Teaching An Old Dog New Tricks .....

Next week, I start firearms training for my Private Investigators license. I have been putting this off. It is expensive, time consuming and for me at least, it will be physically painful. I don't even need a PI license to do investigations for my legal clients in Oklahoma.  And, it is really kind of ironic. The investigations that I have been conducting and will continue to conduct are done mostly online and by telephone.  It is really kind of boring, high tech snooping.  Nothing like what you see on TV.  I am not and do not want to be a junior James Rockford.  But, you do occasionally come across a really bad character and they can get really ticked off when someone reveals their presence in an organization.  But, since the Oklahoma legislature in all of its wisdom does not allow unarmed private investigators the same rights to self defense under the concealed carry act as other citizens, it is necessary for me to either go the full PI route or refuse investigations for clients who are not also clients of my law practice.

CLEET (the Oklahoma Council on Law Enforcement Education and Training) is picky about firearms. I found that I did not own a handgun that they would allow me to train with. Most of my experience has been with 1911 frame or Browning type weapons. CLEET prefers the Glock styles. So, I arranged to use a Glock for my training.

This week, I have been trying to get familiar with the beast. It has not been an easy task. The Glock is a well engineered weapon. But, for reasons known only to God, it is a world apart from a 1911 in use. Maybe it's just my old
dog habits, but the 1911 frame points naturally for me. The Glock does not. I have to concentrate on the sight picture instead of just pointing the front sight. And, the balance doesn't feel right. The heft of the 1911 seems to settle my aim. The Glock is light, even when fully loaded.

Make no mistake, it would not be a good idea for an attacker to stand in front of me firing a Glock. At simulated combat ranges, I hit the attacker ninety percent of the time. So, with 15 rounds in the magazine, that means thirteen rounds are going into the attacker.  But, the hits were not the steady, center mass pattern I was accustomed to with my older weapons. I was all over the target. There didn't seem to be a pattern. Next week will tell the tale. It remains to be seen if I can even physically get through the firing routine which requires drawing and firing after advancing, firing while kneeling, looking around barriers, etc. much less hit the target consistently enough to pass. But, I won't know until I try.