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Handgun Training: It's not like riding a bike
Simply owning a gun does not insure your ability to use it effectively, for fun or in times of stress. Despite the relative mechanical simplicity of guns, to shoot effectively requires training from someone who knows the correct methodology of accuracy and skill. This means a trained professional instructor and would most often exclude relatives, neighbors, friends and friends of friends, unless of course they are instructors.
Imagine a pilot who has never trained on how to operate a plane. His plane would probably crash. Imagine a prize fighter who has never trained to properly box. He would probably get knocked out by a worthy opponent. So I have to ask why so many believe they can open the box the gun came in and voila, they are automatically capable of good marksmanship and defensive skills. Much like an airplane or a professional prize fighter, the gun can have equally devastating results if you are not trained correctly.
A gun is not like a bicycle in that if you fall off you get back on because with a gun if you make a mistake you or someone else might not get back up. Also you cannot put it on a shelf for a year and then pick it back up having retained all you learned and practiced before. Shooting skills are perishable; they must be practiced to be retained. And the old adage of practicing crap will make you a crap master is perfectly applicable to handling guns correctly.
In almost any endeavor in work we have received some training. Additionally our work has been watched, evaluated and our progress corrected if needed. To become proficient at our job we continue to train correctly and practice our training regularly. The primary difference between all that work training and using a gun is simple, use a gun wrong and the results can be fatal, make a mistake at work and everyone still goes home to their family that night.
While guns carry with them a certain degree of risk they are of themselves inherently safe. The gun will only fire if the trigger is depressed beyond a certain point, so there really are never any gun accidents but rather there is gun negligence.
The Center for Disease Control reports there are 1,100 fatal firearm accidents per year even though the population has increased dramatically in the last 50 years as well as gun ownership. Fatal firearm accidents for person’s ages 0-5 is 17, ages 5-14...121 and for ages 15-24 is 401. The fraction of all Emergency Room visits that involve firearms accidents is 0.2%. So while having potential for causing irreversible damage guns are safe when you are trained and practice safe usage.
It is estimated that there are between 2.5 million and 3.5 million uses of guns for self-defense annually. In 92% of those a shot is never fired. Crimes that are committed with guns is just under 1 million per year. My guess is that number would be lower had the victims themselves been armed, or at least the criminal might think they were.
To be an effective and safe user of guns requires a good amount of time and patience. If you want to be able to use a gun for self-defense you are going to have to work hard on your skills and training. To obtain good skills and training requires seeing a professional instructor.
The next time you are at a range take a look at the targets people are shooting. Approximately 1% will be very good and the rest will sometimes make you chuckle about how poor the accuracy. I am always amazed when I go and see so much bad marksmanship and when I offer to help I am told that they shoot just fine, don’t need any training . . . .
