Time is precious and irreplaceable. Ammunition costs money. Skill is perishable. These are the facts with which we must contend as we work to build and maintain a skill with a firearm. For those of us who carry a handgun everyday for our loved ones' and our own personal protection, developing and maintaining sufficient skill is non-negotiable. Since our time and money are limited, it is best to develop methods to maximize our practice time on the range so that we use our time and ammunition for maximum benefit. This means that our practice should planned, mindful and measurable so we can keep track of our progress.
Training Versus Practice
For the sake of clarity, I would like define “training” and “practice,” since many people seem to use them interchangeably. I define training as “new skill acquisition.” This means learning new skills, ideally under the supervision of an experienced instructor. Conversely, practice is the deliberate, mindful repetition of skills already acquired through previous training. Routine practice is an essential part of increasing one’s skill.
Plan to Succeed
A common phenomenon I observe at public ranges is what I call “Fun and Gun Time,” where shooters on the range are just shooting to have fun and doing whatever occurs to them in the moment. There is nothing wrong with purely recreational shooting, so long as fun is the goal. In fact, when taking friends and family members to the range for the first time, fun should be the second priority after safety. However, if we are going to the range to practice our defensive shooting skills so we can maintain or improve them, we need to have a plan.
This means determining, before we even leave the house, what we want to accomplish during that day’s practice session. If you have limited ammunition or time, it is difficult to work on every aspect of handgun shooting during a practice session. If you are working on your draw-to-first-hit at home in dry-practice, then perhaps you might instead work on recoil management by shooting a series of drills requiring multiple shots, recoil management, and reacquisition of your sights on target. Perhaps you worked on that during your last practice session, but your precision was lacking, so this session you might decide to work on hitting small or distant targets in order to improve your practical accuracy. Whatever you decide, choose to work on one or two specific aspects of pistol-craft, and pre-select drills or assessments that will allow you to focus on those priorities.
Be Mentally Present
Once we have decided the focus of a practice session, the next important aspect is to be mentally present, or mindful, as we practice. Practice doesn’t make perfect. Perfect practice makes perfect. That means focusing completely on the task at hand. In the same way that we choose to focus our overall practice session on specific aspects of shooting, we should try to do the same during each drill and even individual shots. If I notice my grip is sub-optimal, I might choose to focus on my grip to the exclusion of all else until I am satisfied. If I notice that I am firing on a cadence instead of when my sights tell me I have an adequate sight picture, then I am going to shift my mental focus to that single aspect until I am satisfied with it. Big gains are made in tiny increments. Being mentally present, and critically looking for those small areas where we can improve is an essential part of getting the most out of our practice sessions.
How Do You Know?
Was it a good practice session? Did you improve today? How do you know that to be true? One of the biggest differences between adequate shooters and good shooters is the good shooter’s willingness to measure and record their performance. Measurable metrics of performance, such as time and measurable accuracy, help us determine whether we are getting better, worse, or staying the same. Every individual gets to decide what is “good enough” for him or her, in terms of speed and accuracy. However, many people don’t know what kind of speed or accuracy they can expect out of themselves on demand, because they’ve never measured it.
The primary methods to measure shooting performance are time and accuracy. How precise can we be with our hits, and within what kind of time standard? Shot timers, scored targets, and standardized drills and qualifications are excellent tools that always tell us the truth about our performance. They can tell us where we stand on the entire spectrum of skill, from untrained novice to world-class shooter, but more importantly they tell us where we stand in relation to our former self. The shot timer, scored targets such as the IPSC and IDPA targets or B-8 Replacement Center, and standards such as the FBI Qualification or Bill Drill, tell us objectively how well we are performing.
Regarding shot timers, it is sometimes said, “There are no timers in gunfights.” In fact there are, except when don’t know when it will go off, and it goes “bang” instead of “beep.” Time pressure will be a factor in a defensive gun use, so why not practice performing under time pressure on the range?
These measurements help us set realistic goals for the short and long-term. What if you average a three second draw-to-first-hit time? Then you can work on getting that down well below three seconds, and then below 2.5, and two and so on. What if you shoot the FBI Qualification and only score 60 percent (A passing score is 80 percent)? Now you know where you are, and what skills you need to practice in order to improve.
It is also helpful to record your results. This will help you determine if your practice is taking you in the right direction, or if you need to adjust your strategy. Likewise, recording your results will help remind you on what skills you have not worked on in a while. If you shot “The Test” (10 rounds at 10 yards in 10 seconds on a B-8 target) and were dissatisfied with the results three months ago because you went over on time, and have been doing speed work on the timer the last couple sessions, maybe it is time to revisit it. Since you have your results recorded, you can now compare scores with yourself. Maybe now you have the speed but dropped more shots than you wanted, which may be the signal to spend some time practicing precision. Recording your performance helps you notice quantifiable trends that will help you improve more efficiently over time.
Last Thoughts
All this might seem like a lot of work, but really these concepts are intended to save us work. Practicing efficiently means greater gains in skill and performance using less time and ammunition. Instead of just going to the range and having fun, or practicing what we like or are already good at, these principles will help us make the greatest improvements in the shortest amount of time. So before your next practice session, look at your available time and ammo and plan things out. Be mentally present and focused during your session, and focus on the smallest details of your reps. Measure how you are shooting by putting it on the timer, and/or challenging yourself against quantifiable accuracy standards. Record your practice sessions, and refer back periodically to determine what you need to work on or adjust. After all, perfect practice makes perfect.
