Why Calgunners don't train seriously?

[Yugo]

I think it is way to expensive IMHO

[BigStiCK]

LEO/MIL here. Even tho I do train monthly at work, I try to supplement what I've learned through other sources & hone those skills with competition & related peripheral activities (mainly fitness).

For me, a firearm is a tool that requires, at the very minimum, proficiency. I prefer expertise, but that requires time & money. Those are resources that must obviously be rationed, and the fambam gets priority status.

If I was willing to put my family second, I'd be flying airshows every weekend & the wife/kids would be on a steady diet of ramen noodles (at least until she split & took the rugrats). Since they are and always will be my priority, my airshow career remains a dream & my gunfighting skills hover around proficient.

[NapalmCheese]

Blah blah blah, I don't understand why you all don't find the same things important as I do, blah blah blah.

Last I checked the thing I most needed a gun for was shooting ducks and having fun. Which trainer do I chose?

Are you a ham? A first responder? Are you up to date on CPR? Can you spend a night away from your house right know without a cell phone, credit cards and with just the stuff with you? could you find your way home through a maze of blocked streets, collapsed structures, and burning buildings without google maps? If there as an 8.0 earthquake right now would you and your loved ones survive the initial tremors and the ensuing mess for the days to come without asking for government assistance?

[Scratch705]

your poll didn't have an option for

"this is a fun hobby i enjoy that i do not want to learn every detail/aspect of it besides the basics needed to use firearms safely."

[Osprey]

You don't need to go to a $1500 training course every weekend.

If nothing else get some snap caps and those Dry Fire training cards.

Anyone who takes self defense and survival seriously is already physically fit and active. 20-30 minutes of shooting drills a night, on top of your normal exercise regimen, is feasible. And you'll get more out of what range time you can afford and fit into your schedule.

[smak28]

I believe people don't realize how much improvements they can make by learning from classes. It took me 15yrs before I took my first class and I never realized there were basics and fundamentals. I thought it's just hold the gun, press the trigger, practice, practice, practice. After my first class, I'm addicted to classes to learn more.

[MrOrange]

So allow me to bring up the whole "You need to attend some training school" attitude. When I started, I read every thing I could find on the issue, and made up my own mind, through trial and error, what actually worked, in the real world, for me. None of it may work for you. I don't care. I think back then there might've been two or three schools for defensive firearm use in the whole country.

The latest change in school of thought for me was Ayoob's Stress Fire techniques (real new stuff, right?), which may look poor in time/motion/potential precision studies for match shooting, but work better IRL.

The abundance of training options today is more bad than good, as there are sooo many trainers that are teaching dangerous, ill-advised, or just plain ignorant techniques. And how is a neophyte supposed to know which school is okay or not? Online reviews?



Anyway...
A general answer to your conundrum is the analogy I use to explain the level of expertise (or not) to be expected from an average police officer, which occurred to me when I was working in a warehouse, re: the fire extinguisher on the forklift vs. the police officer's firearms.

Yes, I know that it's a vital piece of life-saving equipment. Yes, I know that in an emergency I'll need to deploy it rapidly and efficiently, to save my life and potentially the lives of others. No, I'm not going to go out on the weekend and spend my own time and money to practice with it.

[therealnickb]

I didn't like your poll. Where was the option?

Visible abs or not, the benefits of velocity and low coefficient of friction are overrated.

[Eljay]

Anyone who takes self defense and survival seriously is already physically fit and active. 20-30 minutes of shooting drills a night, on top of your normal exercise regimen, is feasible. And you'll get more out of what range time you can afford and fit into your schedule.

HAHAHAHAHA

Have you been to the range lately? Bunch of old fat white guys. And those are the guys who drag their butts out to the range instead of sitting here typing away in their mom's basement.

[BluNorthern]

I train enough on my own to keep my skills up. I'm sure I'd learn a lot and hone some skills more but I feel confident in my ability with my carry guns and rifles.

I take my range time seriously and my mindset equally so.

[Epaphroditus]

Define "train" and define "serious". I train regularly with a group that thinks they are serious but I find their attitude clearly indicates they are not as serious as I am.

They are dedicated, persistent, punctual and diligent but they also clearly do not emphasize the finer points I find critical for serious study.

I also do not fault them for it as I train for myself and my own needs and do not project my needs, desires or expectations onto others.

[Tasty]

I take classes when I can (which isn't as often as I'd like) but it's mostly scheduling that keeps me from training on any kind of regular basis. I work a lot of OT, and at the end of the day, job security takes precedence.

3 and 4 day classes, or classes that are on a weekday are simply out of the question for me.

[tanks]

As a local firearms school says:

You have the RIGHT to bear arms...
You have the RESPONSIBILITY to train!

Unfortunately, a lot of people are into collecting firearms rather than using them. Heck, just look at the marketplace none of the firearms for sale have been fired for more than a couple of hundred rounds.

One thing though. Dry fire practice 10-15 minutes a day can make a huge difference and best of all it is free.

[ChuckDizzle]

I don't believe that "training" is necessary to effectively defend yourself with a firearm. People have been defending themselves without "training" with firearms for hundreds of years.

Also if you aren't military or law enforcement, and doing the class as a requirement for that job you are practicing, not training. Training sucks for the most part, it's rewarding, but it isn't very much fun a lot of the times. When I see photos from "training" classes my friends attend I see old fat guys smiling, they all talk about how much fun it was. And for the price they pay it should be fun, and that doesn't mean their skills didn't improve, but it ain't training.

[L84CABO]

Everyone who shoots does it for their own reason and in their own way, why question why and how people shoot. As long as they are safe, responsible, and have fun who cares?

Oh I don't know...maybe because this is a gun forum and it seems like an interesting and appropriate topic to discuss on a gun forum? I mean, call me crazy but it seems far more relevant than half the stuff that gets discussed here.