That makes a lot of sense. I hadn't thought of that aspect before.

-Blast

1. Yes if I could not avoid the situation first.

2. Every day, no excuses.

3. G19 in a tuckable holster at 4:30 or P3at in front pocket.

4. Locked box high off the floor.

5. No one but me has access to the weapons. when old enough kids will be trained.

I train in combat style pistol matches, IPSC, and stress courses of fire. Moving, cover, reloading under cover and on the move, shooting from both, etc etc is practiced by a good many people...many of whom might be right here in this thread. While your advice is sage, is does not nullify the "21? foot rule". Believe me friend, it aint BS.

Without going too much further, think of this: WHile you are moving to gain advantage from a person who is attacking a gun weilding "victim".....with a KNIFE.... what is he doing? Think now.

It aint BS. I've never been attacked by a person with a real knife, but I did experience the next best thing....a simulation by a relatively physically powerful instructor with a rubber knife. In that situation, I really couldn't move very far because space was limited, but I did learn that I would have been carved turkey no matter what I did.

The lesson Caliber Press was trying to relay during their course (regarding facing a knife-weilding assailant) was: don;t dally with this nutcase. If he doesn;t follow your commands, be prepared to put him down BEFORE he does you.....whether you move or not is irrelevant.

The fact is that we are more likely to be injured or killed in an automobile accident than in a shooting. Yet almost everyone can get a driver's license, and can use that license anywhere in the country.

I drive more than 50,000 miles per year, and I train in defensive driving. Because of some of the areas in which I drive and because of my view of the state of society I choose to also carry personal self-defense equipment.

I train on the proper use of this equipment just as I train on the proper use of an automobile.

I would suggest that anyone who seriously contemplates carrying a gun for self-defense not only read the texts cited but also view some of the videos available on self-defense weapons. When you see what happens when a knife-weilding assailant runs at you, you will better understand the above advice about moving and shooting.

Running and shooting at targets in an IDPA course is a start, but if you're going to carry you REALLY need to attend combat courses. And you need to do the courses for each type of weapon you own - pistols, rifles and shotguns. You need to know not only how to use the weapon but how to load it. There's a big difference in what a 40grain soft-point and a heavier jacketed round will do in your AR15, and where it will go if you don't hit your target. Home defense can quickly become an accidental shooting of a neighbor when a round goes out through a wall.

The first question is the critical one, and should not be answered emotionally. When you're looking at a real face in the middle of your sight picture in a real situation, you don't have time for second thoughts. And when that bullet leaves the barrel, you can't take it back - you can't change your mind. I've made my decision, and I train frequently to find ways to avoid that level of confrontation. Ducking and running can be an art form. Pulling the trigger has to be a last resort, and you HAVE to have made the decision that you would do this LONG before any situation actually occurs.

I train as often as possible, with formal training classes when I can and at lease once or twice a week on my own. Drawing a pistol and acquiring a sight picture is not an instinctive action. Just as playing a piano takes practice to develop the specific muscle movements required to play a Beethoven Concerto, drawing a pistol needs frequent repetition to get it down right. I've heard that it takes 2500 repetitions of a movement to make it "instinctive" - that is, to make it so that you can do it precisely without thinking about it. So at a minimum, I will spend some time almost every day practicing some aspect, such as draw, sight picture, trigger squeeze, reholster.

If I'm going to carry, I'm going to carry all the time. The only time I don't is when I'm someplace where I'm not legally entitled to do so.

I carry a full-size 1911 right side behind the hip, but canted forward. A bit difficult seated in the car, but much more comfortable for me the rest of the time. And yes, I do practice drawing when seated in the car, when seated in a chair and so on.

Locked up when not in use.

My family is not trained. My wife has gone from absolute terror of firearms to reluctant acceptance of their possible necessity in some situations. Eventually I hope that she will come around and take some formal training. My daughter is not aware that there are firearms around, even though she owns a single-shot .22 that she hasn't seen yet. She will start learning next year.

Thanks for this thread. I wish all discussions of this topic could be this way.

1. Yes.
2. 2 months ago.
3. All the time except in bed or in the shower. Even then it's within reach.
4. Either a Desantis pocket holster in the front pocket of my pants or a Milt Sparks Watch Six IWB at 4 o'clock.
5. It's pretty much always attached to my pants one way or another. But if my pants are off for some reason....
6. If they are not within arms reach then they are locked in a steel gun cabinet. It's not a safe but it is enough to keep kids from getting to them.

No, the statistic "Accidents" covers all of those.

http://www.nsc.org/lrs/statinfo/odds.htm

Incredible stats.

I was afraid you might say that.

Well, cause is cause, so I suppose it is really all preventable or avoidable given the proper context. As an insurance claims adjuster pal of mine once quoted "in 99.9999% of all traffic accidents everyone involved was at fault somehow". His rationale being that they could've all chose not to drive that particular stretch of road at that particular time.

Being somewhere else at the time; is that part of the axiom "Chance favors the prepared mind"? or maybe a variation thereof...

- YES

- I go to the range once a month. I dont have a place to go for "real life scenarios"

- I try to carry everywhere except work, which is a school.

- Either in an EDC bag, in-pants holster, or front pocket

- Sitting in the night stand. Sometimes locked in the glove compartment.

- Yes, although I do not secure my firearms at home. We have no kids and we both know safety pretty well. What good is an unloaded/locked firearm during a home invasion?

- Are you prepared to use deadly force to stop the life-threatening actions of another person?-
The first time I ever picked up a my dad was there and he told me "if you ever pick up that gun against a person you better be prepared to use it". Since the I have carried a weapon 90% of my adult life in the line of duty, but I have always remembered what my dad said. Quick answer is Yes I am willing and able.
- When was the last time you trained with your firearm?-
Saturday and I have another course set up next month
- How often do you carry your firearm?-
every day
- How do you carry your firearm?-
Depends on what I'm doing and what I'm wearing, My personal favorite is in the back of the waist band, I thinks thats cause I'm getting old and fat
- Where do you keep your firearm when it's not being carried?
Next to my bed
- Is your family trained in firearm use/safety?-
When my kids were at home they knew where my guns were and how to use them.

I find this thread fascinating. As a Canadian I have a hard time conceptualizing carrying a fire arm on your person on a daily basis. The laws here are such that you need a permit just to look at a hand gun let alone transport or use it (in addition to the ones you need to own it in the first place).

Reading this thread has made me wonder if my views on self defense in general are different too. To me the most extreme situation in self defense would be to use a knife against another person...and even this I don't think I would do unless I were in a 'kill or be killed' situation.

However, as it's mentioned in this post if you don't train to use a weapon, how can it be of use to you in such a situation? I don't train or practice combat with knives and haven't in over 10 years since I was an avid Kung Fu student...it's possible that some instinct might take over given the right stimulus but that's not something I'm willing to risk death over.

Does this make me vulnerable and unable to defend myself should I ever be in a situation where my life is threatened by another person? I've never thought so but reading all of your opinions on the matter sure has made me wonder.

Dave