Gear and training
Sure, I didn’t need training. A pocket gun was enough. I got lucky. I also probably won’t get in a car crash today, but I’m still going to wear my seatbelt when I go buy lunch this afternoon. I probably won’t cut my hand today, but I still have disinfectant and bandages in the house.
A seatbelt and first aid kit? A seatbelt and first aid kit are more akin to gear than to training. I can drive just fine without HPDE. The more appropriate analogy I think would be CPR training. The fact is, as tool-users, we can accomplish quite a lot by employing tools for jobs.
It’s like there’s this weird dynamic on this training issue where on one side you have people who think all training sucks and as long as they have their lucky rabbit’s foot err gun in their pocket, they’re ten feet tall and bulletproof. And on the other, you have people who eat, sleep and poop training because they’re high-speed, low-drag mall ninja wanna be supper troopers who think everyone who doesn’t work out and train is one cell level above an amoeba in terms of functioning.
And I know neither of those is true but that’s pretty much what each sides says about the other. Anyway, I take training classes for a simple reason: they’re fun and I learn stuff.
And I want to take HPDE.
June 12th, 2012 at 11:55 am
I took a motorcycle high performance riding class from a former World Superbike winner/racer. It made a lot of things much more clear to me and I ended up riding a bit slower and more within my own envelope.
June 12th, 2012 at 1:08 pm
Forget me taking the HPDE, my son has been asking for it since he was 15.
June 12th, 2012 at 1:20 pm
To be 100% honest, most of the people who take defensive firearms training would be better off spending that time and money on defensive driving training and better brakes for their car.
Which is why I roll Brembos.
June 12th, 2012 at 1:39 pm
The wife and I talked about taking a HPDE/offensive driving course, complete with PIT maneuvers and roadblock running. Theres a school outside vegas that does it for like $1500 for a 4 day course. Gotta pass a background check first, but that wouldnt be a problem obviously.
It came up because she said that in the zombie apocalypse, she’d be the one driving while me, her brother, and his wife would be taking headshots with ARs. She said if we get to have fun “training” she should, too.
I love my wife 😀
June 12th, 2012 at 2:19 pm
What is the name of this school in Vegas? The only institution I am aware of offering such training is Blackwater/XE/Acadmi and it is my preference not to give that particular corporation my dollars.
June 12th, 2012 at 2:34 pm
http://www.critraining.com/tactical__driving__course.htm
I think that’s the one
June 12th, 2012 at 2:48 pm
If time and money permits, by all means get all the training you can. But the guys who tell you that you are completely helpless without training are either trying to sell you something or parroting someone who is.
June 12th, 2012 at 3:08 pm
I’m a beginner with pistols so I took a class. It helped ME a lot to know and see just where (some of) my blank-spots were/are – so I paid to have a really good instructor who’s a nationally acknowledged expert at pointing out deficiencies.
One thing I noticed was that simple repetition might help to in-grain the neural paths for certain actions, but you need to keep some things separated so they don’t flow into each other – or else you might end up like the Cops in the shootout who stopped mid-fight to collect their brass…
A driving class might be fun but I’d rather take one that didn’t rely on asphalt underneath the car. If you’re stuck on roads you’re always going to be at the mercy of a radio. 🙂
June 12th, 2012 at 4:05 pm
Check online for your nearest road race track. They very likely will have some sort of DE event every 4 to 6 weeks. You will need a good car and a recent Snell SA rated helmet (no bicycle or motorcycle buckets, please), and somewhere between $250 to $450 for 2 or 3 days. They will put you on track with an instructor who will teach you, one on one, how to drive a race course. This is not E&E or combat driving. It is finding out just how fast you and your car can take a curve without loosing it. It is where, exactly, you should hit your brakes for a turn, and when to start accelerating again. You will be a better driver when it’s over, I promise.
June 12th, 2012 at 5:20 pm
“supper troopers”
I’m not sure if that was a typo or not, but it’s hilarious either way.
June 13th, 2012 at 7:03 am
Yeah, I’ve known a bunch of supper Troopers, and Donut Deputies. I’ve also done an Offensive Driving course and just finished yet another firearms block. Today we’re going to do something called NOODLE training, which probably stands for “Non Operational Out Dated Law Enforcement”, or something like that. Gawd, I love these annual retrainers.