It was the 8th anniversary of the largest attack on American soil in 0ver 60 years. This year I chose to celebrate our nation and what it represents by attending a 4 day practical pistol course at the Front Site firearms resort.
I had been planning this for nearly a year, I took advantage of the gun and gear offer they were running. I had always wanted a .45 and now I had one. As a matter of fact, it was the pistol I used for the entire course. It was an XD45 and after 800 rounds out of the box with no cleaning it never missed, despite the fact that we trained several time during the 4 day course to address type 1, 2 and 3 malfunctions.
Over the 4 days we worked on everything from presentation to the 3 secrets(sorry, I wont tell you here) to tactical methods for entering and clearing a room. It opened my eyes to what I didn't know despite having been trained in the US Coast Guard and having owned a pistol for many years. The Front Site course was definately the Cadillac of weapons handling courses.
Enough of the sales pitch... The reason I am writing this in the hopes that many more Americans will read this and become as avid about gun ownership as I have. The most important things I learned at Front Site were not about weapons handling. During this course I learned why I wanted to be a gun owner, and proficient at its use.
The gun is a tool... it is the most stark example of a mans desire to protect himself from others who would take from him. The decision to use a gun in the act of self defense must be thought through. The cost of this decision can be high.
The cost can be physical or emotional and I have decided to rank them 1 is the lowest;
1. Knowing you caused another human being to die
2. A night at the police station
3. Legal Costs (sometimes up to $15k)
4. Jail Time, Criminal Record
5. Debilitating Injury, Death
Some of you would think that killing a person is the highest price... I disagree, most people know what is right. Being maimed or killed by the bad guy isn't right.
The chance of being killed while defending yourself or others is greatly reduced with profiency. Almost every bad guy you might come across is not very bright and is very likely untrained. The trained lawful citizen has a significant edge because of training. The real multiplier of proficiency is, to quote Dr Piazza, "the combat mindset". If you are not prepared to win the fight regardless of cost, the bad guy will.
The 3 costs in the middlehave been manufactured by people who want to disarm the general public. Some believe that guns are the cause of violence... to them I say, join me for a weekend at Front Site, don't make judgements based upon a fear or popular media, experience it for yourself.
The rest of those who desire to remove guns from law abiding citizens are elitists. Several of whom are gun owners, CCW permit holders, or have the money to hire armed security. These people are not to be trusted, this is America. We are a nation of free people with equal opportunity for all, this includes the right to self defense.
