Tuesday Night Defensive Pistol

Every Tuesday night I go to my Defensive Pistol Shoot at the Genesee Conservation League. Except that back in February the roof caved in due to too much snow. (This was a rough winter in the Northeast) For the last three months, we have not been able to use the indoor range while repairs were being made. I really missed going. Not only is the Defensive Pistol Shoot just plain fun, it is excellent training for using a handgun in a defensive situation.

Each week different scenarios are set up simulating possible real life situations. You are judged on speed and accuracy while at the same time you may only shoot the "bad guy" and not the "good guy". The bad guy is either a t-shirt or poster of a person with a pistol pointed at you. With seconds to decide, is that a beer can or a pistol in that man's hand? If you are faced with three bad guys, which one do you shoot first? Then they mix things up. There can be a "bad guy" in front of a "good guy." You must shoot the bad guy without hitting the good guy. Sometimes they put a piece of equipment out that has 6 inch disks lined up in a row. This may seem easy enough to hit from relatively close range. But add in the time factor and you have a challenge!

LIke everyone else, I hope I never have to use a gun in a real life situation. I am happy to spend the rest of my life shooting at targets - a gallon plastic jug filled with water and hit with a hollow point bullet is loads of fun, and so is hitting the cross hairs of a target with my cousin, Kenny, standing there trying to convince me I can't hit the broad side of a barn. But if that day ever comes when my life is on the line, I am grateful for the training I have had, not only on Tuesday nights but the many NRA sanctioned classes I have taken in personal defense.

There is a lot of skill, knowledge and responsibility that goes with the decision to carry a concealed weapon for personal protection.