If you were to tell your neighbor that they are going to experience a home fire tomorrow, most would run to check the status of their fire extinguisher, or maybe even run out to purchase a new one. It sounds a bit flippant to say this, but the aftermath of the most recent terrorist event in the US has had a similar effect on many citizen’s outlook on firearms. Make no mistake, the Second Amendment is in place for such an need. I am always amazed at the number of people that have CCWs, yet rarely ever carry a sidearm. Somehow, they think that they will have time to strap a gun on if trouble is about to descend upon them.

Reality is that being prepared is about being ready. Situational awareness must be practiced; it is something that most people don’t possess; like combat marksmanship, it only comes with practice. Just having a gun is not really enough, you must be safe and skilled with a small arms in order to be effective. Most folks go to a class to qualify for their CCW. In most cases they make no effort to either improve their shooting skills or maintain them. Right now the buzz is that everyone wants a ‘high capacity’ pistol to prepare to shoot it out with a terrorist cell. Get real, it’s not how many bullets your sidearm holds, or how many spare magazines you have on your belt; it is about how well can you shoot effectively when the chips are down. Find a range in your area. Set aside time each month for dedicated practice. Seek out instruction; any is better than none.

Most every area of the USA now has a local guy cooking kydex holsters in his kitchen, another building AR15s in his garage, and another guy that has bought a set of 5-11 clothes, a war belt with leg holster (generally one that looks more like a high ankle holster), and blaster that looks like it came from the movie set of Star Wars. These types declare that they are ninja commando trainers and your answer to learning to become a great ‘Combat Shooter’ (whatever that may be).

Look at the reason you need a sidearm. What are realistic problems you face? Remember those little compact 380s and pocket rocket 9mms may be great to carry, but how well can you shoot one when someone is shooting at you? Most of these little pocket type guns are perfect for the people that carry them, as long as they never need them.

Good training and a supply of ammo to stay proficient is not cheap. Don’t kid yourself and think that just because you ‘qualified expert in the military’ or outshot your buddies 10 years ago at a beer can shooting match means anything today. Combat marksmanship is a perishable skill. Okay, if you are going to exercise your CCW rights, make a plan now to become skilled, and get started.

– Ken Hackathorn

Ken Hackathorn has served as a US Army Special Forces Small Arms Instructor, Gunsite Instructor, and NRA Police Firearms Instructor. He is currently an FBI Certified Firearms Instructor, Certified Deputy Sheriff with Washington County SO, Ohio, and a SRT member and Special Response Team trainer. Ken has trained US Military Special Operations forces, Marine FAST and SOTG units and is a contract small arms trainer to FBI SWAT and HRT.

Ken has provided training to Federal, State, and local law enforcement agencies and been active in small arms training for the past 25 years. He has written firearms related material for Guns & Ammo, Combat Handguns, Soldier Of Fortune, and currently American Handgunner and contributed to at least six other gun/shooting journals. Ken was also a founding member of IPSC and IDPA.

To see Ken’s Training Class Schedule visit aliastraining.com.

Gunfighter Moment is a weekly feature brought to you by Alias Training & Security Services. Each week Alias brings us a different Trainer and in turn they offer SSD readers hard earned words of wisdom.