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tarkus wrote:

The Annoyed Man wrote:not everybody will have the ability to become the next Gabe Suarez.

Worker's comp and all.

Unfortunately (or not, depending on your POV), that charge against him might be bunk after all. Equally unfortunately, we'll never know for sure because he copped a misdemeanor plea to avoid a felony conviction he no longer had the funds to fight. True or not, it doesn't take away from the man's skills, or as a yardstick against which we can measure our own. I despise Mike Tyson, but I sure wish I could box like he used to box.

My apologies in advance for a long answer...

A lot of these types of scenarios will likely be covered by your CHL instructor (relatively briefly), and the same type of aggression may call for different responses depending upon the situation in which the aggression occurs. Are you alone? Are there innocent children playing in the background some distance behind the aggressor? Is it day or night? Do you have maneuvering room? Are you outnumbered? Is the aggressor closer or further than 15 ft away? Is he young and healthy, or old, drunk, and decrepit? Are you near cover, or out in the open? Are you near your vehicle or is it parked down the street? Were you followed, or is this a chance encounter? What are the aggressor's hands doing? In other words, what is the bigger tactical picture?

There are so many possible variables that it is difficult to give a pat answer for which action is prescribed on your part. Part of your response will be determined by your own level of judgment and maturity; part of it will be determined by what the law allows in a specific situation; and part of it will be determined by the extent to which you are trained and the degree to which you are in good physical condition, both of which expand your options.

I've only had my license for a little less than 4 months now, and one of the things that has become painfully obvious to me is that obtaining the license is just the beginning, not the end. I am a fairly decent shot with both pistol and rifle, but I have never received any tactical training in the use of either, and the only knowledge I have of such is that which I have picked up either in conversation with others, or through what I've read in books, magazines, or on the Internet. But none of that is a substitute for hands on training, and I have never actually had the chance to practice any of it, nor have I ever received any formal instruction in any of it. Obtaining a driver's license makes you legally qualified to drive, but it doesn't make you into a Kimi Räikkönen. For that, you have to attend a racing school and begin competing locally at the club racing level. Even if you never become a champion, it will make you into a well trained and competent driver within your own physical limitations.

So it is with the tactical use of firearms, and the potential of tactical necessity is why we carry them in the first place. A gunfight is the most brutal kind of competition there is, and not everybody will have the ability to become the next Gabe Suarez. But... everybody can become proficient enough to learn what works best for them, according to their age, health, and mobility. It seems to me that, if you are going to assume the responsibilities that go with carrying a lethal weapon, then you have a moral responsibility to get at least minimal instruction in its actual use from someone who is qualified to give such training. The most important part of your weapon system is your brain. Train it, and the rest will follow.

Anyway, my personal plan is to take some kind of personal defense firearms training as soon as I can afford to do so. I am 55 years old with various medical and orthopedic reasons for why I can't become the next Gabe Suarez. However, I can certainly be trained to both maximize my ability to recognize a threat and determine the options, and then to act on those options available to me. You won't get all of that in a basic CHL class, so my best advice to you would be to do the same - get additional instruction and training from an NRA qualified instructor either before or after you get your CHL. It will add immeasurably to your confidence in both your judgment and your abilities.