Techniques & Training
Are ammo prices keeping you from
learning?
Monday, June 11, 2007 Filed in: Permalink
Lately I've been hearing from
people who've decided against attending training courses because of
the cost of ammunition. If I may, I think that this is a
shortsighted attitude!
Yes, ammo prices are the highest they've ever been. Yes, the number of rounds necessary to complete a decent shooting class is a significantly higher expense than it used to be. It's still worth it, and it's a bargain that you should take advantage of.
If you plan to carry a handgun, or if you keep a shotgun for home defense, training - proper training - may make the difference between a successful outcome and a tragedy. Isn't that worth the few extra dollars that the necessary ammunition is going to cost? I sure think it is!
By the time you add up travel, lodging, registration fees, meals, and incidentals, that little extra the ammo costs really isn't a big deal. Spend the money - it's important to you, and to your loved ones, that you not miss that class!
-=[ Grant ]=-
Yes, ammo prices are the highest they've ever been. Yes, the number of rounds necessary to complete a decent shooting class is a significantly higher expense than it used to be. It's still worth it, and it's a bargain that you should take advantage of.
If you plan to carry a handgun, or if you keep a shotgun for home defense, training - proper training - may make the difference between a successful outcome and a tragedy. Isn't that worth the few extra dollars that the necessary ammunition is going to cost? I sure think it is!
By the time you add up travel, lodging, registration fees, meals, and incidentals, that little extra the ammo costs really isn't a big deal. Spend the money - it's important to you, and to your loved ones, that you not miss that class!
-=[ Grant ]=-
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On pairing women with guns
Wednesday, March 07, 2007 Filed in: Permalink
This article in the Tennessean newspaper
explores the
"phenomenon" of women who choose to carry a gun for their own
protection. It's an interesting read, and when I saw it I was
reminded of my own wife's journey to self-empowerment (in the
ballistic sense.)
I'm of the belief that women should always be proactive with regards to their own safety. Sadly, our current society has inculcated a fear of weapons into the collective conscious of the female half of the population. It takes real fortitude for a lady to swim against that tide and arm herself, and I salute those who choose to do so.
Drawing from my own wife's experience I've formed some very specific opinions on the topic of introducing women to shooting. Guys, if there is a woman in your life who has decided to travel down the road of self protection, I offer you Grant's Rules For Helping Ladies Who Want To Shoot.
1) Don't try to teach her yourself. Aside from passing on bad habits that you have (I don't care if you did qualify as "expert" when you were in the Army), it's difficult to impart what you do right no matter how sincere your desire to help.
Women learn differently than men; precious few men understand this, and even fewer understand how to teach to it. It's not uncommon for women to become extremely frustrated under these conditions, and give up entirely. It may not happen until the lessons are over - you may never know of the damage you've done. Let someone else - someone who is experienced teaching women - do this for you. It doesn't mean you're any less of a man, and it just might save you some grief.
2) Rule #1 is increased by a factor of 10 if she is your GF or wife! Ignore this at your peril! I am not kidding!
3) If possible, get her to a women's only class that is actually taught by a female instructor. (If you're on the west coast, I highly recommend that you take advantage of the women's only classes taught by Gila Hayes at the Firearms Academy of Seattle. She's tops. Seriously.)
4) Don't pick her gun for her. So many times a woman, bowing to the desires of the man who proffers her shooting advice (solicited or otherwise), ends up with a lightweight titanium or scandium revolver that is incredibly ill-suited for her physical makeup. The recoil is brutal (hey, even I don't like shooting them), and their stock triggers can be difficult for petite forefingers to actuate. Yes, you could send it to me and have that problem eased, but let her decide if it is right for her!
(Listen, if you've read my blog for any length of time you know that I'm a rabid proponent of the revolver for personal protection. As far as I'm concerned, there isn't a problem extant that a good revolver can't solve. Even so, I acknowledge an autoloader is often the better choice for a woman.) The very best thing you can do is curb your own opinions and take her to a gun range that rents guns, where she can pick her own way through the models. If she picks an autoloader, it won't hurt my feelings. (Not for long, anyhow.) The important thing is that it be her own choice.
Following these simple rules will result in an excited new shooter and harmony at home (where appropriate.)
-=[ Grant ]=-
I'm of the belief that women should always be proactive with regards to their own safety. Sadly, our current society has inculcated a fear of weapons into the collective conscious of the female half of the population. It takes real fortitude for a lady to swim against that tide and arm herself, and I salute those who choose to do so.
Drawing from my own wife's experience I've formed some very specific opinions on the topic of introducing women to shooting. Guys, if there is a woman in your life who has decided to travel down the road of self protection, I offer you Grant's Rules For Helping Ladies Who Want To Shoot.
1) Don't try to teach her yourself. Aside from passing on bad habits that you have (I don't care if you did qualify as "expert" when you were in the Army), it's difficult to impart what you do right no matter how sincere your desire to help.
Women learn differently than men; precious few men understand this, and even fewer understand how to teach to it. It's not uncommon for women to become extremely frustrated under these conditions, and give up entirely. It may not happen until the lessons are over - you may never know of the damage you've done. Let someone else - someone who is experienced teaching women - do this for you. It doesn't mean you're any less of a man, and it just might save you some grief.
2) Rule #1 is increased by a factor of 10 if she is your GF or wife! Ignore this at your peril! I am not kidding!
3) If possible, get her to a women's only class that is actually taught by a female instructor. (If you're on the west coast, I highly recommend that you take advantage of the women's only classes taught by Gila Hayes at the Firearms Academy of Seattle. She's tops. Seriously.)
4) Don't pick her gun for her. So many times a woman, bowing to the desires of the man who proffers her shooting advice (solicited or otherwise), ends up with a lightweight titanium or scandium revolver that is incredibly ill-suited for her physical makeup. The recoil is brutal (hey, even I don't like shooting them), and their stock triggers can be difficult for petite forefingers to actuate. Yes, you could send it to me and have that problem eased, but let her decide if it is right for her!
(Listen, if you've read my blog for any length of time you know that I'm a rabid proponent of the revolver for personal protection. As far as I'm concerned, there isn't a problem extant that a good revolver can't solve. Even so, I acknowledge an autoloader is often the better choice for a woman.) The very best thing you can do is curb your own opinions and take her to a gun range that rents guns, where she can pick her own way through the models. If she picks an autoloader, it won't hurt my feelings. (Not for long, anyhow.) The important thing is that it be her own choice.
Following these simple rules will result in an excited new shooter and harmony at home (where appropriate.)
-=[ Grant ]=-
The book that you simply MUST
have!
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
Filed in: Permalink
I'm surprised how many people
still haven't read - let alone own a copy of - the best work on
shooting a revolver that has ever been written! Ed McGivern's "Fast
& Fancy Revolver Shooting" is, after 70 years, still the
standard reference work on the subject of revolver shooting.
McGivern, who set the first revolver speed shooting records, was a phenomenal shot. Not only could he shoot very quickly, he was also accurate and excelled at shooting from odd positions, at aerial targets, and using two guns simultaneously. Jerry Miculek, this generation's equivalent to McGivern, has repeatedly referenced this book as being his inspiration and instructional manual. If it's good enough for Jerry, it ought to be good enough for the rest of us!
You can order it through Amazon by going to my store and clicking the link to the book.
Read it, practice it, and maybe someday you can beat Jerry!
-=[ Grant ]=-
McGivern, who set the first revolver speed shooting records, was a phenomenal shot. Not only could he shoot very quickly, he was also accurate and excelled at shooting from odd positions, at aerial targets, and using two guns simultaneously. Jerry Miculek, this generation's equivalent to McGivern, has repeatedly referenced this book as being his inspiration and instructional manual. If it's good enough for Jerry, it ought to be good enough for the rest of us!
You can order it through Amazon by going to my store and clicking the link to the book.
Read it, practice it, and maybe someday you can beat Jerry!
-=[ Grant ]=-
Beware the man with one gun
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
Filed in: Permalink
You know that old saw. My Uncle
Bob, for instance, has hunted for most of his adult life with one
gun; aside from being the best hunter the family, at 80-plus years
he can easily outshoot me and all of my cousins. It would seem that
there truly is no substitute for familiarity with your
weapon.
One well known personality in the firearms field who shared this sentiment was the (late) Mike Harries. He was best known for the Harries Flashlight Technique, and was a renowned trainer in his own right. At the Gunzone I ran across this essay that Harries wrote back in '92 about this very topic.
He expands on the one gun idea, even proposing that one should use a single type of ammunition. It's a great read, and and gave me a lot to think about!
-=[ Grant ]=-
One well known personality in the firearms field who shared this sentiment was the (late) Mike Harries. He was best known for the Harries Flashlight Technique, and was a renowned trainer in his own right. At the Gunzone I ran across this essay that Harries wrote back in '92 about this very topic.
He expands on the one gun idea, even proposing that one should use a single type of ammunition. It's a great read, and and gave me a lot to think about!
-=[ Grant ]=-