How do you train?

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Hunter125

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I have been looking for a good, relatively inexpensive way to train with my carry gun, as well as a few others. I have always been pretty much a target shooter before this, and decently accurate most of the time.
I stumbled onto this target called Dot Torture on pistoltraining.com and it seemed great. It's one box of ammo, one sheet of paper and trains you for several different situations. The problem is I can't seem to be very accurate at the speeds I'm going. I can get all my shots within about 5-6 inches of the target, but I'm only averaging about 15-20 actual hits in the 2.5" circles they are intended for at a range of about 10 yards. To me as a target shooter that seems pretty bad and it's rather discouraging. I have to keep reminding myself that if I ever had to shoot defensively my accuracy would be more than enough.
Is there a better way that you guys train?
Am I expecting too much out of my pistol or myself shooting defensively, or have I just not practiced enough?

Here is the copyright info from the target just so no one gets their panties in a ruffle:
© Todd Louis Green 2007, www..pistol-training.com
adapted from David Blinder, www.personaldefensetraining.com
 

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I too used to like to shoot at bullseye targets, and was disappointed when I failed to keep all of my shots in the black.

It never occurred to me that while such shooting is enjoyable and while it does provide practice in terms of having the right grip and of pulling the trigger properly, it does not constitute training for self defense.

When i took my required CCW training course some years ago, the instructor recommended practicing shooting at paper plates. That didn't make much sense to me at the time.

I had not really been thinking clearly. Consider that in a defensive situation, one will most likely have to draw and fire very, very rapidly to avoid being stabbed or shot before he or she is shot or stabbed or slashed. The attacker(s) will likely be moving very, very fast; there will be no opportunity at all to look for, much less aim for, a target area anywhere near as small as 2.5 inches. And because handguns do not the "stopping power" that they appear to have in fictional screen drama, it is likely that the defender will have to hit the assailant a number of times, again very rapidly, to have much of a chance of stopping him.

Watch this video and listen to the sounds of the gunfire. Read the article.

The store manager had no chance at all of hitting 2.5 inch circles on the robbers, nor would it have been reasonable for him to even try.

I strongly suggest that you avail yourself of some high performance defensive pistol training with qualified instructors.

These links are a good place to start.

I cannot overemphasize the value of having a good instructor train you. That will prevent you from learning and rehearsing bad habits.

Here's some advice about how to choose one.

I took a nine hour course two years ago. There were five instructors; each participant had the full attention of one instructor each time he or she was shooting; the instructors rotated.

We fired one, and only, one magazine load at a target with circles. We then moved to torso sized steel plates at seven yards and concentrated on very rapid fire, proper grip, sight picture, and trigger pull. From then on, we fired at three steel targets in succession, over and over, trying to increase our speed while maximizing the number of hits. The time between shots became very low indeed. Most of the participants experienced improvements in speed and in the number of hits in the neighborhood of 30% by the end of the day.

The instructors, who were all ranked competitors, were able to hit each of three targets twice, replace the magazine, and shoot the three targets again two times each--that's twelve hits with a reload--in a little over four seconds. The objective was to develop the skills necessary to take on one or perhaps more than one rapidly moving violent criminal actor before being overcome. I hope the above description give you some appreciation of how defensive shooting differs from trying to hit 2.5 inch circles.

The next day involved shooing while running forward, backward, and sideways. I was not able to stay for that.

I hope you find this helpful.

Good luck!
 
Thanks for the info, that makes me feel a little better about my shooting. I guess I have been too far out, it's been a while since I have been to the website and gotten the target, so I guess I was bringing my target shooting practices back into my training.

Today I shot at empty cans instead of the targets and seemed to do much better.

I would love to take a formal defensive training class and I will as soon as I am financially able to.

I will have to pick up some paper plates to use as targets.
 
Kleanbore, your description of the first day of drills closely resembles steel challenge shooting. Do you recommend the steel challenge to practice speed and accuracy for different target sizes, shapes and distances?

To everyone else: I did not use the term TRAINING anywhere in that sentence.
 
Al, I was being facetious because the subject of "is sport shooting competition 'training'?" was just flogged to death not many posts back.
 
Ah, thanks. I suspected it was something like that, just didn't search hard enough.

Slightly off topic, but a very well educated CWP instructor here likes to make the comment that "shooting sports will ""get you killed"". I disagree. If someone can draw their handgun in a hurry and get good hits on obscure targets quickly, what's not to like? :eek:

:D
 
Hunter125, to answer your question, I haven't done any training since the NRA basic pistol course that I took 1 1/2 years ago. BUT I am registered for a full day Pistol Basics 1 course (the first prerequisite for the defensive classes) on the 4th.

For practice, I bought 3 8 inch hanging steel plate targets that I bring to the range and hang on tripods at different distances. I plink away at those from a static position. The sound they make when I hit them is very gratifying. I paint them between reloads (I only load 5 at a time; stretches the ammo out so it lasts longer). I can see where I hit on the plate and it helps to have that immediate feedback of where I hit (if I did).
 
Only formal training I've had in a long time is Dept, and THAT'S a sick joke. Wish there was an instructor out here I could A) trust and B) afford. :)
 
"shooting sports will ""get you killed"
Click to expand...
Yeah, I kind of get tired of hearing that stuff over and over. I have never really understood why so many "defensive shooters" seem to be at odds with "competition shooters" when it comes to fundamental square range practice drills.
 
I have a friend who was in the Corps who is my regular shooting partner. Most of the time we just hit the range and plink, but we usually bring a stopwatch because there's always an element of friendly rivalry between us...and since he has superior training and experience, pushing to match his level helps make me faster and more accurate.
Couple times a year we go for a "picnic" up in the mountains. We'll set up a basic IPSC style station course in the woods. We typically set up so that you can't see the targets from the start line and have to run 20-50 yds to the first station. The combination of higher altitude (less oxygen), running, shooting for score, and trying to beat the clock gets your adrenaline and heart rate up, and makes it quite stressful. Lot of fun though. His whole family runs through it, fun for all ages. But we only allow one shooter and one spotter/timer at a time on course, and lay out the course so that all fire is directed away from the picnic area and any adjacent roads or trails.
 
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