[nsf003]

I shoot boxes and targets in the backyard about 1-2 times a month. There are no ranges near me. LFI, Frontsight, etc.. are too expensive right now. How can I train for the possibility of a self defense shooting?

nsf

[Blackhawk]

Pulling the trigger is one of MANY things that make up an SD shooting. There's situational awareness, drawing, speed, target acquisition, and a pile of others.

Outline them all, then practice them all individually, then all together. A mirror and video camera help. You'll be awkward. Get smooth and fast. Then practice at a range with live ammo or in your backyard, you lucky sucker! :D

[10-Ring]

As silly as you might feel in the beginning, remember to strive for perfect practice. You will perform like you practice! Getting the repetitions in & building the muscle memory is important. Dry fire practice will help you out as well. Then when you can get to the range, the time spent there will be more productive.

[Duke of Lawnchair]

10-ring's approach is the approach I'd take. Wait, matter of fact, it WAS the approach I took!!

[trapshooter]

For the average joe (non-LE), knowing when to shoot is real important. Mind-set is something you can work on. But, marksmanship is a key element. You really want to hit what you shoot at, assuming everything else is cool.

You can practice marksmanship by dry-firing, or live shooting at any target small enough to make things interesting. Just because you don't use a 'range', doesn't make it ineffective.

[WESHOOT2]

Train your mind.

[blades67]

Every day. Like your life depends on it (you never know, it just might).

[Texas Bob]

Nothing beats competition for training. Find just one friend and an electronic timer and the two of you can shoot it out at opposing targets in your backyard.:)

[P95Carry]

Nothing I guess replaces practice .. never will. havin said that .. over the many years I shot competitively .. much of that from the leather ... there is still a good imprint, despite my practice bein too infrequent these days.

Much has to do with the ''instinct'' ... and for newer CCW's I would sure emphasize the practice. For ole farts like me .. it is still very important but ... there is still that aspect of having once learded to ride a bicycle .. you never forget. get a tad rusty maybe but .. years of shooting do leave their effect.

Still ... must get to range again, real soon.!! Dry fire has it's limitations.

[Edward429451]

Good advice so far but I'd add to not try to be fast. Go for smoothness and 'economy of motion'. Pay attention to your draw and watch to see if you can trim your movements down to minimum required to get on target. Practice the minimum movement draw a couple thousand times and the speed will come by itself!

Its not practice makes perfect. It's perfect practice makes perfect. I like that!

I've been training double taps COM but late breaking info indicates I should be training on the 'failure to stop' drills also ( DT COM followed by a head shot) in case the DT dont stop them!

Haven't in a while but used to train some drawing and putting a DT or TT on target (3-4 ft.) while falling to my back. (in case the are on top of me)

Some guy, Rick something? in G&A used to do a colum on different drills. Pretty good stuff if you dig thru some old issues and find some.

[nsf003]

I guess that's what I'll be doing this summer.

nsf

[CWL]

If you are going to train by yourself (and we'll assume ALL SAFETY precautions are taken), practice movement.

Hang targets at an angle, partially obscured is also good. Practice shooting failure drills while moving.
Move forward while shooting, move backwards while shooting, sideways, etc. Learn to move while crouched, learn to take proper heel-toe forward and toe-heel backwards movement, crabwalk sideways. Speed of movement is not as important as steady movement. -If you can set up a moving/swinging target, then do it, but if all you can do is move yourself, then this is as good as you can do.

Then practice how to change magazines while moving, never stay still when changing mags -actually, never stay still during a gunfight (unless barricaded).

If you can swing this safely, then try this at night with flashlight.

I don't think you need to practice at greater ranges than 15 yards to start, you may want to increase this distance after a few thousand rounds of practice.

This said, I suggest you find some local trainers to teach you these basics before doing them yourself.

[nsf003]

What is a failure drill? I shoot a Taurus 357(main gun, the one i shoot most), a Ruger 9mm(parents gun, must be proficient with all), and a Taurus 22(backup). Does a failure drill pertain only to semiautos, meaning a jam?

nsf

[Texas Bob]

Revolvers can fail, anything mechanical can fail. Try loading one blank(spent shell) and close the cyclinder so you don't know where it is. When you encounter the blank, KEEP PULLING the trigger. It never ceases to amaze me to see a newbie stop and "stare" at their firearm when everything does not go as planned. This "spent" shell drill will tell you if you are flinching.:)

[KP95DAO]

Pennsylvania




Clubs
Contact
City
Comments

Lower Providence Rod & Gun Club
Robert George

610-933-6122 h & w

610-933-2074 fax
Audubon
4th Sat.

Ready Aim Fire
Joseph F. McGinty

609-268-0923 h

215-788-5898 w

609-714-1972 fax
Bristol
2nd Mon.

Greater Pittsburgh Gun Club
Bob Zdobinski

724-796-9111 h

724-796-9111 club
Bulger


Easton Fish & Game Association
Ted Murphy

267-767-8174 h

610-453-4760 mobile
Easton
4th Sun.; Mar-Sep

Factoryville Sportmen's Club
Michael A. Lahey

570-969-6242 h

570-457-3400 w

540-451-0952 fax
Factoryville


Hollidaysburg Consolidated Sportsmen's Association
William L. Mauk, Jr.

814-695-8138 h & w

814-941-2048 fax
Hollidaysburg
3rd Sat.

PA IDPA
David DiFabio

610-494-4404 h

610-449-6259 fax
Marcus Hook
3rd Mon.; matches are held at the Responsible Shooter

Keyston Sportsmen Association
Dennis T. Marshall

570-322-1685 h

570-546-5779 club
Muncy


Sights Practical Shooters
Steven E. Flohr

717-846-0965 h & w
New Cumberland
1st Sun. info@sightspracticalshooter.com

Ontalaunee Rod & Gun Club
Walter Schneck

610-799-2480 h & fax

610-799-5792 w

Colin Andres

610-767-8637 h

610-767-8636 w
New Tripoli
16 miles N. of Allentown

Ridgway Rifle Club Practical Shooters
Robert Gnan

814-781-7833 h

814-781-1571 w

Michael McAllister

814-265-8373 h

814-776-4600 w

814-265-0237 fax
Ridgway


Blue Ridge Cherry Valley Rod & Gun
Kevin Schlier

570-619-5063 h

570-424-2012 w

570-476-7395 fax
Sciota
570-992-6981 club; 2nd Sun.

East Huntington Sportsman's Club
James McElhaney

412-373-3466 h & w
Scottdale
2nd Sat.; April-Oct.

Delaware County IDPA
Ted Murphy

610-626-995 h & w

610-623-5276 fax
Upper Darby
4th Mon.





IDPA Menu State List

[Coltdriver]

I think most of the above constitute good advice.

I would suggest you do some homework on the WWII OSS (Office of the Secret Service) studies on self defense shooting.

They uncovered some timeless attributes of humans during a life threatening situation. They also came up with ways to blend your training and actions with the instinctive reactions you will have in those situations.

If you train with these instinctive responses in mind, your effectiveness in an actual situation will be multiplied.

If you don't learn about these things you may find yourself hindered by your own instinctive actions in a way that you did not anticipate and in a way that may be contrary to all of the training you have spent time on.

[CWL]

By 'failure drill' I mean what is also known as a 'Mozambique' or 'El Presidente'.

It means two shots COM followed up by one in the head.

Of course throwing a few random dummy loads into your practice would be good FTF/FTE practice.

[Woodchuck]

You need to practice every day. Get some snap caps so you can dry fire. Practice target aquisition, speed. Drawing from many positions. The main thing is to practice, practice, practice. If you ever need to do it in self defense, it should come naturally. In a tight situation, you should not have to think. It's the difference between life and death. To practice shooting accurately, shoot a .22 long rifle handgun or pelletgun/bbgun handgun so that you can practice everyday. The cost is minimal and with a bb gun you can practice indoors if you have to. To get a steady hand for shooting, you need to build strength. A friend of mine who was an exceptional handgunner used to hold a one gallon milk jug filled with water at arms length for several minutes every morning. He used to do it while sitting on the john. I have never seen anybody that could hold a hangun so still as he. It is thge biggest secret of all good handgunners. They can hold the sight picture indefinitely.