At what range do you practice at the range?

[AStone]

I went to the range today for the first time in a few months.

(Yeah, I'm a slacker. Well, no, just busy trying to make a business float.)

Took the 9mm pistol (K9) & .38 (642).

Wow, did I ever suck at shooting.

I expected to with the .38 snubby. No surprise there. (Even though I controlled that 642 better with the new Hogue full sized (three finger) monogrips I put on it today...but that's a story for the 642 club.)

But with my 9mm, I thought I'd do better. I always shoot it well with confidence. But today, my results were mediocre at best. I rarely miss the target entirely. Today, those kind of misses were all too common.

Clearly, I need more range time, more often, along with more dry fire practice. And maybe a good handgun class. So noted.

The range I use has only two relevant (for me) target distances: 12 yds & 25 yds. No 7 yd option.

I tried both. Worse of course at 25 yd. (Hit the target with about 25 of 35 shots, none of which were in bullseye.)

At 12 yd, the very first three were dead on bullseye. But it went downhill from there. (Predominant pattern: shooting left of the bullseye.)

All this led me to ponder this question on the way home: at what ranges (distances) do most handgun shooters with short to modest length handguns practice?

That is, what's the most reasonable/likely distance at which one would engage a threat using a handgun with a short to moderate length barrel?

Nem

 

[usp9]

I usually shoot a magazine or two at 25 yards just to see how I'm doing. Depends on the guns I brought that day however.

I then shoot at 12 yards, fairly rapid fire to observe my accuracy and grouping. This is the range at which I fiddle with my grip, again depending on the gun.

Most of my practice is at 7 yards and in. This I almost never aim, but point shoot only, as that is what I expect to do that close to an attacker.

 

[Mulliga]

7 yards for the snubby (I suck with my 642 too ), and 10 to 15 yards for the primary CCW (a CZ 9mm), all offhand. I shoot at the range to verify my guns still work, maintain trigger and sighting skills, and to have fun.

The only time I shoot from a rested position is when I'm reviewing how accurate the gun is in the first place. Even then, my eyesight usually limits me to 15 yards if I want to be honest about the gun's capabilities (at 25 yards, I'm sure most guns will shoot better than I can).

In terms of distance from the handgun to an attacker in an encounter, unfortunately, it will probably be within about ten feet unless you're hyper-aware. Unless you are absolutely sure your assailant is pulling a gun of his own, I just can't see many situations where you'd be threatened (if someone had a knife, for example, you'd never be able to see it 20 yards away).

 

[doncameron]

I start out at about 5 yards and move farther away, usually out to about
35-40 yards.
I shoot both hands and off hand, strong and weak hand
(I have'nt figured out which is my weak hand because I shoot equally
well with each hand) I am left eye dominate!
Mostly I practice the drawing from concealed holster
(moving jacket or coat out of the way)
I shoot Walther P22, VZOR-70 (.32acp), .32 S&W, .38 J frame S&W,
.380 Llama, and .45 witness.
My CCW are the .38 S&W or the .45 witness

 

[XavierBreath]

I mostly shoot handguns from one to ten yards. I am concerned with presentation and accurate, safe, quick shooting from concealment while moving. Shooting past 10 yards under these conditions does not give me enough meaningful, measurable results to tell me how I am doing.

I will occasionally stop, stand at a bench and shoot at greater distances, but that is not what I train to do.

 

[pax]

For distances, I get bored really easily so I like to keep things mixed up pretty well. Given a choice between 12 & 25 yards, I would do probably 3/4 or more of my work at the 12-yard line from a variety of stances and at varied speeds. I'd start at 25 to warm up with good trigger control, move to 12 to work on speed, then move back to the 25 to finish up with absolutely perfect trigger control.

Here's a site which has a pretty good selection of handgun drills to choose from: http://www.kuci.org/~dany/firearms/drills.html

Note that although many of these drills require you to be able to do various things that many ranges don't allow, most of the drills are adaptable with just a little creativity and stubborness. For instance, if your range doesn't allow work out of the holster, you can instead work on your drawstroke at home (carefully, and with a backstop please!), and then at the range work on smooth presentations from the low ready. It's not quite as good as putting it all together on the line, but it's a lot better than never practicing either drawstroke or smooth presentations simply because of a range rule.

If a drill calls for 7 yards and an A-zone in X seconds, knowing that you have to work at 12 yards you can either expand the accuracy requirement to a C-zone, or change the time to X + 1 second. Maybe vary which you choose in order to keep yourself challenged.

(Predominant pattern: shooting left of the bullseye.)

To answer the question you did not quite ask, I suspect you have developed a flinch (not an uncommon happening in folks who haven't shot for awhile). That's the usual meaning of low-and-left shots; the other possibility is that you are holding the gun a bit too loosely and thus sympathetically tightening all your other fingers, moving the gun to the left, as you pull the trigger. My money's on the flinch though.

Somewhere on my site there's a prescription for curing a flinch. Worth a read, I hope!

pax

 

[Chris Rhines]

I do most of my pistol shooting at 10 yards, with some drawstroke work at 3-5 yards and some accuracy/trigger control work at 25 yards. Those are my three "range markers" which determine (in part) what kind of sight picture I use, from point shooting to front sight index to watching the front sight lift and fall.

- Chris

 

[Ben Shepherd]

Almost point blank to 200 yards. Depends on which guns I brought that day.

 

[Ditchtiger]

20-40 yards, will stretch it out to 200+ with a couple handguns that are able to do so. But 75% is shot under 40 yards.

 

[kbheiner7]

Most of my handgun shooting is at 12-20 yards. If I want more of a challenge, I shoot at smaller targets at the same ranges.

If I get the urge to screw around and the place I'm at can accomodate, I'll place targets at 50-100 yards and let 'em have it.

 

[possum]

95% of the time is 3-15 yds and then, 5% at 25yds, really need to practice more at the extended ranges but I really like to get the clos in stuff good, because that is where a self defense engagement is most likly to occur.

 

[10-Ring]

Usually 7 to 25 yards

 

[Geno]

What Ben said

Ben, "Almost point blank to 200 yards. Depends on which guns I brought that day."

Same here, but most of my practice is close-in for home self-defense.

Doc2005

 

[longeyes]

My range of choice offers handgun distances at seven, 15, 25, and 50 yards. Ninety per cent of my shooting is at seven. I plan to do more, with my 1911s, at 15 yards. My focus is definitely on close distance and will continue to be. Unfortunately, my range doesn't permit movement, holster draw, or "rapid fire" (faster than one shot per second).

 

[03Shadowbob]

75% of mine are at 15 yards. the other 25% is at 25 yards (mainly for fun to see how I am doing). I hate indoor ranges but down here that is almost the only thing we have. Now when I am in GA or NC on my land I go all out with setting up an entire TACTICAL (did I just use that word ) course for running and finding cover and shooting, shooting in the daylight and at night, sometimes add a strobe light at night to help with throwing off my concentration some, etc..

 

[Peter M. Eick]

90% of the time at 15 yards. 5% at 10 yards, 5% at 25 yards for handgun.

The eyesight is starting to give out at 25 and 50 yards and 15 is just "convenient".

 

[Marshall]

25 yards most of the time. I do more shooting when hunting than I do when carrying concealed.

 

[fastbolt]

1-11 yards for most common training. Defensive purpose. Drawing, presentation and resolving judgment/target challenges ... movement (shooting & moving as well as shooting while moving), multiple targets, identification of No-Shoot 'targets', cover/barricade, transitioning to secondary weapons, loading/reloading (various), dominant/non-dominant hand, 1 & 2-handed, etc., etc..

11-25 yards for general maintenance of basics ... grip, sight alignment/picture & trigger control.

Defensive targets (different silhouettes, with different 'scoring' areas), as well as more precise targets, including bulls-eye targets upon occasion.

25-50 yards for really testing my basic skills upon occasion. Longer distances are rather unforgiving of mistakes in the basics than closer distances, after all.

I've taken my issued pistol through our rifle qualification course a couple of times. It's a short course for a rifle/carbine, only out to a maximum of 100 yards, but it includes shooting from different positions and under different conditions throughout the course at a number of distances between 10-100 yards ... but it's a real challenge with a pistol. The best I've done with the pistol on that course of fire is 96%.

 

[michiganfan]

5,7,and 10 yards

 

[kir_kenix]

wow Nematocyst-870, you started pretty much the same thread i felt like starting. i went out today (actually about half an hour ago) and fired some shots and i totally sucked it up. i mean bad. 100% of my shooting was at 20yds tho, because i didnt want to move off the driveway and lose more brass. i have been shooting pretty frequently tho, unlike you, and i cannot believe how terrible i was. im talking a coupla 10" groups at 20yds...lol. seriously...it was that bad. idk tho, i think its that i was up waaay to late last night, and got up waaay to early this morning and my contacts are all dried up. wait...thats just a silly excuse. did i mention i sucked today? lol.

anyway, to answer your question and not just gripe about my own problems today:
I usually start at 20 or 25 and work my way in to about 3 or so. most of my shooting is at 15 yds or so tho, depending on what i am shooting. out at 25 i just practice the basics and try to put them all as close together as possible. this is usually my first step in my reutine and move to more instinctual closer ranges where i dont really "aim". today i never made it that far, i just couldnt seem to hit anything and packed up early.

 

[MCgunner]

I hardly ever shoot below 15-20 yards. I like to shoot steel and I don't want pieces of bullet shooting me back. I do a lot of extended range shooting with my contender and single action revolvers, too, out to 200 yards. I hunt with handguns, so it's wise to practice at hunting ranges with hunting handguns. I'm not concerned much with 3-5 yards. I'm an accuracy kinda guy. I can go blindfolded and hit a man size target at 3 yards. I strive for speed at 20 yards on pepper poppers, gives me a good feel for how fast I can shoot before it turns into "spray and pray". lol

 

[greener]

Handguns 80% at 15 yards and 19% at 25 yards. The range I use has lanes from 7-15 yards. I almost never shoot below 15 yards. I assume that if I do ok at 15 yards, I probably could do ok at shorter distances.

 

[M2 Carbine]

I practice between 5 yards and 100 yards.

 

[deadin]

As my main interest is in precision shooting most all of my practice is at either 50 ft., 25 yds or 50 yds. All on targets adjusted for whichever range I am shootin at. (I forgot air pistol at 10 meters).

Dean

 

[22-rimfire]

I usually warm up with slow fire at about 7-10 yds. Then I'll do rapid fire at that distance. From there, I move the targets back to 15 and 25 yds. With scoped handgun, I start at 25 yds and move to 50 and 100yds. With snubbies, I generally keep it under 25 yds; 7-10 yds typically and then at 25 where I see just how bad I really am. I never really expect to shoot that well with the snubbies. If I hit a 6" target, I'm pretty satisfied.

Also depends on the number of shooters. Outdoor range is more difficult to shoot close in shots, but indoors it really a breeze.