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If you haven’t read Part 1, you should probably read that first so some of this makes more sense.
During the trial, the Prosecutor asked each of the 5 active LEOs who testified about Rule #3 – when is it appropriate to put your finger on the trigger? I watched all 5 of them answer the question and from what I remember, only 1 of their answers really impressed me. One of the BCI agents testified (I’m paraphrasing) that your finger shouldn’t go on the trigger until you’ve made a conscious decision to shoot. Good answer. The other 4 all have varying answers that basically said “don’t put your finger on the trigger until you’re ready to fire”. I really hate that answer.
Three things prompted me to write about this case. First, I watched the trial and was disappointed by the testimony presented. Second, I attended the Rangemaster Advanced Instructor course and some of the things we did in that class caused me to rethink how I teach. And third, I taught some of the firearms class in a local police academy recently and a discussion about Rule #3 with the cadets made me start thinking about this even more. All of which led me to really question how Rule #3 is presented to students and made me start to believe that many shooting courses really reinforce the opposite of what Rule #3 espouses. Huh? What?
I decided to do a quick internet search to look at some different firearm safety rules from different organizations and what I found kind of surprised me. For example, the NRA has taught the “finger off the trigger until ready to shoot” rule for who knows how many years.
The National Shooting Sports Federation uses the NRA language, but adds a bit more under it.
But the A Girl & A Gun had a much better version of Rule #3.
The California LE POST uses the NRA language.
The Ohio Peace Officer Training Academy uses language similar to A Girl & A Gun.
Idaho LE POST also uses language similar to A Girl & A Gun.
So what’s the best language to use? I think the A Girl & A Gun type language is the best. Why? I’ve been teaching firearms for over 20 years and I’ve lost track of how many students who have had previous firearm training that cannot really give me a good answer to the question – when do you put your finger on the trigger? It’s a simple question, really. But most people look at me and say, “when I’m ready to shoot”. To which I ask, “what’s that mean to you?” A confused look usually follows. Then I talk about the difference between “ready to fire” and “conscious decision to shoot”. Which leads to a discussion about postural imbalance, startle effect and inter-limb interaction. After I had this discussion with the cadets on the range, we went back to shooting. And then I started thinking about what was the best way to cement that point with our cadets.
After thinking about it, I believe that we (firearms instructors in the public and private realms) have emphasized draw and shoot so much that I think we have ingrained that into our shooters. If every drill they run in a class is draw and shoot, why would we expect them to do anything else other than immediately put their finger on the trigger when they draw and present their pistol? Think about that for a second. How many classes have you attended where the Instructor has you draw to a ready position? I can only remember ever drawing to a ready position on a regular basis in the Rangemaster Instructor classes I’ve attended.
Now let’s go back to the trial testimony from the case in question. It’s pretty clear to me that most of the officers who testified were not adequately trained on when it’s appropriate to put their finger on the trigger or, they didn’t comprehend what they were taught. This case has made me re-evaluate how I train folks. I can do better. I’m going to start using the “draw to the ready position” command more often and then start from there. I owe it to my students.