ShootSmart

Registering Your Firearm During a Pandemic… | Texas

Wed, 24 Feb 2021 19:37:00 GMT

Original article was written for US Law Shield. Reposted with permission of US Law Shield.

You just left the store with your brand-new gun when a thought crosses your mind: “do I need to register my gun?”

The answer to this is simple: no , you do not need to register your gun. There is no gun registry in Texas or on the federal level, so there is nowhere for you to register your gun.

Texas does not have a firearm registry, and the Coronavirus has not changed this fact . You are under no obligation to register your new firearm in Texas, and no mechanism exists to report your purchase to the state—even if you wanted to!

You will want to write down the make, model, and serial number of the firearm and keep a copy of the purchase receipt for your own records. This way, if the firearm is ever lost or stolen, you will have this information to provide to law enforcement.

Without this information, the likelihood of getting your gun back is very low; because law enforcement may recover it, but they won’t know to whom it belongs.

What About Private Sales?

Does the answer change if you purchase the gun in a private sale or the gun is gifted to you? No.

Even if you purchase the firearm in a private sale or you are given the gun as a gift, you are not required to register it. But, same as before, you’ll want to keep the make, model, and serial number of the firearm somewhere safe for your records.

If the gun is purchased in a private sale, it is a good idea to make a bill of sale to memorialize the transaction. The bill of sale should include the make, model, and serial number of the firearm, as well as the buyer’s and seller’s information.

Can a Firearm be Traced Back to Me if I Buy it From a Gun Store?

Maybe. It is true that when you purchase a gun from a Federal Firearms License dealer (“FFL”), the gun could be linked to you as the original purchaser. However, FFLs are not required to keep records forever—and are only required to keep a copy of the ATF Form 4473 for 20 years.

This is why it is your responsibility to keep track of guns that come into or leave your possession.

If you have any questions about buying or selling a firearm, call Texas LawShield and ask to speak to your Independent Program Attorney.

TAKING STOCK OF RECORD-SETTING 2020 FIREARM YEAR

Wed, 13 Jan 2021 21:27:00 GMT

Original article was written by Joe Bartozzi for the NSSR. Reposted with permission of the NSSF.

Twenty-one million. Let that number sink in for a moment.

That’s a very big number. If I told you at SHOT Show ^® last year that the industry would see 21 million background checks for the sale of a firearm in 2020, you would have thought I was crazy. One year later and with the benefit of hindsight, this was truly a remarkable year for the industry across the board.

The final figures for the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) put all of this year’s hard work into perspective. Twenty-one million background checks were conducted for the sale of a firearm over the past 12 months. That topped 2019’s totals of 13.2 million by 60 percent. It also shattered the previous record from 2016, when 15.7 million background checks were conducted for the sale of firearms. This year’s 21 million total surpassed 2016 by 5.3 million, or 34 percent.

Here’s one more incredible number to witness. NSSF estimates that 8.4 million people bought a firearm for the first time in 2020. That’s 40 percent of all purchases. This year’s buyer is increasingly diverse too. Forty percent of 2020’s buyers were women and the biggest increase of any demographic category was among African Americans, who bought guns at a rate of 58 percent greater than in 2019.

Resilience

None of this was possible without the resilience and determination of the industry. Our own Government Relations teams – both in Federal and State Affairs – were quick to act to keep the industry open. When the rest of America was shutting down, NSSF’s team made sure gun manufacturers, distributors, retailers and ranges weren’t forced to close their doors. It was apparent early that Americans in every state were choosing to exercise their Second Amendment rights in record numbers and that’s not possible unless manufacturers are turning raw metal into finished firearms and ammunition.

America’s Second Amendment freedoms are literally designed, assembled and shipped from NSSF member manufacturers, distributors and retailers each day.

Even while the firearm industry was cranking production to record levels, they were also serving their communities. Brownells offered computer server space to run modeling tests for vaccine research. Federal Premium, SIG SAUER, Radians, Smith & Wesson, Versacarry, Keltec and Ruger were among many of the firearm businesses that converted manufacturing space or donated supplies to help first responders. Bass Pro Shops’ Johnny Morris donated one million masks to keep first responders safe.

Response

The amazing thing is that among the concerns surrounding the pandemic, the industry responded. Manufacturing and distribution facilities shifted personnel and made physical changes to accommodate social distancing guidelines. Retailers and ranges adopted safety measures to keep customers and staff safe. This all happened even as the industry worked to keep up with the breathless pace of demand.

That demand is most clearly evident on the ammunition shelves. Most shelves are still bare, but that’s not a result of anything but overwhelming demand. At 8.4 million new gun owners buying just two boxes of ammunition each, that translates to 850 million cartridges. Federal Premium’s Jason Vanderbrink spoke directly to customers to set the record straight. Rumors of secret warehouses or reduced production capacity just aren’t true.

“We are doing our damnedest to meet this demand,” he said.

Jason Hornady of Hornady Ammunition echoed the same notion in his own video .

“The stuff that goes out today was literally put in a box yesterday,” he said. “We’ve made one-third more than last year. Unfortunately, we don’t have an extra factory laying around…”

This is true across the industry. It’s what’s made 2020 successful and what will set this industry up to meet demand across America in 2021.

7 Million New Shooters Since March, Times Two Boxes - 700 Million New Rounds

Tue, 05 Jan 2021 15:42:00 GMT

Original article WRITTEN BY JOE KRIZ for the Shooting Industry. Reposted with permission of Joe Kriz

Ammo shortages have been a big topic over the past year. Many frustrations, theories, and questions have risen out of the lack of ammo available for customers. This article gives insight from two of the nation’s largest ammunition manufacturers into their efforts on the situation. A lack of production or effort is not the reason you haven’t been able to find ammo. With the drastic rise in new shooters it leads to a new demand for ammo and manufacturers simply cannot physically produce enough ammo to keep up. See the original article here .

FEDERAL, HORNADY ADDRESS AMMUNITION DEMAND

"DOING EVERYTHING WE CAN"

“Earlier this month, executives from two of the nation’s largest ammunition manufacturers spoke to consumers in separate, but seemingly coordinated videos. Published on the same day, they addressed the current ammunition shortage, their response to increased demand and internet conspiracies. The executives featured were none other than President of Federal , CCI, Speer and recently acquired Remington ammunition, Jason Vanderbrink, and Vice President of Hornady , Jason Hornady.

While the videos were different in length and production style, with Vanderbrink touring their factory in Anoka, Minn. and Hornady standing behind walls of boxes waiting to be shipped from their Grand Island, Neb. facility, both covered the same themes in their videos.

Basic Economics
When consumer demand is greater than the available supply, the result is a shortage. For Vanderbrink, this year’s ammo shortage can be explained by basic economics.

“Seven million new shooters since March, times two boxes — which is a conservative estimate — is 700 million new rounds of ammunition our three factories have to help produce,” says Vanderbrink. “That is impossible to do in nine months.”

Not alone in their attempt to fulfill consumer demand, Hornady mentioned similar economic- and logistics-related limitations, half-jokingly stating “we don’t have an extra factory lying around, we have ‘X’ number of people and we are certainly trying to add as much extra capacity as we can.” Still, Hornady has been able to produce one-third more ammunition this year than last, with rounds shipping just one day after being loaded.

For gun owners watching their ammo dry up at home and in stores, ‘economics’ isn’t the answer they want to hear — but it’s the truth.

Internet Conspiracies
Of course, not everyone is willing to accept the truth as misinformation runs rampant online. Both Vanderbrink and Hornady attempted to squash various internet conspiracies in their videos, including the existence of secret warehouses, selling to specific customers and averting resources to non-ammunition products, like apparel.

“I can promise you, there is no government conspiracy,” says Hornady. “No one is paying us not to ship.”

“Every day I hear something new, and it’s simply not true,” says Vanderbrink, asking viewers to help stop the spread of rumors.

Frustration Abound
There’s no sugarcoating it — 2020 has been a difficult year for everyone. But, for those in the firearms industry and those who partake in shooting sports, it’s been especially frustrating. Gun owners want to shoot, but can’t find ammunition, while manufacturers can’t keep up with demand despite nonstop, increased production. Coming to a head, Vanderbrink aired out frustrations to start his video .

“I am tired of all the hate mail. I am tired of people showing up at our factories. I’m tired of reading the misinformation out on the internet right now about us not trying to service the demand that we’re experiencing,” says Vanderbrink. “It gets really old.”

While Hornady didn’t say if they’ve received unwanted visits from ammo-hangry shooters, he shares in Vanderbrink’s frustration.

“We understand it’s frustrating,” Hornady says, “it’s frustrating for us, too.”

Doing Everything We Can
Despite the unprecedented demand, internet conspiracies and frustration, Vanderbrink and Hornady assured each respective manufacturer was doing everything they could to produce and ship ammunition. Hornady’s video is even titled “Hornady: Doing Everything We Can.”

“Everybody here is working as hard as they can to make sure we ship as much as we can,” says Hornady, promising “we’re going to keep making more.”

Dodging carts and equipment in the busy Anoka factory, Vanderbrink stops to point out handgun and rifle cartridges in various stages of production and shipping.

“We are making this ammo every day, more than we ever have,” Vanderbrink says. “We’re making everything as fast as we can, so bear with us.”

Unfortunately, there doesn’t appear to be light at the end of the tunnel anytime soon. During a recent company earnings call, Vista Outdoor CEO Chris Metz shared they have “over a year’s worth of orders for ammunition in excess of $1 billion.”

Having personally toured both Federal and Hornady facilities, it’s almost unfathomable how much ammunition both manufacturers are capable of putting out, so if one thing is for sure, it’s this: Federal, CCI, Speer, Remington, Hornady and the entire industry are doing the best they can. After all, that’s what we’re all trying to do."

Fact or Fiction? Concealed Carry Permit Holders Will Commit Crimes

Mon, 28 Dec 2020 16:43:00 GMT

Originally published by the USCCA and reposted here with permission. See original article here .

"Fact or Fiction? "Concealed carry permit holders will commit crimes"

Fiction

The minimum age to obtain a concealed handgun license (CHL) in Texas is 21. A study found the following data regarding Texas men and women over the age of 21.

By The Numbers

“ An Analysis of the Arrest Rate of Texas Concealed Carry Handgun License Holders as Compared to the Arrest Rate of the Entire Texas Population 1996 – 1998, Revised to Include 1999 and 2000 Data” — William E. Sturdevant, 2000

John Lott, president of the Crime Prevention Research Center, compared the behavior of CCW holders to police. He concluded that, “concealed handgun permit holders are extremely law-abiding.” And added, “In Florida and Texas, permit holders are convicted of misdemeanors and felonies at 1/6 of the rate at which police officers are convicted.” Among police, firearms violations occur at a rate of 16.5 per 100,000 officers. Among permit holders in Florida and Texas, the rate [of firearms violations] is only 2.4 per 100,000. That is just 1/7 of the rate for police officers. In addition, misdemeanors which cost permit holders their licenses might have been speeding violations or other simple violations having nothing to do with violence or concealed carry. So CCW holders are likely even more law-abiding than these numbers suggest.

Although too small of a small sample size to provide much statistical significance, the FBI analyzed 50 active-shooter incidents from 2016 and 2017. In 10 incidents, citizens confronted the shooter. In eight of those incidents, one or more citizens safely and successfully acted to end the shooting.

“More Guns, Less Crime: Concealed-Carry Permit Holders More Law-abiding Than Police” , The New American , Bob Adelmann, February 14, 2019"

Fact or Fiction - Concealed Carry

Tue, 01 Dec 2020 15:34:00 GMT

Reproduced here with permission from USCCA. Read their full article here .

Felons Really Don’t Want to Get Shot

"Noted in “ Armed and Considered Dangerous: A Survey of Felons and Their Firearms ,” 1994, Professors James D. Wright and Peter Rossi performed research for the National Institute of Justice. The pair interviewed and polled felony prisoners in 10 state correctional systems. Fifty-six percent of the prisoners said that a criminal would not attack a potential victim whom they knew to be armed. Thirty-nine percent of the felons had personally decided not to commit a crime because they thought the victim might have a gun, and 8 percent said that this had happened “many times.” Criminals in states with higher civilian gun ownership rates worried the most about armed victims.

Questions: How many concealed carry permit holders are charged with crimes committed with a concealed handgun?

Answers: 0.59 per 100,000 in the U.S.

By The Numbers

SHOT Business Magazine's 40 Under 40 - Jared Sloane

Mon, 23 Nov 2020 21:55:00 GMT

Read the original article from Shot Business Magazine and see the others featured on the 40 Under 40 list here .

"Jared Sloane joined the industry on a whim when he helped his parents open their award-winning, three-store chain of Shoot Smart ranges in the Dallas-Fort Worth area in 2010. Sloane is not a traditional shooter and didn’t hunt or sport shoot until he came into the business. However, he has learned why the industry remains relevant and holds importance to our heritage and culture. With a background in politics and firefighting, he believes those skills have come in handy over the years as their business has navigated various national political cycles and crises, most recently the coronavirus pandemic.

As a founding member of Shoot Smart, Sloane has served in almost every role in the company and done nearly every job, from answering phones, fixing guns, and cleaning bathrooms to developing compliance programs, producing animated videos, and coaching the range’s leadership team. As operations director, he is now responsible for managing Shoot Smart’s three locations, as well as inventory operations and marketing. Sloane has been specifically focused on marketing efforts to attract the next generation of shooters, and has spoken on the topic on behalf of NSSF for several years. He has been a member of the NSSF Range Advisory Council since 2015, and has also been a member of the NSSF Range Expo Committee."

Bankrupt Gun Maker Remington Outdoor to Be Broken Up and Sold

Tue, 29 Sep 2020 20:14:00 GMT

Seven winning bidders emerge after multiple-day auction of weapons, ammunition businesses

Remington Outdoor filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in late July.

Originally written By Peg Brickley for the WSJ on Sept. 27, 2020. See original article here .

"Gun maker Remington Outdoor will be broken up and sold after a multiday bankruptcy auction, in which seven different buyers won the bidding for parcels of the company’s weapons and ammunition holdings.

Sales of Remington’s ammunition- and weapons-manufacturing business, the Remington brand and others will bring in at least $155 million to be applied against the company’s debts.

Lawyers for Remington haven’t responded to requests to comment on the auction results, which were partially revealed Sunday in court filings.

Judge Clifton R. Jessup Jr. has scheduled a Tuesday hearing in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Decatur, Ala., to consider approval of the auction results.

The auction is the culmination of Remington’s second bankruptcy of recent years. The Huntsville, Ala., company filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in late July, saying it didn’t have the cash to make weapons to satisfy demand for its products.

The Covid-19 pandemic and civil unrest have Americans stocking up on guns and ammunition, but Remington said it was short of funds, despite having erased hundreds of millions of dollars in debt in a 2018 bankruptcy.

The company is facing a lawsuit over its marketing of the Bushmaster rifle, which was used in the December 2012 killing of 20 children and six adult school staffers at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn.

The 2020 bankruptcy halted a lawsuit brought by the families of some of the Sandy Hook victims , which had been preserved in the first pass through chapter 11.

Remington hasn’t said what its drive to throw its assets on the bankruptcy auction block would mean for the Sandy Hook lawsuit or for company retirees who crowded into a session with bankruptcy administrators, asking what would become of their benefits.

The biggest buy revealed so far is Vista Outdoor Inc.’s purchase of Remington’s Lonoke ammunition business, at $81.4 million. Sierra Bullets Inc. of Missouri won the bidding on another part of Remington’s ammunition business, with a $30.5 million offer, court papers show.

Sturm Ruger & Co. will get part of Remington’s weapons business, with a $30 million offer, while Roundhill Group LLC is paying $13 million for other elements of the firearms-manufacturing operation. JJE Capital Holdings LLC is buying H&R, Parker and several other firearms brands.

Sportsman’s Warehouse Inc., is getting the Tapco brand, court papers reveal.

Nevada’s Franklin Armory Inc. was declared the winning bidder for Remington’s Bushmaster brand. A spokesperson for Franklin Armory wasn’t immediately available Sunday to comment."

A Blast From the Past - GLOCK P80

Mon, 21 Sep 2020 17:41:00 GMT

Have you seen the new reproduction of the Glock P80? Lipsey's recently released an exclusive historical reproduction of the original GLOCK pistol.

The first GLOCK was designed by Gaston Glock and a team of engineers in 1981. The Austrian Army designated this first GLOCK as the Pistole 80. These are often known as the “G17s” which were only available for a couple years before the “Gen2” model was introduced.

The GLOCKS marked P80 were never imported to the US, but now the reproduction is here. The markings on the reproduction are the same as the original model from the early 1980s. Featuring non-railed frames without finger grooves and wrap around pebble grain texture, the reproduction is just like the original. GLOCK and Lipsey’s combined forces to recreate the single pin frame and the original flat extractor too.

The classic “Tupperware” style container has also been re-manufactured for this throwback reproduction. The new exclusive GLOCK P80 was created to give enthusiasts a chance to have a piece of the company's history and roots. Each GLOCK P80 comes with a commemorative overbox and certificate of authenticity.

If you’re hoping to get your hands on one of these Retro GLOCK P80s stay tuned for a special opportunity from Shoot Smart

For specifications and more info visit the Lipsey's website here .

Dallas PD Releases Body Cam Footage After Man Loses Consciousness In Custody

Tue, 08 Sep 2020 15:57:00 GMT

Originally written for Fox4News by Shaun Rabb on 9/7/20. View the original article here .

“ The Dallas Police Department released body camera footage of a man who lost consciousness while in custody and died five days later.

Andre Leshon Lee was arrested on Aug. 28 after police said he broke into several homes and threatened to kill a homeowner.

According to the investigation, it happened while he and his wife were driving through Pleasant Grove. She said he got out of the car and started running.

Someone called 911 just before 11 p.m. to report that a man, later identified as Lee, was beating on doors in the 9400 block of Jill Lane.

Police said Lee forced his way into a home. The homeowner fired a shot at Lee but missed. He then fled from the home on foot.

Lee reportedly tried to break into another home and was turned away. He kicked in the door of yet another home and stole a cell phone before leaving and running to a home on Enola Gay Avenue.

Investigators said Lee then jumped through the home’s front window, grabbed a “cutting instrument,” took some money and threatened to kill the homeowner. Then he went into a bedroom and barricaded himself inside.

DPD reports that five officers arrived at the scene at 11:15 p.m. and called for Dallas-Fire Rescue to be on standby minutes later. Officers were able to get everyone else out of the home before handcuffing Lee and taking him into custody at 11:21 p.m.

A short time later, Lee lost consciousness. DPD said the officers immediately began CPR on Lee while waiting for the paramedics to arrive and take him to the hospital.

Lee passed away five days later on Sept. 2. He was still in the hospital in police custody.

Lee's wife told police at the scene that he had been high on cocaine. His toxicology report is still pending and his death is under investigation.

The Dallas County District Attorney’s office is conducting an independent investigation, in addition to the one being conducted by DPD's Special Investigations Unit.

Police said they released the body camera video to comply with a new department policy regarding in-custody death. It shows officers used no physical force against him as they talked him out of the back room of the house he had broken in to.

Criminologist Dr. Alex Del Carmen said making the video public may lead people to question but also open eyes.

"Can something be done in order to save people's lives so that the law enforcement of the law as we saw in the latter parts of the video," Del Carmen said. "I think we're gonna learn more about the distressors of police-related work. I don't think many people really understand what exactly police officers go through when they answer a call like this."

Former prosecutor Russell Wilson said if a higher level of transparency is the goal, then this is the correct start.

"Now they gotta maintain that if there's a situation where a use of force is involved and that use of force causes the death," Wilson said.

Amidst Uncertainty, Firearm Industry Soars

Mon, 10 Aug 2020 18:33:00 GMT

A global pandemic, social unrest, and election year have combined to create a year for record sales in the firearms industry. Amidst the uncertainty, the U.S. firearms industry is booming. Consumers have responded to the events around them by visiting local dealers in search of guns in unmatched numbers. Many of these gun owners have never owned a firearm previously and never had a desire to own one prior to the pandemic and protests. The industry now has the opportunity to not only welcome the new gun owners but the responsibility to make sure they are properly educated.

At Shoot Smart we are dedicated to making sure you are a confident and educated firearms owner. We are ready to help first time gun owners learn safety and firearms basics as well as help those who have experience but want to sharpen their skills. Although we may be experiencing uncertain times, the last thing we want is for you to be uncertain with how to handle your firearm.

Read more about rising gun sales, motivations behind the purchases, what is being purchased, and statistics among the industry here. https://shootingindustry.com/guns/handguns/firearms-report-2020/

Ammo-Mergency! We Need You!

Fri, 07 Aug 2020 13:24:00 GMT

By now, the uncertain supply of ammunition and firearms is well known throughout the industry. In the wake of COVID-19 and protests around the nation, both the demand and supply sides of the industry have been hit hard. While Shoot Smart continues to receive and stock ammunition readily available for shooters, the industry as a whole has been reeling.

Here is one article citing the great challenges we all face because of business interruptions and spikes in demand. https://www.hotsr.com/news/2020/jul/19/dealers-experience-gun-ammo-shortage/

In response to the ammunition crisis, Shoot Smart has implemented a number of actions, including temporary restrictions on quantities, temporary limitations on sales only to range guests, and removing the machine guns from our rental fleets. Operations Director, Jared Sloane, says, "We're watching the situation in real-time and working closely with our supply chain. Manufacturers and distributors are telling us the ammo is coming, and we continue to see ample supplies at our stores."

In addition to temporary measures, Shoot Smart is asking all 2A supporters to get into the range, even with the shortage. One way your rights can be infringed is by circumstance, and in this case, gun owners are encouraged to keep practicing.

At Shoot Smart, we're doing everything we can to source ammunition and keep you shooting. We need you to continue training and shooting! Lanes are available now. We appreciate your support and your patience, and as always...

Shoot Safe. Shoot Straight. And Shoot Smart.

Shooting in Self-Defense: Mental Prep

Wed, 05 Aug 2020 14:44:00 GMT

Originally published by Range365, Written By Sara Ahrens on April 26, 2016 - read the original article here .

“Self-defense situations typically cause a lot of mental stress, which can negatively affect your reaction. That's why training is so crucial.

Over the course of my law enforcement career I was involved in and responded to a lot of violent incidents. Many of them caused an acute stress reaction. I never experienced exactly the same set of physical, mental and emotional responses to these high-risk situations, but I always experienced some combination of them.

For many years I convinced myself that, based on past reactions, I knew how I would respond to critical situations. But the truth is that I didn’t, and the more incidents I had the more I realized how unpredictable stress is on our minds and bodies. I eventually came to realize that by convincing myself that I could control reactions to stress, I was actually making them worse.

That’s why it’s imperative for anyone carrying a concealed firearm for self-defense to understand that a violent encounter is unpredictable. This unpredictability impacts our actions, reactions, and thought process. Regardless of how much mental preparation and visualization we employ to ensure we will react a certain way, there is no guarantee that we will react the way we want to. I learned first-hand that there are many thoughts, feelings, fears, and insecurities that lurk just below the surface, and they may come bubbling up in a life-threatening event.

Thoughts at the Wrong Time

Some of the thoughts and beliefs that can come into play during a self-defense situation may center around topics you didn’t even know you are struggling with, such as:

These thoughts can arise out of nowhere. If you focus on resolving these issues during a critical incident, your mind is likely to be clogged with information that will delay your response to the threat.

I also learned that, in addition to these thoughts, during a critical incident there is a constant stream of information coming into the consciousness. It is a constant process of reading every body movement and micro-expression to determine the threat level. The mind and the senses become overwhelmed quickly. The good news is there is a way to control this and maintain focus.

A Brush with Death

My first brush with a life-or-death situation occurred when I responded to a domestic battery incident. I recognized I had to make an arrest on a man who challenged me to try. I tried reasoning with him to no avail. And at one point he walked past me, bumping my shoulder with his and screamed some profane comment to me… I immediately felt my right leg start to shake. I then got on the radio and heard my voice crack as I asked for back up to “hurry.” This immediately led to negative self-talk regarding my unacceptable level of fear. I was trying to get a grip, but I couldn’t…I didn’t know what was going on or how to stop it. My mouth became dry, my heart pounded and everything seemed to be going in slow motion and, at the same time, taking forever.

Eventually my backup arrived, but his presence further escalated the situation. We pulled out our pepper spray and the suspect pulled out a folding knife. The suspect came at me with the knife, and I watched the rest of the incident as if from above. I saw a couch preventing me from backing away from the suspect. I heard myself tell the suspect multiple times to drop the knife, and when he didn’t and I could no longer back up, I fired one round into his abdomen. I could not hear the shot being fired.

The suspect fell to the ground, and I was confused. I had never shot a living thing before and expected it to be gruesome, but it wasn’t. I wasn’t even sure if I had hit him. Still trying to comprehend what had just happened, my mind went blank on my responsibilities as a police officer and as a human being. I couldn’t remember that I was supposed to handcuff him and call for a supervisor and an ambulance. Fortunately I had a partner whose brain wasn’t as scrambled as mine, and he followed through.

Then, as soon as officers began to arrive on scene, I had a very strong urge to laugh…I mean really laugh. I knew it was inappropriate, and I held it in, but that deeply disturbed me for years. I am not callous and I didn’t think the situation was funny, yet I was fighting back laughter as if my life and career depended on it… and maybe it did! My reaction was likely the result of stress and surviving the encounter. I felt euphoric, though that was short-lived.

How to Always Be Ready: The Five Steps

As a police and civilian firearms trainer, one of the core aspects of my training is always an introduction to the concept of mindset and visualization. It is a concept that I’ve used as an athlete and police officer. It is a mental preparation exercise that can be employed before an experience occurs, or after. Often we think we know how we would respond in a life or death situation, but the truth is, we don’t.

Mindset and visualization alone will not completely assuage reactions to stress, though. There are steps that we can take to prepare us for life-or-death situations and help us focus on the right things at the right times. When I train others with firearms, I always reinforce several points, which include the following:

1. Focus on winning and survival now, before any encounter occurs.

Instead of getting caught up in trying to mentally prepare yourself for a wide variety of potential encounters, it might be best to take what has been discovered in the area of sports psychology and apply those lessons.

You should convince yourself that you are going to win all encounters. This is mindset and visualization and they are critical. You should visualize winning an encounter at all costs. But all of these thoughts should happen before the encounter. Once you find yourself in a violent encounter however, you should resist the temptation of focusing on the outcome. A forward focus creates additional pressure and a loss of awareness of what is happening right now, which leads to a series of mistakes, and potentially a big loss: Your life.

2. During an encounter, change focus from the outcome to the present.

I remember my high school tennis coach giving me some of the best life advice I ever got when I was within a of couple points losing a match. I had lost every game except one, and I was upset because mentally I had already lost. My coach could see this and pulled me aside and said, ”It’s not over until the last point is played! Don’t think about winning or losing the game, set, or match…focus only on the point you are playing.” By changing my focus to the present moment instead of freaking myself out over the future, which looked bleak, I was able to come back and win that match.

The firearms industry is flooded with information about mindset and stress reactions, but rarely do you read about the realities of a violent encounter. I have read and written plenty about mindset and the importance of always thinking about winning, but I cannot recall anyone ever pointing out that once an encounter begins, the focus should shift from the desired outcome of winning to the encounter itself. If we allow our minds to panic about the cost of losing, or we make ourselves focus on winning, we become even more tense, which will have a negative impact on the results. During an encounter, forget about winning and focus on the now.

3. Don’t train until you get it right…train until you can’t get it wrong.

If we only train until we demonstrate proficiency of a skill, then we will never train until that skill becomes second nature. I have trained some great marksmen, but under a little stress it becomes obvious that they have not spent as much time practicing their draw, reloading, fixing malfunctions, or shooting and moving. Seemingly simple tasks become major problems under stress when your hands operate like flippers.

When stress takes over, your focus should be on strategy, tactics and reading your situation and aggressor. Skills like the way you draw your firearm, grip your firearm in your hand, index your firearm on your body, and even communicate with the aggressor will be preprogrammed based on what, how, and how often you have trained. If you fail to prepare yourself through repetition, these are aspects that you will have to consciously think about during the encounter, which will divert your attention. You may miss important information.

4. Keep plans and actions fluid, and train accordingly.

One of the biggest mistakes I saw as a SWAT supervisor was specific planning and pre-defined actions. I watched operators do a room entry after they determined that the first operator would go left and the second right. Under stress, nine times out of ten, the first operator would forget which way he was supposed to go and take the opposite route. This created a problem for the second operator. The best way to plan a response is to keep it simple and fluid. For the above example, that would go along the lines of I’ll go the opposite route of the guy in front of me… if it’s possible. This leaves room for modifications due to unforeseen threats or physical obstacles.

Training also impacts our plans and actions. If we train to always double-tap an aggressor, what happens if after the first shot the suspect is no longer a threat? Or, worse, what if you fire two rounds and stop but there’s still a very real threat?

We have learned in law enforcement training that it is better to train to shoot until the suspect is no longer a threat. This allows the suspect, the situation, and the shooter to determine how many rounds are necessary to stop it.

5. Practice doesn’t make perfect…it makes permanent.

That was my SWAT commander’s favorite phrase. He would shout this to operators that he would see cutting corners, such as when half the team would shoot a drill but then wouldn’t check for additional threats, or those who did check were just going through the motions and not actually looking. Trainers know that if you only train half-heartedly, you will behave similarly in a real-life situation.

Training for law enforcement evolved after a shootout a couple decades ago revealed that the officers died picking up their brass. They had been trained by their Range Master to pick up their casings after every string of fire. So when they had a real shootout, they picked up their brass. We know this is how they died because of the positions in which they were found, their pockets full of brass. What you do in training is what you will do in real life, no matter how ridiculous it seems.

In part two we will examine the actual mental and physical manifestations of stress responses that many people experience, and go over how to respond and prepare for those stress responses should the situation ever arise.”

Sales Of Guns To First Time Owners Rise Amid COVID-19 Pandemic.

Mon, 20 Jul 2020 15:54:00 GMT

NPR Morning Edition

Gun sales have hit new records as the country grapples with a pandemic and protests. But unlike previous spikes, it's not gun enthusiasts driving sales, but rather first time gun owners. Listen to the full story below.

CHRIS ARNOLD - NPR Morning Edition