TexasCHLforum.com

I know this is a fairly old post, but I'm new to the forums, and I'd like to throw in a little input.

There are many great techniques listed here, but one that really helped me out was the bathroom mirror drills.

I would start by clearing my weapon. Standing in front of the mirror with a holstered weapon. I would look at myself in the mirror, close my eyes, and draw my weapon on my reflection while keeping my finger off the trigger. I would open my eyes and check my natural draw against my sight picture. I would repeat this drill over and over a few days each week. By keeping my finger off the trigger, this proved useful in becoming accustomed to holding my weapon that way. This will force a deliberate trigger pull.

This proved particularly beneficial when I had to perform a night-fire exercise when I qualified in the military. I didn't have to worry about using night vision goggles because if I could see the target, I could bring the weapon right up to my natural aiming point without having to visualize the weapon.

This drill also got me accustomed to having a real life person in my sights without putting anybody in danger. While silhouette targets are great, nothing can replace a real live breathing person. Because the image in the mirror had a gun pointing at ME, it helped me with real threat recognition and kind of desensitized me so I could react more calmly when faced with a real live situation.

Another drill I would practice while watching TV was magazine changes. I would have my (cleared) weapon with two empty magazines. I would lock the slide back so I wouldn't have the spring assistance with magazine ejection... when you empty a magazine, the slide (typically) locks back, so that's the conditions you would be facing in a real live situation. I would depend on the magazine to "fall out". When the magazine would land in my lap, I would load the other magazine in my hand. After loading that magazine, I would pick up the other magazine and repeat over and over. I would be watching TV instead of looking at the weapon so it became second nature.

I would like to stress that while these are GREAT drills, safety is VERY important! Make ABSOLUTE SURE you have cleared your weapon.