Reading - What's Next?
Posted: Tue Sep 07, 2010 8:38 am
Before I took my CHL class, I bought and read "In the Gravest Extreme" by Massad Ayoob. In my opinion, the timing for reading that book is before you decide to carry.
Since joining this forum, I've read "A Gift of Fear" by Gavin de Becker and, last night, I finished "Strong on Defense" by Sanford Strong. Both are excellent and I will be giving copies of at least "A Gift of Fear" to friends and family. I'm still working on "Tactical Reality" by Louis Awerbuck. It is good but I'm having more trouble following what he is trying to tell me. I find myself having to take notes while I read it.
I've arrived at the point where I realize all that I don't know and how unlikely I might be in many cases to use my gun effectively if I need to.
Short of spending 100s or 1000s of dollars on personal training, is there a way to understand how not to make rookie mistakes? Here are some examples of what I think I'm looking for:
- In Strong on Defense, the term "Point of Aim" was used to describe firing without aiming in close quarters. I was looking at laser bore sights and thought that might be a great way practice with that skill. The problem is that the breech mounted bore sights all look like pieces of junk.
- The major point in Strong on Defense is mentally working through situations in advance. I'm usually pretty good at that, once I understand the correct idea. For example, the recommendation for a blow out, especially on the steer axle, of a large motor home is to hit the gas - a very counter intuitive action. When you understand that the reasoning behind it is an attempt to keep control of the vehicle until the force of the blow out explosion has dissipated, it makes perfect sense. I've mentally worked through that 100s of times while driving our motor home and think I could do it if a blow out did happen. I'm looking for the same kinds of ideas in gun handling in a crisis. Yes, I do understand that the idea is not to let the BG get to close but even with situational awareness, that isn't always possible.
If I now had to rank the books in order of benefit to me, here's how I'd do it.
1. A Gift of Fear
2. Strong on Defense
3. In the Gravest Extreme
4. Tactical Reality (I might change this when I finish the book but right now, I don't think so)
OK. Now you can call me stupid. I believe that many "skills" are really ideas that one can acquire the means to do without instruction.
Examples:
- I wanted to replace the "pop-corn" ceilings in our house with "orange peel", a different texture. Our neighbor was having her ceiling done and I asked the contractor to allow me to watch the orange peel being applied. He gave me a big song and dance about how it was a skill that took years to acquire and that I'd never be able to do it. I got to watch the worker pouring the mix into a gun (so that I could assess the texture and thickness of the mix) and then watched the gun technique that he used. I bought a cheap hopper gun at Home Depot and have done our whole house except for the kitchen. My neighbor will admit that my job is better than the one that she paid for - because I was more careful in doing it than her "professional". I've had to match the texture in a place were water damage caved in the ceiling. A professional builder could not find the outline of my patch.
- I wanted to put up tile in a shower surround. I'd never done any tile work before. I watched a You Tube video by Home Depot on performing this work and finished the job easily. Once I understood the mechanics, it only took a little bit of actual practice for me to get the hang of it.
I currently believe that some gun techniques are the same. It is a matter of understanding the principal and then practicing individually to acquire the motor skills to perform it. Am I wrong? If not, what should I be reading to help me?
Thanks,
Chas.
Since joining this forum, I've read "A Gift of Fear" by Gavin de Becker and, last night, I finished "Strong on Defense" by Sanford Strong. Both are excellent and I will be giving copies of at least "A Gift of Fear" to friends and family. I'm still working on "Tactical Reality" by Louis Awerbuck. It is good but I'm having more trouble following what he is trying to tell me. I find myself having to take notes while I read it.
I've arrived at the point where I realize all that I don't know and how unlikely I might be in many cases to use my gun effectively if I need to.
Short of spending 100s or 1000s of dollars on personal training, is there a way to understand how not to make rookie mistakes? Here are some examples of what I think I'm looking for:
- In Strong on Defense, the term "Point of Aim" was used to describe firing without aiming in close quarters. I was looking at laser bore sights and thought that might be a great way practice with that skill. The problem is that the breech mounted bore sights all look like pieces of junk.
- The major point in Strong on Defense is mentally working through situations in advance. I'm usually pretty good at that, once I understand the correct idea. For example, the recommendation for a blow out, especially on the steer axle, of a large motor home is to hit the gas - a very counter intuitive action. When you understand that the reasoning behind it is an attempt to keep control of the vehicle until the force of the blow out explosion has dissipated, it makes perfect sense. I've mentally worked through that 100s of times while driving our motor home and think I could do it if a blow out did happen. I'm looking for the same kinds of ideas in gun handling in a crisis. Yes, I do understand that the idea is not to let the BG get to close but even with situational awareness, that isn't always possible.
If I now had to rank the books in order of benefit to me, here's how I'd do it.
1. A Gift of Fear
2. Strong on Defense
3. In the Gravest Extreme
4. Tactical Reality (I might change this when I finish the book but right now, I don't think so)
OK. Now you can call me stupid. I believe that many "skills" are really ideas that one can acquire the means to do without instruction.
Examples:
- I wanted to replace the "pop-corn" ceilings in our house with "orange peel", a different texture. Our neighbor was having her ceiling done and I asked the contractor to allow me to watch the orange peel being applied. He gave me a big song and dance about how it was a skill that took years to acquire and that I'd never be able to do it. I got to watch the worker pouring the mix into a gun (so that I could assess the texture and thickness of the mix) and then watched the gun technique that he used. I bought a cheap hopper gun at Home Depot and have done our whole house except for the kitchen. My neighbor will admit that my job is better than the one that she paid for - because I was more careful in doing it than her "professional". I've had to match the texture in a place were water damage caved in the ceiling. A professional builder could not find the outline of my patch.
- I wanted to put up tile in a shower surround. I'd never done any tile work before. I watched a You Tube video by Home Depot on performing this work and finished the job easily. Once I understood the mechanics, it only took a little bit of actual practice for me to get the hang of it.
I currently believe that some gun techniques are the same. It is a matter of understanding the principal and then practicing individually to acquire the motor skills to perform it. Am I wrong? If not, what should I be reading to help me?
Thanks,
Chas.
