Practice

lefteye · January 14, 2017, 09:31 PM

Assuming a person has a life that occupies most of their time, e.g., job, family, home, automobile, yard, pets, etc., what is an appropriate frequency for self-defense handgun practice?

Deaf Smith · January 15, 2017, 12:17 AM

With appropriate drills to simulate the presentation under varied circumstances, dry firing, and live firing on a range, I'd say 100 rounds a month in actual ammo.

BUT, this means hours of practicing draws, reloads, moving to cover, moving from cover, retention simulation, weak hand techniques, dry firing to go along with the range time.

Deaf

kenny53 · January 15, 2017, 12:02 PM

I shoot a couple times a month, but really defense situations not so much.

ShootistPRS · January 15, 2017, 01:02 PM

If you plan to carry concealed it is more important to train more. The more training the more likely you are to retain the muscle memory and actually be able to hit a target under stress.
Deaf Smith's advice is very good. I will make one addition, more to clarify than to add or subtract from what he says.
For every live fire round at the range you should be dry firing at least twice. 100 rounds at the range and at least two hundred rounds of dry fire at home. This is monthly so if you practice daily it is just a few rounds per day. Use targets that surprise you and limit your reaction time. Separate your targets and vary the distance as you improve.

T. O'Heir · January 17, 2017, 02:21 PM

As often as you think you need. Dry firing is practice for sight picture, breathing and trigger control. Fun, but doesn't take the place of live fire with your carry ammo.
"...automobile, yard..." The what? snicker.
"...BUT, this means..." Most of that applies to the shooting games but not real life. Game playing drills are not training or practice for anything but the games. SD doesn't mean you're going into combat.
If you've allowed a BG to get close enough that 'retention' becomes an issue you're tactics didn't work. Ditto if you need to reload or need to move at all(you should be behind cover, not just concealment, from the get go). If you're shot or otherwise damaged(even not seriously) you will lose interest in anything else. 'Weak hand techniques' are the shooting games and movies/TV, not reality.
Mind you, adrenaline does a lot of things. Knew a guy who walked off the Dieppe beach with 8 bullet holes in him. One of which was a compound leg fracture, he didn't know about until the MO on the ship asked him how he got off the beach. But under most situations, when you get damaged, you stop. You do not change hands and keep going.

DMK · January 17, 2017, 03:38 PM

Quote:

"...BUT, this means..." Most of that applies to the shooting games but not real life. Game playing drills are not training or practice for anything but the games. SD doesn't mean you're going into combat.

Self defense is very much combat. It's a fight for your life. If there is not a imminent threat to your life then you have no business using deadly force and will be judged accordingly by a jury of your peers.

Quote:

If you've allowed a BG to get close enough that 'retention' becomes an issue you're tactics didn't work. Ditto if you need to reload or need to move at all(you should be behind cover, not just concealment, from the get go). If you're shot or otherwise damaged(even not seriously) you will lose interest in anything else. 'Weak hand techniques' are the shooting games and movies/TV, not reality.
Mind you, adrenaline does a lot of things. Knew a guy who walked off the Dieppe beach with 8 bullet holes in him. One of which was a compound leg fracture, he didn't know about until the MO on the ship asked him how he got off the beach. But under most situations, when you get damaged, you stop. You do not change hands and keep going.

I must be misunderstanding what you're saying here, but are you actually suggesting that one should just give up if they are too wounded to use their strong arm?

stephen426 · January 17, 2017, 04:57 PM

I had set a (self-imposed) requirement of going at least once every 2 months. I average about 200-250 rounds per trip. My "skill" (accuracy) didn't really degrade much even when I got super busy with work and frequency dropped to twice a year. I wouldn't say I was as familiar with the weapon, but overall muscle memory had already developed from years of shooting.

I have written this on various posts, but I highly recommend that you buy a decent airsoft gun that comes as close as possible to your carry gun. Take the practice seriously and work on drawing from concealment and point shooting. I think those are some of the most important drills since your weapon is useless unless you can get it into play and make good hits quickly. Very few ranges allow you to draw from concealment anyways.

As noted in previous posts, you should also practice drawing and dry firing with your UNLOADED carry gun. You won't have a visual confirmation of where you hit unless you buy a laser system that goes in your gun.

Good practice is important, but most of us have multiple obligations including work and family. Stuff you can do at home without live fire will greatly supplement your occasional trips to the range.

ShootistPRS · January 19, 2017, 02:07 PM

Dry fire practice drills into your muscle memory sight and target acquisition and trigger control. It helps prevent flinch gets you more familiar with your gun.

January 14, 2017, 09:31 PM	#1
lefteye Senior Member Join Date: January 30, 2006 Posts: 1,433	Practice Assuming a person has a life that occupies most of their time, e.g., job, family, home, automobile, yard, pets, etc., what is an appropriate frequency for self-defense handgun practice? __________________ Vietnam Veteran ('69-'70) NRA Life Member RMEF Life Member

January 15, 2017, 12:17 AM	#2
Deaf Smith Senior Member Join Date: October 31, 2000 Location: Texican! Posts: 4,453	With appropriate drills to simulate the presentation under varied circumstances, dry firing, and live firing on a range, I'd say 100 rounds a month in actual ammo. BUT, this means hours of practicing draws, reloads, moving to cover, moving from cover, retention simulation, weak hand techniques, dry firing to go along with the range time. Deaf __________________ “To you who call yourselves ‘men of peace,’ I say, you are not safe without men of action by your side” Thucydides

January 17, 2017, 02:21 PM	#5
T. O'Heir Senior Member Join Date: February 13, 2002 Location: Canada Posts: 12,453	As often as you think you need. Dry firing is practice for sight picture, breathing and trigger control. Fun, but doesn't take the place of live fire with your carry ammo. "...automobile, yard..." The what? snicker. "...BUT, this means..." Most of that applies to the shooting games but not real life. Game playing drills are not training or practice for anything but the games. SD doesn't mean you're going into combat. If you've allowed a BG to get close enough that 'retention' becomes an issue you're tactics didn't work. Ditto if you need to reload or need to move at all(you should be behind cover, not just concealment, from the get go). If you're shot or otherwise damaged(even not seriously) you will lose interest in anything else. 'Weak hand techniques' are the shooting games and movies/TV, not reality. Mind you, adrenaline does a lot of things. Knew a guy who walked off the Dieppe beach with 8 bullet holes in him. One of which was a compound leg fracture, he didn't know about until the MO on the ship asked him how he got off the beach. But under most situations, when you get damaged, you stop. You do not change hands and keep going. __________________ Spelling and grammar count!

January 17, 2017, 04:57 PM	#7
stephen426 Senior Member Join Date: March 11, 2005 Posts: 3,840	I had set a (self-imposed) requirement of going at least once every 2 months. I average about 200-250 rounds per trip. My "skill" (accuracy) didn't really degrade much even when I got super busy with work and frequency dropped to twice a year. I wouldn't say I was as familiar with the weapon, but overall muscle memory had already developed from years of shooting. I have written this on various posts, but I highly recommend that you buy a decent airsoft gun that comes as close as possible to your carry gun. Take the practice seriously and work on drawing from concealment and point shooting. I think those are some of the most important drills since your weapon is useless unless you can get it into play and make good hits quickly. Very few ranges allow you to draw from concealment anyways. As noted in previous posts, you should also practice drawing and dry firing with your UNLOADED carry gun. You won't have a visual confirmation of where you hit unless you buy a laser system that goes in your gun. Good practice is important, but most of us have multiple obligations including work and family. Stuff you can do at home without live fire will greatly supplement your occasional trips to the range. __________________ The ATF should be a convenience store instead of a government agency!

January 15, 2017, 12:02 PM	#3
kenny53 Senior Member Join Date: December 30, 2015 Location: My back yard Posts: 971	I shoot a couple times a month, but really defense situations not so much.

January 15, 2017, 01:02 PM	#4
ShootistPRS Senior Member Join Date: January 3, 2017 Posts: 1,583	If you plan to carry concealed it is more important to train more. The more training the more likely you are to retain the muscle memory and actually be able to hit a target under stress. Deaf Smith's advice is very good. I will make one addition, more to clarify than to add or subtract from what he says. For every live fire round at the range you should be dry firing at least twice. 100 rounds at the range and at least two hundred rounds of dry fire at home. This is monthly so if you practice daily it is just a few rounds per day. Use targets that surprise you and limit your reaction time. Separate your targets and vary the distance as you improve.

January 19, 2017, 02:07 PM	#8
ShootistPRS Senior Member Join Date: January 3, 2017 Posts: 1,583	Dry fire practice drills into your muscle memory sight and target acquisition and trigger control. It helps prevent flinch gets you more familiar with your gun.