How do you train?

[simon99]

Curious how some of you train with various firearms?

Run and gun, long range, self defense? What works, how often do you do it why is it important to you?

Overtraining never hurt anyone....

Read More

 

[erudne]

My days start and end with PB&J
Just sayin'

 

[Certaindeaf]

Everyone's a gimp with a .22 slug in the kneecap.. practice is fungible!

 

[Fast Eddie]

I sit around thinking about what I would do, hopefully when the time comes, I'll be ready.

 

[Fast Eddie]

Everyone's a gimp with a .22 slug in the kneecap.. practice is fungible!

I used to be an urban combat technician, then I took an arrow to the knee.

 

[simon99]

So, it seems so far that a steady diet of potato chips, diet Coke and TV on the couch are a good training program.
Sweet...I guess I've been doing it wrong.

Sorry to sound facetious, I'm always interested in hearing about how others train as a shooter, how they get better.

 

[Fast Eddie]

I'm going to go check out threat dynamics, when I have the extra scratch. We are gathering supplies to go out in the boonies and do some trench training nutnfancy style.

 

[Certaindeaf]

I used to be an urban combat technician, then I took an arrow to the knee.

You don't have to be faster than the bear.. just have friends!

 

[Certaindeaf]

So, it seems so far that a steady diet of potato chips, diet Coke and TV on the couch are a good training program.
Sweet...I guess I've been doing it wrong.

Sorry to sound facetious, I'm always interested in hearing about how others train as a shooter, how they get better.

It's all about the fundamentals.. pay your dues and no need to get so fancy.

 

[simon99]

It's all about the fundamentals.. pay your dues and no need to get so fancy.

Fundamentals are vital. I see a lot of shooters, both pistol and rifle that have very poor fundamentals when I'm at the range. No matter how many rounds you send downrange can fix poor fundamentals.

 

[Toxic6]

mostly i practice trigger control, instinctual aiming, rapid target change/multiple targets, and moving while shooting and reloading.....but i don't practice near enough. It took me forever to get to where I was comfortable shooting with a pistol close to my face and not flinch....still flinch once in a while, just have to learn to trust the weapon and the glasses and not fear powder burns.

I also like staging scenarios when I can.....one I ran a few times when we had a gravel pit to ourselves was multiple targets across an area, entry with a vehicle and block, exit vehicle and use for cover to drop close targets then reload while moving to next cover and engage next target while moving. It was fun, but i still find brass in the nooks and crannies of our cars. Can't say what it was practice for it's just something I made up...

 

[CoastRange57]

Training comes in several levels. First off, straight out target practice until you are an accurate shooter. Real accurate. Think you are accurate??...go to an off hand shoot for a bit and see how that works.

Next is simple draw and point, mag drops and reload, tap rack bang drills. Then maybe some vehicle drills, exiting the vehicle to cover, using the vehicle as an offensive and defensive weapon. Don't forget to run some drills where the bad guy has a knife only too. This goes more to situational awareness side of things which is important as well.

I was on an isolated road in Central Oregon a couple weeks ago at a view point with one other car with an elderly couple there. We were taking pictures when a van drove up and a scuzzy looking dude got out and started a conversation with me about my OSU hat. ( Possible criminal intent interview). Not being completely comfortable with that, I conversed briefly with him and watched as another scuzzy guy got out, and then another. I glanced at my wife with the "look", she was behind our vehicle, I moved to give her an open field, and looked back and thought to myself, left to right with one shot each and move to the other side of the vehicle where a long gun was under a blanket on the back seat. I got to the other side of the vehicle with my wife, engaged the elderly couple in conversation and watched the dudes closely, which should have been very apparent.

They displayed no nefarious intent, and went about their business. I was pleased with our reactions, it was quick, rehearsed, and no addrenline (sp?) rush, and we went about our business. Was this the wrong reaction from me ? I train extensively in situational analysis and I feel it was exactly what I have trained myself to do.

If you know ex military types, they are a huge resource for training. Other shooters also possess great amounts of information they may share with you.

 

[simon99]

Training comes in several levels. First off, straight out target practice until you are an accurate shooter. Real accurate. Think you are accurate??...go to an off hand shoot for a bit and see how that works.

Next is simple draw and point, mag drops and reload, tap rack bang drills. Then maybe some vehicle drills, exiting the vehicle to cover, using the vehicle as an offensive and defensive weapon. Don't forget to run some drills where the bad guy has a knife only too. This goes more to situational awareness side of things which is important as well.

I was on an isolated road in Central Oregon a couple weeks ago at a view point with one other car with an elderly couple there. We were taking pictures when a van drove up and a scuzzy looking dude got out and started a conversation with me about my OSU hat. ( Possible criminal intent interview). Not being completely comfortable with that, I conversed briefly with him and watched as another scuzzy guy got out, and then another. I glanced at my wife with the "look", she was behind our vehicle, I moved to give her an open field, and looked back and thought to myself, left to right with one shot each and move to the other side of the vehicle where a long gun was under a blanket on the back seat. I got to the other side of the vehicle with my wife, engaged the elderly couple in conversation and watched the dudes closely, which should have been very apparent.

They displayed no nefarious intent, and went about their business. I was pleased with our reactions, it was quick, rehearsed, and no addrenline (sp?) rush, and we went about our business. Was this the wrong reaction from me ? I train extensively in situational analysis and I feel it was exactly what I have trained myself to do.

If you know ex military types, they are a huge resource for training. Other shooters also possess great amounts of information they may share with you.

Sounds like you did the right thing and your training paid off in spades.
I actually served in the Marine Corps, even after all the rounds I shot, the training I've received ( both physical and physiologically) I enjoy continuing my education. You're only as good as you train.

 

[CoastRange57]

Thank you for your service. I did not serve, but 3 of my sons did, in the Corps, so you can guess where the majority of my training comes from, and damn good training at that.

My training is also prefaced with the fact that at my age and physical abilities, that consideration has to be given in fighting a different way than the young studs do.

 

[coop44]

Lytle Creek CA, was an open shooting area. This happened 20 years ago.

one day while shooting a group of fellas pull up about 100 feet away, open the trunk take out two mannequins and set them up. They then get back in the car drive a ways up the road and turn around. I left.

 

[SmawGunner]

That would require removing my guns from my safe. But seriously, I take classes from schools like Suarez International then occasionally practice the same drills at home so I wont forget.

 

[SmawGunner]

Here is a long range drill i like to do to practice fundamentals and get cardio also. Its called "I forgot my bullets". 1) draw 20 1" circles on a piece of paper and staple this on the target. 2) place rifle on the deck at 100 yds. 3) place 20 rounds at the 125 yd line. 4) Then start running. Run back and forth between the 100 and 125 grabbing 1 bullet at a time and taking a shot from prone at each of of the 20 1" circles. You should be able to get all your shots touching and be done in less than 20 minutes. I learned this one from Magpul. They have classes in Yakima only 3 hrs from Portland. So if you cant get all your hits then maybe you should take their class. TCGC sniper match had a much shortened version of this drill as 1 of their stages last year.

 

[OLDNEWBIE]

I figure just owning firearms and ammo and keeping the minimum skills to quickly hit a target put me at better than 50% of the population today. When I can I set up multiple targets at various distances and see how fast and accurate I really am with my handguns. With my .22 rifle I'm all about taking my time and getting dime sized groups at distance as it may be my small game shtf rifle. with my mini14 I don't run and gun but I move around a bit and shoot from behind cover or prone. kneeling etc.. I also am not in bad shape for my age through no effort on my part other than an occasional bike ride, walk, or set of push-ups. I only train with my weapons maybe 5 x a year, not enough but perhaps good enough.

 

[SmawGunner]

Heres a handgun drill i like to do. I get on about the 5 yd line. I load a bunch of mags with live and a couple dummy rounds per mag each. Then start walking back and forth along the line shooting and clearing my malfunctions, and reloading, and never stopping. Make sure your always moving. Never stop. I do the same with my carbine except at about 20 yds.

 

[Misterbill]

Every time I g to the range it's the same thing. Sounds boring, but it's not.

1.Warm up with aimed shots to COM
2. Tape up and take drawn 2-shots to COM
3. Tape up and 2-4 shots to COM based on a partner's call-outs.
4. Aimed shots to CNS under a timer (No more than 1 second under partner call-out.)
5. Mozambique drill. (no more than 1.5 sec from draw to CNS shot)

That's pretty much it.

4&5 I regularly FAIL at. (too long or missed).

The drill itself is always about the same, though we do mix it up with multiple opponents etc once and a while, and also with weakhand-only etc.

The point is DRILL vs plink.

Plink is wonderful. It's fun, it's stress-relieving. But it doesn't train your muscles to do the necessary thing given X-criteria.

If you're going to train then TRAIN. If you're going to screw around, then do that. Just don't confuse the two.