The employment of firearms fundamentals, the basics anyway, can be a bit difficult in a self-defense situation, when one's life is truly in danger. Sight picture, alignment, trigger control and breathing are not usually something that an armed citizen has the wherewithal or time to think about. In a perfect scenario, the shooter would have practiced enough that the basic firearm fundamentals are second nature - but no scenarios can really, ever be perfect - any training, notwithstanding.

Probably the greatest addition to the employment of fundamental basics, where being an armed citizen is concerned, is practice. That should be a given, right? Well, I am not talking about practice in shooting the firearm! I am talking about practice in getting the firearm out! I have watched shooters knock holes dead center on a target with a handgun or rifle, but when pressed into 'stress drills', they fumble around like a novice, unable to release their weapon from its holster or un-sling it. Clothing snags, holsters can move, tension and heart rates rise to the point of confusion for some - in that regard, knocking a hole in the middle of a target means exactly zero.

The in-home citizens can find themselves in the same boat. 3 am intruder, where's the rifle? Where's the shotgun? Where's the revolver? The blanket on the bed catches your leg, you stumble - the intruder is only inches from your children's room - in the dark. Most intruders aren't after your kids, but do you really care? Absolutely not! Unlike what the happy-people would hope for, you don't want to sit the intruder down for a cup of coffee and talk about their feelings - you want them out, or dead. But you've never practiced an intrusion scenario in your own home, and now you don't have the time to learn.

So, what do you do to fix it? Practice!

BEGIN AT HOME

*As with any firearms training, ensure your weapon is unloaded and on safe*

At home, with an unloaded weapon, practice drawing your firearm from it's place of concealment, while disengaging the safety. Start slow, get to know the jobs of your hands - pulling a jacket out of the way, unsnapping a thumb break (if you have one), unzipping a day planner, etc. Learn to drop everything else that you're holding. If you carry a briefcase, drop it - a knapsack, drop it - anything that would prevent you from successfully employing your weapon (except your children for you mommy's who carry them, you can put them down gently). The key is: drop it! There is nothing more important than your life or the lives of your family members.

The standard to attain should be being able to get your weapon drawn without looking. Since you're at home, do it with your eyes closed, use a blindfold - anything to keep you from "cheating".

If you're practicing for a middle of the night, in-home scenario - do it. Lay in bed and practice getting out and getting to your weapon. Know where your key is, or a way to see a combination on a lock (surefire lights are awesome if you know how to use them). Practice loading with some dummy rounds and getting the weapon on fire. You can have those made, purchase them or use 'spent brass' in some firearms (though that's not really that good to do since a case is expanded after firing). If you have a significant other who is supportive of a weapon in the house and the reason why it's there, make sure they're practicing with you. They don't have to participate, but they should know what you're up to in the middle of the night. If they watch your regiment, then at 3am they won't have to ask "honey, what's going on?" - they'll just know.

AT THE RANGE

When you finally go to the range, wear clothes that you would normally wear in a carry situation - don't dress "for the range", dress "to engage". If you're a 'day planner' concealment person (that is, using a day-planner holster), bring it and practice with it. If you're a business suit person, wear one - or at least the jacket. Same goes for the T-shirt and jeans people. It makes no sense to be armed if you can't employ your weapon. Just like you did at home, start slow - and preferably with an unloaded weapon until you get the hang of it. Get to know the jobs of your hands - pulling a jacket out of the way, unsnapping a thumb break (if you have one), unzipping a day planner, etc. just like you did at home. You should be able to do it without looking, at this point. Also, because the weapon is unloaded, you can also work with dry firing. Apart from getting the weapon in the open, you also need to practice disengaging the safety and being ready to break the shot.

Once your comfortable with getting your weapon in the open, you can move to live fire. Safely load and conceal your weapon and practice drawing it and taking a single shot, then holstering it again and repeat. The repetition will breed speed, so you should start slow - slow is smooth, smooth is fast. You needn't worry about the basics like sight picture and sight alignment as if you were trying to shoot a bullseye. Instead, practice getting the weapon into your field of view, acquiring the front sight and breaking the shot. Why only the front sight? Because that is where the bullet will go - the logical parts of your brain will undoubtedly level the weapon enough for a 'safe' shot. Shooting for defense is a lot different than shooting for score or hunting. Your goal, initially, is to get the bullet "somewhere" on target, merely to render the assailant incapable of continuing their action. If dead happens, so be it - but a shot through the arm is a pretty good start.

It should be said that no range will actually let you bring your bed or lazy-boy with you if you want to practice "at home" scenarios. So, to help, try practicing with 'peripheral' vision. That is; load, bring to bear and fire without looking at the weapon or what you're doing. One shot at a time, each loading, bringing to bear and firing (without looking) will help build the "feel" of your weapon. Suffice it to say, in a home invasion scenario, your lack of light is your advantage - you know your home, you know where everything is - be confident in that. Flashlights can mess with your 'night vision', I don't recommend them unless you've been trained. So, for locked weapons at home, I recommend a key lock and the key that goes with it, obviously. You can finagle a key in the dark, much easier than a combination.

The key to successfully thwarting any aggressive scenario is practicing; I can't write that enough. It's not enough to be a good shot as that must be supported with the ability to employ the weapon in the first place. If you can't get the weapon out, then your bullseye ability is pointless and thug #1 is likely to own you or your family.

So practice! For you and your loved ones!