A great article from Larry Vickers regarding carrying concealed weapons

[havasu]

Below is an excellent article by Larry Vickers. Definitely worth the time to read it...


http://us1.campaign-archive1.com/?u=7b1a9382c490b04b227c7c2b9&id=4f7f516288&e=57247 7480d

"Larry Vickers: The world we live in.

As 2015 closes and the world we live in gets more and more tense, and self protection is more important than ever, I'd like to share a few thoughts:

Handgun Marksmanship

We live in a world of concealed carry. This means handgun concealed carry. As much as we would all like to think we will be able to fight our way to a rifle, that is unlikely. Plan on the weapon you will defend yourself with will most likely be a handgun. Now, with that being said, a lot of the people carrying handguns daily are incompetent with a handgun. They display abysmal marksmanship when put under any kind of stress. This is the kind of bull**** that can get you killed. Period. It's time to get serious about handgun marksmanship - that means being as fast and accurate as you can possibly be within 10 yards. Because if you have to use a pistol, the most likely distance will be 10 yards or less. You can certainly practice for farther shots but make 10 yards (and in) your primary focus.

Let's get real

Let's get real about self defense handgun modifications. The KISS principle reigns supreme here and some of the cool handgun modifications everybody likes probably have no place on a self defense handgun. If you feel like you need all the trick gadgets bolted on your pistol to make you shoot better then that's a sign you haven't mastered the fundamentals like you should. The better and more confident you become with a handgun the more you will realize those 'cool guy' modifications are not needed and can be detrimental.

Caliber is NOT a big deal

Caliber is not a big deal. As long as it's at least a 9mm then you are fine. Practice, carry and use the caliber that gives you the most confidence based on your ability to shoot it well, or at least it allows you to shoot to your best. For many shooters this translates to 9mm parabelllum but it may not in your case. Don't get twisted about your caliber, get twisted about not shooting well. That's what matters. Whatever caliber you choose research the best self defense loads in that particular flavor and choose one that works and shoots well in your handgun.

Handguns & today's market

There are more different types of handguns on the market today than ever before. That's a good thing. Try different ones to see which one you like the best. Understand as you become a better shooter your preferences may very well change. That's okay and very normal. If you’re not sure what to buy initially, purchase a Glock 19. It's hard to go wrong with one of those in your pile and the G19 remains to this day one of the benchmarks for self defense handguns. It does a lot of things very well and certainly no one will look down upon you for choosing a G19 as your go to handgun. If they do they don't know what they are talking about. Trust me on that one.

Legal self-defense protection

Look into legal self-defense protection. I'm affiliated with CCWSafe and of course I am partial to their services but do your own research to see what you think works best for you. The money spent on this protection can save your ass when the chips are down. Don't put this off - do it now.

Everyone have a good Christmas and New Years and I hope to see you in a class in 2016!!

Be safe,
LAV out
Larry Vickers
Master Sergeant (Retired)
US Army SOF Combat Veteran
http://vickerstactical.com"

 

[Floorist]

You must shoot accurately within 21 feet in Missouri to get a concealed carry.

 

[havasu]

I really dislike when folks demand you shoot at a bull's eye target at a specific feet. it is not real life.

 

[Ernesto]

Always pushing the Glock.

 

[havasu]

Always pushing the Glock.

What's a glock? A german clock?

 

[Ernesto]

All new gun owners should take a mandatory class Me thinks. I'd feel a lot safer.

 

[Floorist]

According to my friend at the gun store, since the San Bernardino shooting, the government is delaying almost all background checks. It was taking about 10 minutes, now it's 2-3 days. If they don't get back to him within 3 days, he is free to go ahead and sell the gun.

 

[DennisT]

So if the check is slow they just go ahead and let whoever have the gun? I guess I have it wrong, I thought the goal was to keep guns from the bad guys.

 

[Floorist]

So if the check is slow they just go ahead and let whoever have the gun? I guess I have it wrong, I thought the goal was to keep guns from the bad guys.

The idea was to keep a president or congress from defunding the background check program, so no one could get the background check and buy a gun. We know there are some presidents who would use an executive order to defund just to stop the purchase of guns.

 

[DennisT]

Yes, but 3 days? We can't wait a couple weeks or a month? And if it is a defund issue, why not just write the laws so that it isn't an option? Defund and the wait period is a month.

 

[Floorist]

Yes, but 3 days? We can't wait a couple weeks or a month? And if it is a defund issue, why not just write the laws so that it isn't an option? Defund and the wait period is a month.

As you probably know, your state has a 10 day state waiting period.

 

[Floorist]

All of the county sheriffs in my area are pushing people to take the CCW class and get armed. They have lowered the price and in one county it is free.

 

[DennisT]

There was a "bit" on The Daily Show recently. Most of it was stupid, but there was a interview with the head of Advanced Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training in Texas. It was interesting to see his take on arming civilians to counter the "terrorist threat".

The distilled version was that (per his opinion) arming the public as a defense measure wouldn't work and would make us less safe. Even a well trained individual can easily make a mistake in a shooting situation. Poorly trained people are more of a hazard than an asset. Trainees in his program undergo days of training and each year return to stay "in tune".

I took a shooting class a few years ago and one of the instructors told a story that helps make this point. 2 guys were in a small kitchen and got in a gun fight. Both had ~9 shot clips and both emptied their weapon at the other. Neither was hurt.

There's a world of difference between shooting a paper target when you're relaxed with plenty of time and when someone is shooting at you and your adrenaline is pumping and you have fractions of a second to pick your target, aim, and shoot. The greater stress you're under the greater the chance you'll make a mistake, and a gunfight is probably the greatest stress you could experience. Good training is the only thing that can reduce the chance of mistakes.

Giving out CCW licenses to everyone with minimal training won't solve the problem. It'll just increase the number of bullets in the air when a shooting occurs, and the chances they will be well aimed is near zero. Oh, and it will increase the number of shootings. People do dumb things all the time. Dumb people with guns? Well, you know how that will play out.

Every week or so there's some officer shooting on the news where the officer used bad judgement. What makes us think giving guns to nearly everyone (and allowing them to hide it) will make us safer? They're pros and even they make too many mistakes.

 

[havasu]

Dennis has a point. I have 25 years of law enforcement training. I can handle what is thrown my way but I would be real worried about a good guy behind me who wants to jump into a situation which is way over his head. He may just lob a few ounces of lead my way.

 

[Floorist]

You never know how anyone would do. On the plus side, most of us have been handling guns since we were 8 or 9 years old.

 

[DennisT]

I suspect that most of the "instant CCW" people don't have that experience. I grew up around guns and can handle them safely. I'm a good shot with an ACP. I have no delusions - if I had one in my hand and bullets were flying I know that me shooting that gun would probably do way more harm than good.

I think that the movie "gun culture" gives the general public unrealistic expectations on what a normal person can do with a gun and what the ramifications are. No, the bad guys don't just fall over when they're hit and you hitting 5 in 5 isn't going to happen in the real world.

When I hear the saying ‘The Only Thing That Stops a Bad Guy with a Gun Is a Good Guy with a Gun’ I think - Why not keep the bad guy from getting a gun in the first place?

I fear the NRA's stance will eventually backfire. I understand they want to protect gun rights. However their no-compromise policy may just blow up in their faces. How long before the public starts to decide they've had enough mass shootings?

 

[Floorist]

The 1994 assault weapon ban was one of the stupidest pieces of legislation ever written. Assault weapons were classified that by looks and not function. Even a black powder gun or a single shot 22 rifle could have been illegal with a few accessories. None of those would have increased firepower, they just looked "scary". That's what happens when people who know nothing about guns, write gun legislation.
By the way, according to the FBI, the number of mass shootings has decreased, there is just more publicity.

 

[Floorist]

Interesting

"An AR 15 is not any more lethal than any other semi auto hunting rifle. In fact the .223 round that it shoots is not even powerful enough for large animal such as deer. It is more suitable for coyote and feral hogs.

It is not a machine gun. It expels one bullet for each time the trigger is pulled, just like and other semi auto hunting rifle.

Because is resembles a military rifle, the government hopes it can convince the unknowing public that is is more dangerous than your grampas hunting rifle.

The administration wants to ban all guns but they know they can't get the public support. But if they can convince those that don't know enough to distinguish the functional differences between traditional hunting rifles and AR 15s, into believing these are actual military rifles, then maybe they will get public support.

The most recent report by the FBI is 2013. It shows that only 285 people were killed with all rifles combined, not just "assault rifles". They don't distinguish between different types of rifles, so we don't know how many of the 285 were killed with the rifles targeted by this administration.

So you have to ask, why is the government targeting these rifles, when Knives were used to kill 1500 people and handguns were used to kill 5700 people?

The answer is simple. The government is convincing people that these rifles are military machine guns and they can get the public to support their effort to ban. This is the first step in eventually disarming all law abiding citizens."