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ABC
04-18-2011, 09:49 AM
I need some advice. My range just changed the indoor rules to be quite restrictive. All shooting has been limited to 50 feet, and no angled shooting. The members of this forum are a skilled, creative, bunch. I need ideas to maximize my defensive shooting training with those restrictions. Any advice is welcome (other than "find a new range").

Chris Rhines
04-18-2011, 12:02 PM
Training in a restricted environment is not unlike trying to train with an unreliable gun. You spend all your time focusing on evading the dumb range rules instead of focusing on improving your performance.

That doesn't mean that you have to burn your membership card and never darken the doorway of this range again. Will your indoor range let you draw from the holster? Any rules on rapid fire or magazine capacity? Can you shoot closer than fifty feet?

David
04-18-2011, 12:35 PM
Smaller targets, tighter groups on those smaller targets in faster times. That is what I do when I go to one of the ranges here who limits everything short of pellet guns. I rarely if ever visit them though, I hate that place... I too would like to hear available options.

Mitchell, Esq.
04-18-2011, 12:37 PM
Very small targets at distance.
If you can't do anything else, work fundamentals of marksmanship as long and as hard as possible.

Take the asshole-stupid rules and thrive on them.

They make you shoot at distance, fine. Fuck them.

You just got dropped into a mall shooting situation with a playground as a backstop and need to put a round through AK-boy's brainpan.

Perform. Now.

Make the shot.

gringop
04-18-2011, 12:39 PM
Years ago I could only practice at an indoor public range. No holster work, no movement, shoot only in your lane, etc.

I could still practice press outs (second half of the draw), reloads, multiple shots on target, shooting for tight groups, transitions (between different dots on one target backer), mozambiques, WHO, SHO, and (sigh) one handed slowfire Bullseye shooting.

I did all my holster, movement and wide transition work dryfire at home or at local IDPA matches. It wasn't optimal but it still allowed me to practice and improve.

You specify indoor rules, does your range have outside bays that you can use without these restrictions? If so, use winter to hone some bad ass distance skills. 8" targets for speed work, 4" targets for medium work and 3" targets for groups. 16.6 yards is perfect to improve your trigger control, sight picture and follow through. Do Todd's 2-6-2 drill but turn it into a 4-12-4 drill.

Lemons, Lemonade, etc.

Gringop

part-time shooter
04-19-2011, 09:17 PM
Years ago I could only practice at an indoor public range. No holster work, no movement, shoot only in your lane, etc.

I could still practice press outs (second half of the draw), reloads, multiple shots on target, shooting for tight groups, transitions (between different dots on one target backer), mozambiques, WHO, SHO, and (sigh) one handed slowfire Bullseye shooting.

I did all my holster, movement and wide transition work dryfire at home or at local IDPA matches. It wasn't optimal but it still allowed me to practice and improve.




That's what I've been doing for years on the various indoor ranges around where I happened to be living. It's not nearly as satisfying as outdoor practice from the holster but it's still very useful practice. Just substitute the press out for the draw in drills like dot torture, or try it at 15-25', that'll make you concentrate on the front sight... When I started doing it I had no clue it was even called a press out, it was just punching the gun towards the target.

Not so many years ago I was just shooting 25 yard rifle bullseyes as they have multiple small targets on each sheet. I found pistol-training.com searching for pistol targets on google and starting using the drills from there and printing out the targets for the drills from the pdf files on the site.

I also did a lot of longer distance practice to force myself to work on plain old boring marksmanship. At the time longer distance was the end of whatever range I was on...

Any practice beats leaving it in the holster for months on end.

irishshooter
04-20-2011, 10:33 AM
if you cant find other reasonable close ranges that allow for more dynamic shooting then do just what has been suggested. work on the fundamentals. trigger and muzzle control, follow through, "press outs" etc....also work on the things you don't like to work on when you are at a range that allows for movement, drawing and fewer restrictions. for me WHO shooting and reloads.:mad: