Ask an Instructor: What's your biggest training question?

Firearm Training
41

When threatened, under stress, or when fight or flight kicks in, that adrenaline dump will not let you naturally close one eye. Won’t happen. So why don’t ppl train with the body’s natural action/reaction?

Hopefully you are right/left eye dominant and a right/left handed shooter, which makes this task a helluva a lot easier.

We were taught to take up your natural shooting stance, aim in, and then “squint” (not close) your non-dominant eye. It felt awkward at first, but after thousands of both dry fire and live fire reps, it became a non-issue.

As always, when you practice shooting with both eyes open, focus on the front sight vice the target. No different that looking down to the tip of your nose. The dominant eye will automatically take over, while the non-dominant eye won’t even attempt to input info to the brain. If that’s difficult to do, apply some scotch tape to the non-dominant safety glass lense. It’s will be hazy/fuzzy, but allows both eyes to remain open. When you bring the gun up, you should still be able to see your front/rear sights and line them up properly. Hope these tips help! Stay safe.

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42

@Kiest

Thank you for the tip. The adrenaline dump thing doesn’t hold true for me. Trained a different way when I was younger.

I think that’s why I am struggling so hard, but it is messing with my confidence.

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43

How did you train when you were younger?Would you consider it a permanent training scar? We did some force-on-force simunition training after several weeks of solid shooting fundamentals. To watch solid shooters inoculated with stress was one the craziest things ever to me!

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44

Hi all!
Just wanted some information on how I can become an instructor with USCCA? I have plenty of experience in shooting as I have served in the Marine Corps and prior I was raised with a father who was an avid shooter and hunter.

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45

Joseph, go to the USCCA’s home site and look in the training section. It’s pretty straightforward, but if you need any more guidance, just reach out.
Welcome to the party!

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46

@Dawn
@BRUCE26
@Zee
@SKIdaho

Ok, here’s my situation. My daughter, who does not like guns at all , refuses to learn about them, and will not take any instruction in them other than the basics I taught her and her Mom and a couple of non lethal self defense courses.

Comes to me and asks me to give her a gun. I said sure, I bought you one 2 years ago. But before I give it to you, you have to promise you will go to the range with your Mom, and learn how to operate it. She flat out tells me no. She just wants the gun “just in case” that it will be kept in a locked box in a locked drawer.

I tell her, that’s not really safe, so I get the pistol out of my safe and make sure it’s safe. Bring it out and tell her ok what are the 4 basic safety rules, she immediately breaks all 4.

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So, I sit down and go over the operation of the gun, and the rules with her and she says let her think about it.

She comes back a couple of nights later and says one of her roommates Dad was in the Military and she will go to the range with her. So I ask to speak with that roommate. My daughter says no. I ask if her and her roommate will go to the range with her Mom.

In Alabama I can take her at 18 to get a Conceal Carry permit, but that office is on very reduced hours and only one location. I tell her I am not comfortable giving her a gun that other people will have access to, as I am responsible for it until it is transferred to her.

She still refuses to go to range with anyone but her friends, and I don’t feel comfortable giving her a gun I’m not even sure she would use other than to threaten.

My heart says give it to her, because I know she is scared. But my head says not too.

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47

@Zavier_D Nancy and I discussed this (she has grown kids and a girl, I don’t).
We decided we would not give her the gun until you felt she was trained.
If an accident happened you would not be able to live with yourself.
It is just to awesome a responsibility. We are in a some what similar situation with Nancy’s daughter but we have no intention of giving her a gun.
Tough spot your in but we say no. :thinking:

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48

Welcome, @Joseph119, and thank you for your service!

Check out this thread:
https://www.usconcealedcarry.com/training/become-an-instructor/

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49

I’m with @Bruce26 on this one, @Zavier_D. My daughter is 21 and knows how to shoot. She has access to my safe in case something happens when I’m not home, she will be able to defend herself and her daughter. My daughter and I had a long conversation about the possibility of taking a life when defending yourself. It was a tough conversation, but one she had to go through to be even remotely prepared to defend herself.

My concern with your daughter isn’t in the right mindset and could very well have her gun taken away from her and used against her. She needs to know how to shoot (decently, not expert) and - a very huge part of this - she needs to be prepared to actually pull the trigger. And that’s not something anyone should take lightly.

What about other tools for her defense? Pepper spray? Taser?

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50

She has those plus my 2 K-9 trained dogs. Plus a big can of bear Mace inside a cabinet in the kitchen. Also an on body alarm and a Kubaton.

That’s my biggest concern, is could she pull the trigger, if she can’t does it get taken, and if she could, would she know when to stop. I tried to explain all that but she just didn’t want to hear it.

@Dawn
Is there a family rate for memberships.

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51

There is a spouse rate, but no family rate at this point, @Zavier_D. But a lower level of membership might be a good place for her to start?

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52

If a person is of age, sometimes all a parent can do is preach or try to teach. No training, we would say no way, and here are the reasons. However, there are several, not so lethal protection tools. Tazers, Kimber makes a pepper spray device, and there is the pepper ball. And probably more. A firearm is a tool that requires personal and the word is responsibility. Tough love. As mentioned above, someone can take a firearm away, and use it on oneself.

What about self defense classes or martial arts?

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53

Done those. I’ve done all I could, I just can’t in good conscience give her something I’m not even sure she would use. The guilt from it being taken and used against her outweighs the what if she had the gun. She has 2 one hundred pound plus trained K-9’s, Mace, a taser, an on body alarm several other personal defense items and even a hidden can of bear Mace in the kitchen.

But her refusing to take any training, is just to much. She is so mad at me right now. I’ve tried to compromise everyway I could and she is not willing to compromise. I don’t think I can in good conscience.

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54

This is a very common misperception. Having a gun does not make you safe. Knowing how to use it and more importantly how to avoid situations where you’d need to use it is important.

I only have young kids and it’s hard teaching with tough love. But sounds like you know you’re on the right side of this and nobody ever said being right was easy.

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55

It is rough decision to make I am sure, but I believe it is better to have protection she will use than something she won’t and not protect herself. I am guessing she thinks just showing the gun will scare people away, and it might, but it only takes one person being able to tell she is reluctant to use it to take it away and hurt her. I think she is more likely to use a taser because she doesn’t believe it will kill anyone. No one who has been tased wants a second go round of it.

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56

Sheepdog, I should have replied with your words “having a gun does not make you safe”…having a baseball bat doesn’t make one safe. Train, train train. ……thanks for your words!

Zavier! Stand your ground, our daughter gets mad at us when we take her cell phone away. Responsibility is what we are trying to teach! Does our daughter get it??? Someday we hope so.

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57

At this point, it is your gun @Zavier_D. You set the parameters for giving it to her. I would suggest that you tell her she can have it AFTER she gets some kind of formal training that you feel is adequate. I am with you in that i would not give my daughter a gun unless I was confident that she was competent in when and how to use it.

A few months ago I gifted my son a gold membership, just in case. Dawn’s suggestion is a great idea.

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58

Since things started getting tense, I put my Glock 30 on as a secondary, and my Glock 41 as my primary. I’m far more accurate with it at longer ranges. A tad slower on the draw. But I’m honestly not going out except for training dog and thus I am more aware if someone near as my Husky wants to go play.

Enough description. When I think about it my trigger finger does this

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When I just draw and shoot it does this and falls securely into the space between the barrel and the switch for the Night Stick

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Should I force my finger to the higher position. My other .45’s when I draw my finger goes well up onto the barrel like I’m pointing.

The sheath is there to cover serial numbers, not as a part of some weird piece of furniture on my Glock 41

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59

Personally I think your finger is fine there. As long as it is not inside the trigger guard. If that is where your muscle memory places it, and you can quickly and efficiently get on trigger from there.

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60

It’s not so much muscle memory as the Night Stick and barrel make a perfectly sized groove to hold my finger (which as a fortunate byproduct enables me to control the light).

All my other .45 my finger is up on the barrel it’s just the one I have the light on that makes a groove that fits my finger perfectly and allows me to control the light.

I’ve heard some trainers have a cow if your finger is on the trigger frame vs the barrel.

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