Pre-Made Decisions Could Save Your Life 

I took a class with Massad Ayoob back in 97, he talked about playing out scenarios in your mind. Through out my life as things have changed, I try to keep updating scenarios in my mind

I went to a public range in Iowa once. Rolled into it saw the guys there’s waving the firearms around and breaking the 180 as well as pointing towards people at the range. Put the car in reverse and left, wasted two hours of driving that day but it was worth it to avoid an unsafe situation.

My dad always said “decide today what you will do tomorrow”. As a teen it helped with peer pressure and saved me from some issues. Great life lesson.

To expand on the gas station comment - don't wait until your fuel light is on before you refill. Give yourself the option of driving that 5 extra minutes to a different station, or waiting until the next day vs having to stop for gas late at night.

Thanks for another great video Tessah. Great advice not only for gun safety but also for making good life decisions

Reminds me of Amanda Ripley’s book, “The Unthinkable: Who Survives When Disaster Strikes & Why.” She talks about the reactions one could have when faced with an emergency and specifically calls out the “denial” reaction people often have. When an actual disaster occurs, often people simply fail to recognize it. They deny it; they get stuck in the denial phase. Ripley argues that one key to surviving is understanding our propensity to experience the “denial phase” and, when we notice it, to intentionally choose to instead accept (even “radically accept”) the situation. That concept seems to fit well with what you mentioned in this video with being flagged by a peer; even though you normally “would” be one to leave when faced with an unsafe situation, in the moment you didn’t recognize the gravity of the situation in the same way as you can “with the 20/20 vision that comes with hindsight.” You instead experienced the denial phase, meaning you naturally “denied” the “reality” that at that course, on that day, your life was in danger in a way that’s radically not normal for you. But, when you eventually got past the denial phase (albeit after the incident ended), you could see the situation “more clearly” without the hindrance of the denial phase. Ripley would propose: become aware of the denial phase and make a “pre-made decision” to intentionally move past it; to radically accept the presence of an emergency even when you’re not entirely sure if the situation “really is” an emergency.

We live and learn. Don't beat yourself up too much. You have the right attitude about it, I'd move onto a different club / firearms instructor. My instructor is very serious about safety and something like that would absolutely get someone kicked off the property in no time. Simply unacceptable.

Pre-made decisions, scenarios, etc. are a terrific idea. Toss in rehersal for scenarios you may encounter (home defense, accosted by stranger, etc.) and you're definitely on the right path.

I totally agree.... I would leave and file a complaint to the board of the range!!!👍😧 I have had two ignorant people point pistols directly at me in a home!! I do not have any contact with these people anymore!!!😡 Totally insanity for this to ever happen!!!😤😨👎

Great piece, agreed -- thank you !!

Great video! If you haven't already, would you be comfortable making a video about the incident you were unarmed in and what changed your perspective of conceal carry and has brought you to this point on your journey? My partner is of the mindset "what are the chances" and I am trying to influence her with "what are the stakes".

Time tested good advice.

It's a valid topic. From a professional perspective, create a scenario in your head. Using your training and experience, create a bad case scenario and formulate a plan of reaction. Mentally create any problems (ie: Murphy's Law) that may occur and how you would react over and over. The ultimate result should be survival.

a very good point and a good example, this goes a step further into personal protection and handling an attack. Threat assessment and keeping distance . what do you do if a stranger starts closing distance, and says something that throws your attention off while they continue to close the distance . And the Answer to all of this is drilling and making those predermined decisions. Thanks for sharing. There is always a good take away from your videos

I enjoy and learn a lot from your videos, but none more than this one. Thank you!

This topic of pre-made decisions is one that not enough people realize is extremely important! Knowing what to do is "PART" of training. Things will happen when you least expect them to. I will never allow myself or family be in a place we don't feel safe. A range is no place to risk training in an unsafe environment. My family practices being involved in an active shooter scenario in a mall while shopping. We have a code word we use to go immediately go into the closest store and straight through the back shipping entrance door into the parking lot. Most people will freeze and wait to see what's the loud noise, wasting precious seconds. Get your family out and get them to understand this even if it turns out to be nothing. It took 3 different unexpected drills to get them to act immediately without hesitation! Also carry your pistol and train how to deploy if needed. Semper Fi

Great video. Some advice about you leaving the range for safety reasons. NEVER allow another person's bad behavior ruin your training experience. DEMAND that the person that pointed a gun at you be removed from the training session. If they refuse, then require them to refund your money and take as many people as possible with you when you leave the range. Also don't forget that online ratings make a big difference when it comes to people attending a shooting class especially when it comes to safety violations. Don't just fade away and allow an unsafe class to continue because you may just save a life. Just food for thought.

Had a recent class where an old guy muzzled other students multiple times, the instructor said if you are going to continue to be unsafe we will ask you to leave. Easily was told 3 times prior to not muzzle others, I was contemplating leaving myself but it was a pre requisite course to higher level stuff, nerves were through the roof the remainder of the time.

Agree. However, as a 2xweek shooter (with many formal shooting courses) I have yet to visit any range that is not already riddled with bullet holes in the ceiling, tables, walls, and lane dividers (all negligent discharges). That’s why most ranges have cameras (to prove safety violations and charge that shooter AFTER the ND). If you want to improve you safety, focus on yourself. I wear body armor and I leave when I see them (shooters who put the holes ceilings and walls). All that said, you will drive home 50MPH with a dotted line separating oncoming traffic (often the other driver is drunk,high, suspended license, texting, illegal alien, on the phone, etc). Shooting probably won’t be the danger of the day. 🎉🎉🎉

I had a moment like that back in 2020. Some random dude came RUNNING up my driveway and was basically hiding on the side of my house. Despite him not threatening me or my property, I needed him gone. Call the cops? Pull a gun on him? Sic my pit bulls on him? I foolishly went out to my back deck unarmed and told him he needed to GTFO. He said ok and was gone by the time I made it inside and checked the front perimeter. I kicked myself in the ass later because I had no idea if he had a gun or not and I didn't at least carry ours with me when I confronted him. Lesson learned.

Excellent video!! Pre made choices are so very important and the more you practice the more prepared you are for many different events that could happen in life.

Great video and thank you for sharing your experience As instructors we OWE to our students to take safety seriously. I am glad I only had to deal with it once. After grounding the student for 2 hours and not allowing them to participate in a shooting part and then having a more involved conversation during lunch gave that student time to cool down When he was allowed back in the line, he was a perfect example on what needs to be done. Listened and stayed in touch. Other students also became more attentive You just cannot allow safety go unchecked.

One premade decision after getting my permit was to avoid being anywhere near a protest or any civil unrest. No matter how worthy the cause, it isn't worth it to me to be exposed to the risk of escalation

This was awesome and thought-provoking. Would love to see more of this philosophical type of content in the future

Make decisions now, so you are able to do something later. Good topic 👍👍👍👍

The Lord always protect you🙏🏾

I must say I never thought about it this way. I have to say that, this kind of topic, just about how to carry ourselves in general is more helpful than ANY tactical guru class. I feel like I need OSHA and an efficiency manager to have a look at the liabilities in my life :|

Good idea to think through scenarios in self defense as well. What is your line between compliance and fight during a robbery or assault? I won’t be taken away into a car, I won’t be tied up, I’ll fight at that point. John over on ASP studies this a lot. Good things to think about before the moment.

I completely understand what happened. I was at a small outdoor range shooting at some bowling pins at SD distance. I was aware that another person had come to the range but he suddenly stood right next and bump fired his pistol. Once empty he said "you gotta do that once right". I didn't know how to respond. It was crazy that he bump fired, crazy that he gave me no warning, and crazy that he stood right next to me when the entire range was empty. I was so frazzled over it all I could do was laugh and say yup. At least I made the choice to leave right away but the right choice would have been to scream at the guy, get his ID number, and report him.

Great video!

There's a saying in flying and air sports in general "It's better to be on the ground wishing you were in the sky than up in the sky wishing you were on the ground." It was always used as a deterrent for people who were attempting to put themselves into situations that were well outside of their comfort zones as a consequence of FOMO or peer pressure or whatever else. Tunnel vision maybe. I learned to embrace that mindset the more I was exposed to dangerous situations and conditions throughout my skydiving career. I'll let other people deal with the terrible weather or the poor planning and just go get a smoothie or something, and I'll come back later in the day and jump at sunset when everything has calmed down.

Having zero consequences for safety violations is just unacceptable. There absolutely needed to be an open, public acknowledgement of the problem for everyone's clarification to bring safety to the forefront in that class. I 100% agree that there should've been a more direct and definitive response. I 100% agree that I think AFTER that failure to emphasize safety following the incident you (anybody) should probably leave the event because it clearly shows how little importance the RSO/instructors place on safety, and that having a pre-planned decision point and response is crucial in these types of scenarios. Thank you highlighting the need for everyone to think through how they should react when happens. (here's where the community will turn on me) BUT is the answer really a hard line "perfect safety 100% of the time or you get booted from live fire"? No second chances or opportunity to learn from a mistake? This doesn't sound like a malicious or intentional violation. I wasn't there obviously, but there is a difference between an innocent mistake and blatant recklessness. It sounds like a genuine mistake by an inexperienced, new shooter who NEEDS to learn. When the dog chews up your shoe, you don't lock them up forever without correcting the behavior because that doesn't drive the lesson through correct actions. IN MY OPINION, the better way to handle that would be to call a full stop, cease fire and make a public point of it as a learning opportunity for EVERYONE. Bring safety to the absolute front of the class for EVERYONE, and then get back to the instruction (including the person who made the mistake). In a class, we're ALL students trying to learn. Mistakes happen, especially early on in the training journey. That does NOT excuse the lack of safety, and it certainly does not excuse the lack of an appropriate response by the range/instructor, but it just doesn't seem like a good rule if we're just going to demand there be zero safety violations EVER or you're done permanently. I'm ready for the hate comments.

Agree, had a similar issue with a guys kid shooting at my target, guys next lane mishandling a handgun and leaning forward, angling the handgun to shoot hot brass to me, each time packed it in, went to the desk, stated the facts, and left. Once I attended more often, they would put me in another lane away from the unsafe op and handle it quickly. It can be nerve racking if the RSO on at the time is sleepin'😅

Pre-made decisions are great. Also a safety first mindset. Don’t put yourself in an unnecessary dangerous situation. You might miss out on things, take longer to get places, spend more, ect., but you’ll more likely survive. That should be the priority.

Great content and yes I have made pre made decisions more than more since the summer of 4th to 5th grade. The last whole day of 4th grade I was kidnapped. God put the right people and things in place that I was safely return but I made plans after that my entire life since. A lot of safe plans like counting doors to exist at hotels so in a fire I know which way to get out. Stay level headed in any situation so I can do what needs done and fall apart after. Take my kids to fire demos so if we got in an accident they knew what was going on with the fire crew to get out. And I also run though many scenarios and think what I would do. I listen to that small voice God gives us to keep us safe more than I did when I was 10. We need to live with the sence the good Lord gives us and not say it can't happen to us. We also can't live afraid but we can live prepared. I'm greatfull you stayed safe that day but my rule is" if the gun range isn't safe than my booty is gone". I don't want to get hurt and I don't want someone to have to live with that on their conscience.

I faced a different but similar situation at a range once. Instead of the guy pointing the muzzle at people, what he was doing was picking up the gun in a manner where his pinky finger ended up in front of the muzzle. I did address the guy. He immediately fixed the issue so I chose not to report to the firearms instructor. This resulted in BOTH of us getting kicked off the range for that day. Him for unsafe handling of the firearm, me for not coming to the instructor when I knew something was wrong.

I was at an outdoor range in Miller County, Arkansas. I was shooting paper targets. Guy rolls in with his two young adult sons. One accidentally muzzles me. I immediately pointed my finger at him and tilted it up. He tilted the gun up. I called a cease fire grabbed all my stuff and left the range. There was no safety officer present so I made the choice to leave.

Premade plans and decisions are great. They are great to keep your mind active and for that first decision, but that’s about it. So many people think they can put this multi step scenario and think it will play through, it won’t. There is an old saying in boxing, plans are great until you get punched in the face.

Not right at all. Your definitely right. It’s your life and others who were there.

[TL;DR: Figure out what you will not tolerate, stick with it, and don't worry about it so much. ] One thing I have learned is that regional (and even range-level) customs, practices, etc. vary quite a bit (to include what exactlly is "gun safety") . What is good-to-go on one range is enough to get you booted from another. Hunting methods that are fine in one state are illegal in another and considered in poor taste in a third. One of my favorites is America's insistence on zero alcohol whilst participating in the shooting sports. In some countries in Europe, the built-in infrastructure includes provision for your beer stien and on some ranges in a rather peculiar state the 'No alcohol permitted on range' signs are (in the words of the owner) "Just to keep my insurance agent happy. I'm brining him a beer right now on the rifle range..." I stayed to shoot at the latter range, but I have skeedattled from others when others at the range showed themselves to be a danger.

I’m leaving you tube. I’ll be waiting for post on rumble.

What ammo do you carry

Yes, a thousand times this! Hard safety lines are important in instructional environments, but this is also a good preventative practice for self-defense too.

Customer in a convenience store when it gets robbed. What to do?

No offense... But I don't think you need a premade decision in that instance to know you should have made an issue about the potentially deadly misconduct you witnessed

I was taught the idea to honor and respect the firearm in your hand. B/c these guns at best can gravely injure another, or at worst kill them. They must be handled and respected as such; and if you can’t do that, you shouldn’t have a gun until you understand the concept. This is really just such a shame that happened to you

It IS a huge deal. Since I was a kid, ZERO TOLERANCE for dangerous gun handling. Period. It's how negligent shootings DON'T happen.