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Thread: Books/resources on (gun)fighting mindset

  1. #1
    Member DocSabo40's Avatar
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    Books/resources on (gun)fighting mindset

    I was reading an old post about revolver reliability and accidentally clicked on a video of Lance Thomas recounting his gunfights at his watch shop. I had never heard of the man, but his story and particularly his willingness to consent to the possibility of dying while trying to fight back seems to have stuck a chord with me. To be honest, I'm more of a hardware guy and have never considered mindset all that much.

    I want to learn more about the mindset, mistakes, lessons learned and interesting stories on the subject of fighting with guns. Aside from this forum that I'm on about 5 times a day, what good resources/books are out there about gunfighting and the mindset that goes with it? Are books by Cooper and Jim Cirillo good places to start?

  2. #2
    As far as books go I would strongly suggest picking up some military biography books, especially autobiography.

    Reading the writing of folks who had the correct mindset, and had been there and done that can at least show what thoughts with that hardened resolve look like.

    Most of the time I think mindset is truly developed through experience. It doesn't need to be a gun fight... just doing something hard. When you do something hard that you didn't think you could... that mindset kind of shows up a little more. The first time you live through an ass kicking and it doesn't kill you... it adds to mindset. Lift weight consistantly and see the numbers grow it ads mindset.

    To me "mindset" is almost a by product. Mind-set. Set your mind to doing what's right even when it's hard. That comes just through time. You can read about it, but I'm not certain that strengthens it.

    -Cory

  3. #3

  4. #4
    A couple of books:

    Tough Times Never last, but Tough People Do
    By: Robert Schuller


    The Winning Mind: Secrets to Survival Thinking by
    By: Dave Grossi

    Relentless: From Good to Great to Unstoppable
    By:Tim Grover


    For resources, check out Mike Seeklander and the American Warrior Society. This group has many articles on training, mindset, tactics, fitness and more. He's an IDPA National Champion and holds Grand Master level as a USPSA shooter, He's a Desert Storm era Marine. Was a Branch Chief and Lead Instructor for the Federal Air Marshal firearms division. I've gotten a lot out of his free podcasts as well as being a member of the AWS. He has a series of nut's & bolts shooting technique videos on YouTube if you want to see where he's coming from.

    https://americanwarriorsociety.com/meet-the-founders/
    -All views expressed are those of the author and do not reflect those of the author's employer-

  5. #5
    “Principles of Personal Defense”, by Jeff Cooper. Small booklet(could be called a monograph). I bought one for each of my daughters and reread it myself periodically. And that reminds me, now would be a good time...

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    Books/ resources on gunfighting mindset

    Quote Originally Posted by 1Rangemaster View Post
    “Principles of Personal Defense”, by Jeff Cooper. Small booklet(could be called a monograph). I bought one for each of my daughters and reread it myself periodically. And that reminds me, now would be a good time...
    Two from the past that will show how much things have changed -
    1) Paul Weston “Combat shooting for Police” If memory serves me Mr. Weston was a retired deputy chief with NYPD teaching at a Calif. College When he authored this book.
    2) Chic Gaylord “Hand gunners Guide, Including the Art of Quick Draw & Combat Shooting” Mr. Gaylord was a NYC holster maker & handgun aficionado. Many of NYC finest including members of the stake out squad & other specialized units utilized his holsters. He designed & crafted holsters for uniform & concealment use that set the standard for years to come. He also held a few records in drawing & speed shooting from a holster back when that was a thing.

  7. #7
    I would have mentioned Cooper's Principles and Grossman's On Combat, but they've already been suggested.

    So I'll add Artwohl and Christensen's Deadly Force Encounters, 2e: https://www.forcescience.org/2020/04...ce-encounters/
    Rory Miller's Facing Violence: https://conflictresearchgroupintl.co...he-unexpected/ (I liked this one better than Meditations on Violence, which is also good)

    Two legal books:
    Massad Ayoob's Deadly Force: https://www.amazon.com/Deadly-Force-...2769811&sr=8-1
    Andrew Branca's Law of Self Defense: https://www.amazon.com/Law-Self-Defe...s%2C157&sr=8-1

    Lots of other good stuff out there, like Gavin de Becker's The Gift of Fear or Andrew Strong's Strong on Defense, but I think I would say--speaking as a mere regular dude armed citizen--the ones I linked above, plus Cooper and Grossman, are probably my top 6 choices.

  8. #8
    Member DocSabo40's Avatar
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    Thank you all for the suggestions. There is enough here to keep me busy for a good long time.

    One of my questions going into all of this is "how does a person face extreme fear, and continue on?". Or do some people simply not register fear as much as others? Is this a skill that can be improved, or is it mostly innate? Cor_man touched on that above, and I think that a person can build resilience and toughness, but does that improve our ability to function when in a situation that could be paralyzing to an average person, whatever that means?

    I've done things that scared the daylights out of me at the time (Marines, flew helos, dental boards, etc.) but every time I hear of folks doing something truly brave, it always makes me wonder how they did it and how I would react in a similar situation.

  9. #9
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    I believe folks do things in spite of fear. There is no bravery without fear. I was afraid of heights and learned to be a rock climber despite the fear. Over time I adapted to it, overcame it to a degree, but never lost the fear.

    I experienced fear when I fought competitively in karate in the late 70's, (inter-dojo, AAU tournaments and such), but usually got over the butterflies when the first contact was made.

    In law enforcement, warrants, SRT etc, I always kept my mind on the mission and wanting to protect my brothers...this made it easier to disregard concerns for myself or my own personal safety.

    Learning to cope with fear, overcoming paralysis from fear are skills one can learn and adapt to greater or lesser degree, imho.

    That said, I'm speaking only for myself, an average guy, not a hero, who is humbled in comparison to the accomplishments of true heroes who have overcome more than I'll ever have imagined.
    There's nothing civil about this war.

    Read: Harrison Bergeron

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    The fear question is an interesting one. There are two different practices that I’ve found to mitigate fear. The first is adopting a technical attitude and process to whatever scary situation is at hand. We’ve all only ever got so much brain processing power to put to use, and focusing on the technical absorbs so much of that mental capacity that there’s not the excess available for fear. The second practice is consciously transitioning from fear to anger. Those two emotions are similar enough that the transition can be simple and fast. There may be psychological costs if this happens frequently or over long durations.

    There are a couple of videos out on YouTube of Cooper lecturing the Color Code, and those may be worth your time.
    Per the PF Code of Conduct, I have a commercial interest in the StreakTM product as sold by Ammo, Inc.

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