How do you practice shooting for SD?

I practice moving first (laterally) and drawing/shooting while moving. As often as possible I include engaging multiple targets, changing directions, reloading and occasionally weak hand shooting with the same.

I always suggest some instruction first as one can develop some very bad and dangerous habits very quickly that can be difficult to break later even by an excellent instructor.

I have a range set up at my Mother in Laws farm that is set between hills so I can set up and engage targets 360 degrees and everywhere in between. Stances are intuitive and I often now shoot while running at an angle laterally, dropping, turning, shooting from the ground/drawing shooting from the ground. My personal opinion is that the first thing one should do if a gun is pointed at them and they decide to fight is to move - more soon, move fast, move big, laterally to cover (if possible) and shoot while moving. Get good at hitting while moving. I point shoot generally and focus on the target shooting to hit what I look at. I started practicing trying to "get to my sights" and turn point shooting from hip into using sights but this has not worked for me so I abandoned it in favor shooting what I'm looking at to a higher degree of accuracy. Getting the gun up and using the sights while moving just is not working for me and I intend to get some serious training at this when I have selected a trainer and can get the time off work to travel to that instructor.

VooDoo

There are two types of ranges - fixed and free. In the fixed type, there are strict rules and officers who enforce them. This is usually the sort where there's a bench and you have to stand in position behind it, and take shots no faster than one every two seconds. In the free type, you can do whatever you want. Might be a FOP range, or private property, you're free to conduct drills as you like.

Both have their place in your training regimen. Use the first to work on mechanics, handling, safety, kinesthetic awareness, and marksmanship. Use the second for the kinds of questions asked by the OP here.

When I'm on a free range, I like to practice drawing from concealment and getting off the X. You want to test your accuracy firing while backpedalling, moving laterally, and approaching the target. See if you can hit moving targets, point shooting, firing from the hip, etc.

It's always instructive to see how easy it is to miss from 5 feet away.

I have my own range set up on my farm so I guess you could call it "free", although when grand kids or inexperienced shooters are using it we control things much more.

With more experienced shooters, or when shooting alone, I often shoot steel. I have gongs of differing sizes set up at differing distances and aim points. You'll soon find out how your bad habits or technique affect your accuracy. Then it's back to the bench.

The advice for training is the most important reply.
Without a good foundation, it's not very possible to know what or how to practice.
Messing around blindly on one's own is bad enough for plinking.
It could be downright deadly when it comes to self defense.
With no suitable range to practice, I use the local action pistol matches and home simulations with airguns.
Just have to be careful not to scare the meter reader or lawn treatment guy.

1) Take a class.
2) Practice rapid target acquisition. Practice what you learned in class and shooting rapidly with accuracy. Worry first about the proper rapid part vs. groups that touch.
3) Take another class.
4) Practice everything you learned properly.

This is what has worked for me. Repeating things, and repeating things rapidly seals it in my mind. Everybody seems to stress accuracy first, again this is important - especially if you are all over the place. A basketball sized target at 15 yards might be a goal. But I like to know all the mechanics innately then bring the groups down. Still you'll need a life time practice.

How do you practice shooting for SD?

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Speed is fine, accuracy is final.

Every time I shoot, I do it from the leather.

If indoor range I use one target that has several bullseyes.

If on the outdoor range I use IPSC/IDPA targets and varying ranges and angles (I can usually shoot 180 degrees on the berm ranges when alone.

I have right and left handed holsters and I use 'em!

The style is sometimes hip shooting, sometimes isosceles two handed, sometimes one handed. I use the sights and if I can't see the sights I still bring the gun up AS IF I COULD SEE THE SIGHTS.

You can say I take the advice of Bill Jordan, Jeff Cooper, Ray Chapman, Massad Ayoob, and Tom Givens.

And, being a JKDist, I pick what is useful to me, and discard what is useless for me.

Deaf

ST&T school solution...

Get the safety basics ingrained first.

Then lock in basic manipulation of your chosen firearm (loading, unloading, reloading, clearing malfunctions etc)

Then go for a class with an instructor who teaches fighting with firearms. It isn't shooting you're learning - it's gunfighting.

THEN, practice what you learned in class...

While formal instruction is certainly a good thing, there are a few things you can do yourself.

Study. Read about every self defense shooting you can find. Gather the details of distance, position and any other detail you can mimic to the last possible detail. Was this defensive shooter on their back? Side? Just ran 300 feet? Keep these factors in mind, and if your range allows, re create them. See how well you can shoot after running, or on your back, or drawing a BUG from an ankle. If money allows, spring for a moving target that simulates BG moving around when firearm is presented or shots fired from you.

Thing is, gunfights are going to be what THEY want to be ... not what you imagine them to be, practice for, visualize or whatever. Awerbuck always used to tell us - "I will not be at your gunfight." Meaning that we would be on our own, but I will never get past him dragging me around by the elbow in class after class doing four way move and shoot drills yelling in my ear all the while...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6MujiSSm_dE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=szaJ1QhafjI

These are both from the shotgun class, but you get the drift. I miss that man so much, it's impossible to say...

Friend of mine used to teach SF troops this stuff on Ft. Bragg back when. One day passing through the airport at Kandahar he ran into an old student, who said that he had run into a problem with his M4 in a close-in fight and all he could hear was my friend's voice yelling his trademark GET BACK IN THE FIGHT!. As he transitioned to his Beretta, just as he had been trained years before.

Even with Louis gone, as long as I live I feel sure I will hear that unmistakable South African accent yelling in my ear, if I ever come up against a problem in a tight spot.

What voice will you be hearing in a situation like that, and what will it be saying?

I just got to the range with a concealment garment and my carry gear, set out a couple of targets and do a couple of refreshers. Nothing fancy.

The problem with the generic reply of get an instructor is how you ascertain the quality of the instructors, instruction. Outside of name shooting schools or name instructors’ what is the criteria/standards/qualifications that separates the competent from the incompetent instructor? Just because the instructor has the paramilitary look of kaki cap, khaki trousers, beard, sunglasses, and etcetera is the person authentic? Resumes can be embellished with false credentials that I’ve witnessed.

The best way to go is to look for personal recommendations of people who have taken training from the instructor you are considering. BTW: you also have to judge the credibility of the person making the recommendation...do they have experience with enough different instructors to judge the instruction they have received.

This.

We at least have widely available AARs from people who have taken classes from various instructors these days. And places on the net which offer reasonably objective ongoing reports on the state of the art in training.

As with all consumer goods, it's up to the potential consumer to be informed.

I've worked out a lot of drills that help me develop skills despite primarily shooting at a static range. One of the core concepts when you're looking to develop a skill is to consider what the simplest form of a challenge is. For example, shooting on the move. What makes it hard? Dramatic increase of wobble.

An example of something I've done is to run a sheet with 5 targets on it out to 50 feet and to walk and reverse figure 8s [edited to note: doing this tightly in my lane] while also cycling through the targets. Doing this effectively magnifies anything I do wrong. That is obnoxiously difficult.

...and after doing those types of things, I've gone out to shoot where I can really move, and found that hitting targets at 3-7 yards while moving is comparatively simple.


Similarly, you can do press out/break drills at static ranges, working on the last part of your draw/shoot. You can also load 1 + snap cap and practice double taps at full speed without making ROs angry. Maybe start at high ready, press out, break 1 + cap and see where your front sight tells you the second shot was going.


In a nutshell, there are lots of useful drills that can be done. The question isn't "what can I not do?", it's "what CAN I do?"

Kleanbore said:

Two things: there really aren't that many defensive shootings about which to read; and for those few that have been described in writing (the Tom Givens' accounts, for example), about the only data available are approximate distances and the number of shots fired. Nothing much to recreate there.

No, I'll stick with Fred's recommendation.

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I think you misinterpreted my post. I meant focus on shooting distances that most SD shootings occur at 3-15 yards. As opposed to someone trying to shoot farther 25-50 yards. As far as rounds, train yourself to end fights quickly with well placed and accurate shots. Practicing how accurate and quickly you can fire 2 rounds drawing from a holster is a good skill set for anyone.

USPSA matches are great for training. You get to run and gun.

Quote:
"Shooting in competition, be it USPSA or IDPA is just testing what you have practiced."

RGR that! competition validates your training, or lack thereof!

Not talking about bulleyes or target shooting. For example, do you do; double taps, modified weaver, agressive weaver, weak hand, one hand, weak hand reload....etc...? How do you practice?

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I use a standard weaver stance, and occasional one (strong) handed practice... and it's all just done offhand at between 7-25 yards shooting at a paper silhouette target. I like to reload using magazines in a mag pouch, and when I can I let the mag fall to the ground and focus on getting the gun loaded again. At home I dry fire practice fairly often, and do reload drills with dummy round/snap caps for my revolvers and am looking to do the same when I buy some for my autos.

Other than that... I really don't practice any other method. I know that's probably not a good thing, and I'm definetaly open to other positions and drills, but that's how it is for me LOL. Hopefully it will be enough if I ever need it.