Class Recap: 360 Performance Shooting Concealed Carry Handgun, June 30 2018
On Saturday 360 Performance Shooting presented Concealed Carry Handgun to fourteen hard working and enthusiastic clients.
Our goal in structuring the class was to give those in attendance the information and skills that we wish we had received when we began carrying a firearm for personal defense.
Most classes of this nature focus mostly on developing shooting skill and safe handling practices. These are incredibly important areas of instruction and they need considerable attention...but we believe that understanding the nature of the threat you are carrying a firearm to defend against is every bit as crucial as knowing how to safely draw and fire an accurate shot with your pistol.
To that end we spent the first half of the class examining violent crime: Prevalence, the perpetrators, their motivations and methods, and most importantly teaching strategies and practices that will help an honest citizen avoid being targeted by a violent criminal in the first place or, at worst, allow them to recognize the point at which they must fight to protect themselves and their loved ones.
To accomplish this we made heavy use of video footage. We broke down real crimes on video to identify opportunities to avoid the often heart breaking outcomes.
We discussed the importance of paying attention to the world around you, recognizing the signs that you have been targeted by a violent criminal actor, immediate pre-attack cues, and methods for determining the intentions and managing the approach of an unknown individual.
Most violent criminal acts can be stopped before significant violence has occurred by someone who is paying enough attention to act with sufficient wisdom and aggression early enough in the encounter. We believe it is far preferable to abort a criminal assault before it's really got going than to try and shoot your way out of the middle of one.
The elements of a justifiable use of lethal force (ability, opportunity, immediate jeopardy, preclusion) were explained as a methodology for understanding when you absolutely must use lethal force. Real life examples of excessive and inappropriate use of force were discussed as well.
This course material was challenging...and deliberately so. The unpleasant truth is that when you have been targeted by a violent criminal you are entirely on your own. Even the best and bravest of police officers (many of whom we are proud to call friends) will not arrive in time to save you or your loved ones. The only protection you and your loved ones will enjoy is the protection that YOU provide.
After the morning session on criminal violence we had a working lunch where we talked about the importance of buying quality gear for concealed carry, some strategies to handle being stopped by the police while armed, and how to approach that awkward moment when you need to use a public restroom while concealing a handgun.
Once lunch was done we conducted a detailed safety brief including a discussion of incorporating safe firearm handling practices as "life rules" rather than just range rules. We taught methods for safely loading, unloading, and generally handling a handgun to minimize risk to life and limb. Our clients were provided with dummy rounds to use in their handguns so manipulations could be taught and practiced safely.
After transitioning from the classroom to the range, we covered the core skills of concealed carry: drawing the handgun from concealment and placing accurate shots. This was done step by step working on the basics of grip, the elements of the draw, creating a platform for delivering multiple accurate shots rapidly, and reholstering safely.
Our goal on the range was to meet a simple metric: 3 shots within 3 seconds at 3 yards. These conditions describe the typical shooting scenario in citizen self defense. The metric is simple...but getting folks to meet it within a single day is most certainly not a simple task either for our clients (roughly half of our clients in this class had no formal training prior to Concealed Carry Handgun) or the instructors.
Thankfully our clients showed up to class with an outstanding attitude and incredible work ethic. We hit them hard with a non-stop flow of information from 8:00 am and kept it up to well after 6:00 pm, but they stuck with us and worked hard. This despite contending with high heat and humidity.
It is our sincere hope that none of our clients ever have to defend themselves from an act of criminal violence. We have done our best within the constraints of the time we had with them to provide information and techniques that will hopefully allow them to avoid ever needing to use their concealed handgun.
But if the attack does come, we have done our best to put ourselves in that terrible moment with them. We pull from what we have learned in a couple of decades of intensive study with some of the world's foremost experts on self defense and criminal violence to provide our clients with information and skills that will see them through a moment we hope they will never face.
We won't be able to be at your side in that terrible moment. The best we can do is give you what you will need to win.
That is our mission.
We want to express our deepest thanks to our clients for their great attitude and hard work on Saturday, and we hope we will have the opportunity to train with you again in the future.
