Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns Change in EDC Philosophy?

These is great little defense or backup pistols. Hard to shoot well, but very easy to conceal and carry.

The uninformed, and those who never stood a chance at winning anyway so they just sit around and complain about "tactics". IME the guys who immediately complain about tactics are the same guys who couldn't shoot all A hits in a field course if you timed them with a sun dial. It's an excuse, nothing more and nothing less.

I don't want to participate in the sport of soccer, but I don't sit around complaining about how stupid it is or how lame those guys are. I just say, "That sport isn't for me."

Frank Proctor was a SF firearms instructor and after he went to his first USPSA match he said he realized just how bad of a shooter he was.

Learning occurs when you realize what you don't know.

mike r

I definitely see the benefit of gaining speed with accuracy. I also like to figure out the scenarios and have a good time with it. I see it as a sport, and without rules and procedures, it would be pretty hard to find out who wins. I do well in regards to accuracy and even raw speed...I just end up eating lots of procedurals. Forgetting to take a step this way before firing, or I’ll pie a corner rather than staying tight to cover, that kind of stuff.

No matter if it's a game or real life, life & death, there is no downside to being accurate with speed.

Some of it for some people is somewhat instinctive & they lose less of an edge than others w/o as much practice.

For most of us, it takes a fair amount of ongoing & constant practice to even maintain whatever level we may be at.

MM

Col Charles Askins, who was in more than a couple of gunfights, said he felt far more pressure shooting the National Pistol Championships than any gunfight he was in. Practice is always good, no matter what the discipline. It also breeds confidence. Accuracy, coupled with speed from constant repetition, along with the confidence that you'll win is always a good thing.
Bob

To the OP's question, I'm increasingly of the mind that the need for smaller portable hand carry is being overcome by a heftier requirement. This struck home when I reviewed the video of the shooting at the church in White Settlement, TX, but is reinforced by other clues too.

I have formally trained on the Glock 21, but am also self taught on smaller handguns of 9mm or thereabouts. I am now of the opinion that it is time to merge my formal training with my EDC. So big and slow, and lots of it are becoming more important. God help me if I ever have to use it in a real life situation to protect myself or loved ones, as I will if I have to.

So "good enough and plenty of it" = the new standard. For me, a full capacity .45.

And for the woods a .44Mag in a chest holster. Working on some 300 grain handloads for that, Using 240's now,

Performing under pressure, shooting fast and accurately, and the larger volume of practice to be good at that are things where gun games are helpful. But there are plenty of things where gun games have nothing to do with fighting, and can build bad habits. Most of that is necessary for safety in events with a large number of shooters, no argument there, but the fact remains those rules go out the window in a fight. One example is moving while shooting, vs gun games rules of shooting from stationary positions or inside a box. The gear is another one - competitive competition gear rarely has much in common with carry guns/gear.

My original comment about gun games was not that there is nothing useful to learn (I know I got a lot better at shooting when I started competing and shooting more), but that the guys who think they've learned all they need to know from gun games are missing a lot. They guys commenting that they just ignore the penalties and shoot the stages to build skill with their carry gun have the right idea, IMO, as long as the awareness remains that shooting skill is only one part of the right skillsets and mindset for carrying and being prepared for a fight.