I want to plan a training schedule. Looking for ideas.

[AfterWork_Ninja]

Thanks to this site and others I have found tons of great drills. I just need to figure out a logical way to organize them into range sessions. I want to plan at least one really good session a week, with work on presentations and dry-fire two to three times per week.

What does your typical range session consist of?

Do you do the same routine every time you go or do you have multiple training routines you rotate throughout the month?

[markp]

I think the first thing would be is to define your goal(s).

[gringop]

Yep, the goals are the most important. Short range goals (3-6 months) and long range goals (12 months) need to be set and sanity checked against your free time, ammo budget, range availability, etc. This can be the hardest part of creating a training schedule.

Once you have good solid goals, figure out what skills and what level of skill are needed to reach those goals. Figure out how you are going to test those skills at practice. FAST test, FAM test, FBI PCQ99, whatever it is needs to be quick to setup and shoot so it doesn't eat up your practice time.

The test needs to identify your weaknesses so you can work on them. If you're already good at one shot draws, practicing one shot draws for a hour is not a good use of your time.

Shoot the test first, ID your problem areas and do drills to work on those areas. You can set a list of drills beforehand but make it flexible enough to be be able to work on your weaknesses.

Be sure to work on fundamentals at every practice.

Here is my last practice session (178 rounds total)

FAST test (18 rounds)
6 shot slowfire groups at 15 yds (18 rounds)
Ball and dummy drills at 15 yds (12 rounds)
Splits speed work on 4" dots at 10 yds (my splits were slow on the FAST) (30 rounds)
1 reload 1 SL reload practice. (fumbled reloads on the FAST) (20 rounds)
Shoot the PCQ99 on a 8" circle. (50 rounds)
Headshots on photo hostage situation target, draw and shoot 2. (30 rounds)

I change up all the drills except the FAST test, slowfire groups and B+D drill.

Gringop

[AfterWork_Ninja]

I plan on focusing my training around ccw and self defense. I may in the future occasionally go out and play IDPA or 3-gun, but don't want to focus on the "game" aspects. For the short term I am going to have to make my training heavy on the rimfire and dry-fire until my ammo budget increases. Here are the specific areas I would like to improve upon.


Practice and perfect the fundamentals of stance, grip, trigger control and sight picture which will allow me to shoot tiny little groups at various distances while standing still.

Work on economy of motion in my draw and presentation to improve speed.

Improve my shooting on the move.

Work on my balance of speed and accuracy.

Improve my ability to transition between targets quickly and accurately.

Decrease my reload times and practice malfunction drills.

Weak hand shooting and one hand manipulations.

Firing from all shooting positions possibly including cars and other props.

Shooting with my hand held flashlight in simulated low light conditions.

[AfterWork_Ninja]

Yep, the goals are the most important. Short range goals (3-6 months) and long range goals (12 months) need to be set and sanity checked against your free time, ammo budget, range availability, etc. This can be the hardest part of creating a training schedule.

Once you have good solid goals, figure out what skills and what level of skill are needed to reach those goals. Figure out how you are going to test those skills at practice. FAST test, FAM test, FBI PCQ99, whatever it is needs to be quick to setup and shoot so it doesn't eat up your practice time.

The test needs to identify your weaknesses so you can work on them. If you're already good at one shot draws, practicing one shot draws for a hour is not a good use of your time.

Shoot the test first, ID your problem areas and do drills to work on those areas. You can set a list of drills beforehand but make it flexible enough to be be able to work on your weaknesses.

Be sure to work on fundamentals at every practice.

Here is my last practice session (178 rounds total)

FAST test (18 rounds)
6 shot slowfire groups at 15 yds (18 rounds)
Ball and dummy drills at 15 yds (12 rounds)
Splits speed work on 4" dots at 10 yds (my splits were slow on the FAST) (30 rounds)
1 reload 1 SL reload practice. (fumbled reloads on the FAST) (20 rounds)
Shoot the PCQ99 on a 8" circle. (50 rounds)
Headshots on photo hostage situation target, draw and shoot 2. (30 rounds)

I change up all the drills except the FAST test, slowfire groups and B+D drill.

Gringop



I'm not familiar with the FBI PCQ99 and the FAM test. Google isn't helping me out. Can you provide any more information?

[Prdator]

One of the most comprehensive books I've seen or read on building a training program with both Dry fire and live fire is Mike Seeklanders book, seen here, http://www.shooting-performance.com/

Its worth the $ for the book as it has all sorts of drills ect in it, but be warned it's a very aggressive program, but you can taylor it to your own time and needs/goals.

[VolGrad]

One of the most comprehensive books I've seen or read on building a training program with both Dry fire and live fire is Mike Seeklanders book, seen here, http://www.shooting-performance.com/

Its worth the $ for the book as it has all sorts of drills ect in it, but be warned it's a very aggressive program, but you can taylor it to your own time and needs/goals.

I have this book too. I haven't had the time to start reading it yet but will very soon. Side note, on Mike's site he has a place where you can request a "sample training program" that is somewhat tailor'd to your current skill level and your goals. His site also includes some good drills and videos.

http://www.shooting-performance.com/index.html

[Dropkick]

AWN, You've got a lot of skills you to learn/improve. If I was you, I'd prioritize them using the "crawl, walk, run" method, so that as you master each one, it builds on the next. For instance, I'd order your skills in the following:

-Practice and perfect the fundamentals...
-Work on economy of motion in my draw and presentation to improve speed.
-Decrease my reload times and practice malfunction drills.
-Weak hand shooting and one hand manipulations.
-Work on my balance of speed and accuracy.
-Shooting with my hand held flashlight in simulated low light conditions.
-Improve my ability to transition between targets quickly and accurately.
-Firing from all shooting positions possibly including cars and other props.
-Improve my shooting on the move.

[gringop]

I'm not familiar with the FBI PCQ99 and the FAM test. Google isn't helping me out. Can you provide any more information?

Old FAM test.
http://www.thegunzone.com/fam-lawman/fam-qual.html

PQC 99 (I spelled it wrong in my earlier post.)
http://www.rangemaster.com/newsletter/2010-01_RM-Newsletter.pdf

Both call for a QIT bottle target. Shooting them on an 8" circle makes it more challenging and easier to set up.

Gringop

[KentF]

One of the most comprehensive books I've seen or read on building a training program with both Dry fire and live fire is Mike Seeklanders book, seen here, http://www.shooting-performance.com/

Its worth the $ for the book as it has all sorts of drills ect in it, but be warned it's a very aggressive program, but you can taylor it to your own time and needs/goals.

Just bought and downloaded the book to my kindle. Looking forward to reading it.

[Shellback]

I'm curious to hear people's impressions of Mike Seeklander's book. Standing by.