Self-Defense Tip: Three Life Saving Tips for New Shooters

Over at americanrifleman.org Jim Wilson offers 4 Life-Saving Tips for New Shooters: Get Professional Training, Buy the Best Defensive Gear You Can Possibly Afford, Internet Gun Forums are a Waste of Time and Practice. OK, sure. But this writer – who’s never been in a gunfight or served in the military, but is an NRA Pistol Instructor (FWIW) – thinks that’s a bit advanced for new shooters who might, by the way, be well-advised to start his or her firearm education with a rifle. Anyway, here are my three life-saving tips for new shooters . . .

1. Get Professional Training – Wilson’s right, of course. But I’m talking about the most basic training possible, easily provided by instructors without any street or military combat experience. Gun safety. Loading. Grip, stance, trigger pull. Reloading. That’s it. No fancy moving and shooting. No discussions of using cover or concealment. No self-defense strategy. Grip, stance, trigger pull. Wash, rinse, repeat. Go to the range at least once a week for six weeks. Each time you go, have a pro make sure you’re doing it right.

2. Don’t Buy a Gun for at Least Six Weeks –  “A good defensive handgun is a lifetime investment, so why not get a good one?” Wilson opines. True dat. Only there’s no way a newbie can know what gun they want/need/like until they’ve got some serious trigger time under their proverbial belt. A beginner’s well-advised to rent a variety and/or try someone else’s gats until they have a feel for what floats their ballistic boat, and can understand the opinions provided by others.

3. Read The Truth About Guns – This website provides a farrago of firearms-related material: history, gun and gear reviews, politics, crime, law, insight into irresponsible gun ownership, self-defense tips, pro-tips, the works. [Hint: select Guns for Beginners in our content search widget.] A newbie immersing themselves in TTAG’s gun gestalt also learns to cherish and protect their natural, civil and Constitutionally protected right to keep and bear arms, without which all the gun training and technique in the world is useless.