How do you stress test your technical shooting skill level?

[BN]

Yes, competition.

Any competition. USPSA and IDPA will be the most common for self defense oriented shooters. But get out of your comfort zone. Shoot something different than you do normally. If you regularly practice on your own, then any competition is good. If you usually shoot IDPA, then go shoot some USPSA. Go to a different range where you don't know anybody and you might feel uncomfortable because you are a stranger. If you don't participate in structured competition, then you are doing yourself a disservice. You can't test your skills without a test.

Get out of your comfort zone. Go to a class where you don't know anybody and perform in front of strangers and the famous instructor.

There are other ways to test your skills besides competition. Be the first to post your scores on The Drill of the Week. Does anybody shoot it then not post your scores because you don't think they measure up? Then man up and be first.

My first "competition" was police qualifications in basic training. Next was the bowling pin shoot at Second Chance. All of a sudden I was at a National Championship competition. I didn't do very well. I read an article by Mas Ayoob that said I should shoot regular competition to prevent match nerves. I soon started shooting IPSC and the rest is history. After a while match nerves weren't as much of a problem and I could concentrate on technical skills.

Get out of your comfort zone. In the last 3 years or so, I've started shooting long range 22 rimfire rifle matches. I was out of my comfort zone. Same when I started shooting Cowboy matches a few years ago after shooting mainly USPSA.

If you can't do a competition, then make your own competition with yourself. Start a training journal here and regularly post your scores on standard drills like Dot Torture, Bill Drill, The Test, El Presidente, etc. One of my favorites over the years is the latest DotW, the original IDPA Classifier. https://pistol-forum.com/showthread....DPA-Classifier I have records back to 1998 when I first shot this.

Get the idea? Get out of your comfort zone.

[CraigS]

I started local comp in 2017. There is no question I am a better shooter now. The indoor range we usually go to has a system where the target is turned so you look at the edge of the card board backer. You can then set a timer to operate it X seconds to shoot, Y seconds bladed, Z seconds between shoot positions. But what has probably helped me the most is a BB pistol replica of a 92A1
https://www.pyramydair.com/s/m/Beret...BB_Pistol/3659
and an app on my phone called 'Splits'. I practice in the basement at 20 feet shooting at a paper plate stapled to a home depot moving box. Medium size w/ a small size inside keeps all the BBs contained. I can make it more difficult by sticking a 3 inch dot in the center of the plate. I find that being on that timer really makes things more stressful. In a few months we will be moving into a new house and will have a 39x28 basement w/ nothing in it but a set of stairs and a few posts. I will be setting up IDPA like stages down there for the BB pistol. Can't wait.

[ST911]

I shoot every match I can, with guns/gear I actually carry around. Humility, self-awareness, and resulting confidence are the best things on the prize table.

Recently I was discussing competition with a friend who shoots frequently but does not compete. They felt like they didn’t have enough time to compete, and I think they are doing themself a great disservice by not routinely stress testing their skill in front of others.

I deeply enjoy shooting competition. I find it hard, really impossible, to give up time with my son in order to do it. Someday maybe.

The sport loses a lot of folks that are interested enough to come out and shoot, but not enough to stand around for hours for 1-3 minutes of actual activity. I would gladly pay a higher match fee for an express lane.

[JHC]

The sport loses a lot of folks that are interested enough to come out and shoot, but not enough to stand around for hours for 1-3 minutes of actual activity. I would gladly pay a higher match fee for an express lane.

It blows up an entire Sat or Sun effectively since you just gotta stick around and pitch in with tear down/put away. For me it's one thing if I'm shooting with a close friend or one of my sons another if I'm solo. Some indoor venues are coming available around here with shorter "couple hour" commitments. One is on Sunday evenings which is ideal if I can restrain from the beer or bourbon all Sunday afternoon. Not making any promises.

[okie john]

The sport loses a lot of folks that are interested enough to come out and shoot, but not enough to stand around for hours for 1-3 minutes of actual activity.

This is why I stopped shooting IDPA. I can get most (but not all) of the same benefits in less than an hour of shooting established drills on a timer.


Okie John

[Glenn E. Meyer]

Why play golf when you can go to the driving range? BTW, I don't like golf.

I don't find square range practice to be motivational or that enjoyable. I do it to practice a flaw or try out a new gun. IDPA gives me reloads and malfunctions (yes!) under some stress and time pressure. Varying distances in a dynamic situation is useful rather than cranking a target back and forth.

Can't shoot from the draw, fast strings on multiple targets on the range.

Standing around wiith friends - that's fun and we do have informed discussions as our group knows its stuff.

Classes are great also but can't do them all the time.

Money - I can spend $25 for a match or $25 for an hour on the nice range. Get home earlier for the range and have to do chores. You choose.

[Doc_Glock]

The sport loses a lot of folks that are interested enough to come out and shoot, but not enough to stand around for hours for 1-3 minutes of actual activity. I would gladly pay a higher match fee for an express lane.

Exactly. I have no argument that competition sharpens the shooter very effectively.

Unfortunately competition requires large blocks of time, usually, to take part in. Multi hour blocks of time or whole days or half days are typically something I won't dedicate to shooting, except between maybe 4:30-7:30 in the morning and for some reason no one schedules competitions then.

What I do have is an hour to an hour and a half here and there and a close indoor range where I can practice live fire over lunch breaks or after work. In order to add stress, I use a timer. I set goals for myself. I document my drills and their speed/accuracy over time. I try to be honest with my shortcomings and victories. I don't get to practice transitions or movement, but at least I can draw and rapid fire.

So why won't I dedicate the blocks of time to get to the next level via classes and or competition? Because shooting is a hobby. It is a personal, kind of selfish pursuit of mine that my family doesn't have the least interest in. I am not interested in stealing time away from the people I love to do my hobby, so I fit it into the cracks in my life, just like I did with weight lifting or mountain biking or any of the other hobbies over the years (just kidding, I haven't had any other hobbies). I have tried to include the kids and wife in all of the above, but they just aren't interested and that's okay. They don't have to have my life or my interests, but I am not going to be that dad or husband who is gone all the time pursuing my midlife crisis. And the kids won't be around forever. If I live til retirement, I will probably start spending a day a week or so shooting competition unless another hobby has taken my fancy.

That is kind of a huge thread de rail, so let me emphasize that I think the plan @GJM outlines in the OP is perfect if you want to be a top level shooter and want to dedicate the time to it. I always appreciate him sharing that sort of knowledge and know that if shooting well was my main goal in life, I would follow that plan.

As an addition to the thread, I have been surprised at the number of autodidact shooting champions I have heard interviewed lately: Hwansik Kim and Max Leograndis come to mind, and they are not alone. It makes me think that classes and formal instruction are perhaps over rated, but perhaps it also depends on learning style. The self taught seem to have in common: Crazy work ethic, ability to focus consistently, daily, over years of time on the task, an extremely analytical approach to the sport. And they compete

[spinmove_]

Why play golf when you can go to the driving range? BTW, I don't like golf.

I don't find square range practice to be motivational or that enjoyable. I do it to practice a flaw or try out a new gun. IDPA gives me reloads and malfunctions (yes!) under some stress and time pressure. Varying distances in a dynamic situation is useful rather than cranking a target back and forth.

Can't shoot from the draw, fast strings on multiple targets on the range.

Standing around wiith friends - that's fun and we do have informed discussions as our group knows its stuff.

Classes are great also but can't do them all the time.

Money - I can spend $25 for a match or $25 for an hour on the nice range. Get home earlier for the range and have to do chores. You choose.

Honestly this. USPSA gives me an outlet to combine everything in a dynamic shooting environment short of having real people targets for the low low cost of $25 and a few handfuls of ammo. Sure it takes way longer than a quick range trip, but I get to converse with like minded people (in person even!), bounce ideas off of them, learn from their mistakes, get instant feedback based on other points of view, shoot, reload, draw, transition, move, plan, and be forced to think/improvise if something unanticipated happens. Yes, I do it in Production race gear, but shooting is shooting and “when in Rome”.

I still run defense oriented drills, carry concealed, and take defense oriented classes. Shooting competition though has way opened my eyes to how much better I truly could be from a technical standpoint and it’s WAY harder than I ever thought it was before I got started in it.


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[GJM]

What I do have is an hour to an hour and a half here and there and a close indoor range where I can practice live fire over lunch breaks or after work. In order to add stress, I use a timer. I set goals for myself. I document my drills and their speed/accuracy over time. I try to be honest with my shortcomings and victories. I don't get to practice transitions or movement, but at least I can draw and rapid fire.

Over and over, closely examining my performance and that of others, I have come to know that what you can do on your own, with timer and even video, is substantially different than what you can do in front of others.

Don't have time to compete formally, then figure out a way to simulate it in a more time efficient way. Otherwise, you only have a good idea of your relaxed, unstressed performance in your own setting, but you are uninformed as to your real ability to shoot for sport or defense around others.

[Doc_Glock]

Don't have time to compete formally, then figure out a way to simulate it in a more time efficient way.

I am open to any ideas on this.