Gun owners can prepare on a range to simulate a situation where an emergency draw is necessary, but range preparation can only do so much.
U.S. Law Shield of Kentucky chose to change that using the Virtual Tactical Academy, a simulated training program that gives participants the chance make split-second decisions in crisis situations on when to use a firearm or not in self defense.
The course was run by Virtual Tactical Academy President Austin Davis. Davis had 25 of 822 possible scenarios programmed for the day’s participants. The simulation allows for the instructor to change the outcome of a scenario the student is experiencing as the situation is happening in “real time”. Training participants could encounter scenarios such as someone moving inside of a home, a person being robbed or assaulted in a car, or being stopped for money by someone outside of a building.
“It’s really hard to have realistic training when there are real bullets involved, said Davis. “This kind of training can teach you the five skillsets you need: knowing if and when you can shoot someone, if you can give a verbal command, if you can put cover and conceal between you and the thing that wants to hurt you, practicing your 911 call and how to interact with police when they show up.”
“Everybody thinks they have an idea of how they will deal with a situation, but as the training demonstrated tonight no one is ever quite ready for it,”said Taylor Lee, a participant at the event who went through three iterations of the simulation.
According to U.S. Law Shield of Kentucky District Manager Tim Collins, the most important thing for firearm owners is to know their rights, be trained and act responsibly when carrying a firearm.
