Thugs Make House Calls--Lock Your Doors

Home invader Jonathan Perales fatally shot a homeowner early one morning in Universal City, Texas recently. According to Perales' arrest warrant affidavit, Robinson had armed himself with a 9mm Glock after noticing a strange vehicle in his driveway. Robinson opened his bedroom door and immediately confronted Perales who had entered the Robinson home through an unlocked back door. As Robinson yelled "Get out of my house," the men exchanged gunfire. Perales shot Robinson once in the torso and Robinson shot Perales in the arm and upper chest.

Robinson was later pronounced dead at Brook Army Medical Center. Robinson's wife and two of his children who were inside at the time were not injured in the gunfight.

Universal City Police Lt. Steve Mihalski said Perales fled the home after Robinson shot him. Perales got back into his vehicle (which was stolen as well) and tried to leave the neighborhood but got lost. He finally stopped and sought help from a neighbor who flagged down police as they were responding to the Robinson home. Police said Perales still had a pistol on him when they encountered him at the neighbor’s house. Perales was also wearing a single red shoe on his left foot and police found the matching right shoe inside Robinson's kitchen.

One of my students who lives in the neighborhood said videos from several security cameras on homes in the area showed Perales going from house to house and vehicle to vehicle trying doors to see if they were unlocked. My student’s neighbor had video of Perales stealing items from his unlocked pick-up truck. Police investigators said they believed Perales was randomly targeting the area.

This is not an unusual tactic. Recently in Fairfax County, VA there were four burglaries in one week where burglars took garage door openers from unlocked cars, used the openers to get into the garage, and from there into the house via unlocked doors between the house and garage.

So how do you prevent this?

One step is pretty obvious: LOCK YOUR DOORS! I did an Internet search on “burglar unlocked home” and there are dozens of entries describing unlocked homes being burglarized. In many cases, the thieves entered homes that were clearly occupied. One document was particularly eye opening. A Bureau of Justice Statistics study of completed household burglaries from 1994-2011 showed that burglars entered the homes through unlocked doors between 56-64% of the time.*

Get into the habit of checking every exterior door (including the one to the garage) every evening before you go to bed. I do this every night and occasionally discover a door that someone in my household left unlocked.

If you have an alarm, set the alarm. Your alarm only works if it's on. A new student recently relayed a story about her home being burglarized (the reason she was a new student). Her friend picked her up for a short errand and she left her alarm off because she was only going to be gone for a short time. She returned to discover that burglars were literally still in her house when she entered. You paid for an alarm system, why would leave your house without setting it?

Many of us live in neighborhoods we would characterize as safe. I live in a gated community; however, that did not stop thieves from doing the unlocked car routine on my street several months back. A number of my neighbors lost valuables from their unlocked cars including my next door neighbor and neighbor across the street. The thief probably checked my SUV as well and found the doors locked.

According to Bureau of Justice Statistics there were 2,569,980 burglaries completed in the United States during 2016—one approximately every 12 seconds. Based upon previous studies, it is likely that of these 2,569,980 burglaries, thieves found and entered unlocked homes at least 1,541,988 times. Thugs Make House Calls. LOCK YOUR DOORS!

If you enjoy reading these please subscribe. The link is on the upper right side of the page. All that will happen is that you will receive an e-mail when I post an article. Your information will never be distributed.

* Household Burglary; 1994-2011, Jennifer Hardison Walters, M.S.W., Andrew Moore, M.Stat., Marcus Berzofsky, Dr.P.H., RTI International, Lynn Langton, Ph.D., Bureau of Justice Statistics; June 20, 2013; NCJ 241754

Reloading Tips and Tricks

Reloading is a popular hobby among shooting enthusiasts and is a great skill for frequent shooters. If you are completely new to reloading there are a variety of books and online information to help you get started. This article discusses some reloading tips and tricks I’ve learned over the years through my own experience and that of others.

Of course, safety is always the most important thing to consider and there are safety precautions reloaders should always follow. Always wear safety glasses while reloading and anytime you are handling primers (e.g. loading primer tubes). Powder spills will happen. Always keep the reloader, the area around your reloader, and the floor under it free from spilled powder.

Powder

Powder generally comes in five basic forms: extruded tubular kernels, cut round flakes, cut sheet flakes, round ball, and flattened ball. From time to time, manufacturers will modify the formula for a given powder so always use load information from current reloading manuals or the powder manufacturer’s on-line data.

The powder’s shape and density directly affects how it will pack and then flow from your powder measure’s reservoir. With some powder shapes, you must maintain a consistent fill or pack in the powder measure’s reservoir to ensure each charge the measure throws has the same weight. I refill my powder measure when it reaches the ¾ mark anytime the powder I am using has cut round flakes or cut sheet flakes.

Consistency

You must always visually confirm that the powder level is consistent in each and every case as you load—this is the single most important reloading step. If you find a load for a particular application that uses a bulky powder which fills the case more than half way all the better. Experience will help you calibrate your eye and enable you to detect differences in powder charges.

Inconsistent powder charges can cause serious problems. For example, when you fire a round with no powder or too little powder in the case you will typically have a bullet lodged in the barrel. If you hear a slight “pop” instead of a bang when firing a round, stop, properly clear the firearm, and make sure the bullet exited the bore. With pistols and rifles, be careful about automatically doing a “tap/rack” and trying to fire another round during a match or in training. If the bullet did not exit, firing another round will likely cause a bulge in the barrel at best and may destroy the firearm and cause injury if the barrel bursts. I’ve seen shooters destroy four barrels (and two pistols) due to reloaded ammunition with no or too little powder in the case and the shooter automatically doing a “tap/rack.”

The other side to that coin is the dreaded double charge. A double charge can literally destroy your firearm and may cause serious injury. If you believe you have double charged a case and it got by you, you must not shoot any suspect rounds in that batch of reloaded ammunition. If you do, you may end up with a blown case at best, at worst you can end up with a destroyed firearm (I have seen that three times, two pistols and one 5.56 AR rifle) or severe injury.

You can certainly pull all the suspect rounds; however, another means to find the suspect cartridge is to weigh every round in that batch. Any round that is overweight by more than a grain should be segregated and the bullets pulled. This is where segregating your brass can be important since brass from different manufacturers will often have notably different weights. I've even seen different lots of brass from the same manufacturer with significant weight variances.

The picture below shows a 9mm case that experienced a catastrophic failure on firing. It is very possible that this round was double charged and the pistol could not handle the pressure. No one was injured in this incident; however, the pistol was destroyed. An expensive round of ammunition. 

Weight the Charge

Weight at least 3 charges to ensure you are throwing a consistent charge weight when you first set the powder measure. With most powder measures, the charge weight should not differ by more than 0.1 to 0.2 grains across the three measurements. If I get a spread of 0.2 grains or more, I continue to weigh charges until I get a consistent reading. Certain powders (e.g. long grain extruded and stick rifle powders) may not meter as uniformly due to their grain size and the fact that you often cut grains as you throw the charge. Experience weighing a lot of powder charges will teach you how to consistently throw accurate charge weights.

I have found that using a device to gently vibrate the powder measure helps maintain consistency in charge weight. I use an aquarium aerator pump which vibrates gently and is not excessively noisy to perform this function. Polishing the interior of the powder measure body can also aid in maintain powder charge consistency. The polished surface helps powder flow more easily into the powder bar. This is easy to do yourself and several instructional examples of the process are posted on the internet and YouTube.

Aftermarket powder measure accessories can help you throw consistent charges. A number of manufacturers offer Micrometer inserts or powder bar kits that can significantly ease the process of achieving consistent measures (see the picture below). One example that I use consistently throws charges of flake pistol powder within .01 - .02 grains of accuracy (that’s hundredths of a grain). My normal powder scale will not even measure to that degree of weight—I used a special gem scale to check its consistency.

Consistent Stroke (OK, no giggling)

Another factor in consistent powder charges is cycling the powder measure or press using consistent force. Varying the amount of force you use as you cycle the powder measure or press can result in slightly more or less powder in the charge. Additionally, on a progressive press a heavy-handed operator that slams the lever hard against the stops can cause the powder to settle a bit more and/or bounce out of an already filled case which will result inconsistent charge weights. If you notice that powder as bounced out of a case, dump that charge and refill the case with a fresh powder charge.

If am interrupted during the reloading sequence, I always place the handle fully down before I deal with the interruption. When I am ready to begin the loading sequence once again, I raise the handle and then visually confirm the status of every station on the press (I use a progressive machine), ensure the powder fill is correct, that I have primed the case in the priming station, etc.

New Brass

New brass can be harder to size, prime, and seat bullets in than fired brass at times because the brass may be lacking lubrication. Sometimes the powder-thru expander can be hard to get back out of the case when dealing with new brass, particularly with short cases. This happens due to the brass being stripped clean and polished during the manufacturing process. On progressive presses, the lurch when the case pops free from the die can upset powder drop consistency and bounce powder out of filled cases.

Brass residue buildup on the expander can also cause this problem. Periodically cleaning off the brass residue using a Scotch-Brite™ pad (or similar product) will restore smooth operation. You can also tumble your new cases in used media for half an hour before reloading. The powder residue in the tumbling media will add just enough lubrication to the brass to ease the loading process. Another option is periodically swab a small (less than a drop) of lube on the expander or use a case lube on the cases.

Check your brass

When brass cases are reloaded a number of times, the brass will eventually develop splits upon firing. With pistol cartridges, these splits often (but not always) occur at the case mouth. The picture below shows a piece of 45 ACP that split further down in the case body. The 300 AC Blackout case in the center experienced a similar split. The 9mm case however, has a very unusual split pattern. This split may have resulted from using an ammonia-based cleaning solution to clean the brass.

Check your rounds

I check every round in a chamber checker. There are a variety of chamber checkers on the market and they are well worth the money (see the picture below). Prior to the advent of chamber checkers, it was common for pistol shooters to remove the barrel and check every round by hand. You can still do this; however, the chamber checker has made this step easier. A chamber checker’s dimensions replicate the chamber of the barrel in your firearm. If your reloaded round does not easily go into and drop out of the chamber checker, then that round is suspect. 

The picture below shows several rounds that failed the chamber check. Round #1 is clearly out of spec and may have been the result of a high-pressure load fired in a pistol with a chamber configuration that does not fully support the chambered cartridge case, round #2 has the primer upside down (a condition that might have gone unnoticed without checking the rounds), and round #3 is questionable and will likely not chamber. The 4 rounds in the bottom row passed. As you can see, they sit flush or slightly below the chamber checker opening. 

Reloading can be very satisfying and can save you money. I hope you’ve found these tips and tricks useful and I welcome tips from readers.  

If you enjoy reading these please subscribe. The link is on the upper right side of the page. All that will happen is that you will receive an e-mail when I post an article. Your information will never be distributed.
 

Low Light 18: Decision-Based Scenarios #1

Don't Shoot the Good Guy!

We just completed our final practice session for 2017/18. This is the 5th year for our low light curriculum and the shooters who have taken these classes and continued with practice sessions have noticeably improved in most low light tasks.

We started the session with the new IDPA 5x5 classifier to provide the participants the opportunity to test their skills against a known standard without using the flashlights. However, as light began to fade cardboard targets against a cardboard-colored dirt berm posed some challenges with precision for some (me included, I was having a hard time precisely indexing the target and dropped 5 points).

Once it was dark, we then conducted the IDPA 5x5 classifier with lights. Several participants did much better point-wise with lights, but times were significantly slower. My average for every time I have fired the 5x5 CCP is 19.61. My time for the 5x5 using a flashlight was 35.56 with zero points down. This was 55% slower as I manipulated the flashlight during the draw, firing, reloading, etc. I was approximately 3 seconds slower for stages 1, 2, and 4 and my time for stage 3 was almost double what I normally shoot. I am uncertain how to categorize the results using flashlights. 

One of the participants requested some decision-based scenarios so we conducted two scenarios. I have not conducted too many scenarios over the last couple of years, preferring instead to provide participants an opportunity to practice and master low light techniques. As I have mentioned previously, these practice sessions have led to substantial improvements in the participant’s ability to accurately engage targets under low light conditions. However, these practice sessions do not test a participant’s ability to employ these techniques and make sound decisions under stress and that can be a challenge as well.

Decision Based Scenarios

The decision based scenarios we use are surprise scenarios where proper target recognition, flashlight techniques, movement, and marksmanship are critical to success. We use photo realistic targets with a mix of threats and non-threats. 

In the scenario prebrief I asked participants if they were licensed to carry handguns and if they routinely carried their pistol. All five indicated they were licensed and routinely carried. We then discussed the possibility of encountering an armed “good guy” on the scene who, just like them, was caught in an unfolding violent event. All agreed that was a distinct possibility and something to consider. I also discussed the fact that rifle fire and pistol fire made clearly different sounds and what each might sound like during the course of the scenarios so the participants could distinguish between the two weapons.

As you look at the scenario pictures, potentially disabling hits are shown in green, marginal hits in yellow, and misses in red. 

Scenario #1: You are leaving an evening event and walking to your car. You are alone and have no family members or friends present. The parking lot is lit, but not real well. Suddenly you hear a male screaming Jihad! Jihad! and rifle fire erupts in front of you. What do you do?

The first participant quickly scanned the scene using his flashlight while moving laterally. He then abruptly turned and ran away from the rifle fire without drawing his pistol. I stopped the scenario and asked the participant why he decided to run from the scene. He responded that when he scanned with his light there were too many people present to quickly decide who was/was not a threat and that he thought the best decision was to run. Textbook solution—if you are alone and violence erupts, leave immediately if possible.

The second participant quickly scanned the scene using his flashlight and immediately noticed the armed “good guy” who was present, but not pointing his pistol at the participant. He then fixated on this individual and fired at him every time he heard rifle fire—hitting him a couple of times. I asked the participant why he did not scan the scene and he responded that he was concerned the person with the pistol was the primary threat. He never noticed the three Jihadi ten yards away.

The third participant quickly scanned the scene using his flashlight and noticed the armed “good guy.” He then fired at this individual hitting him a couple of times. The participant continued to move and scan the scene and he noticed and fired at 2 of the 3 Jihadi hitting one.

The fourth participant quickly scanned the scene using his flashlight and noticed the armed “good guy;” however, he did not fire at this individual nor did he fire at the police officer or bystander. The participant continued to move and scan the scene and he noticed and engaged all 3 Jihadi hitting 2 several times and the 3rd Jihadi’s rifle scope turret. Participant 4 applied good tactics and used his light to his advantage. 

Participant five noticed the armed “good guy” and fixated on this individual; firing at him several times and missing with most of his shots. Every time he heard rifle fire, he fired at the armed good guy.

This was the first decision scenario for one participant. The other 4 had completed decision scenarios previously; however, not for 2 years. For 4 of the 5 participants, low light tactics, techniques, and procedures went completely out the window. Several shooters managed to completely avoid hitting targets that were well within ten yards even though they fired several rounds. Others misidentified non threat targets and engaged them with enthusiasm. 

However, no one shot at the unarmed, innocent bystander--that is not always the case as you can see from the picture below. 

I’ll provide an overview of Scenario #2, some overall comments, and lessons learned in the next post.

If you enjoy reading these please subscribe. The link is on the upper right side of the page. All that will happen is that you will receive an e-mail when I post an article. Your information will never be distributed.

Not my circus. Not my monkeys

Catawba County, NC: On Jan. 22, 2016, Jefferson Heavner and his friends stopped to help a driver whose car had spun off an icy North Carolina road during a heavy snowstorm that blanketed the area. But the driver opened fire on the group, killing Heavener.

Camden, NJ - According to the Camden County Prosecutor’s Office, Mosby was abusing his ex-girlfriend and the altercation spilled into a building common area where Carey was sitting. “Carey intervened and tried to protect the woman and her toddler, when Mosby again started to physically assault her.” Mosby then shot Carey once in the chest and fled. Carey was pronounced dead at the scene.

Many years ago, a friend of mine tried to intervene when he saw a man beating a woman in a bar. When he stepped in, both individuals immediately attacked and severely beat him. The woman’s comment? “Nobody hits my man!”

As you consider the situations described above (and dozens of others like these) questions arise: Could you get involved? Should you get involved? Must you? In many (perhaps most) states the answer is a qualified yes to the “could you” question depending upon the circumstances. However, should you get involved in someone else’s problem? As you charge forward, pistol in hand, do you really know what you’re getting yourself into? 

“Not my circus. Not my monkeys.” A saying that has become popular in Army circles (my day job) and if we think about it, a saying that often fits into our day to day circumstances. Unless someone is using or attempting to use unlawful force or deadly force directly against you or someone under your direct, personal protection, the immediate question arises: Do you actually know what is happening? 

You must answer this question quickly and accurately if you are considering intervening in someone else’s problem. If you are not directly involved in the altercation or incident, is it worth stepping into an uncertain fight with unknown people? Your financial future, freedom, and literally your life may depend on this answer.

Look at the buffoonery underway in this video. Numerous private citizens are trying to corral an alleged purse snatcher. During the course of this incident, Ms. Emma Cotten, is seen on the video pointing a pistol at a suspected thief as other men had him pinned to the ground. Ms. Cotten then fires one round toward the individual and others after the alleged purse snatcher broke free from his captors and started running through the Wal-Mart parking lot. A grand jury returned a true bill for a deadly conduct charge and prosecutors have indicted Ms. Cotton for her discharge of the firearm in this incident—this is not a trivial offense in Texas.* 

Should you get involved? Be very cautious about coming to the defense of others, especially strangers. Although many of us would like to be Good Samaritans and a few want to be “Heroes!”, do you want to perish as a result of stepping into someone else’s problem? A more prudent course of action might be to call 911 and be a good witness. 

Must you get involved? In Texas (and I suspect in most states) the license to carry law does not confer a public duty that would require a licensee to get involved in stopping a crime. In other words, must get involved is never a requirement; however, we can all imagine witnessing an attack so monstrous that we just could not stand by and let it continue. If the situation is such that you believe you must intervene before police arrive, think of your own safety first. 

Can you confront the individual from a position of cover? Are there obstacles between you and the individual that will inhibit him from getting close to you? What if the assailant simply ignores your commands and continues the assault? Are you prepared to escalate? Are you able to deal with these possibilities and the aftermath?

Your decision to get involved and try to stop a crime in progress is entirely up to you. However, a point I always make while teaching a License to Carry class is that the time to think could, should, must is ideally well before you face the decision during an unfolding incident. Maintain situational awareness and make the best decisions that you can based on your training and experience. 

One thing to always remember is that you will live the rest of your life (as short as it may be) with the consequences of your actions. The time to think about these potential scenarios is before you find yourself witnessing a crime unfolding in front of you.

If you enjoy reading these please subscribe. The link is one the upper right side of the page. 

* Texas PENAL CODE, TITLE 5. OFFENSES AGAINST THE PERSON CHAPTER 22. ASSAULTIVE OFFENSES
Sec. 22.05. DEADLY CONDUCT. 

(a) A person commits an offense if he recklessly engages in conduct that places another in imminent danger of serious bodily injury.

(b) A person commits an offense if he knowingly discharges a firearm at or in the direction of:

(1) one or more individuals; or

(2) a habitation, building, or vehicle and is reckless as to whether the habitation, building, or vehicle is occupied.

(c) Recklessness and danger are presumed if the actor knowingly pointed a firearm at or in the direction of another whether or not the actor believed the firearm to be loaded.

(d) For purposes of this section, "building," "habitation," and "vehicle" have the meanings assigned those terms by Section 30.01.

(e) An offense under Subsection (a) is a Class A misdemeanor. An offense under Subsection (b) is a felony of the third degree.

Texas PENAL CODE, TITLE 3. Sec. 12.34. THIRD DEGREE FELONY PUNISHMENT. 

(a) An individual adjudged guilty of a felony of the third degree shall be punished by imprisonment in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice for any term of not more than 10 years or less than 2 years.

Shooting Drills w/ My New SIG P320s

Last Friday my buddy Steve and I both took the day off.  Where did we go?  To the range of course! What did we do? Pistol drills!  I started working with my new SIG P320 Carry and Compact that just came back from Suarez International with RMR modification on the slide.  Suarez did a great job as usual on both slides.

I am slowly changing the family of pistols I use from the S&W M&P to the SIG P320. This is an on-going process as I have been evaluating what works for me over the past several years.  I started with the Springfield XD family and I could shoot them well.  In fact, I used the XD family over the 18 months when I trained and ultimately shot Master in 5 IDPA Divisions (the 6^th being revolver).  The only issue I have with the XD is the grip safety and the inability to easily mount a carry optic due to the design.

I carried Glocks for many years officially and as a private citizen; however, had not carried one in some time.  When Suarez started providing the RMR Glock slide modification, I decided to try the Glock family once again. After struggling with Glock for a number of months, I relearned a lesson I had discovered many years ago—the Glock grip angle just does not work for me.  My natural point of aim with a Glock is always a bit high and I have to tilt my wrist slightly down to achieve a proper sight picture.  Is that something I could overcome through practice? Certainly; however, I did not wish to put in that effort when other pistol families probably would work for me.

I then tried a friend’s S&W M&P and shot it well.  When S&W introduced the M&P Pro Series® C.O.R.E.™ I thought I had finally found the right combination.  Not quite. No issue with grip angle; however, my goal is to have two as close to identical pistols as possible, with effectively indistinguishable trigger pulls. One for training, one for carry, and rotating the two pistols periodically through each task.  Although my M&Ps are close, there is a subtle, but noticeable difference in the trigger pulls.

Enter the SIG P320 with its modular fire control system.  Although I still have high hopes that Grayguns can provide me with two identical carry triggers, at the end of the day I can always just swap the modular fire control system between frames if necessary.

On to the range session.  After I sighted in the new P320 Carry pistol and RMR, we started with the IDPA 5x5 classifier as a warm up.  I fired two solid Expert runs with a 23.46 and a 23.85.  We then transitioned to one shot draws on an 8-inch steel plate at 15 yards.  My draw to hit times hovered around 1.5 seconds which is a tad bit slow for me (with the M&P my average is usually 1.35-1.45 seconds).  I was still learning the P320 presentation from the holster and wasn’t quite nailing it every time. 

I routinely read Greg Ellifritz’s Active Response blog and recently read a post where he spoke about Gila Hayes’ 5 x5 Shooting Drill from her book Personal Defense for Women.  It isn’t a drill just for women, but rather a drill that can measure your basic competence with a given pistol.  The drill is five shots, in five seconds, from five yards at a five-inch circle starting with the pistol at low ready.  Lucky Gunner has a nice PDF target with instructions that I printed and used for this session.

Steve and I did not do the standard drill described above. Instead, we started each run with a holstered pistol and did two runs at 5, 7, and 10 yards respectively to get a feel for the drill. We then did the drill five times from 5 and 7 yards.  I initially used my P320 with the RMR; however, I ran it once again at both distances using my P320 X5 with iron sights.

I was satisfied with my performance for the most part.  I really do not have a comfort zone with the P320 so I did not push myself too hard.  I have been training and shooting the M&P for almost 2 years so skill with the P320 will come with time as I adjust to the different grip, trigger pull (it still has a factory pull), and controls.  You can see the results of the practice runs below.

Come out and shoot with us on the 2nd Sunday at Cedar Ridge Range in San Antonio.

For more information go to:

www.sensibleselfdefense.com 

If you enjoy reading these please subscribe. The link is on the upper right side of the page. All that will happen is that you will receive an e-mail when I post an article. Your information will never be distributed.

  

Deliberate Practice Part 3--Putting it all Together

So you’ve read the articles, books, blogs, and watched all the videos of the Distinguished Masters you can do this—Right? This is where most people breathe a sigh of relief and go back to their repetitive practice routine (if they practice at all). And then they fail miserably because at the end of the day becoming a better shooter is not about knowing—it is about doing. In the first article in this series I discussed the concepts associated with Deliberate Practice. 

In the second, I discussed practice physiology and how our brains and bodies develop as a result of practice. I also discussed how to examine each task associated with an activity and break it up into discrete steps for deliberate practice. In this article we’ll be putting it all together and look at how we can improve our shooting through specific exercises and drills using deliberate practice methods.

I have always admired the IDPA Classifiers (both the 90 round original and the current 72 rnd classifier). The team that put the current IDPA classifier courses of fire together captured the 10 major tasks you must perform in the course of shooting a match. These are:

In Stage One:

-- Safely draw the pistol

-- Extend to fire

-- Transition between targets

-- Reload the pistol

-- Execute precise shots

-- Shoot the pistol unsupported with either hand

Stage Two adds the following to the Stage One tasks:

-- Turning then drawing the pistol

-- Moving while shooting

Stage Three adds:

-- Shooting from cover

-- Moving from one shooting position to another

Each of these major tasks is composed of sub tasks that also must be performed correctly. We can break each major task down into sub tasks and then apply the deliberate practice methodology to improve our skills. For example, as we analyze the major task of turning then drawing the pistol, should we turn toward the side where our pistol is holstered (in my case the right side) or the side opposite our pistol. How should we move our feet? Where should we be looking? When do we draw the pistol from the holster? When does the support hand contact the pistol? Lots of questions--there are probably others.  Some experimentation shows that the distance to the target is shorter and our ability to get the pistol on target is faster if we turn toward the side with the holstered pistol.

Another example--moving from one shooting position to another. Do we dismount (lower) the pistol as we move or keep it mounted (in the firing position)? If you are only moving a few feet then keeping the pistol in a firing position is fine. If you must move more than a few feet then dismount the pistol (muzzle awareness at all times) and run normally to the next position keeping the pistol high. As you cover the last few yards, mount the pistol so that as you glide into a stop at the firing position you have the pistol ready to fire as you acquire the target. This saves you the additional time you would spend if you had waited until you came to a complete stop to bring the pistol onto the target.

Drills:

Drills can help us deliberately practice and master the subtasks associated with each major task. However, a key point: You should push yourself with a par time goal that is challenging but not impossible for zero down with each sequence. Ideally you only want to be succeeding in 50-80% of your attempts. Less than that and you’ll get frustrated--more than that and you’re not pushing yourself hard enough and that’s how you get better. When you can meet the par time consistently--speed up. This criteria applies for every deliberate practice session and every drill. Let’s look at a few drills that can help you work on your weak points.

1. The 1,2,3 Drill: This is one of the simplest drills. Starting at a distance that is challenging for you, draw and fire one shot at an IDPA, USPSA, 8 inch paper plate, etc. Reholster and then draw and fire 2 shots; reholster, draw and fire 3 shots. Five yards is a good starting distance for a novice, 7 for a more experienced shooter, 10 yards and greater for a better shooter. Concentrate on the fundamentals of a perfect grip, stance, sight alignment, sight picture, trigger press, etc. 

2. The 1-Reload-2 drill: Once again, starting at a distance that is challenging for you, with your finger on the trigger, and pistol aimed at the target. On the start signal, fire a single round at the target, perform a reload, and fire two more rounds at the target. This reloading drill forces you to reestablish a proper grip and sight alignment/picture after the reload in order to control the pistol and get accurate and fast hits. Practice every style of reload (e.g. slide lock reload, speed (aka in-battery) reload, and retention reload if you shoot IDPA competition). Start at a distance that exceeds your point shooting ability to ensure that you are actually doing the post-reload actions correctly and not just point shooting.

3. The Quick and Precise Drill. Place 4 targets in a line with a 2 yard separation between targets. Starting with your pistol holstered and concealed if you wish. Draw and fire two body shots at T1, a head shot at T2, two body shots at T3, and a head shot at T4. Reload (if necessary) and reholster your pistol. Then reverse the sequence fire two body shots at T4, a head shot at T3, two body shots at T2, and a head shot at T1. Reload and reholster your pistol. Then draw and fire one head shot at T1-T4 in any order. When you finish you will have 2 body and 2 head shots on each target.

The Quick and Precise Drill permits you to practice most of the major tasks in the IDPA classifier Stage 1 including the draw, transition between targets, and executing precise shots. (see figure #1)


 

A variation is the "X" drill with two targets. Shoot one head shot on the left target, transition to the right target and shoot two to the body.  Transition to the right target head and shoot one shot, transition to the left target and shoot two to the body. 

4. The 1-Move-1 Drill: Place a single target at a distance that is challenging for you some distance from a barricade or similar prop and fault lines in place on the left and right sides. Start in the open 10-15 steps from the left or right side of the barricade. On the start signal, fire a single round at the target, dismount the pistol, move to the barricade, as you approach the barricade, remount the pistol, and when you acquire the target fire one shot to the target. Repeat from both sides of the barricade. For variations of this drill you can use barrels and other props and go from standing to kneeling, etc.

The 1-Move-1 Drill helps you practice moving from one shooting position to another. It helps you plan your entry, determine where your feet need to be when you stop, identify visual clues for where your pistol should be as you come to a stop in relation to the target, and plan your exit.

5. The 5 X 5: IDPA now has two classifiers for clubs to choose from. If you are in a hurry or have limited space, you can run the abbreviated 5×5 classifier and upload the scores. I believe the 5x5 also serves as a good training drill. The 5x5 is shot on a single target placed 10 yards from the shooter as follows:

String 1: Draw and fire 5 shots freestyle. 

String 2: Draw and fire 5 shots using primary hand only

String 3: Start with only 5 rounds in your pistol. Draw and fire 5 shots, emergency reload (slide lock) and fire 5 additional shots freestyle

String 4: Draw and fire 4 shots to the body and one shot to the head freestyle

I initially dismissed the 5x5 as too easy—that was until I actually went out and shot it. Although I have fired Master using the 5x5 in every IDPA division, this was not a trivial endeavor. The 5x5 is ideal for ranges with limited space. If your range does not permit drawing from a holster, then start from low ready. (see figure #2 and a video of the 5x5)



These are just some drills that you can perform. There are literally hundreds of different drills available through a cursory search of the INTERNET. One point to keep in mind—if the drill does not push you out of your comfort zone then it is not helping you get better. To improve, you must to get out of your comfort zone--mindlessly going through the motions does not improve performance.What else can you do? Attend matches and observe the best shooters. 

What are they doing that is different than what you are doing? If they are willing to discuss your performance after they have shot the stage, ask this person to help you identify what you might need to change in order to be able to do what they are doing. Ask them to watch you shoot and critique your performance. Note: You are more likely to receive feedback of this nature at local club and perhaps regional matches where the stakes are not that high.

Developing master-level shooting ability requires good old fashioned hard work. Employing the deliberate practice methodologies, understanding the physiology of practice and how your body develops skill at a particular task, and then performing shooting drills that develop and test these skills will lift you to the next level. 

If you like this article please click subscribe in the upper right corner just under my gorgeous picture. The only thing that will happen is that you will get an e-mail when I publish something. Your e-mail will never be shared and you can unsubscribe at any time. 

Or Click Here to subscribe