My Opinion

As of late I have had a bite more time on my hands, probably due to my having to be a home with my fifteen and a half year old pup.  She is having a increasing problem getting around due her rear legs not being able to support her body.  To say the least it is breaking my heart to see her starting to head for her final resting place in doggy heaven.  Ok, enough about that so let me explain why I am posting this rant.  Because of the amount of time that I have on my hands as of late I have been on my computer watching a fair amount of videos that are posted on You tube.  Generally there is a lot of good solid information from some of the best instructor/trainers that are out there.  However, there is also a lot of garbage there too!  But, that's life, you have to except the good, the bad, and the ugly! 

Before I go any further I want to say and explain that I am not and I mean NOT bashing any of the former military SF guys.  In fact let me say God Bless you and thank you for your service and our nation is fortunate to have so many unselfish individual like we have.  The training you guys receive and the experiences that you have in real world combat environments is priceless.  Without a doubt the best operators in the world!  

The point that I am going to try to bring home in a very professional manner is this.  For the most part from what I see is a group of highly skilled and motivated individuals now trying to make a living by passing their knowledge and skills on to interested people.  Is there a charge for this transfer of knowledge?  Absolutely, and there should be!  But we have to call a spade a spade.  They have been able to hone their shooting skill to a point of perfection based on the fact that the military has sent them to some of the best shooting schools in the country.  They have had the opportunity to spend hours and hours sending a ton of lead down range being supervised by the best instructors in the world.  Do you think that might help perfecting your shooting skills?  That's great and that's where they need to be, to be the best.  In their world misses are not accepted nor tolerated.   

The most important aspect of there training is the Mindset that they have developed.  They were molded into finely tuned machines that can turn on and off violence like a flick of a switch.  How many people do you think they train that have even close to the same ability to do that?  How many of those people practice a least once a week.  I can say with all the confidence in the world the number is low.  In reality maybe once, twice a month and how much ammo is exhausted during their training? Ammo is expensive, even if purchased in bulk or reloaded.  These SF trainer still have access to some of the best shooting facilities in the world even though they are retired from service.  For the most part as a whole the folks that make up this community of SF trainers are the most professional that can be found in the business.  But, there are a few that show and have little to no respect to any trainer or instructor that is not part of their community, no mater what their background and experiences are. Those few need to reevaluate their thinking and opinions on that subject. 

I do whole heartily agree with them on their point of view that their are a lot of so called instructors out there that are instructing on training techniques that they should not be doing.
The NRA has created a problem in that they have certified a ton of individual as BASIC instructors that are going outside their realm of skills and experience on what they are presenting as relevant and knowledgeable material.   That could be dangerous! 
They get acceptance from the people that they train based on the simple fact that those folks really don't know better and have nothing to compare it to.  Now, in all due respect I know that a lot of those NRA instructors are fairly skilled shooter and that is where they should be emphasizing there instruction, basic fundamentals.  If they have LE or military service they can probably go a few steps beyond the basics once the basics are developed.  

Alright enough of my opinion.  Some might like it and other may think it BS, but it's my blog which gives me the right to post it.  

Now, the below article written by one of the best known trainer ever, Mr Ken Hackathorn.  Dave Spaulding another legend in the field of training posted it on his Handgun Combative's FB page. 

• Subscribe
• Past Issues
• RSS
• Translate

Ken's News & Views View this email in your browser Ken Hackathorn News & Views from the Front of the Classroom It is time to address what is necessary, skill wise, for competent use of sidearms for self defense. The vast amount of private sector firearms training is based around handguns used for self defense. Carbine training still has a following, but it is dropping daily in demand. More and more people are recognizing that much of the carbine based training is really just commando school for weekend want-to-be warriors. Knowing how to safely and effectively handle your carbine for home defense does have merit assuming you have one in place for that role. Certainly LE based carbine training is valid, but most is department mandated and will only be taught by LE instructors that will follow a State or POST certification requirement. Generally it is based upon making everyone measure up to minimum standards. Occasionally, these LE carbine training requirements will be outstanding but most of the time it is mediocre at best. In the private sector, carbine classes are very much in decline. Handgun self defense classes still reign supreme, but even that market is slowing. Part of this is just the fact that, like all fads and trends, they slow with time. The whole CCW market has been extremely popular, but, like everything else, it is beginning to slow. Often after a nationally covered incident in the news involving a loss of life at the hands of terrorists or a mass casualty event, some folks will make the decision to take a CCW class. Of the millions of people in the USA that have a CCW, my guess is that only about five percent, ten at the most, actually carry a CCW sidearm regularly. Of those, maybe one half of one percent practice frequently (and God bless them). But the cold hard facts are that most CCW holders are border line worthless pistol skill wise and pistol shooting skill is extremely perishable. I still believe that one of the best things about life in the USA is the 2nd Amendment that allows citizens the right to keep and bare arms. I would rather we have a country of armed bozos than a land of disarmed peasants. Within the ‘gun culture’ that many of us are part of, there are some very vocal critics that think everyone that carries a handgun should be a master class shooter. The fact is that most of the shooting skill requirements that these folks deem necessary are the result of competition level shooting experiences. ‘Most’ self defense shooting situations are very basic marksmanship task based. By that I mean, if you can shoot well, not great, you can solve the problem. It is the decision making process that causes most folks to fail, or panic. If you can keep your head, don't panic, or go mentally spastic, you will likely get by with fairly basic marksmanship skills. Sadly, there are a lot of people in the training business that would make far better used car salesmen than self defense shooting instructors. Some would tell you that you need a compensated, red dot sighted pistol with a high capacity magazine, a highly tuned trigger, and a gripping surface the feels like a wood rasp. Add a magazine well, for the blazing fast reloads, and be sure to carry your side arm in a holster that has the pistol pointed at your junk. By the way, it’s know as ‘felon carry’ in LE terms. If you want a fancy blaster like that, great. But don’t fall into the trendy fad that this is what you need to win a fight. I have guys tell me that they want a gun/carry system that allows them to dump half a mag into the chest area of their target in 3.5 seconds or less from concealment. Cool. Do that in real life and see how well that sells to a Grand Jury in your plea of ‘self defense’. One, two, or three well placed rounds will almost always work very well. Time is an issue in these matters, but anyone that can keep his head and shoot very effectively will not have to concern themselves with ‘splits’. Self defense shooting with handguns is a ten yards or less affair.; most of the time it is five yards or less. Don’t worry about stepping off line…practice MOVING off line. So to make this real clear, ask yourself these questions: What is the mission or role skills that you want from self defense handgun training? What is the basis of the training that the instructor you pick presents in his class? What do you want to get out of the training you pay for? Does the training prepare you for what you need to practice in order to survive if you ever have to use your sidearm? Remember that handgun skill is perishable. You are what you practice. Put crap in and crap will come out. You need to evaluate what you want from an instructor when you sign up for a class: entertainment or training. Do your research. And remember, you get what you pay for! Choose wisely. Stay Safe, Ken Hackathorn Copyright © 2017 M4Carbine, LLC, All rights reserved. Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list