What Should I Be Doing At The Range?

[powell556]

This subforum is filled with interesting tests and drills. I've taken a dozen live-fire shooting classes in my life from various instructors and I feel like I have an intermediate grasp of knowledge and am an above average shooter, but that's not saying too much because the average shooter is terrible.

When I go to the range, I have no idea what I should be doing. I have no structured plan or strategy. I see lots of cool drills and tests here, but not sure which I should pick to do, or why, and based on the results, how does that change my subsequent training?

I've drunk from several firehoses of instructors and am trying to dumb things down into something I can do. Any ideas?

[revchuck38]

Why do you shoot? For defensive reasons or competitive? That'll help direct the responses.

[Jay Cunningham]

Think about some things that you can’t effectively practice dry.

[RJ]

Why do you shoot? For defensive reasons or competitive? That'll help direct the responses.

Agree.

What do you want to achieve? Is a good starting point.

[Alpha Sierra]

https://benstoegerproshop.com/practi...y-ben-stoeger/

And

https://benstoegerproshop.com/skills...reloaded-book/

You can't defend yourself with a pistol if you can't shoot a pistol. Seems obvious, because it IS obvious. But too many people miss that point and make up the artificial distinction between shooting in a defensive situation and shooting in competition. Shooting is shooting, the handgun doesn't care. What else you do while you shoot is the difference between sport and defense.

Ben Stoeger has put together a really easy to follow system that leaves plenty of room for adaptation and customization. If you're self directed, disciplined, and self analytical, the books are a gold mine.

[GuanoLoco]

What are your goals?

You can learn a lot about defensive shooting from concealment with the Gabe White Standards.

If your goals are sport shooting then the Ben Stoeger Skills & Drills are solid.

I’m fond of some of the easier-to-set-up USPSA Classifiers. El Presidente & Diamond Cutter for example.

[45dotACP]

I always forget it's name, but there's a USPSA classifier that has three strings of fire. A 25 yard string, a 10 yard string that involves a mandatory reload and SHO shooting, and a 7 yard string with same, but WHO...or something like that.

It's one of my favorites because it gives me a picture of a lot of skills I need to improve, compressed into a single, 3 target array, which can be used to run drills to improve on what I noticed my weaknesses are.

Otherwise, I like to try to do dry and live runs of Gabe's shooting tests.

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[powell556]

Why do you shoot? For defensive reasons or competitive? That'll help direct the responses.

Purely defensive reasons. No interest in competition from a gamesmanship perspective.

Think about some things that you can’t effectively practice dry.

This is a great point and it's something that I've thought about a lot and that makes me work things like strings of fire, trying to control recoil and get sights on target as quickly as possible.

I can theoretically practice drawing fast and getting first round on target fast "dry" but I don't know if I actually hit the target. I can estimate if I hit if as I press the trigger, and after I'm done pressing the trigger, the sights are aligned on target.

[powell556]

What are your goals?

Purely defensive. My goals are subjective and likely a bit extreme. I'd love to be able to consistently put all rounds on a 3x5 card at 25 yards at reasonable speeds. That's my stretch goal. My more realistic goal is all rounds at 25 yards on an 8" circle target at decent speed. I'm almost there, but I took a year off shooting and off dry firing to focus on other things so working back up to it.

And my goal is to dry fire a few times a week even if I have to go long stretches without shooting due to other obligations. That's training goal, not an outcome goal.

[Alpha Sierra]

Purely defensive. My goals are subjective and likely a bit extreme. I'd love to be able to consistently put all rounds on a 3x5 card at 25 yards at reasonable speeds. That's my stretch goal. My more realistic goal is all rounds at 25 yards on an 8" circle target at decent speed.

It's tough to see the connection between those stated goals and a purely defensive use/interest in handguns.

I'd be focusing on making the hits you need to make at more realistic distances (10 yards and in) while moving explosively off the line/away from an attacker and a high level of proficiency in one-handed shooting (with either hand).

Standing and delivering at 25 yards: not very relevant or realistic if self defense is all you care about.