- Messages
- 79
- Reactions
- 133
Sorry if this gets a bit long but I think the context for this is important. My B-I-L lives near Gladstone and works near PDX. Over the last several years he has become more and more concerned about the violence around Portland and what he has to drive through every day. A while back he and his wife decided they wanted to get their CHL and I helped them do that through a friend who is an NRA instructor. It took months before he could get an appointment for his permit and by that time he had purchased a Sig P320. Last August he finally received his CHL. However, until last weekend he has never taken it out of the box. I assumed his apprehension was largely due to being a first-time gun owner with no previous experience. I encouraged him to come to the range with me so we could spend some time with very basic fundamentals and get a few shots downrange. This we did a week ago yesterday.
His hands were already shaking when he showed up at the house. It was then he told me that all his life he has suffered from anxiety, something I had not known for the previous 30-years. We sat at the table and went over the basics of safe gun handling several times. I noticed repeatedly how his anxiety caused him to fumble with rather than confidently handle the gun. He wasn't doing anything wrong, it's just that his mind was running at 99% with nervous energy and it showed up in his hands.
Once at the range, he listened to my instructions and managed to put well over 50-rounds downrange, his hands still shaking. Of course, he set an unrealistic goal for his shooting performance the first time out. He did reasonably well, but accuracy was not the focus that day. I just wanted to get him over his intimidation and get shots downrange. No pressure.
Back at the house, I showed him how to break down and clean his gun, once again noting his shaking hands and fumbling dexterity. His anxiety has him trying way too hard and overthinking everything he's doing. This substantially interferes with not only his mechanics, but it became apparent to me that his head isn't right about carrying and all that goes with it. Clues about his thinking include an over-eagerness to be ready to shoot a "bad guy." I don't mean he wants to go "hunting" or anything like that. Rather, it's as though he thinks the threat is imminent at the moment. If I had to guess, I suspect that for the first time in his life he's truly scared, doesn't know how to control it because of his anxiety, and is reacting emotionally; a combination that could result in really bad things if he doesn't get a handle on it.
The day after our trip to the range he calls me to ask what I thought of him taking his gun with him to visit his daughter in San Diego. I strongly suggested he leave it at home informing him that Ca. is not "gun-friendly." He claimed he had looked up Ca. law and he could keep it unloaded and in their motor home. I strongly suggested he not do that and just leave it at home. I don't know what he decided, but I hope he listened.
My concern isn't with the mechanics as they can be taught. Rather, my concern is that his head just isn't right, and that could mean susceptibility to bad judgment. While I'm not an authority, I see an underlying over-active fear driving his thinking to questionable reactions. He once commented that if he was in a building and someone hit him that he could go out to his truck and get his gun and go back and confront the one who hit him. I immediately told him that's called "pre-meditation" and he'd likely be in jail the rest of his life. I have not heard anything like that since, but I don't know how deeply it sank in.
Once he gets back from Ca. I plan on trying to convince him that he's just not ready to carry and needs to get serious and extensive training. That training must include a focus on mental preparedness and judgment over just the mechanics of shooting. I will try to convince him to start carrying a non-lethal alternative such as pepper spray until he has that training and has his mind under control. What I need are people near PDX I can send him to that can actually help him. Lots of people are well qualified to teach new shooters. I'm looking for someone who can help him with his head...if he can be helped. If it turns out that he is unable to get his head straight he'll need to hear that from a qualified instructor and be supported by his family.
His hands were already shaking when he showed up at the house. It was then he told me that all his life he has suffered from anxiety, something I had not known for the previous 30-years. We sat at the table and went over the basics of safe gun handling several times. I noticed repeatedly how his anxiety caused him to fumble with rather than confidently handle the gun. He wasn't doing anything wrong, it's just that his mind was running at 99% with nervous energy and it showed up in his hands.
Once at the range, he listened to my instructions and managed to put well over 50-rounds downrange, his hands still shaking. Of course, he set an unrealistic goal for his shooting performance the first time out. He did reasonably well, but accuracy was not the focus that day. I just wanted to get him over his intimidation and get shots downrange. No pressure.
Back at the house, I showed him how to break down and clean his gun, once again noting his shaking hands and fumbling dexterity. His anxiety has him trying way too hard and overthinking everything he's doing. This substantially interferes with not only his mechanics, but it became apparent to me that his head isn't right about carrying and all that goes with it. Clues about his thinking include an over-eagerness to be ready to shoot a "bad guy." I don't mean he wants to go "hunting" or anything like that. Rather, it's as though he thinks the threat is imminent at the moment. If I had to guess, I suspect that for the first time in his life he's truly scared, doesn't know how to control it because of his anxiety, and is reacting emotionally; a combination that could result in really bad things if he doesn't get a handle on it.
The day after our trip to the range he calls me to ask what I thought of him taking his gun with him to visit his daughter in San Diego. I strongly suggested he leave it at home informing him that Ca. is not "gun-friendly." He claimed he had looked up Ca. law and he could keep it unloaded and in their motor home. I strongly suggested he not do that and just leave it at home. I don't know what he decided, but I hope he listened.
My concern isn't with the mechanics as they can be taught. Rather, my concern is that his head just isn't right, and that could mean susceptibility to bad judgment. While I'm not an authority, I see an underlying over-active fear driving his thinking to questionable reactions. He once commented that if he was in a building and someone hit him that he could go out to his truck and get his gun and go back and confront the one who hit him. I immediately told him that's called "pre-meditation" and he'd likely be in jail the rest of his life. I have not heard anything like that since, but I don't know how deeply it sank in.
Once he gets back from Ca. I plan on trying to convince him that he's just not ready to carry and needs to get serious and extensive training. That training must include a focus on mental preparedness and judgment over just the mechanics of shooting. I will try to convince him to start carrying a non-lethal alternative such as pepper spray until he has that training and has his mind under control. What I need are people near PDX I can send him to that can actually help him. Lots of people are well qualified to teach new shooters. I'm looking for someone who can help him with his head...if he can be helped. If it turns out that he is unable to get his head straight he'll need to hear that from a qualified instructor and be supported by his family.