Gunsite "Epiphany"

Feature article in this months issue of American Rifleman, the enthusiasts magazine published by the National Rifle Association, about one of the writers being given the task of generating a story about his experiences at Gunsite, the Jeff Cooper founded school of handgun, and rifle training.

There is so very much wrong in what is in effect a major advertisement for Gunsite presented to members of the NRA, that any in-depth essay would take up twice as much space as the article itself, so we've focused on one particular area.

Gunsite provides valuable training for police and military personnel, but offers little in the way of real-world training for the real-world civilian. The accompanying picture- if it indeed publishes what with Google dropping the ball every other post- shows exactly how far removed such classes are to the armed citizen:

What such training does for the average Joe:

Passing the course makes one very good at passing courses.

Ammunition for the weapon used is not what would be employed for self-defense...the author of this poorly written tale admits to purchasing cheap reloads that are far from what 99.99% of ALL armed personnel use.

The gun itself wouldn't be used by most, law enforcement, military, OR what would be the primary audience for the NRA, the average citizen. As stated in the story, large caliber semi-automatics are used because they knock down certain taregets a lot faster, and most people attending Gunsite are urged to employ a weapon they would not normally carry.

The 5-Steps designed to create proficiency in drawing and firing a gun feature the following:

1.) Grip. Reach down and establish a strong grip.
2.) Clear. Keeping the trigger finger straight, lift the pistol out of the holster.
3.) Click. Rotate the pistol and disengage the safety.
4.) Smack. Move the pistol forward and up, with the support hand smacking the pistol.
5.) Look. Aquire the target and get ready to fire.

The above steps omit the single most important function for the concealed carry civilian, namely the FIRST step being to clear the shirt or coat or blouse, or suitjacket that is concealing the weapon. Or perhaps the NRA believes normal joes and janes traipse about in full frontal open carry with .45's on their hips. Notice that the steps refer to "pistol" and not revolver, for neither revolvers nor Glocks - which are favored by 65% of law enforecement, and a not insignificant percentile of the gun-carrying public -have external safeties.

This renders the 5 steps worthless to the civilian, and let's pull this all together:

1.) Wrong gun
2.) Wrong ammunition
3.) Wrong "steps" to intitiate an armed response of deadly force.

Conclusion? Information offered only for law enforcement or the military, and DETRIMENTAL to the poor schumucks who pay the NRA's bills, and as such a major disservice to the membership.