Mindset of pulling the trigger.

JayG talks about the mindset required to kill, even in self defense. He's been reading a book called "On Killing," apparently a very in-depth and analytical study of the psychological fallout of causing the death of another person. Jay makes some very good points, amongst them being that shooting at a live target is different than punching paper or ringing steel.

I felt that my comment there deserved its own blogpost, so here it is.

I hunt. I take that killing very seriously. But other than practicing trigger pull, it has virtually nothing to do with being able to shoot in self defense. However, it was impressed upon me, at about the time I got my first CCW permit, that if I was going to carry a gun, I needed to make "the choice." I made that choice years ago. I choose me and mine. My wife and I have had that conversation, and she understands. She is coming to the point where she's ready to make "the choice" for herself.

And yes, I pray to God every day that I never have to find out for certain if I really could pull the trigger. I also pray that if God can't grant me that peace, that he can grant me the strength to defend myself and my loved ones, and to deal with the aftermath.

 If you choose to carry a gun, you must make the choice that, if push comes to shove, you can and will take a life to defend your own or that of another.  That doesn't mean that I walk around every day looking for blood.  Quite the opposite, as I said at Jay's, I pray to God every day that I never have to use my gun.  As one dealer I bought a gun from said, after we'd sealed the deal: "Thanks for your business.  I hope you never have to use that."  He was right.  Plan A is to grow old, raise children, love my wife, and spend all my days as a peaceable man.  But I've also chosen a Plan B, as everyone who carries a gun should.

My choice is, at the end of the day, me and mine will go home safely, and I choose to do whatever is necessary to make that happen.

Lokidude