What's Up Sheepdogs? Ryan here with Tampa Carry.

December 29, 2019 was a normal Sunday morning for parishioners at the West Freeway Church of Christ. As parishioners where enjoying the service, a strange man entered the building wearing a fake beard, sunglasses, and a jacket. Several members of the church realized that something about this man seemed strange, but they failed to take action. 

What they didn’t know was that this man, later identified as Keith Thomas Kinnunen, was concealing a shotgun under his jacket. At one point during the service, Kinnunen appeared to become agitated as he got out of his seat and paced back and forth. It was at this point that he pulled out his shotgun and pointed it at an usher. 

He Was Not Prepared...

A concealed carry permit holder sitting nearby identified the threat, stood up, and attempted to draw his firearm. Unfortunately, this permit holder lacked the training to use his firearm at a high level while under stress, and because of this, he was shot and killed. 

You see, many gun owners believe that if they have a gun and a concealed carry permit, they will be able to use the gun at a high level during a violent attack. 

Just imagine for a moment that you went to a music store and purchased a brand new guitar. Just because you have the guitar, does that mean that you can play it at a high level, like Aerosmith or Metallica? Of course not. Why are those individuals able to play the guitar so well? Because of practice and training. 

Unfortunately, this concealed carry permit holder thought that because he could shoot at a paper target, he would rise to the occasion and perform at a level he had never trained at. 

Train Like Your Life Depends On It...

Then we have the second type of permit holder, represented by a man named Jack Wilson. This type of permit holder has a deep desire to protect himself, his family, and innocent people from evil. This type of permit holder knows that his skills will never rise to the occasion, but instead they will fall back to their highest level of training. 

When Wilson identified the threat, he drew his gun and shot the bad guy in the head from 50 feet away. Have any of you ever shot a 7-foot target at 50 feet before? It’s extremely difficult. Jack shot the bad guy from 50 feet away while the bad guy was moving. 

Have you ever heard the term, “the penalty of a miss?” Just imagine that I had you in a headlock with a knife to your throat. If your spouse had to shoot me in the head to save your life, what is the penalty if he or she makes a mistake? They could kill an innocent person. 

Wilson had to shoot over the heads of 20 or more people to stop the attacker. The next day, during an interview, Wilson was asked what was going through his mind before he pressed the trigger. “This is easy,” he said. My jaw hit the floor. “This is easy. Who is this guy…” I screamed out loud. 

The Power of Consistent, Deliberate Practice

Why was shooting a small moving target from 50 feet away while under extreme amounts of stress easy for Wilson? It was because of proper training and consistent, deliberate practice. Did Wilson rise to the occasion and perform at a level he had never trained at? Of course not — no one ever does. Wilson fell back to his highest level of training, which was enough to stop the attacker and save countless lives. 

Why Do You Want to Carry a Gun? 

If your answer is that you want to protect yourself and your family from a violent attack, then wouldn’t you agree that getting your Florida concealed carry permit and reading this article is not enough?

This is why I developed the Sheepdog Masterclass Level 1 - 6

This course was specifically designed for beginner and intermediate shooters to teach you the foundational skills of defensive pistol shooting. 

These foundational skills include: 

• Proper gear selection and placement

• Mindset and the OODA loop

• Establishing a proper zero

• The mechanics of recoil

• The balance of speed and accuracy

• Emergency reloads/speed reloads/tactical reloads

• Instinctive shooting

• Malfunctions clearing 

• And much more…
  

That's all I have for today. So until next time keep training and stay safe...

Ryan G. Thomas

P.S. You’re one step away from getting your Florida concealed carry permit….FAST & EASY…

And for a limited time you can watch the concealed carry course online for free... Click here to get started...