Bama Belle

April and I had a wonderful yet HOT match at Brock’s Gap this July. (You can see our husbands working hard in the background!) When we got home exhausted, sweaty and stinky, our oldest son asked me why we shoot in the Alabama heat in the middle of summer and while I can’t speak for April, I train in uncomfortable weather because we don’t get to choose the time and place of an attack. This is the whole reason I joined IDPA in the first place! Yes, I can control my situational awareness and staying alert when out and about but as much as I try, I have yet to be able to control anyone else’s actions. (Believe me, I’ve tried!) Out of all the fun gun matches out there, IDPA is the closest to helping prepare yourself for a self-defense situation. The whole idea is to practice with your carry gun, mentally prepare yourself for crazy scenarios and shoot under pressure. And while I pray I never have to draw in defense of myself or someone I love, I want to be the most prepared I can possibly be if that day ever does arrive. We are our own first responders and responsible for our safety first and foremost! As we get closer to the Bama Belle and Bama Bo shoot, we’ll be inviting police departments to come join us because they need this added stress factor to their practice as well. We all do.

Am reminded of a story by a dear friend of mine, Kim. If you’re local here in central Alabama, you’ve probably met her at a match or at the gun range training. She tells of the time when she needed her pistol but didn’t have it on her initially (that’s a whole other story) – and then her physiological response of intense sweating was so much that when she was holding her gun, it was extremely slippery. (No hand chalk out in the real world!) Thankfully, she didn’t need to use her firearm and everything ended well but she sure started training more and includes time out in not so ideal weather conditions.

As summer starts coming to its end, I am definitely looking forward to the cooler weather and when it gets colder, this year I’m going to start practicing with gloves because I wear gloves in the winter. Have been looking at some 5.11 gloves but am open to hearing about brands you all like! This might be overkill but when I do find a great pair for the range, I’ll buy another set to wear with my winter gear for my every day life. Recently switched my edc firearm to what I am currently competing with – an H&K VP9 A1. If for whatever reason I am forced to draw in self-defense, gloves or no gloves, heat, cold or rain will be one less physical hinderance to overcome in the fight for survival. I want my firearm and anything on my hands to be what’s most comfortable so that my brain knows exactly what to feel and expect from that draw to first shots. This is why we practice, practice, practice.

Hope to see you all out on the range soon! Let me know how you train to survive the fight on the street and any gear you always carry with you (besides your edc – hopefully that’s a given of being on you).

-Amandalyn Barr

Match Director Bama Bo & Bama Belle

Co-owner Timberline Security Solutions http://www.tssalabama.com