Defensive Shooting Drills

[Dirtbike]

How many of ya run Defensive Shooting Drills?


Myself I like feedback when I'm on the range, don't get me wrong there are times when I enjoy punching holes in paper but one of the things that I do on a very regular basis is get out to the range and shoot point of aim starting at 7 yds and moving back to 10 yards shooting 8"×8" steel plates, I get good feedback when my target is hit and I feel that it let's me know where my weaknes is at the same time, I do this while moving around and drawing my sidearm as if it were a real scenario (as real as it can be anyhow) occasionally I try and randomly load a spent round to practice clearing malfunctions and see where I'm lacking in terms of target acquisition and recovery. Another one and although it does burn through quite a bit of ammo is to once again gain target acquisition (by point of aim only) draw from my holster as I typically carry (iwb at 4 o'clock) and point and shoot at my target until the magazine is empty, once I'm empty I'll move so as not to stay on one location while dropping the mag and reloading on the move then re-acquire my target and once again fire until empty, I'll go through this multiple times during a range session.


What are your drills that you run through? Practice practice practice and more practice


Looking forward to hearing what y'all like to do!

 

[Ohiobellboy]

One thing I was taught by my instructor is to never take eyes off your target even while reloading. Drop the mag and practice reloading while keeping your eyes on target. I still get to the range with him about every two months when he's working with other students. That's one of the things he has me work on. Load 3 rounds in each mag. Empty the first and reload while keeping eyes on. Reason for the 3 rounds during practice is to be able to do it more without burning through a whole box of ammo in a short time.


Another thing is close quarters draw, Maybe 6 feet. Draw and fire 2 rounds one handed as your back up a little to gain space. Assume proper stance and grip then 3 more rounds. First 2 rounds should slow the threat if it does not neutralize it.


Learn to shoot one handed, two handed with both strong handed grip and off handed grip. Would hate to have a busted finger on my dominant hand and not be able to defend myself by not shooting with my weak hand.

 

[Dirtbike]

Been working on shooting with the left hand but to be honest it's not as good as I would like it to be and definitely require more work that, I've done the five round mags but like the idea of three, makes sense the way you stated it. And as you stated never taking eyes off the target is very important, have you ever or do you practice trying to aquire your firearm with your weak arm? Prob a silly question, I've tried but carrying in the position that I do it's pretty challenging to say the least.

 

[RangerTim]

Defensive drills are an absolute must if you carry a weapon on a regular basis. On top of reload drills, malfunction drills, and drawing from concealment (all on the move) I do a few others.


1. Lateral step and draw 3-5 rounds as fast as accurately possible and finish 1 round in the occular cavity. There is alot to be learned about yourself going from fast to precision head shot. Do it on a timer and check the splits from fast to precision.


2. From the draw, single shot on steel (A/C zone IPSC with head) starting at 3 and moving back to 20yds. The first shit from the holster in a defensive scenario can be the difference between life and death.


3. At 3yds, single shot two hands, single shot dominate hand, conducconduct hand switch, single shot non-dominate hand. Goal is a 1 hole group. Continue to increase speed without letting your group open up.


4. Extreme close quarter forward step 1 leg, non-dominate hand protect head, draw and fire from retention position.


Lots of drills out there. The key is remembering that shooting from a static relaxed position isn't doing you any favors in a real world scenario.

 

[RangerTim]

While your first shit is important, that should say First Shot from the holster! Lol

 

[Dirtbike]

[QUOTE="Chris Timmerman]While your first shit is important, that should say First Shot from the holster! Lol

[/QUOTE]
Yea but ya gotta admit sometimes that first shit is pretty important too.....Hahahahahaha!

 

[RangerTim]

Very true! I tried to edit but apparently you only have a certain amount of time to edit a post...? Maybe an Admin can verify that....David?