You Will Probably Be Surprised

Here we stand on the square range, just about ready to run another drill. We’ve had time to get a drink of water, load magazines, and check our gear. We know which targets to shoot at and they are right there in front of us. We have time to get into a good shooting stance. We even know how many shots to fire at the targets. We know all of this because our shooting instructor has carefully prepared us.

Now I’m not knocking training on the square range; it’s where we learn the basics and make those basics become habits. But, from time to time, we need to remind ourselves that real criminal encounters will probably never happen like this. Instead, they may very well come at us when we least expect it and are the least prepared. So I’m suggesting that once we have a foundation in the basics, we find ways to practice more realistically.

For example, it might be a really good idea to practice a good bit of one-hand shooting. Our other hand might be on the steering wheel of our vehicle as we try to drive out of an attack. We might be using it to block a close-range attack or, of course, it might be injured. And what if it happens to be your shooting hand and arm that are injured or occupied? Can you draw your handgun with your weak hand?

Then there is the fact that most of us spend a good deal of our day sitting down, at a desk, in the car, whatever. Can you access your gun from a seated position? How well does that pocket holster work when you are seated and don’t have time to stand as part of the presentation? Might appendix carry or crossdraw be handier? 

Then we might consider attacks that come from just about any direction except right in front of us where those silhouette targets always stand. Can you draw and shoot across your body accurately and safely? If you have time to turn and actually face the threat, can you do it without getting your feet all tangled up?

While it is difficult to practice a lot of these things in a class while on the square range, we can certainly do it in our own private sessions, and we can do it with either live fire or dry practice, whichever is most practical and safe. 

So use your imagination and come up with several attack scenarios. Work out a quick, safe way to practice a response and you will minimize the chances of actually being surprised and caught unprepared in a real-world situation.