What are you doing to practice/perfect your carry

[Jusme]

The OP poses several really good questions we should ask ourselves (and be honest with ourselves about the answers) when training. I have neither the eyesight nor the reflexes I did when I was younger, but that simply means that my training time should be planned and focused on specific skills. In addition to the questions posed above, here are a few more to consider.

Do you carry at least one extra magazine?
Do you practice returning the gun to operation after a failure of some kind?
Do you practice drawing from concealment?
Do you practice moving and shooting? Shooting moving targets?
Do you practice using cover and/or concealment?
Do you practice decision-making (shoot / don't shoot) in some courses of fire?
Do you practice night / low-light shooting?
Do you practice drawing/engaging/failure drills using ONLY your off-hand?
Do you practice hand-to-hand skills to allow you time/distance to get to your gun if you are suddenly face-to-face with a threat? Do you have other tools / skillsets that can assist (edged tools, kubotan, pen, nail file, flashlight,...)?

There are more questions like these that can be asked, of course. The point of the questions is to start integrating specific training opportunities into a training plan to build skills that may help you prevail in a deadly force encounter.

I know that as I get older, my reflexes, physical capabilities, eyesight etc. will be in decline. I also know how quickly, any learned skill deteriorates without consistent practice. What ever time we can give to practice, is precious, and should be very focused. Also, I believe it helps greatly if you have a coach, or shooting partner who is at least as proficient, as you, preferably, more so. That way they can critique your training/practice and possibly point out things you need to improve upon.

My practices, always start out very slow and deliberate, focusing on presentation, grip, aim, consistent trigger discipline etc. I want my last drill to be my best and fastest, but, I will settle for accuracy over speed every time. I know that like anything else, I can always get better, and I'm sure that like most of us, firearms training is not something that can be done everywhere. And often takes a backseat, to other commitments in life.

[Deitz83]

Do you practice drawing a live weapon? Yes, My neighbor works with me once a month.
Are you prepared to shoot from the hip? Yes, We do multiple presentations.
Are you prepared to shoot one handed? Yes,
Are you prepared to shoot off handed? Yes
Have you practiced 'slight of hand' distracting your aggressor while you are drawing your weapon? No
Can you draw your weapon in under 1 second? Sometimes This is a work in progress. More work! More progress!!
Do you have to rack the slide? No
Does you gun have a safety, and will you remember to take it off? (This is mine because I carry different weapons) One does, but it is not my EDC.
I use it for NRA matches and 36 plate matches.

Some private gun clubs hold IDPA type events for a small fee. This is a great way to see where you are at with your draw and see what you should work on.

[vjallen75]

This poses a good question to the forum, from reading the posts I have a lot to work on.

[C-dub]

Do you practice drawing a live weapon? Yes
Are you prepared to shoot from the hip? Yes
Are you prepared to shoot one handed? Yes
Are you prepared to shoot off handed? Yes
Have you practiced 'slight of hand' distracting your aggressor while you are drawing your weapon? No
Can you draw your weapon in under 1 second? Yes, and get a shot into center mass.
Do you have to rack the slide? No, but I do practice doing that when reloading.
Does you gun have a safety, and will you remember to take it off? Glocks
Do you carry at least one extra magazine? 2
Do you practice returning the gun to operation after a failure of some kind? Only when it happens.
Do you practice drawing from concealment? Yes
Do you practice moving and shooting? Shooting moving targets? Yes
Do you practice using cover and/or concealment? Yes
Do you practice decision-making (shoot / don't shoot) in some courses of fire? Yes
Do you practice night / low-light shooting? Yes
Do you practice drawing/engaging/failure drills using ONLY your off-hand? No
Do you practice hand-to-hand skills to allow you time/distance to get to your gun if you are suddenly face-to-face with a threat? Do you have other tools / skillsets that can assist (edged tools, kubotan, pen, nail file, flashlight,...)? Not really.

A year or two ago I bought a shot timer and have watched several of the NRA training videos and others to learn training techniques. There are many good ideas out there, but I can't do all of them on every trip. I will pick one or two drills to focus on each trip if I'm not going just to have some fun. The timer is a great tool to measure how your training has improved or declined and in which aspect. Then I can focus on drills that will improve that particular area.

[Mike S]

Honestly probably not nearly as quick as I should be or want to be (especially with my new holster). I would love to find somewhere local where I could draw and fire from my holster, but our local range will not allow it...or head shots or open carry or AC/heat half of the time. Not my favorite range but it's what we've got.

If the Dripping Springs/Wimberley area is within a reasonable driving distance for you (west of Austin, or "Just West of Weird", as we affectionately call it...), I teach private & small group lessons at a private range. I routinely have students drawing from concealment, combat reloads, engaging multiple targets, contact shooting (up close & personal), etc. Head shots are ok as long as the shooter isn't so short to risk the rounds going over the berm (however, since in the real world the head is such a small target & moves around a bit much to hit under stress I usually temper civilian students to focus on the high center chest area, unless extremely close).

Here's my website. If you're interested I should be available throughout most of August, with Sept-Nov in flux. www.coldboretact.com

[karder]

I am trying to commit myself to taking a formal firearms course once a year. I will be going to Dallas in September for a jiu jitsu seminar and combative pistol course over a busy 4 days. I have done enough of these combative courses that I am not expecting any great revelations, but it is good to get out and practice with different instructors and to keep my skills up. I also like to hear different perspectives and approaches. While I have my own system down and am not looking for wholesale change, I hope to learn a couple of things that I can apply to my daily carry and practice routines.

[JustSomeOldGuy]

competing in IDPA or USPSA matches in your area will exercise a lot of the skills mentioned in this thread, and is a lot cheaper/more convenient than a trip out of town to a training venue. If you DO have the time and money, some time spent at a location/instructor with a known track record is well worth the money in terms of making you aware of your 'blind spots' skillwise.

[JerryK]

Guys and you TT,

I am hearing a lot of good input and I can see those that have responded are truly interested in training along with a lot of other that haven't responded yet. I posted this as a result of a conversation with a fellow LTC'er that claims to carry but doesn't train or realize how fast a SD scenario plays out. He felt that since he had a gun that he was protected. In real time I think most are in this boat and think they will have time to un-zipper a pouch to draw their weapon maybe even call 'time out' or ask for a replay. We are so used to watching rehearsed TV shows where everything scripted out and we forget there is no script to a SD encounter. And the BG's do not play by the rules. They like to slip up behind you when you least expect it and catch you off guard. There is no timeout at that point and you had better have practiced to gain muscle memory or you will just become another statistic!!!

I am constantly having to tell myself not to carry anything in my strong hand for obvious reasons but most do not think about this simple fact. We can watch videos all day long but when the a problem arises, we need to be ready!!!

[Bitter Clinger]

This past wekend we trained with Robbie Allmon of P2 Concepts (http://p2-concepts.com/index.php/real-w ... lications/). We practiced many drills including drawing from holster (concealed and unconcealed), clearing malfunctions, combat and tactical reloads, strong and weak (offhand) shooting and shooting while moving, multiple target engagement at varying ranges from an arm's length away to 25 yds, shooting from behind cover and concealment, slicing the pie and room entry / clearing.

A good learning was had by all!

[Flightmare]