Is Target Shooting Best For Self Defense?

[Liko81]

Find a range that allows holster draws and a shooting buddy with a whistle, and a few dozen B-27 targets. If no local range allows holster draws, get some target holders and go outlaw in a vacant field; remember municipal gunfire bans and proper backstops/runoff when choosing a location. Do draw-point-shoot drills. From an everyday stance, hands at your side, at the whistle you must free, aim and fire your weapon just like you would in a real-life situation; as fast as possible while putting shots on target.

I always recommend doing this dry first.

Oh definitely. Unload the weapon, check that it's unloaded, then check again. Then do a dry run in front of a mirror; draw, aim and pull the trigger at your reflection. Pay attention to how the gun comes out, where your trigger finger is, and what the muzzle screens as you bring it to ready; your reflection, if it were a BG, should be the first object the gun is pointed at with your finger on the trigger. IPSC stresses this very highly; flashing your hand with the muzzle as you draw while bringing your off-hand up is a common mistake and will get you disqualified for a safety violation in most competitions.

[srothstein]

Here's a fun one used by sniper teams; it probably won't help much with real-world unless you're a sniper though. Get balloon-making equipment (balloons, helium, ribbon/string, etc) and an off-road r/c vehicle.

Thanks for this great drill idea. I had not seen that before. I can use this in our academy for training, with several variations I can think of now.

And I think you might have just become my son's best friend. He loves R/C cars and this gives me the excuse to buy a decent one. I can use it for training and he can use it for play (well, training too since he wants to drive NASCAR when he is old enough).

[CompVest]

Well, shoot just put eye and ear protection on your son and let him drive the RC with the balloon for you to shoot at. That way you both win!

[gearhead21]

Skip, I agree to an extent; however, practice does not make perfect. PERFECT practice makes perfect. Shooting often with bad habits and improper technique won't make a person better.

This is something I also always taught, using the analogy that one of the things we do most is write our signature and look how most of those are. Unless you try to improve each time, you will make the same mistakes.

Another thing I taught is to build muscle memory, that is, wear your weapon in a similar area all the time (when I first made Detective I bought a "cool" jackass rig. The first time I really needed the gun I went for my 3 o'clock belt area. I was lucky. Under pressure you lose fine motor skills and do what was trained.). With an empty gun, (or a red gun) draw and present, check your sights. Make correction until your front sight is on target and hold it for a while. Practice over and over until you are very close to target without correction. It may take days, weeks, or months (some never get it), but you will be able to get on target fast, with with small flash front sight correction, if needed. Remember, longer distance will need more front sight concentration.

My teaching theory on this is, as a small child the first way to tell someone that you want something is to point at it (those with young children can varify). If you point at something, look down your index finger as if it were the barrel of a gun, and you will see it is very close to "on target". Now, as we all know, we should have our finger outside the trigger guard, and alongside the frame as we draw, and present. If you have a handgun with a "natural point" you should be very close. I love my Sigs, XDs and the 1911 for this reason. Practice, practice, practice. I hadn't carried my P226 and my duty rig in almost 8 years, but when I had to qualify for LEOSA it all came back. I do still practice muscle memory with a P226 redgun, and airsoft.