Posted: 10/1/2009 6:43:28 AM EDT
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I'm curious to know what the best method(s) would be to practice shooting my pistol?
I've had several say to practice at 3,5,7,15,25 in intervals ,ect. So I'm curious what the best regiment would be to practice , to get good 'enough' with my pistol, as I'm getting a CCW here soon, and have seen quite a few instances where IPSC type guys have done well when involved in a shooting. Any ideas/suggestions would be greatly appreciated. |
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Assuming you are talking defensive shooting...
I'm no expert but here's my opinion: Learn to walk before you run. Learn to make hits first with better than your desired defensive accuracy in a target shooting type setting. i.e. Practice the basics of trigger control and sight alignment. While you are working on target shooting, with an empty gun practice drawing, pointing, and dry firing at a point in good form. Then about the time you can hit the target accurately you will have done enough dry fire practice that you can combine the two at a slow pace. Then work up from there to your desired level of skill. Just make sure everything is practiced with an empty gun first, since it is very embarassing not to mention debilatating to shoot yourself. |
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everyone talks about practice/learning, but no one talks about the flip side of it. - bad habbits.
yes, practice what you can but eventually get some professional help. you dont have to use them now, but seek them out and chat with them to find one you may like to get some pointers from. if you get into some bad habbits, they can be difficult to eliminate. having a second pair of eyes on you and your techniques may curb some. but if you get too far along, they may get too ingrained. just my 0.02 |
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Sounds good but also practice "drawing" and magazine changes. Load 2-3 rounds in a magazine to practice drawing, firing and magazine changes.  Add drawing from concealment to this and +1. Get some professional training. You have no idea how valuable it is until you do it. |
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Get professional training. Practice what you learned. Repeat. this also, it would help if you mentally "know" what you are practicing for...some practice for competitions, some just want to practice marksmanship, others practice to save thier lives––decide WHAT you want to focus on and go from there basics and fundamentals are everything h.w |
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Would snap caps be the best idea to practice dry firing (I really don't want to mess it up). Depending on what pistol you have we can argue all day about whether or not they are necessary. I think they're a good idea. Go ahead and get them; they're also useful for practicing malfunction clearing. |
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Here are some of the points I used and others have stated here.....
-Spend alot of time on the Todd Jarrett and Brian Enos videos/websites/forums. There is one that Todd did on correct grip that is great. It helped me alot. -Spend alot of money on ammo. -Spend even more money on a class or private instruction. -Front sight should be 100% in focus. Rear sight and target will be out of focus. Your carrot intake and the distance you sit away from the TV determines the amount of out-of-focus (joke) -Trigger control and flinching should improve with concentration and time. I spent my first years shooting / learning at indoor ranges. I wish I started outdoors. It took me a long time to get rid of the flinch. -Practice drawing from cover with the same correct grip every time, same way, same way, same way. -Make sure you don't use too much finger on the trigger, just the tip of the pad. -Dryfire, Dryfire, Dryfire (check if your pistol needs some type of snap cap). My shooting improved 10 fold when I joined the IDPA and started shooting matches. Some may have opinions about different clubs / groups / styles, but the IDPA seems to fit into my needs. I was nervous about the first match and did not shoot it to well (I did shoot it safely). After that alot of things started to click. Every match I attend, I consider practice. NOTE: Don't try to do your best when shooting the IDPA classifier......I should actually charge for this pointer.....I could kick myself in the ass. Some may disagree...... |
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In addition to all of the basics: start shooting practical/action pistol matches. USPSA, IDPA, SCSA, whatever.
They will help to significantly bolster your fundamentals, plus give you more opportunity to work with things like shooting on the move, transitions between multiple targets at different distances, etc. And even if you don't care about the competitive aspect, simply being under the clock tends to add at least some extra stress factor that isn't there on a static range. |
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Quoted:
I'm curious to know what the best method(s) would be to practice shooting my pistol? I've had several say to practice at 3,5,7,15,25 in intervals ,ect. So I'm curious what the best regiment would be to practice , to get good 'enough' with my pistol, as I'm getting a CCW here soon, and have seen quite a few instances where IPSC type guys have done well when involved in a shooting. Any ideas/suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Figure out what you want to do. Not just "shoot better" but some specific goals. I wanna shoot X drill in Y time. I wanna finish in the top 10 in my local IDPA match. I wanna shoot a 3" 5 shot group at 10 yards. Then figure out what resources you can use to work towards your goals. How much ammo can you afford to shoot each month? How many trips to the range?. How much time can you devote to each range trip? Does your range allow drawing from the holster? Once you have these things figured out, you can set goals that you can achieve in a 6 month time frame. Then you can find or create drills to help you practice and achieve your goals. Here are some good books to look at. "Shooting from Within" by Plaxco. This is primarily an IPSC book but most of his shooting technique stuff translates to defensive shooting. "Perfect Practice" by Saul Kirsch. This is full of practice drills, also IPSC based but very good for any practice. "Refinement and Repetition" by Steve Anderson. All kinds of dryfire drills. Of course, you can find all kinds of drills on the web, Benos and pistol-training.com have a lot of good ones. What I'm trying to say with all of this is don't just go out, shoot stuff and waste ammo every trip to the range, figure out some goals and work towards them. Set new goals when you achieve the old ones. Write down a practice plan before each practice and stick to it. Figure out what needs improvement and work on that for your next practice plan. And if you get a chance, take a class or 2. Gringop |
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Another good resource for handgun training is the drills page of pistol-training.com, especially the ball and dummy drill and wall drill.
I'd also suggest getting training early on. I picked up a few bad habits that I am still unlearning; If I had worked with an instructor early on, I would probably be a much better shot than I am now. |
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One thing I have recently started practicing is, literally, "shooting from the hip." Most defensive shoots occur within seven feet of your opponent; most of these will be from within arm's reach. After all, most people are trying to hurt you, right? And they want to get close enough to do so. So, having gotten good at some "point-and-shoot" (for distances out to 20 feet) and sight alignment for distances beyond that, I'm now devoting about 25% of my practice time to being able to shoot from the hip.
Also, study MOVEMENT. My instructor taught me to move while shooting. If both you and your opponent have guns, even if you get off a crippling shot, your opponent is likely to do so, also. If you are moving, you dramatically increase your chances of survival. Here are some links about this subject: Handguns Magazine article PoliceOne.com lawofficer.com |
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Would snap caps be the best idea to practice dry firing (I really don't want to mess it up). Most modern centerfire handguns* can be dry-fired all day without ill effect. The value of snapcaps is that they simulate dud bullets, and therefore are valuable for simulating a misfire. I like to mix one or two of them in my magazine and shoot till the gun fails; rack the slide to get rid of the faulty round, then continue firing. *.22 caliber rifles and pistols MUST NOT be dry-fired; doing so will damage the firing pin. |
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*.22 caliber rifles and pistols MUST NOT be dry-fired; doing so will damage the firing pin. While applicable to a degree, it's an over-generalization to apply it to all rimfires. For example, Ruger pistols are perfectly fine to dry-fire; they are engineered with a stop that prevents the firing pin from impacting the breech face on an empty chamber. Some Buckmarks are fine as well - though they differ from gun to gun, and one must examine a particular pistol and determine if it requires snap caps or not. When in doubt, though, yes - don't dry fire a rimfire without snap caps. |
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*.22 caliber rifles and pistols MUST NOT be dry-fired; doing so will damage the firing pin. While applicable to a degree, it's an over-generalization to apply it to all rimfires. For example, Ruger pistols are perfectly fine to dry-fire; they are engineered with a stop that prevents the firing pin from impacting the breech face on an empty chamber. Some Buckmarks are fine as well - though they differ from gun to gun, and one must examine a particular pistol and determine if it requires snap caps or not. When in doubt, though, yes - don't dry fire a rimfire without snap caps. Absolutely. The Ruger Mk III and the 22/45 were set up so that you can dry fire it all day without damage. I confirmed this w Ruger before I bought. Great point, many still do not know this. Oh well. billy boy |