[philosophical_recovery]

Background
This is for those of you that are loosely familiar with handgun shooting. This is not meant to be a guide to total newbies, this is for someone who finds themselves going to the range with some frequency, and finds themselves burning through a lot of expensive ammunition without improving. A 50 round box of common 9mm range ammunition can be had for $10-20, depending on location, which can become expensive if you are not using your practice effectively. Depending on your habits, this 50 round box can last 30 seconds to 30 minutes.

A lot of people at the range tend to grab one target and burn through all 50 rounds, not really controlling their shot, having "fun", then going home, thinking that they have accomplished something and can protect themselves. This guide is to keep you from being that person.

Keep in mind that shooting well, like any other challenging hobby, can be both mentally and physically exhausting. Concentration on hand-eye coordination quickly becomes fatiguing. Breaks are recommended. I generally don't like shooting over 150-200 rounds per trip to the range, because I get too worn out. This can be improved, but only if you're willing to spend the coin on significant amounts of ammunition.

I have been shooting handguns and rifles regularly for 4 years. I have had some competitive shooting experience, and am sharing what I have learned. I have made plenty of mistakes, but have never caused any injuries due to ALWAYS following safety rules.

General Safety Rules

• ALWAYS keep the gun pointed in a safe direction.THE MOST IMPORTANT RULE. A GUN WILL NOT HURT YOU OR SOMEONE ELSE IF IT IS MECHANICALLY SOUND AND YOU NEVER POINT IT AT A LIVING THING.
• ALWAYS keep the finger off the trigger until ready to shoot. ALSO THE MOST IMPORTANT RULE. DO NOT BE SLOPPY. FINGER OUT OF THE TRIGGER GUARD UNTIL YOU HAVE A GOOD SIGHT PICTURE AND ARE ON TARGET. Slips, falls, bumps, surprises, and all of these things can cause a negligent discharge if your finger is in the trigger guard. If you never have your finger in the trigger guard unless you are actually shooting, these things have next to zero likelihood of causing you harm.
• Know your target and what is beyond. Do not aim a gun at something that could be penetrated and destroy, injure, or kill something. For the reference, your house or apartment walls will NOT stop a bullet and if you are playing with a loaded gun at home you risk it flying through the wall, floor, or ceiling and injuring a neighbor.
• Be sure the gun is safe to operate.
• Use only the correct ammunition for your gun.
• Wear eye and ear protection.
• Only handle guns while sober.
• Store guns in a locked area.
  

The Pistol and Caliber
If you are still relatively new, I suggest practicing these habits for one or two sessions with your own or a borrowed 22LR pistol. A 22LR pistol is fantastic to have around and practice with for the following reasons:

• It's dead cheap. 22LR is about the cheapest ammunition out there
• It's an unreliable rimfire cartridge, so you get to practice handling malfunctions
• There is little recoil, so it is far easier to control than a centerfire pistol cartridge
  

However, for the same reasons that the 22LR is good for an amateur to have and practice with occasionally, this also means it is a poor pistol to become a master at. I personally have shot competitively with 9mm and .45 caliber ammunition, but also own a .44 magnum revolver because it's the largest caliber I can shoot one handed and it will take down large animals in an emergency situation in the woods. I recommend 9mm for its popularity, low price, and very manageable recoil. Experiment some, and find out what you prefer, but expect to find more problems in odball calibers like 357 sig, 25acp, 9mm makarov, or anything special. .40 caliber ammunition is very popular and I recommend it if you shoot it well, but I personally dislike shooting .40 caliber pistols. I would rather shoot .45, due to the feel of the recoil.

The caliber you spend the most practice on should be your primary carrying gun, or the gun you expect to rely on in a self defense situation. That gun should be dead simple, with the fewest features to confuse you or go wrong. You may start out loving a caliber and changing your mind, or even preferring a certain brands ammunition if you shoot enough. There are a lot of good 380s out there, and in spite of my cautioning against oddball calibers, if I could find hot loaded 25acp or 32acp, or 380 ammunition regularly I would actually try it for a very easily concealable pistol. Unfortunately, I have found smaller 380s to be painful to shoot due to small grips and light weight (which means they absorb little recoil). I'd also consider a small 357 magnum revolver as there is little that can malfunction on them.

Two brands I recommend:
Glock. All of their triggers are as identical as possible, and they offer their platforms in multiple sizes in each caliber, from full-sized double stacked competition guns (which have longer barrels, making them easier to shoot accurately), to now subcompact single stack 9mm. I own multiple Glocks, all of which operate identically, all of which have exactly the same trigger feel. This is the most important feature of shooting well, knowledge of trigger pull, which makes it easier to shoot well. Glocks also feature trigger safeties, but no other safeties that can be snagged or require significant practice to master. The other 9mm striker fired pistols I have tried, which if they had a safety, nearly always annoyed me due to how the safety operated.

Springfield. Specifically, I own a Springfield 1911 with a match-grade barrel that can drive nails at 10+ yards if I really felt like it. I shot it very well competitively. It is also features a safety that has never caused my annoyance or issue, and safety on 1911s is absolutely necessary due to the single-action nature of the pistols. I have always disabled the safety at only the appropriate time due to practicing the habit and the safety design.

I carry either a full size Glock 17, a smaller Glock 26, or my 1911. I have run all competitively, and have had no malfunctions that have scared me away from carrying them.

Platforms I've seen others love:
Springfield XD
Smith and Wesson Shield (actually thought of trading one of my Glocks I rarely use for one)
CZ (These have a huge cult following and have met very good shooters with these as their primary)

Platforms to avoid (which is mainly based off what I've seen fail)
1911s in 9mm. I have seen more failures in competition with these handguns than any other caliber.

The Sights and Sight Picture
Sights are the only thing I modify on my guns. All of my guns that I consider for self defense, after I put a few hundred rounds through them, get night sights with tritium. If I can find them for the gun, I like high-contrast tritium sights that have a colored ring around the front and back tritium. This makes getting a good sight picture in bright or intermediate light (intermediate is the worst light to shoot in, because the tritium isn't yet bright enough to glow in contrast) much easier. My main range, if I leave the lane light switch off, has intermediate light which causes me to struggle a bit.

Speaking of sight pictures, here is a good example of one that is close, but not quite on:



There are several things to notice here:

• The only thing in focus is the front sight. This is what your dominant eye should be focusing on. Not the target, not the rear sights.
• The gap to the left and right of the front sight should be even. This picture is slightly off.
• The two rear sights should be level with the front sights. Some of this varies per the sight and the distance (which shouldn't matter for most indoor shooting), but unless you have good trigger discipline, you will never figure it out.
• The front sight, which your focus is on, should be at target center. Note, this picture has the front sight below the target center. Some sights are made so that the center of the target is actually as shown in the picture. Others are set up so that the dot should be on the target center. Again, you need to become a master trigger operator before you can tell the difference, and that is what I want to tell you how to do.
  

The Most Important Thing to Bring to the Range (Other than your gun)
A Sharpie Marker. More on that, later.

The targets
If you can bring your own targets, I suggest just bringing a blank sheet of paper and marking multiple Xs that are about 1 inch or slightly larger. I don't think that bulls eyes give you as good of a reference, as you can aim right at the center of an X. You also easily see where your shot landed without bringing the target back in closer. This is extremely helpful. If you have to buy them, a target with multiple, smaller bulls eyes is better:



I also recommend using your marker, and after you have shot up the target sights, marking an X or circle in an unshot area to use for more, small aiming practice.

It goes back to the simple principle, Aim Small, Miss Small. Big bulls eyes, or bodies, while fun to shoot out, don't provide something small to focus your aim on unless you mark them up with a sharpie.

The warm up
It's your first time at the range in months, and the first thing you feel like doing is loading up a full 17 round magazine in your Glock and unload on the target. This is absolutely what you SHOULD NOT do. We're trying to teach you good habits, and you just sent a full magazine of uncontrolled shots down range. This is a bad habit to get into.

Make sure your target is at a close distance, only 3-5 yards to start out.

ONLY LOAD 1 round in the magazine!

Do not insert the magazine in the pistol yet, but have the gun pointed downrange. Cycle it to ensure it is unloaded, while keeping it pointed downrange, before checking these things:

Grip
The webbing between your thumb and index finger of your dominant hand should be as high as it can be on your gun. Demonstrated with a 1911:

You can choke up high on revolvers and striker-fired pistols, like the Glock. If you get too high, the slight can bite your hand some, so cycle the slide back to ensure it doesn't hit the meat of your hand. The higher the grip, the more force that gets transmitted down your arm, and not flipping the nose of your pistol upward. A low, loose grip is dangerous. People have been killed by having a low, loose grip and high powered revolvers. The first shot goes off, the gun twists back and points at the user, and the rebounding muscles and bones in the hand cause another round to go off, causing the user to be shot in the face.

This is why I never allow anyone, for their first time with my guns or with a higher caliber than I have seen them shoot, load more than one round in the magazine. I don't want any chance for them to screw up and hurt themselves.

Once your dominant hand is planted firmly, high on the grip, you can apply your non-dominant hand. It should wrap around the remainder of the grip, with the left thumb outside and under the dominant thumb, out of the way. Both thumbs should point forward. This may feel slightly awkward at first, but you'll find it gives you a natural point to where you want to shoot. It looks like this, also shown with a 1911:


Practice getting to this grip. Then, with your magazine that you only loaded with one round, use your non-dominant hand to load the pistol. Pull the slide back and let go to load the round. Do not ease the slide forward, there is a strong spring to do this for you, and easing it forward is a quick way to cause the round to misload and cause a malfunction. Then, grip the gun with your non-dominant hand.

Take your time, and make sure you have a good sight picture. Make sure your trigger is underneath your finger pad, not in the joint. The finger pad tends to pull the trigger straight back, but the joint will tend to twist the gun down and opposite your dominant side. So, right handed shooters tend to miss low and to the left. All of your focus should be on sight picture and pulling the trigger back as straight as possible.

Where did the shot go? If it went exactly where you aimed, you're doing well. Chances are, your first shot got jerked downward and to the left.

So, what to do next?

Defeating the Trigger Reflex

You're at the range, you just shot one round that didn't bulls eye.

Hit the magazine release, pull the magazine out, but cycle the slide so that the trigger is armed. The gun is empty, but you can still pull the trigger. Grip your gun as before, and take a dry shot, slowly. What happens?

You're rusty, your first shot went off the mark, and now that you don't have the recoil to deal with you see exactly what happened: You're jerking the gun with the shot.

Cycle the slide again, don't worry about ammo. Get your grip back and put yourself back on target. Pull the trigger, trying everything you can to keep sight picture on target. If you feel yourself start to squirm and jerk the gun before the trigger breaks, relax, shake it off, and try again.

After a few tries of this, you should be able to keep the sights on target with a dry pistol and not jerk the gun.

Now, load ONE shot. Get your gun on target. Take a slow shot with a slow pull, just like you were practicing, and see the result.

Hopefully, this shot is bulls eye or closer to it than before. You may still have a trigger reflex.

From now on, pay strict attention to where each of your shots go. If you start to get off target, you need to take a break from live ammo and do practice dry runs, just like you did, in order to reinforce the right trigger and sight management. This is difficult. It requires a great deal of concentration and coordination, but every bit of practice on this will improve your skill with every gun you shoot, even rifles.

Summary up to this point.
Make sure you grip as high on the gun as possible
Maintain a good sight picture throughout the trigger pull
When you start coming far off target, take a break from live ammunition, maybe a 5 minute break from shooting, and do dry fire practice.

Strict Practice
After a few single round runs, bring the target in and mark it with 5 X's running HORIZONTAL on the paper:
X X X X X
They should be a little over an inch large and a couple inches apart, on the center.
Load your magazine with five rounds.
Moving from left to right, slowly shoot one X at a time. If your see a shot missed an X, keep moving to the next X.

Take a break after the five rounds, see what you did. If you find yourself getting consistently off, do more dry fire practice.

If you're way off, you don't have to re-mark the Xs, just reload 5 rounds and try again. Switch up from left to right and try right to left.

This day or the next time at the range, do this 5 round practice. It's slow, doesn't use a lot of ammo, and forces you to concentrate on a small target.

You can also run the X's vertical:
X
X
X
X
X

However, it is much more difficult to run it vertical. This is because even when controlling side-to-side drift with your trigger pull, the downward motion is even more difficult to train out of. However, it will come with time and more practice.

The Use of Snap Caps
At the range, you can also use snap caps. Snap caps are dummy rounds that provide a soft cushion for your firing pin. You can use these for all of your dry firing, if you desire, but they are more useful for mixing with live ammo.

For instance, in your 5 shot drills, you can use 5 real rounds and 1 snap cap. Mix them up, and either have a friend load the magazine or don't pay attention to the order you put them in. What happens is you should be focusing on trigger pull and sight picture. At some point, you're going to have a dummy round. If you jerk the pistol downward or to the side on the dummy round, you need to relax some and do more dry practice. You'll also have to practice cycling the snap cap out. Clearing the snap cap by cycling the slide could cause you to lose the snap cap when it ejects, so please be careful.

When you've had some practice with the 5 round drills at a 3 or 5 yard range, get a new target, mark it up, and push it out another 2 yards. It will be much more difficult. If it's too difficult, pull the target in closer. Really, doing this at 7 yards and getting right on the X center is pretty good. Not many average people can do this, and with focused practice you could get there pretty quickly.

Practice At Home and The Best Practice Trick I Know

Safety
Safety at home is paramount. You need to have a safe place to do it, and a safe direction to shoot. I don't care if you have an empty pistol, You need to shoot at something that cannot be penetrated. Use judgement. Drywall doesn't stop bullets, nor does plywood. You need to be 100% sure your gun is clear, and you need to keep all live ammo in a separate room. The only thing you should have in the room with your EMPTY pistol is snap caps or empty brass.

Check, double check, and triple check that the magazine and chamber of your weapon has no live ammunition and load a snap cap. Now, I want you to take a second snap cap or a piece of empty brass, and balance it on the pistol. You can also use a quarter or nickel, but that will be more difficult.

This is a training pistol (not a working gun) with a round balanced on it. You should be using a snap cap or empty brass for safety reasons:

Your job is to aim at your safe target that cannot be penetrated by a bullet by any means, and while maintaining a sight picture, pull the trigger. The trick is, you cannot let the snap cap or empty brass fall or slide off of your gun. At first, this can be quite difficult and frustrating, but this is am amazing way to improve trigger control. A week of practicing this every night can easily have you shooting better than 90% of the average people at the range.

Once you master a snap cap or empty brass, try balancing coins on the gun in the same way. It will be even harder. Your trigger control will get smoother, and you will be the envy of the common folk at the range.

Remember, if you're at the range and find yourself getting off mark, unload the pistol and do more dry fire runs. Test yourself frequently with the snap caps when doing multiple round practice, to reinforce good trigger control.

Other Tips:

Carrying
I strongly recommend training or defense-based competitive groups if you are going to carry a pistol concealed (or otherwise) for self defense. You do not know how you will act in a stressful situation, staying behind cover, trying not to hit non-targets until you have tried a good course or competition. It is also a great place to find camaraderie with your fellow men. It is the only way to understand your limitations when it comes to pistol shooting, and when it's better to retreat due to the lack of abilities.

I also heavily recommend being in shape, and not being one of those guys at the range with a huge gut that overhangs his $3000 custom Kimber 1911. Don't be that guy.

Holsters
If you are carrying, the absolute most important thing to learn about is holsters. You must have a good holster. It can be kydex, leather, or some kind of composite construction. I have a strong preference for reinforced leather or hard kydex. I have occasionally used hybrid holsters, which are wide leather belts with a semi-rigid piece of kydex riveted to it:


I am not a huge fan of them, and different manufacturers build more secure holsters than others. You need to be able to move around, bend over, jump up and down, and never have the pistol slip out and expose the trigger guard. Whatever your carry position, you should practice a smooth, slow draw from a holster with an unloaded weapon. At no point should you "flag" yourself. That is, your muzzle should never be pointed at a body part. I have seen people point into their pelvis when drawing. Do it in front of a mirror if you have to. ALWAYS start out slowly.

You should never try to do a fast re-holster. A fast draw, when practiced properly, is necessary for self defense, and can be done safely. A fast re-holster is always risky. This is because whatever clothes you are wearing can fall into your holster, or in the way, and get into the trigger guard. Your re-holster movement should always have a check to ensure that clothes are pulled out of the way so that you do not accidentally hit the trigger.

Also, if you are not willing to carry your weapon "hot", that is with a round in the chamber, I highly recommend that you not carry at all. Having to pull the slide back in a self defense scenario is a risky proposition. Under high stress, you are likely to cause the gun to malfunction, making you a big, vulnerable and obvious target with a now useless piece of metal in your hand. Practice, get training, and use good safety techniques to eliminate risk. God forbid you have to pull your pistol for self defense, but if you do you want it to work on the first try, without having to do anything other than draw, aim, and pull the trigger.

A Warning On Self Defense Ammunition
If you have trained well, practiced, and are ready to carry, please do research on all the laws for your area, as they vary by state. Before you carry, find a good hollow point or fragmenting ammunition from a reputable supplier.
Never carry a gun with hard ball or range ammunition.
Self defense ammo is often $1 a round or more, so quite expensive. However, it is made to hit your target, expand, and dump all of its momentum and killing power in your target. Therefore, if you are in a sticky situation and actually have to use your pistol, if you've been practicing as you should, you will only hurt your target, the bad guy. Hard ball ammo will likely pass through him, and into whatever is behind him. You shouldn't be lining up a shot if an innocent person is behind a threat, but why risk it? Hard ball will also pass throw, not transferring its killing power to your target, and he may survive the hit, angry, and come after you. In spite of the fear mongering, please look up statistics on pistol deaths. Somewhere around 7 our of 9 people shot by a pistol survive! Pistols rarely instantly kill anything, which is why self defense courses teach you multiple shot techniques.

You need to also see how your self defense weapon works with the ammunition you have selected. Range ammunition has a hard, round nose, so it cycles easily. Self defense ammunition, however, has a shaped front that can snag on certain pistols. Some types are more susceptible to this than others, so you ABSOLUTELY need to test your ammunition out.

Manufacturers also offer hot loaded self defense ammunition that sends larger, faster bullets out. I personally don't use this +P ammunition, as the environment I am in has too many thin walls and I worry about over-penetration. Also, even though I can shoot a .44 magnum revolver well, using +P .45 in my 1911 almost guarantees a malfunction. This is because the punch of the ammunition causes the gun to recoil enough that the slide does not cycle properly. I only use regular pressure ammunition if I carry my 1911.

Other Weapons
I always have at least one pistol loaded and in a quick access biometric safe. Depending on which gun it is, I may also have it in my carry holster so it is easy to place on my person without having to potentially have an unguarded, loaded pistol inside my home, even temporarily, before I re-holster it. When unloading, I always point it in a safe location (which is feet and feet of books that will definitely stop the bullet). I keep my rifles unloaded and locked in a larger rifle safe. I do not like keeping my rifles loaded because, even with the safety, their penetration ability in my apartment could easily kill my neighbors if I screw something up. Also, getting shot by a rifle is far more lethal than a handgun. I do keep many magazines fully loaded with ammunition for both of my main rifles, so that if I was in a bad situation I could get to them with my pistol, load the magazine, and cycle the weapon.

Improving the Sights
When you start getting good, you may want to upgrade your sights. You can do this yourself, as many manufacturers supply directions and the tools needed to do it. I recommend a professional, however. You can misalign the sights if you don't know what you're doing. Also, if the sights are improperly staked or glued down, they can start to move. I have had this happen before! I did a bad job of installing new front sights on one of my pistols, and it twisted around during a competition after I shot very poorly (because the sight was moving). I got a professional to fix the sights so that wouldn't happen again. This is why you practice with the pistol you carry, ESPECIALLY if you have done any modifications. I was in the range at least once a week for competitions when this happened, so I quickly discovered this problem. If I had put on new sights and only put a single magazine through it before carrying it, I would have been carrying a potentially very dangerous, inaccurate firearm.

[The Lizard of Oz]

PR, even though I know nothing whatsoever about the subject I can tell that this is an absolutely superb guide, full of hard-won knowledge, expertly written and constructed; a true labor of love.

There are few pleasures in life greater than reading the writing of a man who understands a subject deeply, loves it passionately, and communicates it consecutively, clearly and intricately. You've just made such a contribution. Kudos.

Thank you, and my rep of you has been updated accordingly.

[philosophical_recovery]

(01-30-2016 08:21 PM)The Lizard of Oz Wrote:  

PR, even though I know nothing whatsoever about the subject I can tell that this is an absolutely superb guide, full of hard-won knowledge, expertly written and constructed; a true labor of love.

There are few pleasures in life greater than reading the writing of a man who understands a subject deeply, loves it passionately, and communicates it consecutively, clearly and intricately. You've just made such a contribution. Kudos.

Thank you, and my rep of you has been updated accordingly.

Thank you, Lizard of Oz!

[Apollo21]

This is awesome. I go to the range twice a year and have always wanted to improve my 9mm qualification scores.
Thanks a lot.

[philosophical_recovery]

(01-30-2016 08:51 PM)Apollo21 Wrote:  

This is awesome. I go to the range twice a year and have always wanted to improve my 9mm qualification scores.
Thanks a lot.

Thank you!
Please let us know if some of these drills improve your score.

[vinman]

This is essentially the class that I've taught to people. Good work. Too bad I can't rep you again.

[mickeyd]

Great post. This should be a must read for new handgun owners.

[JacksonRev]

I like how you even mentioned putting both thumbs forward. The more skin on the pistol, the better the shot.

I do disagree with carrying hot all the time, though. I'll switch up one in the chamber to just in the magazine depending on what I'm doing and where I'm going. It's to each his own, but because of my size, build, and looks nobody will choose me as an easy target. The potential of a negligent discharge is more worrisome to me than my own ability to see a situation develop and control it physically.

[SirTimothy]

Great post. It's obvious you know some good stuff about handguns.

Quote:

Platforms I've seen others love:
Springfield XD
Smith and Wesson Shield (actually thought of trading one of my Glocks I rarely use for one)
CZ (These have a huge cult following and have met very good shooters with these as their primary)

I'd recommend it. I don't have a S&W Shield of my own, but I've used my brother's, and I was amazed at how comfortably I could grip a gun that small.

[philosophical_recovery]

(01-30-2016 09:41 PM)kleyau Wrote:  

I like how you even mentioned putting both thumbs forward. The more skin on the pistol, the better the shot.

I do disagree with carrying hot all the time, though. I'll switch up one in the chamber to just in the magazine depending on what I'm doing and where I'm going. It's to each his own, but because of my size, build, and looks nobody will choose me as an easy target. The potential of a negligent discharge is more worrisome to me than my own ability to see a situation develop and control it physically.

What I worry about most is knife attacks. Guns don't bother me any where near as much as knives. You're lucky if you even see a knife, let alone still have both working arms. If you have to push an attacker away with your non-dominant hand, you no longer have the capability of that arm to chamber a round. At the very least, if you insist on carrying without a chambered round immediately available, your carry belt should be sturdy enough (which I forgot to mention) to perform a one-handed rack of the slide. You should be well practiced in this technique.

Great video on knife vs. gun:

One handed rack:

[weambulance]

Great post, I agree with almost everything (I love me some 9mm 1911s!). Repped.

I might add a bunch of advice myself to this thread, but for now, I'll just say the best way to fight flinch is training with another person and doing ball and dummy drills. Person A shoots the pistol while person B loads the magazines. Person B mixes live and dummy rounds in the magazine in whichever way he wants, and the shooter can't know which rounds are live and which aren't. So, the shooter has to focus on each trigger pull, and if the muzzle jerks when they hit a dummy round they can see their flinch plain as day. Add in shooting from the draw, shooting for time, and worrying about reloads, and even highly skilled shooters will be flinching a little.

Edit: You really aren't supposed to do ball and dummy drills at speed. So don't, for pure training against flinch. But it's interesting to see what happens when you do ball and dummy in high stress situations.

I've been shooting pistols regularly, including in competition, for 12 years and I still have to fight flinching. It never stops.

Also, I strongly discourage anyone from carrying a pistol with the chamber empty. Best case it doubles your time to get in the fight, and worst case you won't be able to shoot at all because you're tangled up with the attacker and can't chamber a round. Risk of an accidental discharge is essentially nil if you leave your gun in the holster.

As for that one handed rack video... good luck with that kind of parlor trick bullshit when you just got punched in the face or knocked on the ground. Or you're wearing a cover garment, or a heavy jacket. Or you're wrestling with an attacker and have to draw left handed. Or... you get the idea. Anyone wants to use a technique like that, you'd better try it in seriously adverse conditions before trusting it. I've never found a one handed rack technique that was both fast and reliable in bad conditions. My favorite is to just take a knee and rack the slide by bracing the rear sight on the heel of my boot, and I'm saving that for when I'm A) deep in a fight B) injured (shot in the hand or arm) and C) just had a malfunction that needs to be cleared. In other words, for when hell freezes over.

[philosophical_recovery]

(01-31-2016 03:38 AM)weambulance Wrote:  

Great post, I agree with almost everything (I love me some 9mm 1911s!). Repped.

I might add a bunch of advice myself to this thread, but for now, I'll just say the best way to fight flinch is training with another person and doing ball and dummy drills. Person A shoots the pistol while person B loads the magazines. Person B mixes live and dummy rounds in the magazine in whichever way he wants, and the shooter can't know which rounds are live and which aren't. So, the shooter has to focus on each trigger pull, and if the muzzle jerks when they hit a dummy round they can see their flinch plain as day. Add in shooting from the draw, shooting for time, and worrying about reloads, and even highly skilled shooters will be flinching a little.

Edit: You really aren't supposed to do ball and dummy drills at speed. So don't, for pure training against flinch. But it's interesting to see what happens when you do ball and dummy in high stress situations.

I've been shooting pistols regularly, including in competition, for 12 years and I still have to fight flinching. It never stops.

Also, I strongly discourage anyone from carrying a pistol with the chamber empty. Best case it doubles your time to get in the fight, and worst case you won't be able to shoot at all because you're tangled up with the attacker and can't chamber a round. Risk of an accidental discharge is essentially nil if you leave your gun in the holster.

As for that one handed rack video... good luck with that kind of parlor trick bullshit when you just got punched in the face or knocked on the ground. Or you're wearing a cover garment, or a heavy jacket. Or you're wrestling with an attacker and have to draw left handed. Or... you get the idea. Anyone wants to use a technique like that, you'd better try it in seriously adverse conditions before trusting it. I've never found a one handed rack technique that was both fast and reliable in bad conditions. My favorite is to just take a knee and rack the slide by bracing the rear sight on the heel of my boot, and I'm saving that for when I'm A) deep in a fight B) injured (shot in the hand or arm) and C) just had a malfunction that needs to be cleared. In other words, for when hell freezes over.

Thank you! Agreed.

I've done the one handed rack with snap caps, like the video just to see how difficult it is. It's not really something I want to have to ever do.

It's also another argument for a revolver. The double action of a revolver is a lot more difficult to have an accidental discharge with, and if for some reason the ammunition fails, all you do is pull the trigger again.

Tangentially, I'm reminded of another point to add to the conversation.

Quality of self defense ammunition is key. I personally am only comfortable with Federal, Hornady, or Speer for that reason. (I've never tried Winchester self defense ammunition but I've also noticed that their range ammunition causes failures to cycle in my guns with a worrisome frequency). It's okay to use factory reloaded ball ammo for the range, but what I forgot to mention was that self defense ammunition is supposed to be under much tighter quality control. Your chances of a squib round should be much lower with self defense ammunition which undergoes more checking and tests. A squib round is where there is no or so little powder that the gun hardly recoils from the primer charge, likely fails to cycle, and the lead gets stuck in the barrel. Sometimes hand reloaders "miss" the pull on the powder, so the round doesn't even have powder, just the primer.

Guns have failed (barrel blowing up, possibly injuring the shooter) due to factory reloaded ammunition, or hand loaded ammunition that hadn't been properly charged. This is due to the excessive pressure in the barrel if the lead of a squib round gets lodged into the gun barrel, followed by a second, regular power shot.

Squib rounds are incredibly rare with reputable manufacturers now, and you're likely going to notice a round that didn't "feel" right because it was extremely quiet, didn't cycle the slide, and didn't recoil. But, if that happens at the range, you need to unload the gun and possibly clear the barrel if a round is stuck in there.

The fact that you're paying $1 or more for a single shot of 9mm self defense ammunition with tighter quality control, nickel plating on the cartridge, and possibly guaranteed chamber pressures should eliminate this possibility on a bad day. This is one reason that people like to use +p, as it almost guarantees enough power to cycle the weapon. But, don't try to be a big swinging dick and carry +P because it's "more powerful" and you feel better carrying it. As mentioned above, you need to be absolutely sure that you handle the increased kick with the gun you carry. It is also harder on the barrel, and some manufacturers will void the warranties if they find out you have been running high pressure rounds. Some manufacturers do make barrels made for +P, however, especially the aftermarket groups.

I also forgot to mention:
If your range allows it, Tula or Wolf makes steel cased handgun ammunition that is very cheap. You have to be very careful with what you buy though, and know where you are shooting. Some of the Tula rifle ammunition has steel in the bullet, which will wreak havoc on normal ranges. So do not use it unless the range allows it. Even if it doesn't have a steel bullet, the ranges do not want to sort through the spent brass and get rid of steel cases that will destroy the equipment of the people they sell their brass to.

https://www.uspsa.org/front-sight-magazi...tal-Ammo-8

[swuglyfe]

philrec,

As someone who's grown up recreationally shooting targets with a Remington 22LR, and looking into pistols when I move to TX, this was incredibly helpful and insightful in getting my bearings straight. My rep to you sir, on a job well done.

[philosophical_recovery]

(01-31-2016 11:04 AM)swuglyfe Wrote:  

philrec,

As someone who's grown up recreationally shooting targets with a Remington 22LR, and looking into pistols when I move to TX, this was incredibly helpful and insightful in getting my bearings straight. My rep to you sir, on a job well done.

Thank you!

I own a Ruger SR22. Reasonably happy with it. It has ambidextrous controls, which helps when I show a left handed person how to shoot. Girls love to shoot that one.

It's also good for training out trigger flinch, because the safety has a decocker built in. So, if I want, instead of a single action trigger pull, I can switch the safety on then back off, guaranteeing a long, double action trigger pull. This greatly helps the trigger flinch.

[Mikan]

I learned to shoot from my father who spent 31 years in the USMC and he would agree with most of the advice here. I would also like to add the importance of breath control, especially during competitive marksmanship. He constantly reminded me while shooting to pay more attention to my breaths, and it payed off. Generally, you exhale, hold the end of the exhale and fire. This tends to be the exact opposite of what a new shooter does, which is to suck in air and hold it. Of course in a competition with a "rapid fire" time limit like silhouette or cowboy style(or self defense), you don't have this luxury.

[germanico]

Great post, great topic. Men here on the forum should read it even if they dont own guns or shoot them often.

Back in the force I was issued a 9mm CZ. It had great action and good accuracy, but I just hated the fact that it had no safety at all. With a round chambered it was ready to go, so to be safe I used to carry it unchambered. (Handled prisioners sometimes so I feared one might try to take it from me) Which would have left me vulnerable during a sudden shootout. Never had any problems with it anyway but the tip on being sure to carry hot is good.

On ammunition: a 9mm will go through wood, drywall, etc, but also concrete cinderblocks and car doors. Practice making a fast assesment of any situation and make sure the background to your target is clear. At the shooting range we dont care where the misses go, but out there in the city a missing 9mm could hit someone going about his business 300 yds away. And another thing I would add, in an actual shootout, very few of the shots hit its actual target, so its really important to keep the background in mind.

Ditto on Mikans tip on exhaling when shooting. Somehow it helps keep the arms and hands steadier than when holding air in.

And dont subestimate the .22 pistol. A trained guy with a .22 is more dangerous than any of those hillbillies going all he-haw with their .50 cal handcannons on Youtube.

[kaotic]

Absolutely great guide dude, do you have any experience with the AR platform ?

Would love to see a guide on that as well, that's my primary rifle, I only am using iron sights at the moment.

[philosophical_recovery]

(02-01-2016 11:05 PM)germanico Wrote:  

Great post, great topic. Men here on the forum should read it even if they dont own guns or shoot them often.

Back in the force I was issued a 9mm CZ. It had great action and good accuracy, but I just hated the fact that it had no safety at all. With a round chambered it was ready to go, so to be safe I used to carry it unchambered. (Handled prisioners sometimes so I feared one might try to take it from me) Which would have left me vulnerable during a sudden shootout. Never had any problems with it anyway but the tip on being sure to carry hot is good.

On ammunition: a 9mm will go through wood, drywall, etc, but also concrete cinderblocks and car doors. Practice making a fast assesment of any situation and make sure the background to your target is clear. At the shooting range we dont care where the misses go, but out there in the city a missing 9mm could hit someone going about his business 300 yds away. And another thing I would add, in an actual shootout, very few of the shots hit its actual target, so its really important to keep the background in mind.

Ditto on Mikans tip on exhaling when shooting. Somehow it helps keep the arms and hands steadier than when holding air in.

And dont subestimate the .22 pistol. A trained guy with a .22 is more dangerous than any of those hillbillies going all he-haw with their .50 cal handcannons on Youtube.

I think more people have been killed by 22 than any other round, but I could be wrong.

I just wouldn't rely on it for self defense because they are very unreliable cartridges. Unless you find a boutique shop with reliably primed and powdered self defense rounds.

You piqued by curiosity and found out that Hornady makes a 22 WMR self defense round. So, you'd have to pick up a gun chambered in that. Not my cup of tea, have zero experience with it. If it's the only thing I could carry, would I? Sure, in a revolver where I'm guaranteed to not have a misfeed or failure to eject, just a dud that I can pull the trigger and rid myself of.

(02-02-2016 01:37 AM)kaotic Wrote:  

Absolutely great guide dude, do you have any experience with the AR platform ?

Would love to see a guide on that as well, that's my primary rifle, I only am using iron sights at the moment.

Thank you!

I have built an 80% lower AR-15, installed the trigger group, and put all of the other components on. I also helped a female friend put her purchased lower and all components together.

Good job on the iron sights. I stuck with those for a couple hundred rounds before I put a zero magnification red dot on it. I shoot it quite well at 50 and 100yds, even though I go to the pistol range far more often.

That said, I'm not sure how useful my commentary would be. I just haven't shot it as much as my pistol. A lot of the trigger skill has crossed over. I have run some 2 gun obstacle/target courses, which is a lot of fun. Sometimes they turn the lights out so you can shoot in the dark and utilize night sight equipment. Some people run 300AAC blackout with a silencer and almost the only thing you hear is the spring inside the stock. It's sick.

Sticking with some failures I have had: The only failures I've had with the AR, I haven't even had a single problem with a round hanging up or not shooting, was the sights slipping (imagine that!). I've had to loctite the red dot and iron sights down hard. The recoil of the AR likes to shock anything on the rail out. So, if you're planning on running accessories, use loctite (not the permanent stuff, but the removable but strong stuff, think it's blue for that brand). Also, test the hell out of your equipment.

There may be other forum members that have more to say about ARs. If you had a specific question I may be able to help, or it may be beyond my experience to answer.

I don't have many things to say about drills as the longer distance rifle ranges don't have the same flexibility as an indoor range with an electric target.

[toejam]

OP whats your location?
Can anyone recommend a range in the nj/ny areas? Prefer nj but can drive out


GREAT thread.

[weambulance]

(02-02-2016 01:37 AM)kaotic Wrote:  

Absolutely great guide dude, do you have any experience with the AR platform ?

Would love to see a guide on that as well, that's my primary rifle, I only am using iron sights at the moment.

What kind of information are you looking for?

[Ensam]

Great post - it inspired me to take up shooting again. Fired a Ruger SR22 the other night and it's a fun little gun. The tips were very helpful.

[Dr. Howard]

+1 repped, a quality guide.

[philosophical_recovery]

+1 such passion, truly deserved.

[Ensam]

Finally got through all the hoops I had to jump through in order to purchase a gun. Went out to my local range this past weekend and shot very well mostly based off the suggestions and drills in the OP.

[weambulance]

^

What did you get?