Five Must-Haves for Self-Defense Training

So you have purchased a handgun for self-defense—congratulations! You’ve just taken one of the most important steps to effectively protect yourself, your family and your home or property. Your next step should be to receive the proper training for using your firearm. Triangle Shooting Academy offers our guests a variety of firearms instruction classes.

Now that you own a handgun for personal protection, you’ll need a few additional items to ensure your safety and success while training.

Eye Protection

It’s important to protect your eyes from debris while shooting. Ammunition creates hot gasses filled with grit and there’s always the possibility of being struck by an empty cartridge or bullet fragments. No matter if it’s on an indoor range or outdoors, always use impact-resistant protective glasses when shooting.

Hearing Protection

To avoid permanent, irreversible hearing damage, you will need to wear proper hearing protection. There are many options available to shooters, ranging from standard ear plugs, to ear muffs and even electronic versions designed for hunters.

A Reliable Holster

While you may not plan to open or conceal carry your new handgun, you still need a high-quality holster. If you attend a firearms class, any type of training or simply plan to practice at a shooting range, you will need to have a holster that is sized to correctly fit your handgun.

The Right Ammo

While you may want to practice with cheaper ammunition in order to save money, you should have high-quality ammunition that’s designed for self-defense. There are several effective self-defense ammunition options available for most calibers. Make sure you practice, at least occasionally, with the self-defense rounds to ensure they function correctly in your particular handgun.

Note: We do not recommend using reloaded ammunition because it can be prone to failure and injury. Reloads also cancel out many manufacturer warranties.

Training and Practice

It’s often said that a person reacts in a life-or-death situation based on how they train and prepare in advance. The time to learn how to properly use your handgun is not when someone breaks into your home in the middle of the night. You need to learn proper shooting techniques from a qualified instructor after purchasing your handgun. Then you should follow up with regular practice in order to develop your muscle memory for instinctive reactions during an emergency situation. We encourage you to check out the variety of firearms instruction classes that we offer at Triangle Shooting Academy.