This is a very helpful story, thank you for posting it.

In my opinion, everyone who carries a gun should train with it. Most gun owners, in my experience, train for safety and marksmanship and then stop. This is acceptable for someone who wants to enjoy certain shooting sports but doesn't have any intention to be able to use a gun defensively.

Next is training for gunfighting. This encompasses a number of different skills, including using cover, shooting on the move, reloading, ammunition management, shoot/no shoot training, the law, and so on. The bulk of people I've met who carry a gun (professionally or simply for their own protection) obtain some level of training in this area and then stop.

On the higher end of gunfighting skills is force-on-force training with stress inoculation. You'll know if the stress inoculation is good if you find yourself experiencing tunnel vision, auditory exclusion, time dilation, and tachycardia. If you take some training that includes force-on-force training (preferably with Simunitions) you will probably find that your ability to use firearms under pressure will be significantly improved.

I consider myself a lifelong student of shooting and I think it behooves anyone who carries a gun to do the same. I am certified as a Range Safety Officer, Pistol Coach and Basic Pistol Instructor. I focus my instructional efforts on bringing new shooters into the sport safely and making shooting fun for my students. While I've taken some advanced classes I've never been any sort of armed professional and I am not qualified to teach advanced classes.

Chaos - I think you're probably right. I haven't done any force-on-force training.

I'm a certified RO as well do quite a bit of competitive pistol shooting and usually score favorably compared to other shooters.

Before the "moose incident" I thought I could handle a pistol pretty well under stress.

"I retreated slowly and when I got to some logs I thought gave some protection, I went to get my pistol from my vest but I couldn't make my hand grab the zipper pull. I consciously tried 3 or 4 times and never got closer than an inch or two away. The only thing I can compare it to is being very, very drunk and just not having any coordination.

I don't think I would have been able to pull the safety tab from a can of pepper spray either. "

When I lived 70 miles from Yellowstone my doctor and I would discussed strategy for hiking safely in the park. His idea was to have a can of bear spray on your hip with the safety off while you were on the trail. Then you would merely point your body at the threat and press the button on the can. Real simple and easy. Of course I would rehearse this in my mind before I got on the trail. Have to admit I would carry my 357 mag in my backpack as a backup.

drahthaar

A very honest self-evaluation ... quite refreshing to see.

I think that in your cicumstances the element of surprise was a very significant factor. "Surprise" - together with the "shock of surprise" - can have a very powerful effect on the mind and the body. There was nothing wrong with you. But the psychological shock and the huge quantity of adenaline in your system produces feelings of a "very unreal" sitation.

We see very similar reactions by people in other circumstances.
For example, if you look at the statistics of motorcycle accidents ... you discover the amazing fact that in critical accidents many riders NEVER even touch the brakes before they impact an object (car or solid object), and those that do use the brakes nearly always fail to swerve their bike to avoid an obstacle. This defies "common sense" since many riders are skilled and quite adept at quick responses under normal conditions. So again why??? Because the combination of a sudden life-threatening surprise, plus a lot of adrenaline dumped into their blood, overwhelms normal responses. People find themselves in the frightening reality where their brain is "screaming" at the body to do something ... but their body is just not responding.

So I think what you said is really quite relevant ... a lot of people carrying firearms might be quite surprised to discover they could not handle them effectively under sudden high-emotion shock conditions.

cheers,
Pete2

Here's an account of a recent attack by a rabid bear near my town. Apparently, this was the first incidence of a rabid bear reported in Virginia and only the second on the entire east coast. These fellows were incredibly lucky to have been armed at all.

http://www.newsplex.com/home/headlines/Close_Call_Share_Story_of_Rabid_Bear_Attack_148331975.html

I think there have been at least 3 confirmed cases here on the east coast. The incident you link to (in Virginia), the Maryland incident I linked to in my earlier post in this thread, and the confirmed case in Pennsylvania referred to in that article.


That is 3 confirmed cases in 3 contiguous states. Rabies is out there and bears are being infected. The only effective defense against a rabid bear is to put it down, and for that, a significant firearm is needed. Thankfully, rabid bears are very very uncommon. But, IMO, if you are in bear country in these states, you are safer with a firearm than with just spray. Best to carry both. Spray for the normal healthy bear, firearm for the others. The firearm will also be effective against the other potentially rabid inhabitants.

I think it is dangerous to assume that every bear or other animal contacted will be a healthy normal individual.

I would say that this is plausible, but do we know this? Are there instances where rabid bears were undeterred by bear spray?

As for other rabid critters, it is only prudent to avoid contact with any that show any abnormal behavior - simple, easy,and effective.

While I was living in the Yellowstone area I would talk to the rangers on weekend trips and they would tell you about grizzly encounters where the bear wasn't phased by bear spray deployed by the outfitters for horseback riders etc.. These aren't rabid bears, just normal ones. Glad I had my 357 as a backup those in 2 years living there I never saw a bear in the wild.