You're obviously more knowledgeable about this subject, you could elaborate, as I'm genuinely interested in your conclusions.
I have some knowledge and have had some very good training. I will elaborate.
I suspect our realities are very different, and likely we will come to different conclusions about what is personally appropriate for our situations.
My "realities" are as follows:
- I live in a good neighborhood, but it is readily accessible to anyone with wheels.
- I avoid stupid people and stupid places.
- I rarely leave home at night.
- I have to refuel the car, go to a pharmacy and an ATM, and go to a store or two. I rely on home delivery services for as many things as I can.
- I carry a cane, which slows me down, but which can serve to deter and which can be used to deliver deadly or non-deadly force depending on how it is used.
- Medical conditions make it essential for me to avoid blows or cuts.
Based on the first four those things, I consider it
extremely unlikely that I will be attacked by violent criminals. But it could happen, and considering the stakes, I like the idea of being able to defend myself as will as possible.
Training and knowledge from other sources have led me to the following conclusions:
- Should an attack occur, it will come as a most unpleasant surprise, at very close range, with very little warning. I practice "situational awareness" as well as anyone else, but I would not put very much reliance on it.
- The attackers (one, perhaps, but more likely two) will waste no time posing for me as stationary on targets.
- The realities of handgun wounding effectiveness make it likely that several shots on target will be required to effect a physical stop.
- Those shots will have to be fired very quickly indeed, at moving targets.
At one time, I had a lightweight five shot double action revolver with a CT grip. Firing
slowly, with two hands, I could hit with it. But I could not use it effectively at all in defensive training drills, where fast shooting, perhaps four shots in a second and a half, with reasonable precision, is called for. And I came to regard the ammunition capacity as very inadequate indeed.
The training to which I refer was nothing like shooting at the square range. The student walked along, and was told without warning to
quickly identify and engage a particular one of several very similar targets that had been set up in different places around a U-shaped range.
The student identified the target, turned to face it, drew while moving off-line, and fired three to five shots into an area equivalent to that of an upper chest, very quickly.
The distances varied, but they were were short. Nothing at all like the seven yard ranges at which one often sees people practicing.
I gained sufficient proficiency to do those drills successfully with a semi-auto with a reasonable trigger pull. With the short DA revolver, it was a non-starter--for me.
BUT: the
tool is not what is important. What
is important is the ability to
use it effectively under realistic circumstances.
I am under no illusion that what I know and what I can do will give me the upper hand in the event of a vilient attack. I hope it never happens.
If you want to know more, I suggest reading a couple of Rob Pincus' books, and if at all possible, attending one of their training sessions.
One other thing: the drills train one to be
able to react in realistic situations. But they are not entirely realistic. For one thing, the targets are stationary--they are not charging. For another, the student is not provided with an automobile or fuel pump to step behind, or a shopping cart to shove at the assailant.
The
best training is force on force training with simunitions, but one will not be allowed to participate in it without having first completed a number of extensive training regimens. I have friends who do it.
One will not find me doing it. Arthritis, a bad knee, and neuropathy of the feet keep me on smooth level ground ,and prevent me from moving quickly these days.
i hope you find this helpful.