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Minimum standards

5K views 78 replies 31 participants last post by  bklynboy 
#1 ·
Knowing full well that there is a very diverse group of individuals on the forum with varying levels of education, mindset, skillset, training and that are employed in a large cross section of different jobs, I would like to propose the following questions.

What do you consider to be the minimum standards for proficiency/training that someone should have to carry and potentially use a weapon in a self defense situation?

Not what is required by the state or regulating agency, not talking about mandated training or further regulations or it is their God given right to carry with no standards, simply what you feel someone should know by your standards or by the standards of common sense before they carry their firearm for self defense.

What are your personal minimum standards that you have set, attained or surpassed for yourself?

My world is a bit different from others here so I will simply give an opinion of what I think someone should know or have in order to meet my minimum standards for everyday carry in the states.

Knowledge of how to handle a firearm safely in the first place.

A a working knowledge of the firearm that they are using. They should be able to disassemble and reassemble and conduct a manual of arms without help of the manual or calling someone for advice. Knowing the location and manipulation of all controls, safeties and so on.

The ability to safely load and holster the firearm in a condition that is ready to fire upon drawing the weapon without further manipulation of the pistol. (excluding the safety)

To be able to draw the firearm from whatever carry method they choose and engage a hostile target from 7 yards in under 2 seconds and actually hitting the target in a location that would be effective.

To perform a reload of their particular firearm in a competant manner without hesitation or malfunction.

Can diagnose and clear all types of common malfunctions in a speedy and proficient manner.

Maintain an effective level of accuracy out to whatever distance limitations that they set for themselves.

Before someone chimes in with some are these are ridiculouslly simple and everyone should already know that, you would be surprised at some of the posts that have been on here over time. These are the ones I can think of at the moment, I am sure there are others. You notice that I did not put a lot of emphasis on setting a particular time limit or a specific distance except for one.

So let's hear what you have to say, who knows maybe it will make someone else have one of those "Never thought of that moments".
 
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#79 ·
Here's my take on it: Your right to defend yourself, subject to whatever standards you set for yourself, extends up to the point that you are endangering me through your lack of skill or negligence. I think this turns the issue into something that is situational. If you are sitting on 200 acres out in the boonies, an errant round of yours is not likely to have an effect on me (though you might be unwittingly perforating one of your loved ones if you can't hit your target or know what is beyond and around your target). If you are in the city and defending yourself on the street that I am walking on or 20 yards from my house where both yours and my house are made of wallboard and siding, you had better be a very good shot with a finely tuned "shoot/don't shoot" switch. For myself, I've gotten pretty good at quickly punching holes in stationary targets, shooting on the move is much harder and can turn what would be an easy hit or near miss into a wide miss that may result in a round going far from where I anticipated it would land.
 
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