Hello all, here is today's article posted on TheArmoryLife.com. It is titled “Expert Tips for Accurate Shooting” and can be found at https://www.thearmorylife.com/expert-tips-for-accurate-shooting/.
Expert Tips for Accurate Shooting
- Thread starter Mike H.
- Start date
OK lets go easy on the writer...I remember having to blast out a page or so report for my masters degree after a long night of partying and debauchery.
So ....could I do better.
YES. three of the most important things people seem to ignore about any reflex action is
1. Practice to make the action natural . Dry fire Dry Fire Dry fire.
Its the same with any response that needs to be faster than thinking about it. In the fire service getting dressed out, putting on your gear, running a failure drill are things that must be able to be done almost by rote memory. Same with drawing a firing a weapon. To ignore the reality that when you truly have to use the weapon you are most likely in a time crunch hole means that those first shots need to be accurate, and repeatable.
2. Understand the techniques of less than normal positions. Let's be honest...Am I going to run into my trouble standing relaxed on a street with the target between exactly 7 and 10 yards away? NO so the important practices a shooter needs to be able to use is know what is it like on your back, or side, or from the hip or point blank or being attacked.
Does this mean the shooter will master all of these positions? No but what it does mean is the shooter will become more confident, more comfortable, and much more aware of their ability.
In the days before DEI in public safety one of the drills fire recruits and even veterans went through was a flashover drill. Today they watch it in a nice safe training container. In the 80s and 90s it was a simple as crawl in a house watch as the fire grows and flashes over. We started without air packs (so we learned to feel the heat) then came back with gear but we were taught to sense what was happening. The result I saved teams from 2 potential flashovers but as I gained experience in that and other "intentional fail" classes (yes it hurts your feelings to fail....but if you learn from it its makes you live longer) was confidence and more calmness in doing my job.
3. AND this is one of the big ones. Learn to be situationally aware. Practice sitting in a crowd and watching people. Learn good and bad signs. "But how does this improve my shooting?" You may ask. Well it improves it by making it less likely you will suddenly find yourself 7 to 10 yards from an attacker and have to use the skills in #1 and #2. A few years ago I was in a parking garage late at night. I always scan as I walk, honestly it beats checking if Muffy and Chad enjoyed Starpukes on Fakebook. I saw a rather unique couple of chaps skulking in the shadows. It allowed me to calmly inform sweetie that we might have an issue. And then I locked eyes on the two fallen lads. I saw them coming from the side of an old hooptie car...and I locked eyes on them...As they neared me I slowly reached to my right side where my conceal carry weapon was....Well Thug #1 saw i was NOT scared and mentioned it to Thug #2 who agreed that a tactical retreat was necessary.....What they saw was a ready non panicked potential victim who probably would fight back. As a result sweetie and I got in the car and drove away....(we did mention it to the police officer at the garage entrance....
But lets review...1. Train till the Good reaction (remember proper training makes proper response) is natural so you will be more calm about the situation. 2. Occasionally train in unusual stuff so you at least have a grasp of what you may need to do thus making your normal situation easier. 3. Learn to use situational awareness to give you more time, and more distance thus reducing the need for 1 and 2 hopefully.
So ....could I do better.
YES. three of the most important things people seem to ignore about any reflex action is
1. Practice to make the action natural . Dry fire Dry Fire Dry fire.
Its the same with any response that needs to be faster than thinking about it. In the fire service getting dressed out, putting on your gear, running a failure drill are things that must be able to be done almost by rote memory. Same with drawing a firing a weapon. To ignore the reality that when you truly have to use the weapon you are most likely in a time crunch hole means that those first shots need to be accurate, and repeatable.
2. Understand the techniques of less than normal positions. Let's be honest...Am I going to run into my trouble standing relaxed on a street with the target between exactly 7 and 10 yards away? NO so the important practices a shooter needs to be able to use is know what is it like on your back, or side, or from the hip or point blank or being attacked.
Does this mean the shooter will master all of these positions? No but what it does mean is the shooter will become more confident, more comfortable, and much more aware of their ability.
In the days before DEI in public safety one of the drills fire recruits and even veterans went through was a flashover drill. Today they watch it in a nice safe training container. In the 80s and 90s it was a simple as crawl in a house watch as the fire grows and flashes over. We started without air packs (so we learned to feel the heat) then came back with gear but we were taught to sense what was happening. The result I saved teams from 2 potential flashovers but as I gained experience in that and other "intentional fail" classes (yes it hurts your feelings to fail....but if you learn from it its makes you live longer) was confidence and more calmness in doing my job.
3. AND this is one of the big ones. Learn to be situationally aware. Practice sitting in a crowd and watching people. Learn good and bad signs. "But how does this improve my shooting?" You may ask. Well it improves it by making it less likely you will suddenly find yourself 7 to 10 yards from an attacker and have to use the skills in #1 and #2. A few years ago I was in a parking garage late at night. I always scan as I walk, honestly it beats checking if Muffy and Chad enjoyed Starpukes on Fakebook. I saw a rather unique couple of chaps skulking in the shadows. It allowed me to calmly inform sweetie that we might have an issue. And then I locked eyes on the two fallen lads. I saw them coming from the side of an old hooptie car...and I locked eyes on them...As they neared me I slowly reached to my right side where my conceal carry weapon was....Well Thug #1 saw i was NOT scared and mentioned it to Thug #2 who agreed that a tactical retreat was necessary.....What they saw was a ready non panicked potential victim who probably would fight back. As a result sweetie and I got in the car and drove away....(we did mention it to the police officer at the garage entrance....
But lets review...1. Train till the Good reaction (remember proper training makes proper response) is natural so you will be more calm about the situation. 2. Occasionally train in unusual stuff so you at least have a grasp of what you may need to do thus making your normal situation easier. 3. Learn to use situational awareness to give you more time, and more distance thus reducing the need for 1 and 2 hopefully.
WheelingHilda
Elite
Never see tips for disabled shooter-77 and in wheelchair-any tips?
BassCliff
Professional
Hi,
I thought I'd read an article or two. Here are a couple. I'm sure there are more.
www.pewpewtactical.com
www.pewpewtactical.com
Thank you for your indulgence,
BassCliff
I thought I'd read an article or two. Here are a couple. I'm sure there are more.
6 Helpful Tips for Disabled Shooters
Do you or a loved one suffer from a disability that makes it difficult to use firearms? Fortunately, there are techniques and accessories that can help.
www.pewpewtactical.com
Best Guns & Gear for Disabled Shooters
If you or a loved one are disabled, finding adaptive guns and gear that work can be a struggle. That's why we've gathered the best guns and gear out there.
www.pewpewtactical.com
Thank you for your indulgence,
BassCliff
Blackfeather
Custom
Be the bullet.
WheelingHilda
Elite
How thoughtful, lots of great info, thanks for doing the work to share. I have lots of trouble with Hellcat Pro slide and hope to see about the slide pull. Being petite I have trouble really concealing my gun and weal a vest over it. Also sometime hope to get a red dot but wonder if it would really help in emergency shooting. Also hope I have time to lock my chair before shooting in a crises. Thanks for your thoughtfulness.Hanggliding mishap totaled my knees and with antibiotic allergy's no repair surgery. Thanks, Blessings.
Attachments
WheelingHilda
Elite
Just looked up the slide pull and can only find for Glock but saw something about a TacRack to look into. With arthrites and M.S. the slide is the hardest part of the gun for me. Did get the LakeLineLLC extended slide release put on-around $45 and gunsmith charge. I really am grateful for the articles. Thanks Again.
Annihilator
Emissary
TacRack for Springfield Hellcat
Check out the deal on TacRack for Springfield Hellcat at MSP - Mounting Solutions Plus
www.mountsplus.com
Look here, think it should fit your pro..
Bassbob
Emissary
My opinion, and I am a red dot acolyte, is that in your situation a red dot is likely completely unnecessary. I think any SD circumstance you would find yourself in is going to be very up close and personal. The odds of you even needing iron sights are slim. Your number one be priority should be accessing and presenting your weapon as quickly as possible.
WheelingHilda
Elite
Thanks, looks good. Thanks for taking the time to help. Blessings.TacRack for Springfield Hellcat
Check out the deal on TacRack for Springfield Hellcat at MSP - Mounting Solutions Plus
Look here, think it should fit your pro..
WheelingHilda
Elite
Yep, I often put the range target 3 feet away. Scary to think of someone so close. Not deadly force but have had kids knock cans of stuff of shelf from behind me ONTO my head, had shopping carts sent speeding towards me, been pulled out of shopping line "Your sitting, I can't stand all day" Had stuff pushed off my lap by kids running by and required stitches in leg. My little Chi is a medication alert service dog and a lady came up to me and said how cute he is and that she could take better care of him and try to grab him. I need an electric chair-less hands on & faster. Anyway, thanks Bob, red Dot not necessary.
rcurtner
Professional
Going to change my training from trying to shoot small groups with handguns on bullseye type targets. Gonna start using IDPA targets focusing on speed while trying to keep my rounds center mass. Making double and triple taps with what I guess can be called combat accuracy. Also want to use multiple targets with movement. Don't move too fast now but not giving my attacker a static target makes good sense. Would like to use something simulating firing from concealment/cover but my range rules don't allow it. If our weather holds up plan to start this training next week. There's a chance hurricane Beryl may hit South Texas.
Bassbob
Emissary
If I may? Start out with 3 targets. I use cardboard cut outs of IDPA silhouettes. Well, I don’t know if they’re IDPA actually. They’re about 16” or so. Then staple a 3X5 index card on each one. Or if you want you can just use a piece of typing paper and draw a roughly 4” circle on it. Get a timer. A shooting buddy helps but you can do this without one. At the beep, from draw, put 2 rounds in each circle in whatever order you want. Left to right or whatever. When you get your time under 2 seconds and all good hits you can start spacing the targets out. One at 7, one at 10, one at 15 etc.
Then you can stretch out further and incorporate steel targets and transition to carbine and shotgun etc.
When you feel comfortable, getting mostly good hits on the small circles you can start working on movement. There’s a lot to consider when incorporating movement into these drills. You’re going to need room and you’re probably going to want the range to yourself or you and a buddy. Start slow. Don’t cross over your feet. To start with I would have no obstacles around you that could trip you up. When you find yourself making mostly good hits you can move with more urgency. And you can start incorporating obstacles. Remember trigger discipline at all times and use your feet and if you need to your support hand to find and avoid or utilize obstacles or cover. Mind your steps and don’t cross your legs over each other. That’s important.
The idea is to gradually get used to scoring hits while moving. Eventually you can get to where you’re scoring good hits while you’re moving AND your target is moving, but this requires a buddy or instructor and mobile targets. The ones we use have a rubber torso on a pole on top of what can best be described as a box on wheels that is controlled remotely.
I’ll take this stuff over bullseye shooting any day.
rcurtner
Professional
Some really good info. My club range has pretty severe limits on what you can & can't do. You have to remember I'm 77 yoa and have medical issues so I do have limits. I do all of my training on the 15 meter range with only two target stands and not allowed to bring my own. I would like to incorporate much of what you layed out with modifications. I have about 150 cardboard IDPA targets from when I competed. We are not allowed to draw from holsters. I do have a PACT shot timer but will have to activate it from a low ready position. Depending on weather will start this training hopefully next week. Thanks man.
SimonRL
Hellcat
I think covering all the bases is the way to go. Sometimes shooting on a small target can be frustrating because everything outside that target is a “failure”. An IDPA target A zone feels like shooting a billboard in comparison and is much more conducive to successful rapid fire shooting and movement because the level of accuracy is so much more flexible.
It’s when you bring it all together that thing get so rewarding. I was doing a course with programmed moving targets and the instructor was going on about making good shots under stress and when it was my turn he was giving it the bigun’ and as the target turned toward me I drilled it dead center at 15yds. The talking stopped and I put my gun down. I find it stressful shooting IDPA or steel targets because it feels like cheating.
It’s when you bring it all together that thing get so rewarding. I was doing a course with programmed moving targets and the instructor was going on about making good shots under stress and when it was my turn he was giving it the bigun’ and as the target turned toward me I drilled it dead center at 15yds. The talking stopped and I put my gun down. I find it stressful shooting IDPA or steel targets because it feels like cheating.
SimonRL
Hellcat
BTW, I like to train with these targets. They tick all of my boxes.
Law Enforcement Targets | Action Target : M3 Strategies Multi-Purpose Training Target (Version 3)
M3 Strategies Multi-Purpose Training Target (Version 3)
shop.actiontarget.com
rcurtner
Professional
I competed in tactical competitions for many, many years. I have let old age bite me on the ****, trying to come back
I'll take a hard look at these as my training progresses. ThanksBTW, I like to train with these targets. They tick all of my boxes.
View attachment 61412
Law Enforcement Targets | Action Target : M3 Strategies Multi-Purpose Training Target (Version 3)
M3 Strategies Multi-Purpose Training Target (Version 3)