OldMarksman
Staff
Every now and then, someone says something that reminds me of something that I once believed that later proved to be erroneous. Thinking back, at one time or another, I believed, consciously or otherwise, each of the following:
Just a few items, all wrong of course, but at one time or other I really believed each of them. How about you?
Thanks to some training, to discussions here on TFL and on THR, and to conversations with trainers and LEO friends, I know better now.
That's not to say that I would always survive the gravest extreme.
- Were I ever to be faced with a criminal attack, it would most probably unfold slowly and in such a manner that I would be able to tell what was going on--the way such incidents are portrayed for the benefit of the audience in screen fiction.
- Thus, my careful and deliberate bulls-eye practice and my acceptable target groups should prepare me well for the event.
- ...and I'll surely have time to retrieve my firearm from deep concealment, say from a pocket.
- Practice on the square range is generally representative of real defensive encounters, with the target standing still in the direction I am facing, and with my being ready to shoot.
- I really don't need to carry my firearm unless I have reason to believe that I might need it where I am going.
- Because I live in a "good neighborhood", I really do not need to be all that concerned about home defense.
- The firearm in my hand will protect me from harm as I walk around the house trying to find out what made that noise downstairs.
- I will be able to get to that gun in the bedroom timely, if it is ever needed for home defense.
- One shot would most likely end a confrontation, just as it always does in screen fiction.
- For those and other reasons, there was little practical need for a double column semiautomatic pistol for personal defense.
- My .45 would serve me much better than my 9MM; after all, Army tests and the legend of the Moros prove the point, don't they?
- The boom and blast of a magnum at the muzzle and the violence with which it hits a water jug indicate beond a doubt its capability for a "one shot stop", and there would be no need to score mulltiple hits in rapid succession.
- Because the likelihood of ever needing to use a firearm for self defense on any one day is exceedingly remote, it is reasonable to rely on one with limited capacity, and possibly poor sights and a poor trigger pull, at least most of the time.
- The firearm I carry protects me from harm by virtue of the fact that I have it with me.
Just a few items, all wrong of course, but at one time or other I really believed each of them. How about you?
Thanks to some training, to discussions here on TFL and on THR, and to conversations with trainers and LEO friends, I know better now.
That's not to say that I would always survive the gravest extreme.