As a Pocket gun enthusiast, I shoot them every time I go to the range and I am a range rat that has yearly memberships at three ranges and belong to a club. Shoot a couple of times a week. A lot of talk about which caliber is better. But not much on actually training with the pocket gun.
And Make no mistake, a pocket gun is a defensive weapon no matter what caliber. The biggest mistake people make is the fact that they cannot shoot them worth a hoot. Why? Because they do not train with them. They require frequent, diligent practice and training. Hickcock45 once said. 'They should be for the Advanced shooter".
Over the years, I have seen countless people go to the range and mostly with the Ruger LCP, and to the typical GET THE PROPER FORM AND STANCE, TAKE THEIR TIME, FOCUS ON THE BULLS EYE, AND SLOWLY SQUEEZE THE TRIGGER. One reason why they desire a short light Crisp Striker fired trigger. THEY TREAT THESE GUNS LIKE TARGET GUNS!
They are not, they are for fast action shooting at 3 to 8 yards. And a whole lot of training must go into shooting them. The LCP is one of the worst I have shot. High recoil, a insane muzzle flip or snap. And for that reason a 32.cal is more suited for the LCP. And using the Gen 2 (not LCP ll) with a more deliberate and longer trigger works just great if not better for fast action shooting.
High recoil and a snappy muzzle are not conducive for desirable consistent and frequent training. A 32.cal would be a better choice for frequent training. And accuracy will always trump caliber. And the LCP is not designed for high volume training that you need to do. They will break down like a cheap lawn chair with the constant explosion of the 380 round. They just are not meant for it. A 32.cal would make the gun last much longer, be more mild and hence offer the incentive to train more frequently and of course be more accurate, and much more pleasant to shoot.
Forget Bulls Eye training. Train to draw, and shoot the gun in under 3 seconds and to center mass. If you want a 380 get one built to last a lot of rounds down range. No aluminum guns for the 380.
I train with steel targets, but when I go to the indoor ranges, I will place the gun on the table and as quickly as possible draw and shoot double taps at two or three reactive target set on one larger targets. Go from one target to the next as quick as possible. Mix It up!
Personally I shoot the Beretta Pico. Extremely Mild to shoot, no where near the high muzzle flip and the gun is not only totally reliable, but will hand any hot load you send through it and will shoot a ton of ammo down range with the quality build.
Just one example of going to a range and quickly picking up the Pico and going from one target to the next as rapidly as possible with goal to be under 3 sec. to center mass. Double tap to top then bottom or mix it up.
Just one training example and of course there are others and use steel targets when possible for more advanced training.
On this particular day, a range buddy asked my to try out the ARX ammo. I loaded up a man and fairly quickly shoot a magazine. Taking a little more time than fast action shooting. About 1 sec between shots.
