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Will competitions get you killed "on the street"?
JTH:
Ran across this awhile back, so I thought I'd post it here.
Another article on "Will competition get you killed?" by Ron Avery.
Avery bio: http://www.practicalshootingacademy.com/instructors/ron-avery-presidentdirector-of-training/
(Quick summary: Law enforcement and law enforcement trainer for over 25 years. Also competitive shooter.)
The article itself, posted on PoliceOne.com:
http://www.policeone.com/Officer-Safety/articles/5816232-Will-competition-get-you-killed/
"Over the past 30-plus years, I’ve watched the ebb and flow of competition shooting and other competitive events in police training environments. From Police Pistol Competition to IPSC and IDPA and now 3-gun competitions, competitive shooting has begun to become an item of interest for law enforcement. Even the NRA has jumped on the bandwagon, coming up with their version of 3-gun competition.
For years, law enforcement in general has avoided competition, repeating the mantra of “competition will get you killed” as a refrain, vigorously and repeatedly. Now we are starting to see a resurgence of interest among our younger generation of police officers who are becoming interested in competition as a way to “put their skills to the test,” as one told me in a conversation.
Exploring this topic further will expose some deep seated beliefs and biases on both sides of the debate. I believe it is time to bring this controversial issue up and look at it objectively and openly.
I believe this debate has many passionate supporters on both sides, each wanting to make their argument for or against..."
Go read the rest. Some good stuff there.
bullit:
In my humble opinion and endless hours of reading on the subject I've come to two conclusions....1)Those who say it will get you killed have never been in a gun fight to "prove" their theory (and frankly I cannot find ANY examples of such OPINIONS nor seen ANY presented as evidence) and 2) there are a multiple accounts of "competition shooters" who have prevailed in/survived gunfights from Jim Cerillo (Deceased) to John Farnham to Tom Givens to our local example James McCullough.
One last comment...although I am not in Law Enforcement, I have several friends and family that are, including my father. I've shot numerous times (including matches) with a lot of them. I also know a number of them whose only gun play is qualifying TWICE a year (and don't even carry off duty). I'll let you draw your own conclusion about which one is less likely to survive a gunfight (MY OPINION).
kozball:
I guess that I don't understand how any kind of training can be a bad thing.
Sure, competeing in a USPSA match is not the same as going toe to toe with a bad guy, but I would like my chances better than all of those owners that do no training, but talk alot and shove their thumbs in a body cavity.
Would love to hear what % of LOE's that actually train in some fashion or another. Maybe some comments from the LEO's that do train.
dcjulie:
I know of a fairly local LEO office that had significant trouble getting everyone qualified. They kept failing the NE State LEO requirements! I couldn't understand how they could miss that huge target!!
Lorimor:
My impression is that many LEO's don't want to get their tails kicked in competition, so the "get you killed" argument was invented.
Edited to add: I don't want to get my tail kicked in competition either, but that's part of it. Somebody's got to come in last. My goal is to improve each time.
Secondly, I do believe some aspects of some games MAY instill some bad habits. Most notably to yours truly is lack of emphasis on the use of cover. Learning to shoot around cover, often in an awkward stance, is a good thing.
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