Last week, I finished the fourth and final installment of the Defensive Handgun series at Sig Sauer Academy. Senior instructor Scott Reidy taught us how to survive a deadly-force encounter armed with a handgun. He ran us through the same movement drills he planned on using the following day instructing a Massachusetts State Police team.
Shooting while moving is hard. It’s like taking three pictures with your iPhone of a five-inch object that’s 10–15 yards away—while moving forward and then backward. When you run out of ammo, as Scott not-so quietly reminded us, “You need to keep moving!” as you change your mag. For roughly the same experience with your iPhone, send a text message to Mom between pictures and “Keep moving!”
Self-defense training with a handgun is intimidating, especially if you’re older or if you’re a woman. But one of my classmates was 73. He was able to run through the drills like everyone else. And yes, the classes are mostly full of men (Sig does offer courses for women only), but there was one woman in the last shotgun course I took a couple of weeks ago. We all, men and women alike, took a beating that day, firing off 100 rounds.
But here’s the deal. Whether you’re a man or a woman, I have found that the demand for the courses has increased dramatically. Sig Sauer can thank politicians like Mayor Bloomberg of New York. Mr. Big Gulp himself is a poster boy for how government has increased demand for gun training. The course I just finished is offered 10 more times between now and the end of September—nine are already full. And as an aside, my local gun club has capped membership at a record high.
High demand is often followed by lower quality. My 73-year-old friend said it’s worth travelling the two and a half hours to Sig Sauer. He talked to some other companies over the phone and knew within a few seconds they were not as good as Sig Sauer Academy. Demand for introductory courses is going up. That’s why I want you to beat inertia now and avoid the coming scrum.
As you progress through your training, you’ll find, as I did, that the non-serious students fall by the wayside after the first couple of classes. Then you will find, as I did, that the training courses become exponentially better when you’re with like-minded and serious citizens. Hard work always keeps you ahead of the other boys and girls.
