Getting Your Self Defense Priorities in Order

Getting your self defense priorities in order is a good idea. You do not want to put the cart before the horse so to speak.

I listened to Andrew Branca the other day on this subject and I thought it was important so I put together my thoughts on the matter.

Get A Gun– many people come to me without a handgun and they say “I need to know what handgun I should buy“. Handguns are like shoes they have to fit your hand and you have to be able to work the controls. Find a good quality gun that won’t let you down when you need it. There are several top brands of handguns on the market just like there are cars. Some people like Fords some Chevys. It’s most important that you find a handgun that fits you properly. Most brand-name dependable handguns are gonna cost between $400 and $600. Yes, there are guns that are under $300. When your life is in danger are you interested in that bargain basement shooter that may or not work when the time comes. I have helped many of my students acquire a good handgun for self-defense thru my contacts in the industry. Small guns while easy to hide have many problems.

One of Your Self Defense Priorities is to Learn To Use The Gun-

Gun Safety– the 4 rules of gun safety are paramount. Don’t leave home without them.

Daily handling and common tasks- loading and unloading, proper holstering and unholstering, cleaning your gun, transporting your gun, locking your gun in your vehicle when you’re going somewhere you can’t take it. These are all skills you need to develop.

Learn to Shoot- now you have to learn to put shots on target. This can be done in a number of ways but it all comes down to practice. I take my level 1 students to the range and get them started with all the proper form. Grip, stance, trigger press, and sight usage. Then they can practice in the proper way and not develop bad habits. Dry fire techniques are great for learning self-defense shooting and should be practiced when you can not go to the range.

Learn to properly Draw from the Holster- many people try to learn drawing from the holster by reading a book or watching a video. Getting good instruction from a qualified Instructor goes a long way in learning this important skill. You cant see the mistakes you are making on your own. Someone needs to watch and be able to coach you so that you can learn the finer points of skilled holster draw. Remember shooting ranges have specific rules about drawing from the holster. Many times you can do things with an Instructor that you can not do on your own.

Learn When You Can Use The Gun- this self-defense priority is where everything comes together. You can learn all the wonderful things about using your gun and then when it comes time to use it make a terrible mistake and violate the laws of self-defense. Andrew Branca has some wonderful educational materials on this subject and I suggest that you at a bare minimum read his book. Other educational materials are also available from him such as online webinars and CDs.

Get Self Defense Insurance- this is the very last thing you should be thinking about. After all other self-defense priorities are handled then you should think about protecting yourself and your family with self-defense insurance. There are currently about nine products on the market. Some good some not as good. I am currently recommending the USCCA program as it has many benefits and is rated as one of the best. I have a spreadsheet for all the popular plans and the benefits for each. Just ask and I will send it to you. One of the learning opportunities in this area is a CD produced by Andrew Branca, it is excellent and I have done the course myself.