Sidearms & Scatterguns Looking for tips on better pistol training

[GotCox]

So i took a vid of me shooting my pistol and practicing my pistol shooting. I have only been shooting pistols for 3-4 months and need to get to a professional class, but in the mean time i enjoy getting out to do some shooting and enjoy getting better. Was hoping you guys could look at the vid and see some of the drills and setup i had and give some idea's for improvement. Thanks

Shooting the Hi Point 45acp and Savage 17hmr on steel - YouTube

 

[Gunfighting Inc]

I only watched about three minutes. You were hitting pretty well, so you obviously have a good understanding of sight alignment and trigger control. Your gun handling needs some attention. It is important to get quality instruction and coaching to so one does not spend time ingraining habits that must be over ridden later. How we reload, manipulate the slide, keep the weapon in our work space, access our magazines, etc. should all have a fight focus as to why we do them the way we do, with the objective of developing habits our subconscious can access under the speed and pressure of the fight.

Notice how, at 2:47, when you changed mags you used an under the slide technique to drop the slide and missed and had to make a second movement for it to work. That technique may be suitable for doing a chamber check, but not for aggressively manipulating the slide when getting your gun running again is the priority of the moment in order to win the fight.

My feedback is based on the assumption that you have a desire to develop fight proven skills and not just be a "plinker." If having fun shooting is the only goal and activity you plan on doing with your guns, then you can do it any way you wish because the only thing that matters is being safe. But should you wish to have the skills to fight with your firearms, then there is a right and many wrong ways to do things.

Onward and Upward!

 

[GotCox]

I only watched about three minutes. You were hitting pretty well, so you obviously have a good understanding of sight alignment and trigger control. Your gun handling needs some attention. It is important to get quality instruction and coaching to so one does not spend time ingraining habits that must be over ridden later. How we reload, manipulate the slide, keep the weapon in our work space, access our magazines, etc. should all have a fight focus as to why we do them the way we do, with the objective of developing habits our subconscious can access under the speed and pressure of the fight.

Notice how, at 2:47, when you changed mags you used an under the slide technique to drop the slide and missed and had to make a second movement for it to work. That technique may be suitable for doing a chamber check, but not for aggressively manipulating the slide when getting your gun running again is the priority of the moment in order to win the fight.

My feedback is based on the assumption that you have a desire to develop fight proven skills and not just be a "plinker." If having fun shooting is the only goal and activity you plan on doing with your guns, then you can do it any way you wish because the only thing that matters is being safe. But should you wish to have the skills to fight with your firearms, then there is a right and many wrong ways to do things.

Onward and Upward!

Thanks for the tips. I agree with a lot of what you said. I do agree i need to get to a class, but the money to do that is not a priority at the moment. I am willing to learn all i can from books, video's and experienced shooters though. I am thinking of getting either Magpuls art of the pistol or Tactical Responses fighting pistol video's to help also. Not sure what one is better.

 

[ColbyLang]

kyle lamb's VTAC videos are damn good

 

[diverdon]

http://www.snipershide.com/shooting...ars/263746-pistol-shooting-jerry-miculek.html
https://www.youtube.com/user/MiculekDotCom

Have you checked out everything Jerry Miculek has on youtube?

 

[GotCox]

Lots of good suggestions. Thanks guys.

colby i have never heard of kyle lamb or his vids i will be sure to look him up. Thanks.

Nuke my thumbs are just stacked and pointed forward next to the slide.

Diverdon ya i have been subscribed to Jerry since he started his channel.

 

[Scarruth]

Find a local USPSA or IDPA shooting club and shoot matches. In my experience, people have been very generous with the shooting tips and coaching in general.

 

[corym468]

Here's a video I found to be incredibly helpful.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ys73BzdE8JY

 

[Super Bee 950]

My advice..

1. Take more of an agressive stance and lock your elbow. I almost hyperextend my arm, and get my arms as locked in position as possible. I posted a pic as an example. With the arms locked, recoil is reduced, and you can get back on target faster.
2. The big thing about pistol shooting is trigger pull. if you slow down the trigger pull by half, you will get twice as good.
3. Practice on paper targets. If you shoot cans and plates, you groups will be about as big as the can or plate. You will never know if you are getting good groups unless you can analyze what you are doing on paper. Shooting 3 gun makes you a fast shooter, but its horrible for fundamentals. Whever I shoot 3 gun, I always do head shots so I dont get sloppy. Once you get the fundamentals down, then you can work on speed. Its possible to do both and I included a target from a competition last week during a rapid fire stage at 15 yards to show it is possible. Accuracy is more fun that speed
4. Keep the trigger back through the recoil, and only start to reset the trigger once you are back on target. It should become a mechanical movement where its boom click, boom click, etc. (the click is the trigger reset) If you dont notice the trigger reset, you jumped off the trigger.

 

[Delta4-3]

Slow is smooth, smooth is fast.

 

[Sig Marine]

Find a local USPSA or IDPA shooting club and shoot matches. In my experience, people have been very generous with the shooting tips and coaching in general.

I absolutely agree with this. We shoot an IDPA match on a monthly basis at our range and we have new shooters show up all the time. First thing we do is give them instruction on safety and then monitor them during the shoot giving them help along the way. Working on gun safety (moving with your finger off the trigger and muzzle discipline) can be practiced at home along with working from a holster, malfunction drills and magazine reloading. Acquiring many of the skills necessary for shooting on the move, strong hand/weak hand, shooting movers and making transitions can also be practiced at home as well but should be done after the basic fundamentals are mastered. Formal training is nice and preferred but you can learn a lot from an organized shoot.

 

[Mike_Honcho]

OP - where are you from in OR?


When you say you are looking for tips on better pistol shooting - what exactly is your goal?

Accuracy? Find a bullseye group.

Defensive? Go see Clint Smith in Lakeview or on the cheap look for YouTubes of reputable trainers, take notes, go out and recreate those same drills.

Efficient gun handling skills, movement, reloads, practical skills - find an IPSC or IDPA group

Static Speed and Accuracy - find a steel shooting group or a bowling pin shooters group

Something else to file away - get a hold of a copy of this book Practical Shooting : Beyond Fundamentals: Brian Enos, Kris Kunkler: 9780962692505: Amazon.com: Books not all of it is going to make sense at first. Slowly over time as you get better more and more stuff in the book will 'click'. When it all makes sense you want to read it every couple of years because it has so many nuggets that you will invariably forget many of them.

Other thoughts - your going to want to build 3 - 8 target stands out of 2x4s (base) and 1x1s (what you staple the target to), get some paper IPSC / IDPA targets and buff colored tape or whatever type of target that is oriented toward what you want to accomplish. I'd encourage you to loose the shoulder rig and move your gear to your waist line as well. Also - unloaded weapon / dummy rounds in mag - dry fire 5 minutes a day - work on your draw, finding and focusing on the front sight, first shot, and mag changes - try to be consistent with this for 6 months. When you go to the range you're not there to plink. You go with one weapon, a set timeline, a set goal, a couple of specific drills, and you only shoot for the time and the amount of ammo you have set aside - i.e. you're there to work.