I had a new student yesterday named Lu. Lu is over 60 years old and had never fired a gun before. She wanted to learn to use guns for self defense, hunting and to share life experiences with her family and friends.

We spent the morning discussing her goals and about the legal, moral and tactical implications of self defense with a firearm. Since she travels across multiple states, jurisdiction issues were important as well.

Then, it was off to the shooting range!

It is always fun for me taking a new shooter out and watching them experience their first shots with a handgun. Many of the initial responses are predictable, some are comical, and it is all fun to experience for everyone!

First we worked on firearms safety, learning the rules and values associated with carrying a deadly weapon and handling it both on and off the range. Lu did an awesome job keeping the handgun pointed in a safe direction and never once had a problem.

Lu learned how to control the handgun, which was a 9mm, using a modern grip and stance. We discussed shooting the handgun in deadly force situations vs. informal target shooting. After quite a bit of dry practice, I had Lu experience her first shots with the handgun.

Lu did a great job holding the grip and stance as she had learned and fired into the berm to feel the recoil. After she felt comfortable doing that, I then set up some of our learning targets and had her shoot on them. With time, coaching and practice, Lu was soon hitting the targets very comfortably. These targets are not very big and it can be quite challenging for some to hit them.

Then it was time to experience defensive shooting with the handgun and what it might be like to shoot for real — fast and accurately.

After a training period on our techniques for shooting a handgun in a self defense situation, Lu began practicing. At the end of the day, Lu shot 5 shots into a heart sized group on the target at 5 yards in about 2.5 seconds. Now, this is from someone who had never fired a gun in their entire life up to this day.

See the youtube clip on Lu shooting the drill on my channel. RonAveryPSA.

I was impressed at how quickly she picked up the concepts and was able to apply them. Great job Lu!

Ron Avery

Many trainers view range training as being marginally effective in gunfight training and conditioning. If we are talking about training to shoot qualifications, I agree. Shooting standards that everyone can pass with little practice may be administratively expedient but they are not conducive to preparing people for the real speed and intensity that lethal force situations demand.

However, if you bring proper emotional perspective, train at the real speed of the gunfight and learn to shoot under pressure, distraction and emotional duress, you will be amazed at how well you can and will do in a gunfight. I know because I have had many of my students over the years report successful encounters to me. They all report a similar thing…”Ron…it was JUST LIKE WE DID IN TRAINING”.

When you train at a higher level and you realize that you can perform there, you get a huge boost in both confidence and performance. It is not a lowest common denominator world on the street when it comes to performance. Fractions of a second count and you should be working to make the most of those fractions of time you have to work with.

Yes, I agree that square range training is not the only thing that should be done. In an ideal situation we would like to combine it with relevant force on force training, productive competitive training and your own experience on the street so you can really optimize your gunfight capabilities.

However, what I find is that many officers don’t have the time to do all of the things that take more logistics, equipment and TIME! Those officers that are self-motivated to improve generally find themselves training alone as it is hard to find a partner willing to go with them to the range on a regular basis.

Furthermore, I can definitely point to the successes of those that did go the extra mile to train at a much higher level of performance. They are head and shoulders above their peers on the street when it comes to real world performance.

Tips for Bringing the Gunfight to the Range:

Practice with the emotional intensity of a real encounter.

One of the best places to do visualization training is at the range in an active mode. You are FIGHTING, not just shooting. Psychological toughness/dominance is a mindset that must be exercised in order to develop it. As part of your training, visualize what you are doing as an actual encounter. It is surprising how effective this really is.

It is way too easy to just go out and practice. Don’t fall into that trap. Mindset is everything and it starts before you get to the range.

Practice with ALL your gear on for part of your session

Vest, coat, gloves, belt etc. will change the way you access gear and shoot. Know what you can and can’t do with certain items of equipment on. If it doesn’t work the way you want, change it around until it does.

Get in low positions, lie on the ground and get in awkward positions around cover. Make sure you can access your gun and magazines from each of these positions.

Practice in different temperatures, light conditions and with different targets.

Shooting in good weather or daylight is nice. Shooting in whatever weather or light conditions is part of the psychological toughening process. When you can view the weather or lighting with indifference then you are catching on.

Practice reloads without using your eyes to do it. If it is dark or you need to see what’s going on, you may not be able to see what your hands are doing.

Spend some money and buy different color targets with different shapes and sizes. Buy some steel from 6” to 12” plate size.  Use spray paint in different colors and make the targets and scoring areas harder to define. Train your mind to sort out the different contrasts and see what you need to see to make the hit.

Practice SPEED with Precision– Safely – pay attention to trigger finger and muzzle.

• Get an electronic timer – They are your best friend and don’t lie. You need accurate time measurement.

•  Cut the time limits down

•  Most of the qualification times are way too generous.  Either cut them in half or work down a half second at a time, then a 1/10 of a second at a time. Work from both a ready position and from the holster.

Example:

 2 shots in 4 seconds = two shots in two seconds.  Then work down a 1/10 sec .at a time

2 shots in 2 or 3 seconds would work down ½ sec at a time, then 1/10 sec. at a time.

First Shot Standard – .95 to 1.15 seconds out to 5 to 7 yards is the standard I like to see from a duty type holster. (Correct trigger finger placement is crucial to safety!)

Set your gear up so you can access the deadly force tools without hindrance.

Putting batons too close to guns, putting other things in front of magazines etc. leads to problems. The argument that you will use your other tools before your gun doesn’t cut it. Trust me…Gun/ holster position first, magazines next; then worry about the rest. If there is time to use other tools, you will have time to access them.

Train the entire visual field, from point shooting, to soft focus to hard focus.

• Start with your latest qualification course and break it down into sections:

•  1-3 yards is extreme close quarters

• 3 – 7 or so yards is close range
• 7-15 is short range
• 15 – 25 yards is intermediate range
• 25 to 50 yards is long range
• Beyond 50 yards is long range +

The first four have different visual requirements for sighting techniques. All require more trigger finger awareness.

Cycle your Training

•  Change what you do and how you do it: distance, targets, time, positions etc.

Make it Count

• Track performance on everything – Draws, reloads, movement, distance, scores, time

•  Compete in a meaningful way. Competition tests competence under duress.

•  It can be as simple as competing against yourself, competing for who buys lunch etc.
• When it counts, it means more when you succeed.

Examples:

• Steel Targets shot for time
• Different tactical arrays shot for score divided by time (Comstock factor)
• Competitions between departments
• Outside competition

Get a small video camera on a tripod and film yourself shooting. You can spot many things that can be improved with it.

Next month we will start doing some video drills on my youtube channel. Stay tuned!