We Are Winning - Personal Edition

My sister has never been a gun person. She did not get a gun as a child, like I did (a Remington Fieldmaster 572 that I still have and still shoot, and will NEVER sell) and to my knowledge has never shot a gun. But she has on several occasions heard me discuss my introduction to handgun shooting and training, and my views about pro-gun rights issues. I found out earlier this year that she had been listening more closely than I thought.


My parents have moved out of California and purchased land in Oklahoma for their retirement. After this, my sister and I began semi-annual pilgrimages to visit, often together to save on expenses. During one visit my Dad mentioned a few handguns he had inherited from his half brother. Would I be interested in taking a look? Sure! So he brought out a box and there were a couple of .22 revolvers, a Ruger P89, a Taurus .38 snubbie, and a strange and shrunken 1911 in .380 from Llama, which may be a Llama V. My sister was there and she watched as my Dad and I talked about the guns and I even showed my Mom how to load, unload, and handle the .38 revolver. It turned out that she kept that one in her night stand for protection when my Dad was away. On a subsequent visit I actually took her out back to shoot the gun at least once so she would know what to expect. I mentioned that she should get a holster for it, and she looked at me as if I was crazy.


The 90 minute drive to Tulsa gave us a lot of time to talk, and on the last trip out we had a surprising conversation about guns. My brother-in-law had inherited several handguns from his father, and was interested in shooting them, but did not really know much about guns, safe gun handing, ammunition selection, and related topics. My sister thought that if they were going to have guns in the house, and if her husband was going to shoot them, it would be a good idea to get some training. Then came the real shocker: she herself was interested in learning to shoot! My pacifistic, not quite anti-gun, liberal sister wanted to learn to shoot.


I asked her why she wanted to shoot, and she said that she wanted to feel safe with guns in the house, and she realized that if she was confronted by an intruder when she was alone at home she would need to protect herself for the period of time before the police could arrive, and a gun could be a life saver in that event.


Although I had talked before about my own gun hobby and how I started, we talked a little more about it, the group that taught the NRA Basic Pistol Class I attended, Bay Area Professionals for Firearms Safety and Education, BayProfs for short, and my subsequent shooting activities and training. To say the least, this was an interesting conversation with my sister, especially when she decided to get her husband the gift of two seats in the next BayProfs Basic Pistol class, one for each of them. She said it would be a “couple bonding” activity for both of them.


A few weeks went by, and while at work I got a call from my sister: she wanted my advice on a gun-related gift for her husband. She wanted to get him some kind case or container to carry his guns to from the range. While looking at items online, she was unsure the quality and suitability of various products and wanted more information. I suggested we go to a local gun store where we could ask about the products, and get some hands-on evaluation. After a little more discussion it turned out that the the Bay Area Gun Vault in Mountain View was most convenient for her. I also preferred this store because they recently expanded, taking over the space next to them, and because it is well lighted, tidy, and ordinary looking with a helpful staff. I did not want to take her to a more hardcore gunnie man-cave like the Gun Exchange or Sportsmans Supply. Bay Area Gun Vault is also the closest gun store to her house, so she is more likely to make it her “home base” store.


I met her there on a recent afternoon, and upon walking in and seeing all the rifles in the racks, her eyes got big and the said something like “Oh, my! This is a little scary.” I distracted her by suggesting we get some help, and went over to the counter. One of the clerks, who was armed, started showing, my sister the various gun cases they had in stock, and also suggested she look at a range bags that could be locked, explaining that any locked container would satisfy California law. All the while he was keeping up a conversation, asking about her shooting experience, asking about the BayProfs classes (approving enthusiastically about getting training) and also mentioning about other things she may need like cleaning kits and supplies, eye and ear protection, etc. My sister eventually selected a Boyt range bag, thinking that it would be more versatile, and impressed with the lifetime warranty.


This was when things got weird.


I took her over to the handgun display case and pointed out my pistol, a Kimber Custom II, which the counterman immediate took out and handed over to me. I explained to my sister about indexing the trigger finger along the frame, and a little about why I bought the gun, while she handled it, getting a feel for the weight and balance. This may have been the first time my sister ever held a handgun. But it did not stop there. Even though we were not buying a gun that day, the counterman got into a conversation with my sister and asked about what she liked about the 1911, and then suggested she try out a Glock. She did not like the finger rounds on the grip, so out came a Smith & Wesson M&P, which she liked better. I liked it too. And after that came a Sig P226, and then a couple of Smith & Wesson revolvers. After a short time my sister was getting pretty comfortable with all the guns around, and even appeared to be enjoying herself.


We left after about an hour in the store and went to Peet's to get a coffee and catch up with family stuff. My sister thought the entire experience was enlightening and interesting, and she is definitely looking forward to the class. I was amazed, and a little proud of her for going outside her comfort zone. While in Peet's I mentioned that women getting into shooting and guns seems to be part of a cultural trend. She offered two explanations: first, more woman are living alone because of divorce or other life circumstances, and second, women in the baby boom generation are older and more clear sighted about security, not as naive that younger women about the possibility of becoming a victim, and more confident in their ability to do something about it. In addition, my sister thinks that gun safety should begin with knowledge and respect of firearms, not fear and ignorance.


I really admire my sister.


We parted then as it was getting on in the evening, but not before I told her that if she wanted to visit a gun range to try out my gun before the class in February to give me a call. I would be very glad to arrange a trip.

NRA Personal Protection in the Home Class

Last week, 11 December, 2010, I attended the NRA Personal Protection in the Home class offered by Bay Area Professionals for Firearms Safety and Education (BayProfs), and held at the San Jose Municipal Firing Range, home of the Santa Clara Valley Rifle Club. I had previously taken the NRA Basic Pistol class from BayProfs, and found it to be very valuable for a novice handgun enthusiast, and I had been looking forward to taking this class for quite some time. I was not disappointed.

Students were expected to provide a firearm, a holster, gun belt, magazine carrier, and at least three magazines. BayProfs provided the instructors, ammunition, and the venue. BayProfs also provided each student with a packet of instructional materials that included the NRA Guide To the Basics of Personal Protection Inside the Home, and the book How To Own A Gun And Stay Out Of Jail, 2010 Edition, which, in my opinion, every gun owner in California should own and read. The fee for the class was $200 for an entire day of instruction: 9 AM to 6 PM.

While BayProfs recommended standard Kydex training holsters, I had long since purchased a rig in leather, and on consultation with Tom Laye, the training director for BayProfs, got the approval to use my rig. It consists of:

• Holster: El Paso Saddlery Sky Six
• Belt: El Paso Saddlery Garrison Belt
• Magazine Carrier: El Paso Saddlery Friction Mag Pouch 2F
• Magazine: Wilson Combat Elite Tactical Magazine
• Firearm: Kimber Custom II

The class size was small, only seven people, with a mix of ages and genders. Two students in my class were women, one of whom could not have weighed more that 90 pounds soaking wet, who shot a full size automatic pistol as competently as any other student in the class. While all individuals in the class had taken the NRA Basic Pistol Class from BayProfs (a prerequisite), some had taken additional classes from other organizations. While a variety of firearms were used by the students, no revolvers were present in this class.

It is well known by any student that has taken BayProfs class that the BayProfs instructors are huge enthusiasts of the famous 1911 pistol, which was designed by the famous John Browning, and has been in continuous use and production for nearly one hundred years. Every instructor present had a 1911 pistol in their holster, and while a few joking comments about how the students should “get a real gun” were heard, the BayProfs instructors are all of the conviction that any gun in a credible defensive caliber will work just fine for personal protection. The gun is a tool, the weapon is a person with training, the correct mindset, and a determination to survive, holding the gun.

The instructor to student ratio was high, with six instructors present to help the students as well as ensure safety on the firing range. The class format alternated between lecture and shooting sessions on the range. Topics covered included, but were not limited to, firearms safety, the ethics and morality of self defense, legal aspects of the use of deadly force, the use of cover and concealment, and defensive shooting techniques. Safety was a paramount concern during the shooting sessions, with each student paired with an instructor, and a range master keeping watch over everyone. NRA rules required that the class was run with a “cold range”, which means that no loaded pistols were holstered. Students practiced the draw and presentation with unloaded pistols, and only loaded them on command of the range master after drawing, presenting to target, and then entering the low ready position. All shooting commenced from the low ready position. When a course of fire was completed, instructors required each student to clear their firearm, show the instructor that the firearm was clear, and then drop the hammer on the empty chamber.

There was as much discussion about how to avoid a gunfight as there was about how to survive one. The class emphasizes that the only gunfight one wins is the gunfight one avoids in the first place. Once the shooting starts, one does not “win”, one only survives. Awareness of ones surroundings was taught as the key discipline to learn to avoid violent encounters whenever possible, and to be fully prepared for them when avoidance fails. Awareness combined with prior planning is essential if one is to act effectively once a threat is encountered, and employment of a firearm is always the last option in any plan, used only when everything else fails.

Shooting sessions started with a marksmanship check of each student, and proceeded to a demonstration of combat accuracy, and the explanation of the “flash sight” picture. As the day went on, more elements were added the shooting problem: shooting from cover, shooting around corners from both the strong and weak sides, shooting from the kneeling position, and transitions between standing and kneeling. One of the final shooting exercises was two fast shots to the center of mass of the target, with aimed shots into the cranio-optical cavity. This exercise was very challenging, and some students had to reload a more than once to accomplish the task. After the very first shooting session all students were responsible for keeping their magazines loaded, and for reloading their firearms as required during all courses of fire, further simulating the conditions that might be faced during a real firefight.

One of the final exercises of the day was BayProfs version of the Teuller Drill, a demonstration of how fast an attacker can close to knife range before an armed defender can draw and fire. With a shooter in the low ready position and facing down range, another student, the runner, placed his hand on the shooters shoulder and faced up range. The runner would start running up range at a moment of their choosing, and the length of distance covered before the shooter could place an effective round on the target was measured. In almost all cases the runner could cover 20 to 30 feet before the shooter could react and fire, demonstrating why all police agencies and defensive shooting instructors consider an attacker with a knife a deadly threat within 7 yards of a defender.

One instructor, fresh from a defensive shotgun class, gave a short talk and demonstration of defensive shotgun usage, including shooting a few rounds to demonstrate the spread of the pellets and effectiveness of the weapon in self defense. Each student was then invited to shoot the gun, a modified Remington 870 Police Magnum. I must say that I was very impressed with the gun, and with the effects of the Vang Comp ported shotgun barrel. Seeing the spread of 00 buckshot at 7 yards clearly showed why shotguns must be aimed for maximum effect, not simply pointed as so many people assume.

The class ended with a recap of the most important points covered that day, and with tips for both dry practice and range drills for the students to use to hone the techniques introduced in the class. Dry practice drawing and presenting the firearm to the target and reloading the fireatm help develop “muscle memory”, making these operations automatic in a defensive situation. Emphasis is placed on correctness of each motion, not on speed. As one instructor said, “Slow is smooth, and smooth is fast.” Range drills included a sight flash shot at center mass, followed by a head shot using a 3”x5” index card as a target.

My final impression of this class is that it was a very good introduction to practical, defensive shooting. The quality of the instructors was evident, as well as their enthusiasm for the subject. Instructor demeanor in the class is supportive and consultative, without the “boot camp” mentality that I have heard other instructors use. This must be especially comforting for female members of the class who might be intimidated by strident instructors. An amazing amount of material and new concepts were presented, too much to master in one day, or even adequately absorb. Should this class be offered again, I would be tempted to repeat is because I am sure I would come away the second time learning things that I missed in the first session, and with a deeper understanding of things that I thought I knew. I do know that this class has changed how I will practice at the range, and during dry practice at home.