BLAZE Magazine Special Edition 2006-2016 | Page 50

Outdoors &
Education
It’s not what’s in your holster but in your head that counts
By Doug Gilmer
W
hile you can buy a handgun, all
the necessary gear, and even
pay for excellent training, what
is most overlooked, and cannot
be purchased, is the mental preparation
required of anyone who chooses to carry
a firearm. You can be well armed, well
trained, and even shoot well but not have
the necessary mindset or mental focus to
carry a firearm. It is deeply personal and
something each person must develop and
determine for themselves. For the record,
this has nothing to do with gender. It has
nothing do with occupation. Over the years
I have met a number of people, both male
and female, who have entered careers in
law enforcement and the military who are
not mentally equipped for the job and the
requirement to be armed.
Armed self defense is more mental than
physical and requires you to accept four
realities. First, when you choose to own and
or carry a firearm for self protection you are
accepting the reality one day you may be
in a position where you will have to deploy
the firearm, whether at home or in public.
Second you must understand, you may one
day be required to fire your weapon in the
face of a threat. Third, you must come to
terms with the fact, morally and otherwise,
you may take another person’s life: kill them,
make them dead. That’s right! The actions of
a armed individual may result in the death
of the person who poses the threat justifying
the deadly force response. I emphasize
this because I don’t believe many people
understand the finality of their actions. Death
is what it is, dead. FINAL! Fourth, you must
have a plan to deal with the aftermath of an
armed encounter.
Do you carry a handgun for self protection?
Are you considering it? What does all of this
mean for you?
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| SPECIAL EDITION 2006-2016
First, if you are properly licensed or
are otherwise legally allowed to carry a
concealed firearm then carry it everywhere
you can. To carry only when convenient or
when you feel like it means you can somehow
predict when you will need your firearm and
you are in denial of the first previously
mentioned reality. The news is full of stories
of people who fall victim to violent crime
and who never thought it would happen
to them, when it happened. The truth
is you cannot predict when bad things
happen, you can only plan and prepare
for them. As the saying goes, “If you
fail to plan, you plan to fail.” In
matters of personal defense, failure
is not an option as there may not be
a second chance.
Secondly, firearms training
is an essential aspect of
mental
preparation.
Learning how to carry
and properly deploy a
handgun effectively,
hitting what you aim
at, and doing so under
stress, will help build
confidence and improve
your
comfort
level
carrying a firearms as well
as with the idea you might
have to use your handgun
at home or in public to stop a
threat. Carrying a firearm does
not make you invincible or a
super-hero. It is not a ego builder.
It’s serious business. Should you
face a dangerous situation and
deploy your handgun you should
know the one creating the threat
is not going to necessarily stop and
run at the mere presence of your
firearm. After considering your
surroundings and the totality of
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