How do YOU Train at the range

[marksiwel]

I've been shooting at Bulls eye Targets and Silhouette Targets at 7 yards.
Should I been shooting farther away? Will that help me shoot better closer?
I was shooting full Mags, but have since switched to 3-4 rounds at a time and found my aim is getting better.

I also stopped using blazer rounds all together and just stick to Winchester,Remington, and the big guys. Less fouling better shooting

[USA1]

I like to shoot at 7 yards also. Its easier to see where you're hitting the target. Sometimes I will send the target all the way to the back wall of the range..(indoor range) then bring it back to examine the shot placement.

Usually I'll draw from the holster and shoot double or triple taps in rapid succession , but that's just me.

[Keith]

Try various lenghts. Watched a show how fast some one from 20 ft away can run at you. It's very quik. Most just barely got there gun out in time let alone shoot. I would HIGHLY recommend a tactical shoot like what's avaliable the second Sat of each month at Dalles pistol club. We shoot moving,behind barriers,with a week hand, holding a flashlight. I would take a challenge from anyone shooting a target while standing but now make me hit a target while moving and I would get whooped nut I'm working on it. Odds are in a defensive shooting it will be nothing like the target range you will be moving or the attacker def will be. Good luck.

[Zee]

Long ago and far away I lived where I could shoot on open land. We shot near and far. One handed and two. Moving targets hung from trees. I was much better then than I am now standing in a lighted indoor range with a paper target clipped on a holder. I think some of it was the wide range of practice types but also my eyes and hands were closer to factory specs then.

[TxDrifter]

I do most of mine at 7 yards (21 feet) as well. What I started doing though is placing four dots from my sticky targets (the ones that splat yellow or orange sometimes have four dots on the page too) and rotate each shot through all of the targets rather than just hitting the one over and over. I will also send it to the length of the range (most of them are indoor) and aim for center mass or head shots and fire a couple of mags worth there as well. I miss shooting IDPA on Wednesday nights though. That was the most worthwhile shooting I've ever done. The Sunday morning drills they sometimes work on were great too.

[C-dub]

I shoot at various ranges from 10 feet up to 25 feet using the sights. Then I also do point shooting with fresh targets at the same distances. The only time I've shot at anything further is during qualification and at a friends farm. We shot at a milk jug across a small pond about 100 feet away and 6 feet lower than where we were standing. It took 4-5 really close shots, but I finally hit about 4 times out of 15. This was with my G27 and a 15 round mag.

[wgoforth]

At a range I can put a box through a blown-out bullseye center... but that has little real world application. Even in an indoor range there are things you can do to prepare you for real world. First, do the Mozambique drill. shooting 2 to the chest and one to the head. While you wouldn't neccesarily really do that in real life, it does at least make you do something you would do in real life...move your gun around. Also, after shooting your paper bad guy, scan with your gun from side to side about 10:00 to the the left and 2:00 to the right. This does several things: In a real life fight you often get tunnel vision (happens when heart rate gets to around 140), this breaks up tunnel vision. Also, this lets you check for accomplices.
Too, at the range I will shoot strong hand/weak hand. What if your hand or arm is injured? I will also lay down, squat down, shoot around the edge of the dividers. I get some odd looks sometimes.
Remember, train the way you will fight. Train hard, fight easy was the Roman legion motto. Laying on your back, bloodied and bruised is a terrible way to aquire a new skill. You will forget much in the fight, so learn in practice.

[KFP]

I came across these a while back on the handgunlaw.us website

http://www.handgunlaw.us/documents/HandgunDrills.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

There are plenty to practice and keep it fresh at the range, though the ability to perform some may be hindered by the rules at your individual range.

[Motownfire]

When I go to the range I do a few different things. First I "warm" up with a couple mags at 7 yards or so shooting with a proper two handed grip. After that I shoot one handed stong and weak hand (I am right handed). Then with my remaining ammo I draw from my concealment holster and use different rates of fire while standing, kneeling, leaning around the divider and whatever else I can get away with before everyone starts staring at me.

In between hunting seasons I set up a "Real World" course for my fiance and I at my lease. We do a lot of shooting while moving and shooting around obstacles. Hope this helps ya, this is just ideas that I brainstorm and will day dream something different to do out at the lease after duck season.

[longtooth]

I am very thankful. I have 2 ranges to shoot at. Both outdoors. One my personal & the other a Angelina Rifle & Pistol Club. At either we are able to target practice, set up sioluets, move & shoot, I have a moving target mounted on a wagon.
I am very blessed.

[Keith]

Awesome website thanks teatch!

[KD5NRH]

Also, if the range will allow it, put the target at arm's reach and practice shooting it 2-3 times quickly from a retention position. This is far more likely to be the situation when you really need it. Ideally, you'd want to step back after the first string, bring the gun up to your normal stance, and make the fastest headshot you can, (under the circumstances, a BG you've shot 2-3 times in the torso from hand-to-hand range, who is still standing and still a threat needs a headshot) but that's not practical in a laned range.