Survival Code and Situational Awareness: Teaching the Instructed

When it comes to the defensive use of firearms, the skill of not being shot is at least as important as the skill of shooting.

Moving to cover and shooting from cover should be a constant part of Handgun drilling, but unfortunately, most exercises don't emphasize this aspect of defense. In a perfect world, the first shots a beginner fires would be from behind cover.

Seeking cover while drawing or firing should be an instinct you are training yourself every time you handle a gun, and if you stand out in the open when shooting drills, you are training yourself to stand outIn the open when returning fire, an immobile and easy target, as is very often observed in law enforcement shootings. The antidote is to shoot from cover, from the very outset, and keep it a constant part of your training.

As law enforcement training shifts to this paradigm, they observe that officers who come up for qualification are uneasy firing in the open--they instinctively prefer to shoot fromBehind cover when it is available. There is very little use of cover in these drills, which is why I mention it here.

They can, however, be adapted. It is up to you to give yourself the kind of training you want to have.