The same tired argument:
And abusing Barron Barnett’s video to demonstrate the falsehood:
And one thing to remember is that Police Qualifiers have been reduced due to the cost of ammunition and that cops have to be paid during such qualifiers. Let us not forget that cops are not mandated to keep a training schedule or refresher during the year and that the qualifier means a good shoot is anything that hits the black zone.
There is a reason good cops either take the time to train at their own cost or participate in competition: The establishment does not provide for it. A sedentary gun owner going to the range maybe three times a year will probably shoot 3-4 times more than the average cop.
And the stories of civilians unloading a magazine and hitting the wrong person or missing altogether at their intended target are almost non-existent while the opposite is unfortunately quite common.
Hell, to this merry batch of idiots, even if you were a cop*, you can’t shoot.
*with the exception of SWATing people they don’t like.
At a small sheriff office I’m aware of, the training and shooting budget is bare bones. The state of NE requires 50 rounds a year. 50. The course of fire mandated by the state, a blind man could pass. Some are just pencil whipped though rather than show up to shoot. The time is not allowed to count towards training hours requirements. Should you desire to stay longer and get more practice, only an hour pay is granted for the qual shoot. The rest is on you. If you’re lucky, an extra box of ammo might be scrounged to practice with on your own.
The NYPD is notorious for their bad shooting skills. The NYPD only issues their officers only 50 round of practice ammo before qualifying, any addition shooting is out of pocket. The NYPD actively DISCOURAGES their uniform officers from practicing thier shooting skills because (from what I have heard) is that they believe officers who shoot too much in practice are more likely to be trigger happy on duty. The anti-gun attitude that permeates the politics of NYC is also at work in setting NYPD policy. If this sounds far fetched, remember that the NYPD puts 12 lbs springs in their Glocks because that is easier than teaching trigger discipline in preventing AD’s.
Of course the combo of a 12 lbs trigger and no practice is that two NYPD officers fire 16 rounds at a bad guy and hit 9 people, none of who were the one they are aiming at.
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/08/25/nypd-shooting-bystander-victims-hit-by-police-gunfire/
But more to the point, what MDA doesn’t get (and doesn’t want to) is gun culture. The number of people who get a CCW permit and don’t shoot is so rare, I’ve never met one. Every CCW permit holder I’ve ever met was a shooter FIRST, who then got their CCW. AS shooters they (we) put hundreds, or thousands (more likely), or tens of thousands (guilty as charged) of rounds down range every year. We pride ourselves on tight groups, gongs rang, and clays busted. We push ourselves to be better every time we go to the range just like a runner pushes themselves for a faster time. We are not the least skilled, we are the most skilled.
In some states, there are no qualifications necessary to get a CCW, and I do know some CCW holders who don’t shoot regularly. They’re wise enough to know they’re not proficient shooters and don’t carry unless they absolutely have to, but still… to say it doesn’t happen is rather naive.
“Police officers go through extensive training with firearms before they’re even allowed to carry a weapon.”
And yet civilians have always been more accurate than the police.
Google FBI agent shoots self Ms watts. http://www.kten.com/story/28024390/fbi-agent-allegedly-shoots-self-during-west-texas-raid
I rest my case
Anyone have a ballbark number for how many people attend firearms training schools/classes each year? These screeching women always run on about “untrained” gun owners but I bet there are solid numbers of civilians getting training that contradict their crap.
Impossible to know. NRA may have an idea from their instructors, but with so many schools out there?
[…] Saturday I posted about a Moms Demand (Florida Chapter) link to an opinion letter by a retried police officer and […]
For the most part, cops are not “gun guys”. The only reason they carry is because they have to. I have met a few that were into guns, and they are excellent shots. I’m not a cop and if I don’t get to the range once a month, I get antsy. That whole perishable skills thing. That’s one of the reasons I want to get out of the city and onto some acreage. I’d love to have a small range right out the back door.