Using one handgun for a year... This is not "A you can only have one handgun thread"

[Sam1911]

if you cannot achieve a real world level of competency in that time;
10 more months ain't gonna help.

I got the impression he wanted to be "proficient," not just "real-world competent."

I suppose this is another one of those "what's 'proficient' and what's 'competent'" kind of questions.

(Maybe David E can make us up another poll? LOL!)

But to tell someone that they've become proficient with a weapon after only 8 weeks of shooting is laughable. Now, maybe Brian's current level of proficiency is good enough that 8 weeks will bring him to a pinnacle of mastery, but to tell him that he's wasting the other 10 months is a poor statement.

When someone tells me that they want to spend a year concentrating on one skill set, it communicates to me that they want to move towards mastery of it. A year is a pretty serious committment. "Real world competency" sounds an awful lot like what gun-writers like to call "combat accuracy," and most serious shooters call, well, embarassing.

-Sam

 

[Uncle Mike]

Show particular attention to the platform you feel you need the most work with to become highly proficient with!

If the single action auto is your weaker spot, focus your attention on becoming proficient with that type of firearm...a DAO model, do the same, et cetera.

Practice with the platform in question while under different levels of stress such as darkness, uncomfortable physical situations, holster work and the like.

Get yourself a schematic of the particular firearm in question and learn about its design and mechanics...its operation and limitations, and so on.

 

[ArmedBear]

The point I was trying to make is that positive focus on the skill one wants to develop is what counts, not negative focus, i.e. eliminating other, apparently contradictory, practice.

That's how cross-training fits into it.

 

[Brian Williams]

Proficiency might come in a few months, but mastery really takes years. I can shoot a S&W very well, I need to work on the draw and reload.
Cross-training works to build other muscles and capabilities.

 

[MachIVshooter]

My S&W 4516. IMO, it strikes a near-perfect balance between duty and CCW size, and it can handle +P loads and then some, putting it close to 10mm power territory. My defensive load for it is 240 gr. Sierra JHC's loaded to 1,060 FPS from the 4" tube.

 

[CZ223]

I would have thought that

this might have been a harder choice than it is. I would choose my Glock 23.
1. It goes bang every time.
2. It is a good balance of size, weigth and, firepower.
3. It has night sights which I consider a must for a carry gun.
4. I already have a lot of practice with it.

I am currently carrying a Kimber to get used to it and a holster that I bought for it. Right now I think that it needs a new recoil spring, something I have never had to worry about with my Glocks.

 

[Topspeed]

I plan on carrying only my S&W 3913 this year.

 

[Ben86]

If I were to stick with one of my guns for a year it would have to be my Glock 19. It is my best all around gun. It has the best balance of ease of use, maintainance, concealment, and the durability to be a range gun. Also the ammo is nicely priced and easy to find.

 

[AOK]

Back in June of 09 I started carrying my G23 exclusively with the exception of three days (the three days I carried my G27). I also do 98% of my training (including classes) with my 23. I figured in a stressful situation things will happen so fast I want to be unconsciously competent when it comes to running my gun. While it would be possible to run a few different guns in a efficient manner, I just don't have enough time to train with them all to get to a point where I can say I am confident I can protect my family as well as I think should be able to.

So far I am MUCH more efficient running and shooting my G23 than I have ever been with any other gun I own or have owned. I still suck though, always room for improvement.

 

[content]

Cz2075rami40s&w

Hello friends and neighbors // I'm a revolver guy, love em, 586 6" is my favorite

That said the handgun I have shot the most is my Stoger Luger, 11+1, .22lr. ,autoloader. Even with the 4" barrel it is a fun straight shooter.

I have recently started using the CZ2075RAMI in 40s&w, smooth, handles great with the 8 round mags. and even better with the 12 round mags. The Tritium sights are.... well try some and you will know.
There is something about 9 in the weapon and 24 in the 2 extra mags that is appealing after carrying 5 or 6 rounds. Not to mention the almost complete new world a larger caliber semi-auto brings to my shooting experience.
I feel am proficent with revolvers, at this point, so if I would dedicate a full year to one gun it would be an autoloader.

The CZ2075RAMI in 40s&w

 

[Ed Ames]

I wouldn't do it.

When I shoot a single gun too much my senses seem to adjust until that gun is really loud and the recoil is stout. It doesn't matter what I'm shooting...happens with everything from .45 to a .22lr. In fact, I've even had it with spring pellet guns. Even a single shot with a different gun will reset the board, so to speak, and improves my shooting.

Maybe if I just kept going the effect would go away, and maybe the problem is unique to me, but if I had to shoot a single gun (and wasn't going to cheat with a .22lr converter) it would be a magnum revolver so that I could mix heavy, light, and standard loads.

 

[rha600]

I would use my S&W500.

reason being is I like this idea. I've used it from stupid stuff like video games to things like only using my mountain bike for 6 months and then switching back to my road bike and seeing how much faster I was. I want to become better with that gun so if I had to use only that gun for the next year I would get more practice with it and we all know what practice does for us. That's right, in the case of the 500 it makes us broke. HAHA.

 

[KingEdward]

I've spent a few hours (well, more than a few) with various revolvers.

For the next 3 months shooting time is being used only on the mossberg 500 of which there are currently two that I keep.

I've stocked ammo and have a place outdoors where I can shoot on the weekends.

I plan to get very re-familiar and accurate and shoot with various loads, from various postions, and at various distances.

I used to hunt a good deal but now not so much. So there is a need to get reaquainted
with the pump shotgun. So that I am as capable/confident with it as I am a revolver.

 

[NMGonzo]

The Bersa .380

I shoot well, ammo does not weight as much as .45, can ride the bicycle with it by just tossing it on the jersey pocket.

Fits on a coat, under a shirt, with a tucked shirt, etc.

 

[David E]

(Maybe David E can make us up another poll? LOL!)

I've discovered that everyone online is an "expert," is already "proficient" and therefore has to need to improve their already stupendous skills or, for that matter, even test them.

It's become apparent that folks would much rather take enlightening quizzes asking "What handgun are you" instead.

 

[ohioshooter]

I have two that I switch back and fourth between. A fullsize Kimber Crimson Carry and a Glock 19. I carry the G19 a lot due to me being able to carry it in my lower back with my IWB but when I get my IWB for the small of my back for my Kimber that will be the one I carry all the time.

 

[CoRoMo]

Right now, I'd have to choose the XD45. I need to spend more time with it; draw and reloads, like BW said.

I once spent a year with a Blackhawk. That was a good year.

 

[Mikhail Weiss]

...I am interested in becoming much more proficient in handgun shooting and I am going to spend the year with one gun... Given this opportunity what one gun would you use from your collection and why?

I've been using a Glock 19, once a week, for the past two years because it's a lot cheaper to shoot those ~150rds per week than it would be to do the same with my .45. It's also smaller and lighter and holds more bullets, so it's the one I most often carry. That, in a nutshell, is about it: cheaper to shoot, slightly more packable.

I need to work on the draw and reload.

So do I. Right now, though, the draws are 90% okay. It's the reloads that remain inconsistent.

And to state the obvious, do much more drawing/reloading while dry firing at home than while live firing at the range.

And to state one more obvious thing, try drawing from beneath a variety of different cover garments. You'll discover that some don't sweep out of the way as easily as others.

 

[1911Tuner]

Just as an aside/FYI/FWIW...

I shoot 1911s hard and heavy...many tens of thousands of rounds every year, but I've found that working with a double-action revolver helps me with trigger control. Whenever I go back to the SA pistols...my trigger pull and release to reset are smoother and more consistent. Plus, I get stale with the 1911s after too much time with'em...bored even. After the revolver break, I'm fresh again.


And...If your work is done with carry/self-defense in mind...there's a lot to be said for a good revolver. I knew an elder gent who wouldn't touch anything except an old Smith Victory Model. Carried it every day for decades. Flat out one of the most wicked shooters I've ever seen in person. He could literally pick which eye he wanted to thread a bullet through at 20 paces, and put it there in the time it takes to blink.

 

[jpwilly]

I'm not a big fan of Glock's for personal reasons but I feel that the Glock 19 is a nice reliable weapon and if it suites you than go for it.

I'd look at the CZ 75 series namely the P-O1 or the new P-07.

 

[ironvic]

I'd enjoy spending a year with any K-frame S&W. My current K is a Model-10 with tapered barrel and deep lustrous bluing, circa 1971. Trigger as slick as you like and feels sweet in the hand.

I do find that if I shoot a lot with DA revolvers, my overall marksmanship increases. And there's the pleasure of seeing nice tight groups as well as full caliber holes (which older eyes certainly appreciate) when using full wadcutters.

 

[Dr.Rob]

I sort of did this with a BHP clone shooting an IDPA match a month for over a year. The results were more than favorable. It's not 'formal instruction' but it sure as hell beat 'range time' alone.

 

[easyg]

I would chose a 2 inch snub-nose revolver.

Carry one for a year, exclusively, and you will really come to appreciate just what they are capable of doing.

 

[raz-0]

Last couple of years, it was my M&P 40 fullsize. Just got a custom 2011 built, I suspect the next few years will be that.

 

[Dwrice]

M&p 40