Very Nice Concealed Gun

[Mortblanc]

The type training you get over here will depend on the practical applications of the individual. At its best it is a strict regimen of discipline and technical skill. At its worst, you wasted a lot of money and all you did was sit in a classroom half the day and then fire a few rounds down range

Security services get one type, police get another, military another and the average civilian that owns and carries a firearm yet another level.

Except for the military folks, who are trained by the government, the emphasis is on the legalities and ethics as much as the technical use of the weapon. Expect to spend a good deal of time in a classroom discussing when NOT TO SHOOT! There is also the discussion of what will happen after you are forced to shoot in a defensive situation.

After the classroom work most of the range time is spent doing drills. Shooting is muscle memory more than any other consideration and training the individual to handle the firearm instinctively and safely is the goal. Drills can go on for hours or days, depending on ones abilities and progress.

This is the point where the individual encounters and breaks bad habits. Instructors will tell you that it is easier to train a person that has never fired a weapon than to break the bad habits of several years unguided gun handling.

If successful there will be holes in the target. No one can progress if they are not combining accuracy with their efficiency of motion

Most shooters continue these drills as a part of their daily practice, even if firing the weapon is impossible. Most shooters consider dry firing a basic part of their training, as well as the muscle memory of drawing and attaining a sight picture, which can be done without ammo.

Once one is past the drills they usually move to situational sessions, which are drills with interruptions or more complicated situations. No two emergencies are the same so few of these training sessions will be the same.

This brings mental clarity into the exercise and stresses decision making about when to shoot, which target to engage and how to engage those targets.

The level of "training" one gets from a good school will be based on the speed one gets finished with the drills, showing competence, and the proficiency with the weapon one shows on the advanced stages.

However, one of the problems we have with training is that there is only one real organization, the NRA, that certifies trainers, and they are mostly into target shooting and not defensive training. That means that the level of training a civilian , or even a security service, receives can be anywhere along the quality of product scale.

Police training is often more pitiful than the varied quality of civilian training. The normal civilian shooter will fire many times more rounds down range than the average police officer, who generally only shoots when he is forced too by job requirements.

So if you are coming over here for "training" I would suggest a careful choice of schools, a screening of the company and its instructors, and quick background checks of the instructors. Many who brag of special military training were kicked out of the forces for various causes. If they were that good why are they not still in the forces.

With the downsizing of the military many new schools and training establishments have popped up. Most of the staff is not trained to be adequate instructors and are only present because they knew the boss and were unemployed.

Get a good word of mouth referral, such as Charles gave, or check out the firm thoroughly.

[Lightspeed]

As always its a buyer beware situation hen,

Seems to be like training here in Europe, its something of a money making bandwagon.

Thanks for the insight MB

[Midnitemo]

I think a very basic course almost an appreciation of firearms do's and don'ts would be quite a handy course for people who are not going to continue shooting afterwards but may after an event obtain a gun , learning trial and error at this late stage could be disastrous.

[Mortblanc]

That type training is available over here in the form of our "Hunter Safety Education" courses.

They are voluntary for anyone that wishes to take them but MANDATORY for anyone wishing to obtain a Hunting license. In a state with a large population of hunters the training will be widespread. In rural areas it will be universal.

In my state the course is 3 hours each night for a week with a test on the last night. It is a real test too, requiring good comprehension of the class details. No one was walking about pointing to answers during my session.

It covers gun parts, gun types, gun safety, hunting regulations and principles of fair chase.

I was not required to take the course but I took it with my son, age 10, as a father/son bonding experience. That was when I found out how smart that little sucker was. He and I held the too two grades for the week and I only beat my 10 year old by one point. Due to the subject matter I would have been proud if he had topped my score.

So much for the bragging, the course also has a day of hands on shooting at the end of the session using .22 rimfire at stationary targets and shotguns at traps.

It might be surprising to you that in the U.S. there are very few hunting related accidents for the amount of hunters and firearms in the woods. Part of that is due to the universal laws requiring safety colors on ones body when hunting and the "suggestion" that they be used any time one is in the field during hunting season whether hunting or not.

I think I read somewhere that there has never been a case of hunter death at the hands of another, when the victim was wearing safety colors, that was not convicted as willful murder anywhere in the U.S.

Most of that "gun violence" and the murder rate you see in the news is restricted to the large urban areas where all the scum is dwelling and feasting on each other. They would have an astronomical murder rate if restricted to sticks and glass bottles.

[Mortblanc]

Also, for those that are in for the long haul or true believers in SHTF, I would like to suggest two books for your shelf. I know you guys like to substitute books for hands on.

In this case I can understand that and recommend it. I had a copy of the 1966 edition of Small Arms Of The World and studied it until it fell apart. Using only that book knowledge I conned my way past a Special Forces screening session and was the only person in my training company that knew how to disassemble, reassemble and operate every piece of Soviet hardware from WW2 forward. It did not get me into SF but it landed me a cushy temp assignment for a while.

What I am saying is that study of the books is of value, along with a basic safety and marksmanship course.

The first is Small Arms of the World. The last edition is from 1996 and some of the most modern weapons are not included, but the basic military small arms used by the major European powers are included as well as history of firearms and all military hardware in general use since WW1.

This book is not only a recognition guide it also details the maintenance, cleaning and operations procedures for every weapon used by any nation that matters.

https://www.amazon.com/Small-Arms-World-...0880296011

The other book is by Hagg, one of your own from the Royal Artillery School.

Janes Gun Recognition Guide.

The difference between the two is a bit like the difference between a huge plant identification book and the same book with recipes for cooking the plants.

The Janes book is newer and will have some things the SAOTW does not, but no real technical instructions. The person that was responsible for SA is now deceased and there will probably never be an update of the same quality.

[Mortblanc]

I have a birthday coming up in a few days and my present has arrived at the local shop.

I am tasked today with the job of going to fetch it.

I place this news in this spot due to the nature of the present and its place in the information loop presented here.

Hopefully I will return in a few hours with pictures to post and descriptions to render.