#fridayfundamentals
This question was posed to me as a possible discussion point for an upcoming podcast.
“Do people train adequately to a point of reasonable proficiency with their firearms? If not, what sort of drills would help them develop while being sufficiently interesting to keep them engaged?”
The note I wrote to myself for the discussion was as follows:
Let’s define “reasonable proficiency.” I often hear the FBI Qualification, which I consider elitist nonsense and ridiculous. My two favorite assessments are the New York State Concealed Carry License Live-Fire Proficiency Assessment and the San Diego County (California) CCW Practical Qualification.
New York is five rounds at 4 yards. San Diego is 5 rounds at each of 7, 5, and 3 yards. San Diego requires Primary Hand Only and Support Hand Only shooting at 3 yards. The two total 20 rounds. New York’s standard is four of the five shots must hit a silhouette target. San Diego’s standard is 13 of the 15 shots must hit a silhouette target. An Armed Citizen who simply shot those to standard once a quarter would prove formidable in a confrontation.
The ability to put five shots, or less, onto a criminal attacker at a range of three to seven yards will solve almost every incident in my database. There are exceptions but they represent fewer than one percent.
Let’s not overthink our expectations of newer or less experienced gunowners. All that does is intimidate and discourage them. Keeping inexperienced shooters engaged starts out by having a little empathy for where they are at in the process and remembering where we all started.
When the podcast goes live, I’ll post a link.
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