Basic Handgun Range Drills

[IMPD31323]

Absolutely recommend the DOT drill/DOT torture. It doesnt use alot of ammo and really makes you work on fundamentals instead of just blasting away wasting bullets.

 

[sloughfoot]

Thanks for all of the detail - great stuff.

Two questions. They may be silly, but I just want to make sure I am following.

1) What goes into "calling your shot"? Do you mean just simply trying to say for example "low left" after pulling the trigger based on what I felt before the shot was fired?
2) Dry Firing - my only dry firing has just been to test the trigger pull on a gun. So, for dry firing for practice, what should I be focusing on? What should I try to get out of it?

Not silly questions at all.

1. It is not a "feeling" about where the front sight was when the shot went off. It means focusing on the front sight so intently that the image is clear in your mind for some milli-seconds afterward that you can shout out low, low right, high, high left. Or whatever it was. It means controlling the gun, making the hammer fall when you want it too. And knowing exactly where the shot went, good or bad. Only by being able to call your shots can you make accurate sight adjustments.

It isn't about "pulling the trigger" Its about allowing the hammer to fall. Precisely when you desire. Within the limits of the quality of your hold at that moment.

2. Dry firing is all about allowing the hammer to fall without the front sight moving off the spot on the target that you desire to hit. It also strengthens the trigger finger, the grip, and can help smooth the action of the firearm.

The trigger finger of a shooter is not included in the grasp of a handshake. The trigger finger is always totally independent of the grasp of a pistol or a handshake.

I can tell if I am shaking hands with a shooter by where his trigger finger is when shaking hands. If it is along my wrist and not included in the grasp, I know right away.

NRA Bullseye Pistol and NRA Highpower Rifle teaches all of these fundamentals. After learning them, you will be well prepared for IPSC, IDPA, Steel, 3 gun. And every other gun game out there.

And, God forbid, personal self defense combat.

And Marine Corps Boot Camp.

 

[throttletony]

the training and tactics page/sub-forum has a lot of good drills.

Even 10 min on youtube searching for basic handgun drills, or dryfire drills, or dot drill, or bill drill, or el presidente, or mozambique, ...

lots of good options. Have fun AND be safe.
As others have said, drawing and dryfiring are great ways to practice

 

[Twangbanger]

A lot of good things have been mentioned. Something I'd recommend from what hasn't been covered so far:

A lot of times when a noob is shooting "precision slow fire," there's a tendency to relax after you fire a shot (ie, relax the grip, let the trigger fall all the way forward, let the gun drift off the target). What you train yourself to do in slow fire, you'll want to do in rapid fire, also. Since many shooters eventually get interested in shooting accurately and faster, there ends up being a tendency for a shooter to feel it's "difficult to pick up speed," when in fact you're perfectly capable of shooting accurately more quickly than you realize, if you just eliminated that automatic relaxation step of letting everything go (and then having to reacquire it).

So, when you're shooting slow-fire on something like the dot drill, I'd recommend trying to get in the habit of treating it like a sustained string of fire - even if it's not. Fire that shot, maintain grip pressure, call it in your mind, then immediately reset the trigger, take up the slack, and get the trigger pressure back to a "significant" level in preparation for the next shot - even if that next shot is not forthcoming any time "soon." After you've done that, if you need to rest between shots, then you can let go of the trigger and put the gun down. The end of every shot should be process of getting ready for the next shot. Mastering that "recovery" step and making it a normal part of every shot you fire will help down the road.

You didn't say what kind of gun you're shooting or what you want to do with it, but in addition to all the dry-fire stuff mentioned above, it can be good to work on your reloads during dry fire, if you anticipate your shooting endeavors will require that sort of thing.

 

[1861navy]

There has been a lot of good tips covered already. I want to emphasize, grip, trigger control, and stance. These are absolutely key to successful shooting. Grip and stance are a little more personal than trigger control, and it is wise to make sure they are proper and comfortable, before getting into a bad habit.

As for actual shooting drills,and practice drills, there are lots of them on youtube. Dry firing is a really good one, get some snap caps and practice. I like to use the little buttons on my dvd/vhs combo, there are 14 of them, they are about the diam. of .22 and spaced a couple millimeters apart. Heck I like to set a penny, nickel, etc. on the slide and try to keep it from falling while moving between buttons, this has helped make me really steady while trying to hit targets in different places. Practicing what to do in a malfunction is another good one. If you have the opportunity, and are comfortable doing it, try dryfire/shooting from multiple angles, crouched, from behind cover, moving to and from cover, etc. In a real defense scenario, you will very likely be moving a lot, and not standing in the most perfect position. Moving targets are also good to use, put a 3 in. circle on a paint can, hang it from a string, and try to put as many as you can in that circle, or near it.

 

[illini40]

Thanks for all of tips and suggestions guys. Great stuff!

I will be doing some more research before heading to the range again.

 

[CWELLS1313]

Holster drawing might be benifical just be extremely careful and no live ammo until your very ready

 

[U.S. Patriot]

Dot drill. Start at roughly five yards. Draw a circle with a diameter of roughly four inches on a paper plate. The goal is to be able to put every round in the circle. When you can do so, move back another 2-3 yards, and do the same. You can perform it from the high ready, or drawing from a holster. Get the basics down, then you can move on to more advanced drills.

 

[Kirk Freeman]

Thanks for all of tips and suggestions guys. Great stuff!

It's about the gun handling, not the shooting.

 

[throttletony]

[video=youtube;Zi5eZqc9H7I]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zi5eZqc9H7I&list=UUdqO3qjABeMfqdhErk-A7zg[/video]

 

[BE Mike]

I would really recommend a beginner training session with someone. I know INGO member Coach offers them, as I am sure other trainers here do as well.

These trainers will give you a wealth of information, and more importantly, will give you immediate feedback, providing answers to many questions you may have.
After a session with them, you will know what you need to practice, as well as how to practice it... what to look for when practicing, etc...

My wife and I did a training session, my wife was entirely new to firearms, and I was very wet behind the ears myself. We basically were just looking for assurance that we were handling and shooting safely. We were drawing from the holster, aiming at the target, and scoring hits immediately. We got so much more out of that session when you consider we took the newfound knowledge and applied it to our range & practice times.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^THIS^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
If you can get a good instructor to teach you the fundamentals during range sessions, you will get more out of that than all the well meaning tips or hints from the internet or range rats. If you learn the right way to do it in the beginning, you will have a great foundation upon which to build your skills. Not only that, but a good instructor will ingrain safe gun handling practices at the outset which will also serve you well. Keep in mind that you can always be better. One thing I learned recently (you can teach an old dog, new tricks) is that electronic ear protectors (when used by both instructor and student) substantially improves the quality of training over ear plugs and/ or conventional muffs.

 

[Hoosier45]

Google "Clint Smith 100 round drill".