Like most, my life is full of good intentions. This coming year, I’m going to do all sorts of wonderful and productive things like lose weight, get in shape and watch less TV—except for the 27 shows I just have to DVR.
Joking aside, and even if the promises to myself I take seriously fall off the self-improvement wagon, I am going to do a better job of practicing with my self-defense guns. Really, I am. Here are some of the things I’m considering adding to my “must do with guns in 2015″ list.
Dry-Fire Practice
Last month I wrote about safe dry-fire practice, so I won’t review the whole process here. Still, remember that safety is always the first consideration, so be sure to rigorously follow all of procedures outlined in that article.
There’s a reason tat dry-fire practice is first on my resolution list: It’s the most effective way to become a more accurate and consistent shooter, bar none. When you learn to properly control a handgun trigger through dry-fire and program those habits into your brain, you’ll find your performance at the range improves immensely.
Given that you can achieve meaningful dry-fire practice in less than a few minutes a day, I’m going to aim for four practice sessions per week. I’ll also take them seriously, so I won’t be sitting at my desk carelessly repeating trigger presses, I’ll be focusing on the entire process of sight picture, smooth trigger press and follow through (which includes a second sight picture). I want to burn these habits into my brain through repetition so deeply that not even a 24-hour reality TV binge can dislodge them.
Holster Draw Practice
There are all sorts of good reasons to regularly practice drawing from a holster. (For that matter, from whatever device holds your personal protection gun, your bedside safe, for instance.)
It’s important that you understand that you do not want to be working on that skill for the first time during an actual emergency. That’s why this is called practice. Well in advance, you want to develop the muscle memory to safely draw your gun, aim it, fire it and re-holster (and again, you need to do this in a safe area and with an unloaded gun just as described in the article on dry-fire practice, then transition to the range and live-fire once your skills are more established). You also want to test your chosen carry method during practice to make sure it works properly for you, i.e., this is the time to discover that your holster works better positioned a little more towards the back side of your hip, rather than right at your side, that sort of thing. This kind of practice also helps identify any potential “gotchas” like certain clothes that get in the way of a smooth draw. Rather than explain the whole process of safely drawing and re-holstering a gun, I’ll point you to an excellent NSSF training video here.
Psychologists tell us that actions become ingrained habits after 2,000 repetitions or so. If I slowly practice 20 perfect draws per practice session, I need 100 sessions to break into habit territory. Even if I only complete two practice sessions per week, I’ll have done 2,000 by the end of the year. Of course, I need to continue practicing so I don’t risk losing my new habits.
Make My Range Outings Count for Something
When I’m not at the range, I often think about what I should do the next time I am there. Remember that bit about good intentions? Anyway, I’m going to work on more focused and measurable practice by doing fun, but productive, shooting drills.
One of my favorite drills is called the “Dot Torture.” I think I like it because it’s a way to practice a variety of shooting skills while using just one box of ammo. Targets are free (free!), and the drill’s design makes it easy to track your score improvement over time. The targets themselves include instructions, but the basic idea is as follows.
The course of fire has you shooting at small circles two-handed, strong-handed, weak-handed and from a holster draw. If your shot goes in the circles, you get points. Total up the points and you can track your improvement. The drill also shows you exactly what skills you need to improve. You can find Dot Torture targets here.
If you want to keep range sessions even simpler than this, you can try the “45 Drill.” It has nothing to do with .45-caliber, but rather four sets of five shots. To practice this drill, staple a paper plate to a target five yards downrange. Draw your gun (or start from a low ready position), and fire five shots at the plate within five seconds. The goal is to get all five hits in that five-inch center circle of the plate. Five shots into a five-inch circle from five yards in five seconds, hence the name “45 drill.” This is another great drill with which to examine your skills. Are you making the time but missing hits? You likely need to slow down and concentrate on getting the hits first. Are you making shots successfully but over the time limit? Time to push yourself.
There are plenty of other fun drills you can use. And “fun” is the key word, right? Just the other day I bought some Battleship game targets that allow you and a friend to play the classic game while improving your accuracy. Who says practice can’t be fun?
Attend a Multi-Day Class With My Family
Increasing your shooting proficiency and self-defense preparedness takes work. Reading and watching videos are a great start, but to really make a difference you need quality instruction and practice. There’s just no substitute for running through scenarios and drills with a qualified instructor.
My resolution is to take a class this year, preferably one that takes place over a couple days and has lots of range time. Even better, I plan to take my whole family. We’re all competent shooters, but I really like the idea of all of us being on exactly the same page for self-defense knowledge.
As tempting as it is to invest training money in more guns and ammunition, it really ought to be the other way around. If you’re serious about owning a gun for home- or self-defense, you need to spend more on training than equipment.
These are the four areas I intend to work on. You can use these or add your own—either way, how about adding a couple to your New Year’s resolution list? Promise, anything you do will make you a better shooter and a bigger part of the shooting sports world around you.