fighting before I curled up and became an easier target. For me, any kind of violent response to an attack is better than nothing.