Are you wasting your range time?

[Steve M]

Good article by Tom Revaz on using your range time effectively. I know a lot of guys just "go shoot" to have fun, I do too sometimes, but it's mistake to confuse "turning money into noise" with training. When you want to really build your skills you need a plan.

I pretty much agree with Tom's "Weakness-based-training" model, in as much as we should find and address skill deficiencies and inefficiencies, but he stops short of the holistic "whole gunfight" skill assessment I endorse that allows us to see the gaps between the individual tasks.

Center Mass Group - Are You Wasting Your Range Time?

 

[jasont]

I've got a little notebook and after a stage at a match I will write down anything I did not perform well at. Then the next week I'll come up with both live and dry fire drills to improve on that skill. Always working on your deficiencies can be frustrating but will make you a better shooter. I dry fire at home almost every evening. A 5 minute warm up and then 3 sets of drills at 15-20 minutes each.

 

[kurt]

Sadly, most ranges prevent anything but slow fire from a low ready position.

 

[TexasRedneck]

Don't forget that for many of us, shooting IS about relaxation and the pure fun of shooting. One of the reasons I no longer compete - I can hit what I aim at without having anything to prove (to myself or others), so when I'm at the range, the focus is enjoying myself #1, #2 is honing my skills. Could I be better? Sure - all of us can. But since I'm not a pro shooter, whether I hit 10 rounds in the bullseye @ 25 yards vs. center mass really doesn't matter all that much to me, as long as I can put it in the bullseye when I really want/need to.

 

[Rum Runner]

Sadly, most ranges prevent anything but slow fire from a low ready position.

yep.

 

[Steve M]

Sadly, most ranges prevent anything but slow fire from a low ready position.

Yes, but this is where dry fire and airsoft comes in. Between dry fire, airsoft, and an infrequent range visit you can build a very strong gunfighting skillset.

And living in Cedar Park you are just a few minutes away from Best of the West Range in Liberty Hill which is very accommodating to tactical shooting.

 

[TheDan]

As long as I'm having fun, my time is not wasted.

 

[TexasRedneck]

As long as I'm having fun, my time is not wasted.

 

[Mikewood]

His point is valid. But yea. I am there to relax and enjoy the day.
It seems in the last few years we have a ton of schools pop up like mushrooms after a rain and they are all run by a navy seal, delta, ranger instructor.
It's great and all but their argument for doing it their way is "when I was in the teams...". That's fine too. But in my home when there is a bump in the night I won't have 80# of navy seal gear to protect me. We as civilians really need to take a hard look at all the go fast ideas, tactics and stuff that looks cool but won't help us protect our homes.

 

[Steve M]

His point is valid. But yea. I am there to relax and enjoy the day.
It seems in the last few years we have a ton of schools pop up like mushrooms after a rain and they are all run by a navy seal, delta, ranger instructor.
It's great and all but their argument for doing it their way is "when I was in the teams...". That's fine too. But in my home when there is a bump in the night I won't have 80# of navy seal gear to protect me. We as civilians really need to take a hard look at all the go fast ideas, tactics and stuff that looks cool but won't help us protect our homes.

You are on to a few things here worth discussing.

1) SWAT/Delta/SEAL/Ninja Training not always applicable to civilians. It's true: as a civilian I will never get to pick the time and place of the gunfight, while armored head-to-toe, with a stack of well-armed guys behind me, and a medevac helicopter hovering overhead if I get hit. A civilian is predominantly concerned with the reactive gunfight, where they start behind the power curve and it's more important to not get shot than to shoot the other guy. There are some very effective tactics and techniques used by LEOs and elite teams that are applicable to civilians: however, we need not accept "the way we did it on the teams" as gospel for civilian gunfighters.

2) The "Gun Guru" is dead. The advent of simunitions and the airsoft pistol has empowered individuals to find out for themselves just what works and what doesn't. While there are certainly guys with tons of experience and great ideas to draw from, with these "force-on-force" tools we can now shine the light of "combative truth" on any suggested tactic or technique and draw our own conclusions. Even better, we can find out what works best for our individual circumstances.

 

[Texas1911]

You are on to a few things here worth discussing.

1) SWAT/Delta/SEAL/Ninja Training not always applicable to civilians. It's true: as a civilian I will never get to pick the time and place of the gunfight, while armored head-to-toe, with a stack of guys behind me, and a medevac helicopter hovering overhead if I get hit. A civilian is predominantly concerned with the reactive gunfight, where they start behind the power curve and it's more important to not get shot than to shoot the other guy. There are some very effective tactics and techniques used by LEOs and elite teams that are applicable to civilians: however, we need not accept "the way we did it on the teams" as gospel for civilian gunfighters.

2) The "Gun Guru" is dead. The advent of simunitions and the airsoft pistol has empowered individuals to find out for themselves just what works and what doesn't. While there are certainly guys with tons of experience and great ideas to draw from, with these "force-on-force" tools we can now shine the light of "combative truth" on any suggested tactic or technique and draw our own conclusions. Even better, we can find out what works best for our individual circumstances.

Post of the century... and I've been saying it for years.

I love getting insight from guys that have been there and done it for a living, but what works for a LEO whom has a radio, armor, more aggressive threat approach, back-up, maybe even a partner, etc. isn't necessarily gospel for what we as the general public should be doing. The same with the military, we're not running around with a team, full armor, fire support, etc. and we're not facing Jamal with a PKM either. It's really a third dynamic, although we generally face similar threats as the LEOs we're not afforded the same whole picture. We have abilities that the military and LEOs don't ... like running away.

People just need to engage as many sources of info as they can and train on what works, and all of that info needs to be vetted on the range and filtered through your own realities.

 

[TheDan]

... like running away.

lol yep... Your first piece of defensive gear should be a comfortable pair of sneakers.

 

[Dcav]

Sometimes I find I need to head to the range by myself, to hone necessary skills as opposed ot the frequent group meets/shoot I go to several times a month. I push myself harder and concentrate more on training myself that way.

 

[leonidas]

Sadly, most ranges prevent anything but slow fire from a low ready position.

+1!!!!!

I'd love to work on a plan at the range, but these ranges are too up tight. Thank goodness for dry fire training. The only issue with dry fire, is you can't practice double taps. BTW, DFW gun range does allow double taps. I appreciate them allowing the double tap, it gives the patron the feeling they respect you and no one has been injured due to them allowing the double taps.

 

[TheDan]

Lonestar will let you rapid fire, draw from holster, and do transition drills. You can move laterally too, but there's not much room for that.

 

[majormadmax]

There's a solution: IDPA

 

[Steve M]

There's a solution: IDPA

If IDPA is the solution, what's the problem? A horde of cantankerous cardboard that needs ventilation?

Let's face it, if you took those cardboard IDPA silhouettes and set them up on the line of scrimmage, hiked the ball, faked a pass, and then ran a brilliant touchdown play against them would you think you were training for the NFL?

I'll grant IDPA could be a part of the solution, but it really just addresses a small part of the gunfight problem.

 

[Renegade]

You are on to a few things here worth discussing.

1) SWAT/Delta/SEAL/Ninja Training not always applicable to civilians. It's true: as a civilian I will never get to pick the time and place of the gunfight, while armored head-to-toe, with a stack of well-armed guys behind me, and a medevac helicopter hovering overhead if I get hit. A civilian is predominantly concerned with the reactive gunfight, where they start behind the power curve and it's more important to not get shot than to shoot the other guy. There are some very effective tactics and techniques used by LEOs and elite teams that are applicable to civilians: however, we need not accept "the way we did it on the teams" as gospel for civilian gunfighters.

I have never seen so much time, money put into training & gear for something that is almost never going to happen in my one's life. It is hilarious to watch discussion about this on the boards. It is even more hilarious to go to a range and see some of these folks (I have).

 

[majormadmax]

If IDPA is the solution, what's the problem? A horde of cantankerous cardboard that needs ventilation?

Let's face it, if you took those cardboard IDPA silhouettes and set them up on the line of scrimmage, hiked the ball, faked a pass, and then ran a brilliant touchdown play against them would you think you were training for the NFL?

I'll grant IDPA could be a part of the solution, but it really just addresses a small part of the gunfight problem.

Seriously? Standing at a bench, spending all the time in the world aiming, then bragging about how well you shoot is not a test of one's skills. Hell, most people don't train with their weak hand. At least IDPA involves shooting on the move, and learning to use cover.

I have never seen so much time, money put into training & gear for something that is almost never going to happen in my one's life. It is hilarious to watch discussion about this on the boards. It is even more hilarious to go to a range and see some of these folks (I have).

It's about as ridiculous as the people that actually believe they'll have to defend themselves against zombies one day...

 

[shortround]

Having had professional firearms training, I am never satisfied with my performance at the Range.

It is a lot like Golf, do you sand-bag your buddies, or do you do your very best to shoot the best score?

In shooting, there is no consolation in being "second best."

That is why we try harder every time we go to the range.

That mindset has also helped me save many rounds of ammo.

Be well.