training for cc

First off let me say that if you are trying to come up with scenario's to mimic the "moment"... Like a armed robbery, mugging, etc... Forget it and you probably shouldn't be carrying a gun anyway, simply because that is the wrong mind set to have (no offense meant to anyone). Carrying and using a firearm is a serious responsibility and should be practiced with discipline. You should practice to handle, shoot and care for your firearm and if all this is done correctly your instincts should/will kick in if and when the "moment" should ever happen. If you have the options to practice on special courses or in competition DO IT! If you want to practice shooting someone go play Airsoft.

Below is my list of the basics:

1st I'd work on shooting with both eyes open (just mentioning this in case you don't).

2nd Learn to shoot with left and right hand equally well (if possible). Which means drawing from a variety of holsters and positions. Shoot one handed, two handed, from the hip, etc... and shoot from different distances (I shoot handguns from pointblank, to 100yds).

3rd Learn and practice how to handle a malfunction and of course most importantly learn and practice proper firearm safety everywhere, even if you know it isn't loaded...

DRAEGER, I tend to disagree with your post here, at least the way it reads. Now I admit that I may be misreading or simply not understanding what you mean here, but I think mental prep is just as important as the shooting skills.

To answer the OP in my opinion, the "Fight or Flight" reflex is something for you to listen to. A responsible person is going to take the fight option given the opportunity, but be prepared to fight if need be.

I can't tell you how to deal with the idea of having to shoot another human being, or how to handle it if you do. That is up to you to handle.

As for scenarios, yes, I run them through my head on a daily basis. Everything from how I drive, stop at intersections, go to the corner store, or even what I do at work. I may not be thinking about what I would do as far as drawing the gun and firing, but more-so, where is cover/concealment, or can I still drive my car/truck away from an approaching BG if an attempted car jacking were to take place. I think of these things because in a situation, they are very likely going to come in to play.

The drawback to going to the range, if it is an indoor, is that while it is an important tool, it is unrealistic for real training. In the real world, the bad guy isn't going to stand still, and if you are smart, you wont either. Can you shoot and hit on the move? Can you do it from odd positions? In a real situation, you are not going to have the luxury of getting that perfect Weaver or Isosceles stance or a rock solid target shooting grip. You might only have the chance to get one hand on the gun. You might have fallen or been shoved down. You may be on stairs looking up or down. You might be in your car. How are you going to handle these situations?

TOURUS P140 said:

Hey every bodey I am new to this fourum as of today and have a question Ihope this where to stik itI have had my cc for al mosta year now and was wondering if there is any other training....

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Yes, there is other training you can do. Generally, the classes are offered by private ranges or companies and are usually called "tactical gun training". You can ask the range where you shoot if they, or some other operation, offers tactical training.

Tactical training is meant to teach defensive handgun use. It does NOT train you to be ready mentally for anything that might come your way. In my opinion, if a school says they are preparing your mentally, they are exaggerating claims and you should find a different school.

Anyway, tactical training is meant to help you improve your marksmanship, help teach you proper ways to pull your gun from its holster, teach you when to pull your gun from its holster, teach you target aquisition (identification), teach different shooting positions, and more. The classes can be beneficial, but it is cheaper to make friends with people who have taken the classes and ask them to teach you.

Back to the "mental preperation" bit... I trained in martial arts for 15 years. During that training, I trained with all types of weapons, including hand guns. During those 15 years it was drilled into my head by all my instructors that you will NOT have time to be mentally prepared for an encounter. You WILL have to instinctively know how to move in order to defend yourself, though. That is what drills are for and proper training is for. You want to practice to such an extent that you have disconnected a movement from any thinking and you just DO what is necessary to defend yourself. I can't stress how important it is to get PROPER DEFENSIVE training and practicing it.

Sorry to sound so "preachy".

Look for books in your library, although it may raise an eyebrow or two when they see the titles. I took out "The Farnam Method of Defensive Handgunning, Second Edition by John S. Farnam (Paperback - Dec 2, 2005)" He runs Defense Training International, Inc. in Colorado.

But also look for books by Massad F. Ayoob. He's always on "Outdoor Channels, Personal Defense TV Show" (Wed. nites on east coast). He's a New Hampshire LEO and runs a Tactical Firearms school (Lethal Force Institute) up there. His books include; "In the Gravest Extreme: The Role of the Firearm in Personal Protection by Massad F. Ayoob (Paperback - Jun 1980)" & "Armed Response: A Comprehensive Guide to Using Firearms for Self-Defense by David S. Kenik and Massad F. Ayoob (Paperback - May 2005)"

If you can't get them from your library they are on Amazon.com.

There are times even when you're armed that it will be better to get cover and go for the cell phone before the gun. Both instructors listed above are very rational in their approach and firmly grounded in reality.

TOURUS P140 said:

Ithank you for all your suggestions but from what Iam reading hear when it comes to the flight or fight reflex its alabout the training/practice you do as Ihave stated above I will avoid coflict as much as possible

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It is all about the training. To borrow a line from somewhere else (don't remember exactly where): To own a piano and assume you are a musician is like owning a firearm and thinking you are armed.

Your brain is your weapon, the gun is your tool. When you are recieving training to act in certain ways, you are programming the brain to respond to particular actions (ie: If bad guy does this, I do that). Repetition engrains this not only into the conscious and subconscious, but into the muscles themselves. Yes, I know the muscles themselves do not have a brain, per se, but they do have a memory effect. When you weight train, you are not teaching your brain how to lift weight, you are teaching your muscles. As the weight becomes easier to move, you increase the weight. What happens next? The muscle gets bigger and stronger.

The same thing happens when you do dry fire practice, and the other weapons drills that you can perform without "formal" training like you would get at LFI, Valhalla, or Thunder Ranch or any of the other shooting schools. When you practice drawing your EMPTY weapon from concealment and finding the sights rapidly, after a few repititions of this, your shoulders will begin to get sore. This is good. It means the muscles are learning how to do this, and the brain is learning too.


When time and money permits, as Pierce said, take the shooting training. This is where you will thank yourself for practicing the draw and reloads, because at the end of the day when everyone elses shoulders will feel like someone stabbed them in the neck, yours wont be as sore.

Unfortunately, you are right. Not many indoor ranges will allow you to draw from concealment, and some won't even allow you to do any rapid fire drills either. I would try to find someone with a large enough piece of property with plenty of room and a reliable backstop. You would have the freedom to move, or shoot from odd positions.

Another thing you can do is to invest in an Airsoft gun. With that you can practice with out worrying so much about shooting at your neighbors.