The best advice we can give to new gun owners

Status
Not open for further replies.
G

Gaxicus

New member
We probably all get questions or even help train people new to firearms or those new to defensive firearms. I've heard people offer some bad, some useless, but mixed in there is usually some really good stuff.

In what could be a very useful thread to all of us and the lucky new gun owner that comes this way, lets put some of it down in print.
 
Mental State. Never leave home without it.

One of the first and biggest obstacles I run into when working with a new defensive gun owner is helping them make their decisions about themselves and their attacker before they get in a situation where they need the gun.

Most people never want to use the weapon on a human being or even animal but have chosen to get one because they have been victimized or are worried that they might.

We all know that the best gun in the world is useless without a proper mindset in approaching the situation where they might need it. We have heard the stories of the people, even cops, dying of minor wounds because they gave up or the people that are killed with their own gun.

I have a little axiom and a speech that I use a lot when advising people who just cant see themselves pulling the trigger. (edited)

Most of them are buying a firearm because of fear. You can just see it written all over them. This ditty is what I tell them to get out of the fear mindset.

It sounds a bit cheesy but it really pushes the right buttons. Ill spare you the intro and get right to the heart of it.


Say it to yourself.

"I am a predator killer"

This attitude will have you picked last as a victim (it aint a lottery), more observant, and have you mentally ready to be the one bashing in the skull of an unconscious rapist with an emptied weapon after taking 3 knife wounds.

"I am a predator killer"

  1. You are not a jackass killer (We are all jackasses sometimes)
  2. You are not a predator fighter. (Fighting is something a predator is probably at better than you and they have less to lose)
  3. You are not a predator disarmer or counselor. (This just gets you killed and gives a predator a chance to do it again to someone else)
  4. This fight is for your life. Make it about theirs.
  5. You don't run from predators. Just watch a nature show, what happens to the prey?
  6. Mercy can only be applied when your attacker is defenseless, not hurt, but defenseless. You have to get to that point before even entertaining the idea. If mercy is important to you, fight to be the one in the position of making the decision about mercy.

You are a predator killer, they will be the victim.

When someone gets predatory on you, you kill them. . . . . ..............

Commit to it. You cannot afford to think otherwise, nor do you deserve to.



I believe that this attitude is the best chance most ordinary people will get to reclaim their freedom, quality of life, and happiness from the predators around them.

I work on this little ditty all the time. Please feel free to help make it better.
 
Last edited:
Best advise to one with a new fire for defense, is SHOOT IT. Practice, Practice, dry fire, become so familiar with it you hands feel neckid without it.

Then shoot some more. Shoot short range, shoot long range, shoot everything in between.

Study and practice pistol marksmanshiip fundimentals. Get some bullseye pistol targets and practice slow fire at 50 yards, and timed and rapid fire at 25 yards. Get the fundementals down and then play with combat style shooting.

Practice Practice and Practice.
 
Get some instruction in the basics of shooting from someone who's qualified.

If you don't understand trigger control, follow-through and calling the shot, you'd better restrict your gunfights to very close range. Like inside a phone booth.
 
Wow Gaxicus, that was awesome.
"I am the weapon, my gun is a tool" is one of my favorites.
I always beat the 4 rules into them.
Guns are like bowling, use as big a caliber/ball as you can control.
I like someones sig line on here "you can't miss fast enough to win a gun fight".
At the end of it all, I make them promise to read through Pax's www.corneredcat.com site.
 
Wow Gaxicus, that was awesome.

I make them promise to read through Pax's www.corneredcat.com site.
Click to expand...

Hey thanks. Its often very difficult to get people to face their own ability to fight, keep fighting, and survive. Many are afraid of their own power.

I have been working on this little story for a while. I never tell it the same way twice. You really have to read your audience before associating the word "killer" with what a person thinks of themself.

It works. I am so glad you posted that link to cornered cat. I enjoyed reading it and so will some of my friends. Any thoughts on improving the story?
 
Four simple things:

1. Learn everything you can about your gun and ammo.
2. Learn everything you can about the handgun and carry laws in your state.
3. Be willing.
4. Practice!
 
I think being a 'predator killer' in your postings will look good in court if you are charged in some ambiguous self-defense case. :D

Esp. the part of pounding an unconscious rapist who you seemed to have emptied a mag into.

Now where is the popcorn? Pax and I are going to watch.
 
1. If you have to ask someone else what gun or caliber you should buy ... You are not ready to buy one . Because you did not do the homework for yourself.

2. Gun safety " READ THE OWNERS MANUAL " ..Do not touch the gun until you have read the manual.


3. CLEAN all guns you buy new or used before you shoot it. But only after you have read the Owners Manual.
 
Be willing to learn everything you can about the responsibility of being a gun owner. Learn your local laws. Join the best RKBA organization in your state and be active in keeping our rights a reality.

In Georgia, it's Georgiacarry.org
 
I think being a 'predator killer' in your postings will look good in court if you are charged in some ambiguous self-defense case.

Esp. the part of pounding an unconscious rapist who you seemed to have emptied a mag into.

Now where is the popcorn? Pax and I are going to watch.
Click to expand...

If you ever attended a woman's self defense class you would be shocked at the things retired police officers tell them in order to get them out of prey mode.

The story of the woman emptying her gun into a rapist and them bashing his face in with the empty weapon came from one of these classes.

The rapist had already victimized other women before he attacked her, he had practice. She took three knife wounds in the struggle but she survived because she kept fighting. He is rotting in jail with a colostomy bag or something like that.

The advice is meant to get them from looking like a limping gazelle around lions, fight relentlessly with an attack mindset, and to shoot to kill.

If you and PAX have a problem with that, take your popcorn to a victim recovery group and shut up and listen.

I will take my chances with a judge over counting on the mercy of predator any day. If you have daughters you should tell them the same.

Judges have prosecuted dozens and dozens of cases involving predators where the victims life and the lives of their families are destroyed or forever damaged. Catching them is hard enough, keeping them off the street is even harder. When one comes along where the intended victim viciously and relentlessly attacks their attacker and even kills them, I like their chance with the judge. At least they have one.

Most new defensive gun owners just ooze fear. Thats why they bought the gun but they are scared of the gun and absolutely terrified to need it.

Gazelle.

Scared panicky people with guns, even at a range are very dangerous and prone to mistakes. Training with a firearm should start with dealing with all of that fear.

Go ahead with your snide sarcasm and your popcorn. I can live with it if I am wrong. The consequences of putting yet another gun in the hands of panicky gazelles who will just end up losing the gun to a predator is not something I can. It would be better to hand them sugar pills and tell them it makes them predator proof. At least the predator only ends up with sugar pills to use in their next attack.
 
Last edited:
Gaxicus ~

I'm sorry your feelings got hurt. Now get over it, and let's talk.

Frankly, any time I hear a man bragging that he knows just what to say to the ladies -- whether he's talking about firearms or pick up lines -- I always have my doubts!

All the same, when someone comes on here & tells me he knows just what to say to the ladies about firearms, I'm prone to listen a bit before making judgements. Hell, maybe he knows something about women I don't know. After all, I'm not exactly omniscient myself. Maybe I'll learn something.

So I listened. Here's what I heard:

1) You believe most new gun owners reek of fear.

2) You particularly believe most female gun owners reek of fear.

3) You believe that the way to get them over their fear is to call them "killers."

I reject all three premises. The first is projection, the second incorrect, and the third ridiculous.

Actually, the third point is not just ridiculous, but could be damaging, as Antipitas pointed out. Telling students that they need to keep fighting until the fight is over is utterly necessary and an important lesson, but telling them they need to keep fighting after the fight is over is dangerous and perhaps disastrously bad advice.

Of course only you know how your lecture comes across to your students in context, so feel free to tell me how off base I am. But right now, all we've got to go by is the context on this thread, where it appeared you were telling students to bash an unconscious and helpless attacker over the head after the fight had stopped and the attacker could no longer attack. You cited this as an example of how to do the right thing. But most courts would call unnecessarily killing an unconscious person "murder," and personally I'm not in favor of telling my students to commit murder -- no matter how "empowered" killing such a slimedog might make them feel.

Want to know what I believe about new gun owners?

1) They're individuals.

2) Most need information far more than they need motivation.

3) They are not "killers" and shouldn't become "killers."

Calling people "killers" instills a dangerous mindset. My students aren't "killers." They are good people who want to defend themselves, and who are willing to do whatever it takes to defend themselves. If whatever it takes means walking away from a fight and apologizing to a punk for offending him, so be it. If whatever it takes means fighting with bare hands against a guy six times your size rather than throwing yourself on the mercy of the merciless, so be it. If whatever it takes means handing an assailant your wallet, keys, and favorite jewelry so you can walk away unharmed -- or so you know whether the fight is really necessary to save your life -- so be it. If whatever it takes means shooting for the center of mass and continuing to fire until the attacker ceases his attack and dies screaming for his momma, so be it.

We aren't "killers." We are people who will do whatever it takes to survive the encounter with our lives and our good guy status intact.

That's why I chose "Cornered Cat" for my website. A domestic cat is sweet and cuddly and non-threatening. Sure, it's capable of killing, if killing is called for. But it's not primarily a killer. That's not its identity. Its central identity is non-threatening; the claws only come out when threatened and the purpose is to get away from the attacker.

I know that's not macho enough for a lot of folks. I can live with that. I'm just a girl, after all, and probably don't have the right mindset. So be it.

pax
 
From Glenn Meyer:
I think being a 'predator killer' in your postings will look good in court if you are charged in some ambiguous self-defense case.
Click to expand...

Yep, nothing like manufacturing evidence that might be used against you and might be difficult to successfully rebutt.

Beyond that, how might words like that be taken and used by legislators, the media, etc., and how might they impinge upon the continuation of gun rights?

No, I would say "you or not a killer. You can and will use force, including deadly force when justified, to protect yourself and family, when it is immediately necessary to do so--and at no other time."

Yeah, I know about defending property in Texas after sunset and before sunrise...

I'll go with Keltyke's recommendation:

1. Learn everything you can about your gun and ammo.
2. Learn everything you can about the handgun and carry laws in your state.
3. Be willing.
4. Practice!
Click to expand...
 
1. Don't point any gun at anything/one you are not willing to destroy/kill! This is forgoten to many times.
2. Get professional training from a reputable firearms instructor or school. Not just training on how to use your weapon but when its legal to use deadly force.
3. Have fun. Marksmanship activities aren't all focused on life and death. Look for USPSA matches, IDPA or whatever floats your boat!!

My humble advice. :D
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top