Use of firearms

[lordtariel]

where i am from 9 out of 10 people own and shoot guns on a regular basis either for hunting, competition, of just fun. guns are a part of everyday life in a small town. i own five myself. teaching defense against guns is a must. although crime rate is very low here the gun rate is alot.

Funny you should mention that. I just read an interesting article about 90 out of every 100 Americans owning guns.

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=3533675

[bushido_man96]

Wow, I would not have guessed it was that high! Very cool to know, though. Good article.

[NightOwl]

where i am from 9 out of 10 people own and shoot guns on a regular basis either for hunting, competition, of just fun. guns are a part of everyday life in a small town. i own five myself. teaching defense against guns is a must. although crime rate is very low here the gun rate is alot.

Heh, that's the interesting thing- in cities with the highest gun ownership the crime rate tends to be the lowest. Reverse trends can be seen to such as crime in Britain after their gun ban.

[ElShaft]

In Scotland there are very few instances of gun crime although you never know whats going to happen and must prepare for every possible situation

[Kuma]

It's not required in my chosen art, but I think anyone who seriously considers themselves studying self defense needs to know how to use them effectively.

[tallgeese]

It's required for a black belt in my primary art. Basic care and use of both a revolver and automatic handgun. This is in addition to defenses and such.

[Montana]

I don't teach people how to shoot in my class (most know already) but we spend time monthly learning disarms and control against opponents that are holding a gun on you. I have an old .22 cal revolver that we use. One person holds the weapon (verified by all in the class that it is unloaded) on another and we practice techniques for gaining control and disarming.

The very first, and most important lesson I teach in that respect is... "If someone points a gun at you and says "Give me your wallet/purse ..."...GIVE THEM YOUR WALLET AND PURSE! No amount of money that you have in your wallet/purse is worth dying for, so give it to them as nicely and slowly as you can. Heck, write them a check if you have to!

Disarming techniques are used ONLY if, and when, you feel your life is in danger regardless of what you do to comply with your assailant.

[tufrthanu]

I think that use of various types of blades and firearms would be a good part of a self defense class. They do count as being martial in nature and knowing how to use one whether you are defending your home or using one that you have taken away from an assailant is important. I do feel however that many schools including the one I belong to teach some unrealistic gun defenses.

I was trained by a guy that teaches police officers how to use their guns and so I have a fairly good idea of how to properly fire a hand gun. When I hold the gun it is in my right hand with my left hand cupping it. This means that most of the techniques that have a single handed assailant or that rely on batting the gun out of their hand probably wouldn't work as it will be well controlled and between both of my palms.

Another issue that is rarely brought up in gun defense is that of distance. Many of my friends and I laugh about this in the movies. The bad guy holds the gun right up to the good guys temple or whatever and the good guy then swings around and takes it away. This leaves out the most important facet of a firearm and that is that the bullets actually leave the barrel. You don't have to shove it through someones flesh to make it effective. What this means is that an assailant with a firearm may not need to stand right next to you to be able to threaten and/or kill you with their gun. I very rarely see self defense for a gun where the victim has to cover 10/15 ft before effecting the disarm.

Now these two items may not be that big of an issue if you are dealing with the local moron who just wants to rob the liquor store down the street but if you are dealing with a terrorist or experienced killer who may have been trained by a military or police expert or something along those lines it changes the whole dynamic.

[bushido_man96]

Good points, tufrthanu. Although I have done some work, it has been at close range, what we call "slap leather" or "Rambo" drills. We usually do them with rubber band guns, which adds a touch of realism to the scenario.

[tufrthanu]

What do you do as part of your rambo drills?