Shooting is a perishable skill. This means that your ability to place a shot diminishes over time between shooting sessions. Law enforcement agencies qualify annually but train and practice at least once a quarter. These agencies understand that accuracy suffers between training. So typically, they shoot about 50 rounds every three months. A shooting competitor can breeze through about 1000 rounds per month.

Muscle Memory Training

In typical civilian combat situations, you are defending against a threat directed towards you or a loved one. Your purpose is to stop the aggressive behavior, not necessarily to kill but to incapacitate. A lot happens physiologically during a deadly force confrontation. Vision narrows, your concentration and perception is keener, giving the impression that time slows, your fine motor skills deteriorate your hearing can shut down most of this is due the body dump of adrenaline. So, your best defense is muscle memory in responding to a threat. This skill is obtained at the range. Through repetitive actions are muscle memory built. But you must train for it. If the threat materializes almost inside of your personal space you will not have the time to draw and go to the two-handed weaver stance favored today, close-up combat requires you to draw and fire with only one hand, something that needs to be practiced. You must respond to a threat quickly to neutralize the threat. You will have to detect the threat and decide how to respond in less than a second. You will have to train to the point that you operate essentially on automatic and that response will rely on training and practice.

Practice Pistol Reload Techniques

Not surprising but many confrontations take place in low light conditions. Reloading skills should be practiced, without having to look. The modern semiauto assists with this as the hand-to-hand action is performed better, but if you’re a wheel gun afficado you need to practice reloading in low light without looking. A tactical reload is when you fire, have lull in the action and reload to a fresh magazine. Maintain your live cartridges if a revolver or magazine if your using a semi-auto, you may need those two to three rounds if the confrontation continues.

Range Time Helps You Hit Not Miss

There is a lot of responsibility associated with carrying a gun for protection. Anyone hit with a stray shot and remember that psychological and physiological body responses will heighten the number of misses, they will probably hold you responsible. To ensure hits and not misses requires some range time. How often, if your serious and want to be competent if would seem you should plow through a box of ammo a month, between 30-50 rounds. More if possible. Many firearms have rimfire versions that retain the look and feel of their more robust brethren. Even if you only fire your carry gun once a quarter, you can burn a box of 22’s for practice. Those who qualify for a CCW and only shoot for requalification are doing themselves and those around them a disservice. It takes time to learn new skills and reestablish those skills, and you cannot learn those skills from a book or video, you must do some shooting. It is a hands on activity. Budget for some ammo and arrange the time for some range and trigger time. Shooting Range Industries builds custom shooting ranges to make firearm practice and training convenient. Contact us to learn more.