AUTHOR: DMITRY ROMANYUK
I don’t know what will make you use firearms for self-defense: finding your country house on the edge of civilization, robbers using radio jammers that will leave you without a chance to call the police or security, or, after all, a banal chance encounter with attacker. But I know for sure that the experience you gain in practical shooting will help you a lot in life.
Sooner or later, when thinking about the organization of self-defense at home, in your own car while traveling, in crowded places, the first thing a person thinks about is buying a weapon. The second undoubted question is, in fact, what weapon to choose? In today’s reality, the choice is between a traumatic pistol and a variety of hunting weapons: a pump, a rifled smoothbore rifle or a carbine. At once it would be desirable to notice that to compare these kinds of the weapon it is incorrect neither on dimensions, nor on behavior, nor on manipulations. For example, we all know that the smaller the weight and volume of a weapon, the faster we can use it. Therefore, the traumatic pistol can be worn hidden – in a holster. What can you say about a pump or a gun. On the other hand, smoothbore weapons dominate the traumatic pistol by the degree of damage to the target. If the energy in the certified traumatic equipment is about 50-70 J, then in the rifle the energy threshold starts from 2500 J and can reach 5000 J.
Weapons are purchased and used for specific purposes and tasks. If your goal is self-defense, then ideally you should have both a traumatic pistol and a rifle to prepare as much as possible for the meeting of uninvited guests. You will never be able to predict the scenario of the attack, the quality of training of the attackers, whether they are armed or not, the level of technical support of the operation. Agree, it would be pointless to direct your trauma against three or four armed criminals from head to toe, if one of them, in addition, took hostage a person close to you and threatened her with a knife. However, it is generally unacceptable to use large and large-caliber weapons against a thief who decides to snatch a lawn mower from your yard in the middle of the night.
In personal protection, the term stands for observation, orientation, decision, action. The point is that with any weapon, you must use it only in accordance with the assessment of the situation and threats. Therefore, to count on it in a particular situation, it is important not only to have a full arsenal in your safe, but also to be able to use it in the right place at the right time.
Although practical shooting is a sport that is shrouded in certain regulations and standards, yet its purpose is to learn and develop techniques that best meet the various cases of use of firearms in life. In contrast to the bench, practical shooting teaches technical exercises – such as shooting in motion, left / right hand, moving, lowering, etc. and the ability to combine them. And the person already chooses an order of actions.
Practitioners have a formula that calculates the result of the exercise – the so-called hit factor. This means that the faster the shooter completes the exercise and the more accurately he hits the target, the higher the results he will get. But although it is a purely sporting term, its indicator can be considered an estimate for the level of personal training in self-defense. Practical shooting very much establishes ideal movements with the concrete weapon in the shortest time. This gives a person an idea of their own tactical training and the necessary timing, which will be needed, for example, to bring the weapon into combat readiness, move from bedroom to living room, etc.
Now let us recall my thesis, voiced at the beginning, about the importance of being able to handle weapons culturally and safely. This is achieved only through regular training with professional instructors. Once a week, several times a month – if possible – you need to train not only to improve skills, but also to refresh the skills already acquired. As an advertiser, I remind you that you can do all this at the School of Practical Shooting “Discipline“. A safe life for you and, if necessary, physical, moral and emotional readiness.