Thoughts on training and practice...

[JTH]

Quick comment before the main point: 

I personally considering "training" something you do with someone else--you are learning new technique, getting an analysis of old technique, someone is rating your technique, etc.  Generally "training" comes with an instructor, though sometimes it can happen between a group of people who are all working together.  (That can sometimes instead reinforce bad ideas and poor technique if no one knows what they are doing, though.)

"Practice" is something you do by yourself to get better.  (Ok, you can work with a partner or a group here, also, but this is mostly about taking techniques you know and making them better.)

Some people have a tendency to only "train."  They go to multiple classes every year, participate in discussions about tactics/techniques, etc. 

Other people have a tendency to only "practice."  They get in copious amounts of practice, but never quite make it to anything resembling training.

People in both groups tend to think that the hours they have put in make them better shooters.

You know what?  In BOTH cases, that just isn't necessarily always true. 

People who go to classes but don't practice may know material, but can't necessarily apply it.  People who practice but don't get any training may not actually know the right techniques--and certainly may not really know if they are doing the techniques correctly, and thus may be seriously handicapping themselves.

Unless they practice with standards.  Using a training metric, using a timer, actually doing some performance tracking--these are all incredibly important, if you are interested in actually getting better.

And no, I'm not just talking about competition.  I'm talking about any skill set.  Yes, I mean tactics.  Yes, I mean shooting skills.  Yes, I mean competition skills.  ANY skill set.  (As the article I'm about to link says, we don't send a quarterback on the field based on how he feels about his ability--we first test his abilities, and THEN make our decision.)

If you carry for self-defense purposes---do you know if your skillset is sufficient?  Have you measured it somehow?  If not, you have NO IDEA.

Canipe Correspondence:
http://soldiersystems.net/2012/09/29/canine-correspondence-why-measure-performance/

(Competition folks get their competition skillset measured every time they hit a match.  And they get their shooting skillset checked, too.  Tactical skillset, nope.)

What's your performance metric?  Your standards?

[kozball]

JTH, I agree fully with everything you said here.

For allot of people, I assume that life just gets in the way. There has to be priorities. They want to be better, but there could be the nagging wife, the job with too many hours, the kids sports teams, and that 4 yr project of remodeling the basement.

Then there is "Desire" Anyone who truly understands what that means needs no further explanation. If you have the "Desire" then you will find a way.

Just my $.02

[JTH]

For allot of people, I assume that life just gets in the way. There has to be priorities. They want to be better, but there could be the nagging wife, the job with too many hours, the kids sports teams, and that 4 yr project of remodeling the basement.

You know, until you wrote that it never even occurred to me that someone would take that as a "you aren't working hard enough!" post---that isn't how I meant it.

If anyone took it that way, that's not how I meant it! 

I just meant that 1) people need metrics to work on achievement, and 2) people need standards to actually understand their current level of skill.   Without metrics and standards, people really don't know if what they are practicing is actually helping, or making any difference---or worst of all, giving them a false sense of security because their skills really AREN'T sufficient yet.

Of course I believe that most people should practice more, and train more.  (I think I should practice and train more than I do.  [sigh]  I get lazy about dryfire all too often, even though I KNOW it is one of the easiest ways to improve.) 

But mostly, people need to actually get themselves a timer, and try a standard drill sometime, that actually tests their shooting skills compared to a recognized proficiency level in the area they care about. 

CCW your focus?  From concealment, how fast can you draw and get two A-hits on an IPSC metric target (or 2 down zero hits on a IDPA target)?  How fast can you draw and get similar hits shooting strong-hand-only?  How long does it take you to draw and get four good hits on a target at 15 yards?

Can you complete the Nebraska Law Enforcement Officer Firearms Qualification course with a passing score?  (From concealment?  LEOs have to do it from open retention holsters, so from concealment for CCW holders is a good comparison.) 

How about Iowa's LEO course?  Kansas?  Missouri?  South Dakota?

Many trainers out there post their basic skills standards on the web---pick the ones you think relevant to the skills you believe are important.  Try them out.

What are your skills like, compared to what experts in the field think they should be for your desired purpose? 

What do you need to work on? 

Without checking against a metric, you won't know.  And because of that, you won't know what you should be practicing--so you won't get any better at it, either. 

[kozball]

You know, until you wrote that it never even occurred to me that someone would take that as a "you aren't working hard enough!" post---that isn't how I meant it.

Me neither.  Sorry I hijacked your post.

[JTH]

Me neither.  Sorry I hijacked your post.

Hey, discussion is all good. 

[skydve76]

With no ammo around I cant do shooting sports let alone do much training.  My wife and I will go shoot 50rnd each every couple months and that is ammo I cant replace.  I do reload, and cant replace the bullets.

At that rate Ill have 0 9mm by the end of the year!

My point is, this ammo crises has never really gotten better, and it makes us not able to train like we want to.   

[JTH]

With no ammo around I cant do shooting sports let alone do much training.  My wife and I will go shoot 50rnd each every couple months and that is ammo I cant replace.  I do reload, and cant replace the bullets.

At that rate Ill have 0 9mm by the end of the year!

My point is, this ammo crises has never really gotten better, and it makes us not able to train like we want to.   

One of the things that many people don't realize is that dryfire training is just as good as live fire.  (Seriously.  I'm not kidding.)

Dryfire training with a par timer can make a HUGE difference to your skill level.  People can practice fundamental skills, movement skills, competition or defensive skills---all sorts of things can be done with dryfire. 

It isn't just sitting there practicing draws. 

So--with the ammo shortages currently going on, now is a GREAT time to get yourself into a regular dryfire regimen.

I know people who've gotten their draws from 1.8 seconds down to 1.0 seconds (A-hits on a 7 yard target) just through dryfire.  Gotten their reloads from 2.2 seconds down to 1.2 seconds.  Brought their one-handed concealment draw down in time.  Increased their shooting on the move ability.  Made significant differences to their accuracy. 

Dryfire isn't a substitute for live fire, of course.  But neither is live fire a substitute for dryfire.  After all, with dryfire you can get in 30 reps of a "draw, one shot, reload, one shot" in less than 5 minutes from the time of deciding to practice in the first place. 

It takes longer than that for most people to get their gear together to go to the range. 

Do that once a day for a week, and take a look at what happens to your skill! 

If people don't own a par timer of their own, there are a number of phone apps and computer applications available for people to use instead.

[whatsit]

If people don't own a par timer of their own, there are a number of phone apps and computer applications available for people to use instead.

I've been using software for dryfire and my draw has gotten faster -- still not as fast as the times mentioned above, but a good improvement from where I started. What kind of dryfire drills does everyone recommend (other than drawing from a holster) with a single action glock-type pistol? I've become a much bigger fan in the last few months.

I have some ammo I can use to practice recoil management with (or take a training class -- which is what I hope to do this year). However, the ranges in Lincoln don't allow you to move and shoot -- or even draw from a holster, so I get to do a lot more dry than "live."

[gigabelly]

I agree with Jason, what are some standard dryfire drills that can maximize our dry fire training?  It gets boring just drawing and clicking.

[camus]

Metrics and standards, we should pick one or the other when describing a baseline on with to judge performance. (The residue of my day job rearing it's face here, apparently metric is more hip. Just had to get that off my chest. )

I entirely agree on your training vs practice comments.

Anecdotal but after a long period of not shooting I found going back to proficiently shooting a rifle much easier than returning the handgun. (note I use entirely different metrics  for both.) I realized the amount of training and practice I had spent with with a rifle was ridiculously disproportionate with a sidearm. If I could spend that amount of time "snapping in" with a handgun I would. That said, there is always need for training. You can practice all day, but if you are not training, you are going to have reinvent the wheel to get better.



 

[OnTheFly]

I agree with Jason, what are some standard dryfire drills that can maximize our dry fire training?  It gets boring just drawing and clicking.

I don't know if JTH will make a shameless plug for himself, so I will do it for him.  Actually not just for him, but for many sources of training/practice information.

If you can afford a class, check out JTH's courses at Precision Response Training.  I am currently taking his winter Dryfire Training Program and he has provided me with several weeks worth of dryfire work and valuable feedback on my performance.  There are several other trainers/schools out there.  Just look at the NFOA sponsors for a starting point or get your Google fu on.

If you can't find the time or funds for a course, then buy a book.  Just a guess, but I think that $15-40 would likely buy a book to get you off to a good start. 

Don't want to buy a book?  Then get some pointers from a friend who regularly dryfires.  Then...buy a book or hire JTH to straighten out all the incorrect information your friend told you.   

Fly

[camus]

However, the ranges in Lincoln don't allow you to move and shoot -- or even draw from a holster, so I get to do a lot more dry than "live."

I would work from the low ready when shooting indoors, great compliment to dry fire,  maybe others have better suggestions.

[OnTheFly]

However, the ranges in Lincoln don't allow you to move and shoot -- or even draw from a holster, so I get to do a lot more dry than "live."

Yes they do! Well at certain designated times they do.  You have probably already seen it, but check out THIS post on the indoor IDPA match and THIS post on the USPSA match being held every Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively, in Lincoln.

Fly

[whatsit]

Yes they do! Well at certain designated times they do.  You have probably already seen it, but check out THIS post on the indoor IDPA match and THIS post on the USPSA match being held every Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively, in Lincoln.

Fly

Well, you got me there. I suppose competing could be considered practice, as well. I've been out to the ENGC for a USPSA match; it was fun. I have yet to make it to one of the USPSA-type matches at Big Shots.

My point is, though: I have the freedom to move around and acquire multiple targets, on my own, at home -- for practice. I'm just wondering what sort of drills you dry fire practitioners recommend. Wallace11Bravo and I created a computer program specifically for dry fire practice; I want some recommendations for putting it through its paces while getting better, myself.

Here's an example I've come up with (but you won't offend me if you don't like it):
Name: Click-Tap-Rack-Click
Idea: When I hear a click instead of a bang, I want to tap and rack, so to get my brain used to that, I use this drill
Steps:
0.5) Unload your gun! Look at it, touch the empty chamber and mag well, say out loud, "the gun is unloaded and now I'll start practicing." You can't be paranoid enough about this step. Check it again.

1) Draw from concealment (or however you carry, daily) and put one shot on target #1
2) Optionally take a step or two to one side or the other upon the click sound of the hammer / striker falling, tap the mag and rack the slide. By the way, the click sound is required, so you should unload your gun to ensure this drill works properly
3) Place a second shot on target #1
4) Reset the timer and repeat steps 1 - 3, but do them faster

Thanks for your input!

[Mudinyeri]

I think we can all agree that training and practice are both necessary to retaining and improving virtually any skill set, including defensive firearms skills.

We all love shooting or we wouldn't be here.  We all face many of the same constraints on our time.  Fortunately, practice doesn't have to take up a lot of time.  Nor does practice necessarily require a trip to the range.  As Tom mentioned, dry fire practice - in the comfort of your own home - can be beneficial.  In-home practice can be a great time to incorporate cover, concealment and hand-to-hand combat techniques into your regimen.  Of course, ideally, you will have some sort of training in these techniques and tactics prior to practicing them.  The good news is that training for things like cover and concealment or hand-to-hand combat doesn't require ammunition.  So, you won't run your ammo supply dry by taking a defensive combatives class or a class that familiarizes you with incorporating cover and concealment into your defensive tactics.

Improvise ... adapt ... overcome.

[JTH]

If you can afford a class, check out JTH's courses at Precision Response Training.  I am currently taking his winter Dryfire Training Program and he has provided me with several weeks worth of dryfire work and valuable feedback on my performance.  There are several other trainers/schools out there.  Just look at the NFOA sponsors for a starting point or get your Google fu on.

If you can't find the time or funds for a course, then buy a book.  Just a guess, but I think that $15-40 would likely buy a book to get you off to a good start. 

Don't want to buy a book?  Then get some pointers from a friend who regularly dryfires.  Then...buy a book or hire JTH to straighten out all the incorrect information your friend told you.   

I note that I'm not currently accepting any new folks for my PRT Dryfire Program, so this whole thread is NOT a veiled plug for that program. 

Regarding suggestions for dryfire:

It REALLY depends on what your particular focus is---are you working on general shooting skills, competition skills, or defensive practice skills?

There is significant overlap between the three, and there are a number of drills that are useful for people with any of the above foci---but there are also a number of things you can do specifically for your focused area.

Before I mention any, a couple of books you could buy to help:

Steve Anderson's Dryfire book:
Refinement and Repetition:  Dry Fire Drills for Dramatic Improvement

Stoeger's Dryfire book:
Champion Shooting: Guaranteed Results in 15 Minutes A Day

Now, both of these books are focused specifically on making better competition shooters.  However, the skills you build using their dryfire exercises are applicable anywhere.  If you aren't interested in competition, but want to get better with your concealment rig, then instead of using a competition setup practice from concealment with a concealed mag pouch.  Or, if you normally put your extra mag in a pocket---leave it there, and practice that way.   

If you are practicing for self-defense, don't cheat yourself---use what you actually carry.  (And pretty soon, you'll find out what equipment does and does not work for you.  Most people find that pocket carry of a magazine is NOT optimal in any way, for example.  Many people will also find that "pocket carry" only works if you have a LOT of time to draw.)

One of the biggest problems that most people find is that they think that dryfire practice is BORING.

And it can be, if you are doing it wrong. 

If your dryfire practice is 20 minutes of draws, then yes, it is boring.  You'll keep it up less than a week, most likely.

But instead, if you have a good par time for yourself, and you run 5 reps without a par to work on precision, 5 reps at .2 above par to get yourself used to moving immediately on the beep, 10 reps at par to practice, and 10 reps at 0.1 below par to push yourself---it makes it more interesting.  (Especially if you ad 5 reps at 0.2 below par at the end to REALLY push.)

The above 30-35 reps will take only a couple of minutes, and you can then work on a different skill for the next 5 minutes.  Like reloads, for example.

Using the same par time regimen (in other words, decreasing par times) you can work on pretty much every basic fundamental skill for shooting.  Draws, reloads, one-handed shooting, transitions, SHO reloads, etc.

You can work on a regular draw one day, then a draw from hands above your head the next. Third day, start by holding an empty box in both hands before you draw. 

Reloads---practice a slide-lock reload.  A regular reload. SHO reload.

Add some movement--take a step every time you draw.  Practice moving to cover while reloading.  Draw and take an aimed shot on target and then see how FAR you can get in your par time.  Make it farther every time while still taking a perfect shot in the beginning.

Practice transitions--start on one target, and at the beep transition to a different target and take the shot before the par time.  Separate the targets more and more over time.  Go from a wide-open target to an obscured target.  Take only headshots.  Change things as you practice.

Look up "Wall Drill" and practice it every time.  Use dryfire to learn perfect trigger control.

Dryfire is great---you can get a lot of good, solid practice at home with ease.  Track your par times---are you able to decrease them over time?  You should!  Improvement will occur--if it isn't happening, either you aren't pushing yourself, or something about your technique is holding you back. 

Like any other firearms-handling---you need to be safe.  Check your gun, check your magazines, clear the area of all ammunition, never point your gun at anything you aren't prepared to destroy----do all of those things EVERY TIME.

I'm a strong advocate of using a barrel blocker or training barrel while doing dryfire, plus I use easily noticeable dummy ammunition.  (I want the gun and the magazines to be the right weight.)  I have a set of dedicated magazines I use only for dryfire.

I intersperse my regular dryfire with a SIRT training pistol (in the same session).  I make sure to periodically get some quick video of my practice so that I can see what I'm doing.  (It is amazing how quickly small errors creep in without analysis.)

It makes a difference.

[gigabelly]

I have never printed a post before, but I am printing this one.  thanks

[whatsit]

Agreed, thanks jthhapkido.

I found this: http://pistol-training.com/drills
and some of those can be adapted to dryfire, I think. I actually found it when I searched for "Wall Drill" per jthhapkido's suggestion.

[camus]

Well something just clicked, while I have been working with a timer the whole idea setting a par time was beyond me.

Signed,

Clueless 

[JTH]

Well something just clicked, while I have been working with a timer the whole idea setting a par time was beyond me.

Par times help. 

Two topics for comment regarding dryfire practice for improvement:

1) If you are going to actually try to use dryfire to make yourself better, you should start by sitting down and making a plan.  What skills do you want to improve?  List them.

Then, think of straightforward drills to practice/improve that skill---and find yourself a par time for each drill.  (Meaning, set your par timer at about what you think you can do for that drill, and try it.  If it doesn't work, change the par time.  Keeping working at it until you find the time in which you can complete the drill correctly about 90% of the time.  Write down that par time.)

Only THEN should you start actually working on getting better. 

You need that par time to give you a starting point---and to give you something to push.  Every couple of weeks, review your par time.  Is it still correct?  Or have you improved enough so that it is too easy, and the time should be reduced?  Did you start with a 2.5 draw on a 7-yard target, and now you can consistently make it at the 0.2-under-par time?  If so, move your par down to 2.3, and drill some more.  After some time, check it again.  Shift your par times as you get better.


2) Dryfire is great, but there are a couple of standard issues that crop up for people unless they are very careful, and very honest with themselves.  Watch out for these!

A)  In the name of speed, people often sacrifice their grip.  In other words, trying for that incredibly fast draw you just grab the gun, rip it out of the holster, and pull the trigger---but your initial grip on the pistol wasn't any good, your support hand didn't make it into the right spot, and your grip itself was weak.  As such, your ability to control the firearm and perform anything resembling a decent followup shot is just about zero.  So make sure you get a perfect grip on the gun. Don't train poor technique.

B) In the name of speed, people often mash that trigger as fast as they can--which, as we know, is probably the main reason that people miss.  Even if you took the time to get the sights on target (which, at speed, some people get sloppy with), hammering the trigger will most often pull the sights off target, and you'll miss.  Practice perfect trigger control.  (This is why you should do the wall drill every time.  If you don't do ANYTHING else, do the wall drill.  A better trigger press helps everything.)

C) In the name of speed, people start being less than honest with themselves about whether or not their shot would have been any good.  And you can't afford that.  You have to have the discipline such that each time you press the trigger, your sights were in alignment on the target where they needed to be, and the trigger press was good enough that it didn't move the sights off target, and your grip and stance were such that you were stable enough to make the shot and have enough recoil control to take followup shots.

Sometimes people work so hard on beating their par times that they aren't paying attention to the sights--they just wave the gun towards the target, pull the trigger, and are all happy with themselves that they beat the par time.

Oddly enough, this doesn't help. 

You DO want to push yourself---to get faster. However, it only counts when you also get BETTER while you get faster.  So speed is one component---but you'll often find that improving the precision of your technique (and taking out wasted movement) is one the best ways to reduce your time. 

As some point in time, you'll just have to start moving faster.  But you should only be doing that while you are still doing it RIGHT. 

Yes, you'll make mistakes.  Pushing will cause that to happen, and that's fine.  But you have to continually push yourself to be honest with your technique--to correctly judge whether or not your motions would have resulted in a hit, or not.

There are several ways around this--one is periodically making a video of your practice, to check your form.  Another is to get some sort of laser trainer like a SIRT pistol or a Laserlyte insert.  (The new software being advertised here on the NFOA forum may really help this also, if you have trouble observing your hits with a laser-assist.  Effectively, it takes the place of a par timer and a video camera, and lets you see your shooting in real time as opposed to watching the video later.)  Maybe even work with a partner, if possible.

Be honest with yourself!  If you do, your practice will make a significant difference to your skill.

(And yes, you can always also get instruction.  That'll help, too.  )

Oh---the drills at pistol-training.com are good ones. Todd Louis Green has a lot of good stuff there.  His Wall Drill is one version, and there are others around the web that you can find. 

Not all live-fire drills work well as dryfire drills, but many certainly can.  You can either come up with your own drills, find various ones on the internet, or just get the two books I referenced in a prior post.