There are a lot of good posts here. I agree with getting as much training and experience as one’s time and budget allow, and with engaging in relevant problem-solving competitions when possible. My experience cannot compare to the experience of many who are posting here.
I do want to add a personal caveat concerning some of the posts about reverting to training when bad things happen. It’s anecdotal, but I have known people (3X for one guy) who were terrible shooters but who delivered in ways that they and nobody else would have expected when bad things happened. They were not gunfighters, but they were fighters who had guns. They also had a lot of experience in stressful, life-threatening situations that did not involve shooting, but where quick judgment and action were important. Some may discount such occurrences as pure luck, but I am not confident of that.
I think the same type of thing also arises in criminal elements who don’t get any firearms training but somehow manage to land good hits on good guys without resorting to spray and pray. Again, I don’t believe it’s all luck.
I think it would be a bad idea for anyone to fall into the trap of overly-discounting the capabilities of untrained or poorly trained people when talking about fighters who have guns.
