[flippycat]

After reading and rereading just to be sure I still knew the point of the thread and it being based in tactics and training I would assume "The best advice we can give to new gun owners".... "who are planing to use it for home/personal defense" is the topic.

The obvious has all been stated already, safety, practice, law, safety, practice, law etc etc ..

Though I did just want to comment on one aspect which I think is something not touched on really well at least in my words. We are all individual people, we all have our own way of thinking, all have personal trigger levels on what it is we consider a threat.

Sure there are laws in place as a guide line to determine these levels for us/people to keep them on the good side of a bad outcome. And tactical hd training can be a tool to teach people to stay in the boundaries of those areas as well as personal research, a mandatory part of gun safety which should always be just as important in knowing how to use a firearm safely.

Though, I think any new owner should be honest with themselves first and foremost as to what they believe is their trigger point based on who they are inside and see if that even follows the laws and guide lines in place to begin with. Building confidence through martial arts does not change a personal trigger level it only allows you to deal with it more effectively. Same can be said for firearm practice and training, constant grouping in the center mass in an area the size of a dime and knowing when to stop in a situation does not change your personal trigger level, it only allows you to control it more effectively. Sure, habits,reaction and rules of engagement can be taught but how do you teach instinct based on someones fear level based on an unknown actual scenario?

I know I am wrong in thinking that people just do not show up at the gun store and say I want to buy a gun without considering this (prior victims aside). This is a mentality I have never understood. And I am able to say that I would find it extremely hard to believe that you can reprogram someone or offer advice to someone with that extreme impulse mindset into knowing what is right and wrong if a situation requiring them to discharge a firearm happened.

I feel a new non impulse owner for hd/pd should truly know where their trigger level fits in regards to what is deemed by the majority as being acceptable practice. Knowing this about themselves first should be a determining factor in if they should own a firearm or even if they should bother fighting back at all and rely on the compassion and goals of the attacker to determine their fate.

Sadly those who do not address that trigger level will be bound to make a mistake and will face what is so jokingly addressed and condoned as part of the proper punishment if you go to jail besides the time away from society. The whole "drop the soap" or "a visit from bubba" or just psychically fighting to survive daily which leos/judges and society so freely joke about but expect.

You need to ask yourself, is your trigger level comparative to what you face if you make a mistake? Sadly asking yourself this question will make you wonder if the risk you take engaging someone climbing through your window is worth having to protect your backdoor and life daily for 15 to 20 years based on what you thought was right at the time because it set your personal trigger level off.

With that being said my advice for a new non impulse gun owner for hd/pd, do not just learn about gun safety, proper procedure and laws. Know your trigger level. You do not need to kill to make a mistake and pay the price. Learn about what you will actually face daily if you make a mistake in the eyes of the prosecution in regards to the use of your new purchase. You will not be put away from society with others who made the same mistake you did trying to defend themselves or home, you will be put in with people who have done things above and beyond what it may of taken to set your personal trigger level off. Can you deal with that without a firearm? It should be a determining factor if you just bought your first one and think you may want to use it.

If you can honestly say from your inner core, your personal trigger level stays within the scope of boundary's set for you by law and safety then you should feel confident that if the time comes you will make the right decision based on everything you learned about the law,safe practices and yourself when you chamber your round for hd/pd.

I do apologize if I seemed a little gloom and doom, but it just sort of bothered me the last few days. I have seen a few threads where it is insinuated that reacting on a personal trigger level makes someone a killer without any consideration on the actual deep and personal depths some may have to endure to even get to the point of purchase of a firearm.

I myself was given my first firearm at 10 and was trained to hunt with it. But when I was no longer protected by my father in life I had to address the realization that I may need to call on the tool that provided my family food for 8 years to also protect myself. It takes a lot of soul searching even after you know the laws, safety and know how to shoot to determine if your life means more then others even if you do not intentionally mean to end one while protecting your own. So to those that seem to throw around the word killer, you should really stop and take the time to determine at what value you hold your own life at before you dare judge what others hold theirs at.

Give the benefit of the doubt before you judge the majority of gun owners and know we are well aware of the gift that we all have to breath and live life. That a majority respect such a precious gift and that we have taken the time out of our limited gift to know what we should or should not do to protect the gift we were given when faced against someone trying to take it from us.