{"id":292,"date":"2016-12-23T12:17:51","date_gmt":"2016-12-23T18:17:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mckinneyfirearmstraining.com\/wordpress\/?p=292"},"modified":"2016-12-23T12:17:51","modified_gmt":"2016-12-23T18:17:51","slug":"instruction-fundamentals-equipment-practice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mckinneyfirearmstraining.com\/wordpress\/instruction-fundamentals-equipment-practice\/","title":{"rendered":"Instruction, Fundamentals, Equipment, Practice"},"content":{"rendered":"

Let’s assume you learned (or are learning) to shoot a pistol for purposes of self defense (that is the usual reason).\u00a0 The problem for most people is that they are unlikely to ever have to prove themselves; statistically, the odds are against them (you) being a victim of a violent crime.\u00a0 Therefore, they only try to gain a basic skill level.\u00a0 After all, how much time would you devote to learn parachuting, if you never flew in a plane?\u00a0 Unfortunately, due to fear, adrenaline, blood pressure, and other factors, most people in a crisis will lose half their gun-handling skills, and end up being a victim anyway.<\/p>\n

The secret is to over-train, to the point that many of those skills become second nature.\u00a0 Many casual gun owners only go to a range 2-6 times a year, and shoot 50-100 rounds each time.\u00a0 Competitive shooters, on the other hand, shoot thousands of rounds per week.\u00a0 How can we achieve a reasonable skill level without spending $1000\/month?<\/p>\n

Make no mistake about it, there is an investment of time required.\u00a0 Most gun ranges sell memberships that, like gyms, assume you will not use it enough, so they can oversell their facilities.\u00a0 If you buy a membership that allows you to shoot free, then go to the range twice a month, you will probably come out ahead.\u00a0 If you’re not shooting at least twice a month for the first year, you’re not really serious.\u00a0 Do you work out twice a month and expect to lose weight?<\/p>\n

Now that you have a routine, let’s look at four areas that require your attention:<\/p>\n

INSTRUCTION<\/strong><\/span>.\u00a0 Being self-taught is not the short-cut, but having a guide is.\u00a0 There are many options.\u00a0 You can take private lessons from an instructor, you can buy very good DVD programs on various aspects of shooting and self-defense, and you can also find many free tutorials and videos online.\u00a0 Sometimes you get what you pay for, but all of those resources can be helpful, except the ones that don’t apply to your situation.\u00a0 You probably don’t need to know what trick shooters or snipers teach.\u00a0 In most cases, if you pay for any type of instruction, you will probably get your moneys worth.<\/p>\n

FUNDAMENTALS<\/strong><\/span>.\u00a0 Safety rules, Stance, Grip, Aiming, Breathing, Working the trigger, Follow-through.\u00a0 Those never change.\u00a0 Research each one, and read everything you can find about them.\u00a0 Allow for slight differences from people with different types of backgrounds.\u00a0 You will begin to see a pattern, learn some tricks that help, and some that don’t.\u00a0 Practice the fundamentals as if your life depended on them.\u00a0 Read that again.<\/p>\n

EQUIPMENT<\/strong><\/span>.\u00a0 When I started collecting Cold War period weapons, I read some advice: “You will make mistakes. Accept it and move on<\/em>.”\u00a0 The same is true here.\u00a0 The gun you own is likely not the one best suited to you, your hand, or your plans.\u00a0 Borrow or rent other guns to try out.\u00a0 When you find one you like better, buy it, and sell the old one (or not).\u00a0 If your goal is concealed carry, you will likely find out that you can develop your skills better and faster with either a duty-size gun or a 1911 style.\u00a0 Then transfer those skills to the smaller gun.\u00a0 Longer barrels are better than shorter ones; heavier guns are frequently better than lighter ones.\u00a0 If the sights are not optimal for you (age is a factor), replace them with fiber optic or other styles.<\/p>\n

PRACTICE<\/strong><\/span>.\u00a0 Optimize your practice sessions by having a goal each time.\u00a0 It could be slow, pinpoint accuracy at 3 yards, hitting an 8-inch target at 15 yards, timed fire at a silhouette at 10 yards, one-handed shooting, timed rapid fire with a reload, etc.\u00a0 There are thousands of excellent drills available online.\u00a0 Pick some that are within your skill set, and some that are just beyond your skill set.\u00a0 A stopwatch or timer will put pressure on you that will show up weaknesses.<\/p>\n

Remember the tortoise and the hare: slow and steady wins the race<\/strong><\/em>.<\/p>\n

\"tortoise-and-the-hare\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Let’s assume you learned (or are learning) to shoot a pistol for purposes of self defense (that is the usual reason).\u00a0 The problem for most people is that they are unlikely to ever have to prove themselves; statistically, the odds are against them (you) being a victim of a violent crime.\u00a0 Therefore, they only try … Continue reading “Instruction, Fundamentals, Equipment, Practice”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-292","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mckinneyfirearmstraining.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/292","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mckinneyfirearmstraining.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mckinneyfirearmstraining.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mckinneyfirearmstraining.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mckinneyfirearmstraining.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=292"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/mckinneyfirearmstraining.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/292\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":294,"href":"https:\/\/mckinneyfirearmstraining.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/292\/revisions\/294"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mckinneyfirearmstraining.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=292"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mckinneyfirearmstraining.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=292"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mckinneyfirearmstraining.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=292"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}