F.I.R.E. Defensive Skills LLC

Shooting vs Training

As someone in the firearms business for the military, and in the civilian

world, I often have a chance to teach a good number of students. I always

hear about how many times they go shooting, but rarely do I hear someone say

they went "training". Now I know, some people use the term "shooting"

as their default word for training. But do they use their time on the range

as an opportunity to get better, or is it a relaxing fun time with buddies?

I bet most people's range time meets the "fun" definition, more than the

actual "training" definition.

Now don't get me wrong, I think shooting is VERY fun, but I conduct actual

training every time I go to the range. In fact, I can't remember the last

time I went "plinking". Over the years, I have found that ammo is too

expensive, and my time too valuable just to shoot some pop cans, or whatever

else I have laying around.

So, how do we go from "plinking", to training?

1. Formulate a plan of what you want to accomplish. Include the weapons

system (rifle or handgun) round count, and what you want to work on.

Example of things to work on would include: reloads, multiple targets,

malfunction clearance, etc.

2. At the range, record the time, date, type of ammo, and what you did. If

you want to time yourself, download a free range timer app for your smart

phone.

3. Keep a log of what you do, so you can work on different things, and find

areas that need improvement.

Now that you have a few tips on record keeping, let me give you a drill that

you can do with both the handgun, and the carbine.

This is called the 2x2x2 Reload drill. To set this up, use three separate

target backers, and space them about 3 feet apart. Paste one paper plate or

other target on each of the backers. You will need three mags, and six rds

for this drill. Load two rounds in each mag, and place one mag in the

weapon, and two in a holder. Stand at the 5yd line, and shoot two rds on

the first target, reload, shoot two rds on the second, reload, and shoot the

last two rds on the third. As you get better at this, put pressure on

yourself by using a shot timer, and moving the yardage back as far as you

want.

I hope these ideas help you move from the "plinking" mindset to the

"training" mindset. Be creative, have fun, and always strive to improve.

Until next time, train hard and stay safe!

Team F.I.R.E.