Originally Posted by
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Hi all,
While I've always been interested in firearms from afar, my branch of the family had no history with guns. Acquiring and becoming proficient with a handgun has been a "sometime in the future" goal for me, rather than something immediate.
Well, suffice it to say that a few months ago, the priority dramatically increased. I did not consider myself to have an optimistic assessment of humanity, but I still found my expectations much disappointed by reality.
So I went to the local gun store and aimed for a handgun that was reliable, had a good reputation, and was available. I walked out with a Glock 34 gen 5, feeling lucky to have it.
I took a basic pistol course at a local range a few years ago, but that's basically the extent of my experience. From reading, there's a wide range of skills important for using a firearm in a defensive setting, including (but not limited to):
Marksmanship
Manual of arms for pistol
Safety
Firing quickly with accuracy
Establishing weapon reliability with defensive ammunition
Decision to shoot (threat analysis)
Drawing
Movement
Tactics
Weapon retention
Maintenance of firearm
(Sorry, I'm a scientist, I start most projects by reviewing literature).
In an ideal world, I could take all the time in the world to learn all this stuff, but being a scientist during a pandemic (with a family), I don't have an excess of free time. So what I'm trying to figure out is what the training priority should be for pistol for use in a home defense scenario.
It seems to me that safety, manual of arms, and establishing a reliable defensive load are the most important basic priorities, and I hope that starting with a Glock will simplify some things.
Beyond that, however, I'm curious where I focus my time? For example, while marksmanship is obviously important, working to group 5 shots on a post-it note at 25 yards might be less important than weapon retention in close quarters or low light training for a home defense.
I hope I'm being clear, apologies if I'm not.
Another way to state the question: What are the skills that are the highest priority for application I've described?
Thanks in advance for any help. I've perused a handful of firearms related forums, and while I'm obviously new to this, from what I've seen, this forum seems like it's got a tremendous reserve of expertise, so I'm hopeful my question can be answered. Failing that, I'm still very appreciative if anybody who can help me understand if I'm not even asking the wrong questions to start with.