Are You Training Enough with your firearm?

Are You Training Enough with your firearm? – We like stuff. Gear is cool. I love new holsters, magazines, gun, knives, trucks, bags etc….some would call that a “geardo”, and I am sure that I ma not alone in this pursuit. How many of us go into the store, see that new gun and go…man that would help me do this or that that the 35 other guns I currently have just simply can’t do. I have fallen into this and was super stoked to give $100 plus a month for one of those gear box subscriptions for a while, but sadly equipment alone doth not a trained operator make. You still need to practice those skills….a LOT…in order to be proficient in any level. Here are some things to think about.

Fitness:

Yes, I did it, January New Years Resolutions have likely started to falter now but here is some motivation why it shouldn’t. If you are truly serious about protecting yourself from anything, you may need to have some stamina, be in it to grapple with a larger opponent, or be able to run to/away from a fight. To take this to a firearms perspective, it is a lot harder to holster and draw if your love handles are covering the top of your pants. I have been there, and while a deep holster like the Original/Roughneck can mitigate some of this, it is significantly harder to draw clean in on motion if you have a muffin top. For a more SHTF scenario, have you rucked with your bug out bag? Have you carried that heavy 50 cal rifle that you love more than from the car to the shooting area and back? If you are a fan of armor, have you worn it all day, or on a hike? Start small and work towards the goal, its only your life and the lives of your family that depend on it.

Shooting:

I got out to the range for the first time in months about a week ago, yeah, ammo prices, holiday season, the extreme cold (-8 makes outdoor range time miserable) and hunting season all “prevented” me from range time. What a poor excuse. I have already written about the ways to practice at home (which I did some, but not enough), but there is no substitute to range time. Being able to draw from a holster from verbal or shot timer command, engage a target at a varied distance, mag changes, strong hand versus non-dominant hand you just can’t do it as effectively when there is no recoil. As I just got a new holster from our shop, I tried working with drawing from my left hand as the magnetic IWB holster is a left hand OWB holster, super different concept but worked really well.

Reading/studying/Training:

I have read a ton of books about shooting, war, philosophical debates on killing, SHTF and the one thing that hits me is that there is a massive wealth of knowledge out there. My go to reloads have been from reading others testing. My grip on handguns and my technique has changed multiple times from when I started. How many of you have attended a shooting clinic from a reputable (that is key) clinic? If Thunder ranch is out of your price range as it is mine, try the Apple Seed clinic, great way to improve. The key is that you need to be constantly improving and looking for the best/newest ways to conceal carry, new technology, newest techniques, and best practices so you can give yourself the biggest advantage over a potential adversary. Bottom line, you want to add all of these up and make it an unfair fight for whomever wishes to inflict their will upon you.

Author: Ian Bolser