Awesome. I will be sure to do this. I see a lot of 2 inch circle targets in my future. I'm also taking "You Suck It's Not the Gun" with MDFI in October. That should help give me some drills and things to work on. Thank you.Originally Posted by TGS
Awesome. I will be sure to do this. I see a lot of 2 inch circle targets in my future. I'm also taking "You Suck It's Not the Gun" with MDFI in October. That should help give me some drills and things to work on. Thank you.
Last edited by xmanhockey7; 08-15-2015 at 06:06 PM.
This.
The AAR's for Pat McNamara TAPS classes make excellent reading, and the parts about "staying in your home" are especially valuable.
Okie John
Shooting NRA B-8 repair centers at 25 yards for accuracy can do wonders. It's easy to score and track your progress. If you want a good score concentration on the fundamentals is essential. I would not shoot more than 3 to 4 strings of ten rounds at a time. If you are doing correctly it will be too mentally fatiguing to keep plugging away at it. Every shot should be analysed as each is a learning experience.
Always remember that quantity and quality are not the same thing and only perfect practice yields beneficial results. Slinging lead willy nilly offers little in return.
As others already mentioned Dry Fire is your friend. However it must be done properly and with purpose.
Worry about getting fast/faster only after you crack the code on accurate fire. Instructors and shooting buddies can tell you all the fine points you need to shoot your rounds into a shot glass at 25 yards but you won't do it until the Ah Ha light comes on for you. The illumination of that light can only be hastened by (yup you guessed it) intense concentration on the fundamentals.
I believe going through a period of time where you learn from every single round fired, is important. Bring binos and check your hits at 25 yds. Consciously do things and check the results. Vary grip pressure and tension, use different amounts of focus, see how trigger speed affects POI, amount of finger on the trigger, etc.
Taking a break from social media.
I'm a big believer in visualization training and mental rehearsal. You can do it almost anywhere you have a free moment, but I wouldn't recommend it while driving. Whether it's getting your master grip, presentation, or shooting a stage of fire, you can at least have a plan in place and some sort of mental progression established.
Also focus on being consistent. Even if you're doing something wrong or develop a bad habit it's much easier to fix if you're consistently screwed up. This has been one of my biggest problems.
There's a misconception among many shooters that dry fire solely entails pulling the trigger on an unloaded gun to see if you flinch/break your wrist. But dry fire encompasses everything from draws to reloads to transitions. For example, Bob Vogel said that he does up to 10 dry fires for every 1 live fire.
With regards to competition vs "better armed citizen"; shooting competition makes you a better armed citizen. Lots of guys shoot competition not to necessarily be better at competition, but to improve their gunhandling and marksmanship. Standing still while slowly shooting at a bullseye definitely has benefits, but in the realm of firearms handling/marksmanship it's a part of the puzzle, not the whole puzzle. Moving across a range with a loaded gun while being timed, scored and watched by peers adds pressure and helps you to improve performance under duress.
A high number of rounds shot a week/month doesn't really mean you're getting good work done. Dudes go to my local range every week and dump 200 rounds into a bullseye, standing still, no timer. As soon as the timer comes out their accuracy suffers mightily. Choose timed drills that can be measured, and keep track of those scores. Use that data to see where you need to improve.
Some buddy's and I shoot weekly at a local range. Last week we shot the Defoor pistol test no. 1, Langdon's Triple Six drill, The Test and the FAST. We've recently been doing a variation on Hackathorn's 3 Second Headshot Standards. We start off from low ready, then go from the holster, then concealed, then SHO, then SHO from the holster, etc. Probably not more than 100 rounds a week.
I just started using TLG's Dry Fire Routine. Find it here. This gives me a good consistent routine instead of trying to figure it out on my own.
Jesus paid a debt he did not owe,
Because I owed a debt I could not pay.
I'd second using the TLG routine if you're not sure where to start. I feel like getting consistent practice + getting broad exposure to various skills has helped me improve a lot since I started shooting a couple months ago. As an example, I started shooting ~3 months ago, have been dry firing consistently, but only shot 600 rounds at the range over that time. At a 1H lowlight class at PEP3, the difference in experience and skill for 2H shooting was apparent compared to many of my fellow students, but I think that performance gap was significantly smaller when we switched to 1H shooting. I can only credit the regular exposure I got from TLG's routine even though the focus is rightfully on 2H shooting.
Just choose a routine, follow it as best as you can. If you miss a scheduled training day, don't let it get to you and just make sure you hit your next session.
I know the original poster isn't in it for competition, but, regarding dry-fire, Ben Stoeger's books are the absolute best.
I have considered getting his books, but I notice he's put out several. Is there a specific one people tend to recommend, or what's the difference between them?
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