One of the things we’re learning from the instructors at Gunsite this week is that armed robbers expect compliance, and when they don’t immediately get it, interesting things happen:

A robber dropped his pistol and wallet after his intended victim confronted him with his own gun, police said.

The victim reported that at about 12:20 a.m. on Sunday, a man entered his apartment in the 2200 block of Golf Road Southwest and pointed his pistol at the occupants. One of the occupants then confronted the robber with a pistol.

The robber started backing out of the apartment, tripped, fell, dropped his pistol and his wallet, which he left behind when he fled, Huntsville police said.

As a general rule, criminals are not highly trained gun fighters, nor are they especially brave. If they intend to get violent, and you have the training and equipment (a firearm), and the mindset, you can potentially turn the tables on them quickly.

What I’m learning here at Gunsite this week, however, is that most people don’t have that level of training, yet. But it is out there, and it is obtainable by average shooters who are willing to dedicate the time and effort to train.