Originally Posted by
ToddG
Absolutely. Anyone who thinks the typical CCWer has any measurable skill whatsoever is fooling himself.
Think about this: the typical cop gets 40+ hours of formal firearms training (at least some of which is in low light), use of force decision making training, training about the legalities of use of force, and often at least some force-on-force training. On top of that he's going to have to prove a minimum (and it usually is minimal) level of skill at least once a year when he qualifies. And we criticize that average cop for not taking his training seriously and not really being proficient by "our" terms.
Compare this to the average CCWer who: may or may not have to take a 1- or 2-day class that may or may not require any live fire and (in no State I'm aware of) requires any low-light or FOF training.
How can you even try to compare the two? And that's before you get into aspects like the police officer's far greater likelihood of dealing with UOF decisions multiple times in his career, his exposure to criminals (and probably violent criminals) far more often than the average CCWer, the likelihood that he'll have a decent gun in a decent caliber with which to fight, etc.
I think the typical police officer is woefully, pathetically under-trained with minimal motivation to get better.
I think the typical CCWer is, for all intents and purposes, completely untrained and doesn't even have a clue as to why he could ever need to be better.
Remember, all those guys at the public range we make fun of are the ones who are practicing ... and they probably don't make up 10% of the CCWers out there.
FWIW, it is an article of faith among most of the traveling "name" instructors that the sum total of serious students in this country, the ones who take multiple classes and practice with anything resembling regularity, is less than 10,000. In the country. Total.
How many cops in the US?
How many CCWs?