If you are a gun owner, especially one who carries a firearm on a daily basis, you've probably wondered how you would fare if you had to use your weapon in a life-and-death situation. Could you hit a moving target? Would you freeze under pressure? Would you accidentally harm innocent bystanders in your attempt to take down a threat? With virtual simulation training, you can find out the answers to these questions.

There are some awesome stories out there in Internetland about armed citizens stopping crimes and protecting lives. In a life or death situation like a mass shooting, each second counts and a firearm can level the playing field and give you a much better chance at surviving than the standard liberal wisdom of hiding and praying. As well, a growing number of homes have guns now – 44% at most recent tally. Unfortunately, it seems like these life and death situations are happening more frequently, as acts of terrorism, civil unrest, and mindless violence continue to plague our country.

The qualifications for a concealed carry permit vary from state to state, but generally speaking, you have to take a course that ranges anywhere from 4 hours to 16 hours. Some states require range qualification and others do not. The course that you take is very informative. It explains the laws in regard to using your firearm for protection in your particular state.

But, does that really mean that you will be ready to use your firearm in an emergency situation?

I am a CCW permit holder in the state of California. I am a single mom and I fully intend to be able to protect my family without being powerless until the police arrive. I practice shooting regularly and take classes with an NRA instructor. I've read many books on the topic of carrying my firearm. (I highly recommend this one.) I havehad occasion to be very glad that I was armed, but I've never had reason to actually use my gun against someone. And that is something which is little understood by anti-gun people: Most gun owners have our guns if we need them, but we sincerely hope to never need them.

Of course, this makes you wonder: do you really have what it takes to use your firearm to protect yourself or someone else? Is the training you've been doing enough? And how do you find out before the rubber meets the road?

The pros have been using virtual simulation training for quite a while.

Training simulations are one way to learn a skill that is too dangerous to perform for real. Both the police and the military use virtual reality simulations for training.

The US Army website says:

"This system gives the power of simulation to the squad in order to close the gap of individual Soldier training and collective training," said John Matthews, project director, Assistant Project Manager for Close Combat Tactical Trainers. "This system enhances training; it does not replace it."

The ability to train with this system allows the "reset" time to be cut down, which allows the ability to get more repetitions in a shorter amount of time and the ability to review each mission on a television screen to enhance the after action review process upon completion of each mission…

Read Full Story