CCW-Got the Permit, Got the Gun, Now what?

[OkieStubble]

I'm not sure what the LEO qualification is, but when I was in the military, the pistol qualification was a joke. Most of the qualification courses I have seen have nothing to do with use under pressure, but more along the lines of can you aim and hit the target.

Now I do have my conceal carry permit and I train probably twice a month (less lately because of a lack of ammo). But I don't go to the range and just shoot. I shot a local IDPA shoot that is held every other week. It's not as crazy as what you may see on TV, but it still involves drawing, engaging multiple targets, and shooting while moving/behind cover.

I think that most people who "practice" with their CCW do so on a static range, under the best of circumstances. But I highly doubt that when the time comes, the "bad guy" is going to let you get into the "proper" stance and acquire the target. Thats why I like shooting IDPA, it gives you a variety of shooting scenarios, and for me costs the same as a trip to the range.

You make excellent points Scott, And it sounds like you have found a very good balance between training and price point. I agree that it is getting much more expensive to even go to a regular range and just put rounds down range at static targets. There are several things people can do in the privacy of their own homes which cost nothing. Like drawing from the holster and target presentations which can be done right in front of a mirror. Also, with a few snap caps, one can practice trigger drills, speed reloads and malfunction drills. One shouldn't under estimate the importance of these types of muscle memory programming repetitive types of skills.

Even practicing different role playing type scenarios in ones home, of gathering the wife and kids into a safe room, will and can make them more efficient and better prepared in their response times and actions. With these types of basic skills which are mostly free of charge and really just depend on engraining them into motor gross memory functions, will help tremendously if they can only afford a range trip now & then to put just a few very valuable rounds down range at a static silhouette target.

I think the question of "what training is enough? Or even adequate? Is a very broad and difficult thing to nail down in the huge and individualistic picture of CCW. But the responsibility of doing something, anything, is there, and very real.