A simple question for a simple but fraught situation:
A woman who refuses to practice, but nonetheless has access to a weapon. Should she be told to just point in the general direction of the bad guy and empty the magazine?
(The background is relatively clear, so unintended casualties can be ignored for the purposes of response...)
I’m no expert, but I don’t think so. All she’s going to do is end up missing most of her shots. And then what? I think Mosby’s approach is the right one even for ladies who refuse to train... Get a sight picture, preferably center of mass, then fire. Repeat as often as necessary. But in a real fight, she’s not going to have the luxury of knowing there are no innocents in the background. So... keep pestering her to practice! Tell her that without practice, the chances of her killing someone she didn’t intend to kill go way up.
No. There are several better answers.
1. Teach her to use a two handed grip. I think Isoscoles is the easiest and fastest to learn, takes only a minute, and to bring the handgun up to eye level. This is a very fast version of unconscious aiming, as her eyes can see where she is pointing the gun, even if she does not formally use the sights.
2. Put a laser on the handgun so she can see where she is pointing it without the sights.
3. Instead of telling her to empty the magazine, tell her to keep shooting as long as there is a threat. In most real situations, people keep shooting until their gun runs out of ammo without being told to. Sometimes, especially when the threat is immediately down or out of sight, people do not empty their firearm, but it is very common for them to do so.
4. If she is willing to take the time to actually listen to the above, it may help her without spending hours at the range. If you can, teach her to dry fire (especially helpful with a laser). It can do wonders for accuracy without firing a shot.
“Should she be told to just point in the general direction of the bad guy and empty the magazine?”
No. Try it sometime at a range. You won’t hit anything. She won’t either.
Have you considered suggesting she dry practice? Cheaper and you can develop your skill a LOT that way.
>>A simple question for a simple but fraught situation:
A woman who refuses to practice, but nonetheless has access to a weapon. Should she be told to just point in the general direction of the bad guy and empty the magazine?<<
First, you need to verify that she is keeping her eyes open when she pulls the trigger.
Second, you need to determine exactly why she refuses to practice. Possibilities are the noise frightens her, the recoil hurts her hands, she is afraid that you or someone else will belittle her for poor performance, she doesn’t have the self confidence necessary to take a life. And a whole long list of other reasons.
Going back to First. If she refuses or is unable to keep her eyes open when she squeezes the trigger, explain to her what happens when a bullet passes through walls and windows. The possibility of wounding or killing the wrong person goes through he roof! I would recommend taking the gun away from her. Replace it with a Taser or some wasp spray or mace or some other deterrent, but don’t allow her to have a firearm.
See if she will practice with someone else without you in the immediate area. If she will, then something about your mannerisms is the problem. Ignore it. Don’t be offended. Ask the other person to teach her the basic rules of safe gun handling, verify she keeps her eyes open when squeezing the trigger. Then determine her effective shooting range with the weapon and explain the reasons why not to shoot beyond that distance.
Good luck