Perfect Practice Makes Perfect

A few days ago, I wrote an article with ideas on putting together a training plan. Today I want to give detail on what to include in this training plan. I hesitate to get too detailed because each of us are different. We are all at different skill levels, experience, physical abilities, and gun education. So what will work for me may not work for you. Here are some ideas for how to practice.
When you begin to devise a program for your training, get some! Take some classes. That’s “classes” with an “s”. One class is usually not enough. I will admit, I haven’t been to a class in a few years. As a young instructor I would take a class every year or so to learn new things or to keep up my education. After a few decades of that, I held off on my personal training to about every 3 years. Sometimes I go longer. I read a lot and teaching others can be challenging. As I get olde,r I can see all of it trailing off to less frequent. I know that I don’t know everything, but as you get to a certain level it becomes a matter of practice. When I miss going to the range a few weeks I start to see a difference in my shooting, I know what I need to do, and I do it. Depending where you are in your shooting education and experience this will dictate what you need to do and how you do it. Be honest about your abilities. Remember that it does not matter if a course is “below your level of skill.” While you should take on courses of increasing difficulty over time, instruction is valuable no matter the difficulty level of the course. Just do it. Keep doing it. Having established an instruction-based regimen, here are some ideas for effective, efficient, ongoing self-practice.
When you go to the range for live fire time have a specific plan in mind. Pick a few things to work on. One or two should be enough. If you take on too much not only will you be at the range for many hours, you’ll lose some of what you practice with overload.
Some ideas are:
Concentrate on maintaining proper grip, with an eye toward muzzle/recoil control
Work on clearing specific malfunctions.
Work on maintaining a good sight picture while transitioning between two targets
Work on trigger manipulation
Work on sight picture as you press the trigger
Work on front sight focus and re-acquisitioning sight picture after a shot
Work on realistic stances and postures in different positions.
Work on cheek to stock weld replication with a rifle
These are only a few ideas.
Drills are a big part of my regime. I’ve found particular drills that help me to maintain my accuracy and give me a realistic idea of what I may have to deal with in a confrontation. I will also admit that I probably work to maintain my firefight abilities. This is something that comes from my experience and paranoia. Most people (including me) will probably never be in a real firefight. My training is based solely on my experience as yours should be too. Most personal protection situations are at a fairly close range. But I believe in a mass shooting event that firefight conditions may exist. The chances of any of us being in an active shooter incident is pretty remote. I use this as an excuse to train for it but honestly, the real reason is probably PTSD hyper vigilance driven. Depending on where you shoot will dictate how much you can train. But many of the things I’ve suggested above can be done at an indoor range. Remember to temper your practice and limit yourself to only a few areas of focus. Too much can give you overload and be a waste.
Remember that practice does not make perfect, perfect practice makes perfect. Do your best to work your drills with exactness. Make sure you are practicing correctly so as to not create problems that you will have to fix later. Do it right to develop good habits.
Prepare your practice session with targets and a plan. I use 4 different “work out” routines that I mix up randomly. This keeps things fresh and not too stale. I have these practice plans written out. You don’t have to do this, but I work on a federal installation in a job that requires checklists. It’s what I do every day. So, for me, a written “checklist” of my shooting plans is something that resonates in my brain. I am a firm believer in the saying that says “A goal not written is only a wish.” Like I said, this is individual to me. I would recommend it, but it has to work for you and your situation. So, I get targets and equipment I will need to do my practice ahead of time. This also gives me a chance to visualize in my head what I’m going to do. Don’t forget multiple targets in your drills. If there is some dry fire that will support my practice as a prerequisite, I ensure that is dome ahead of time. I have “checklists” for my dry fire too. But that is just me.
I only bring the guns I need for that particular work out and no more. If I bring a gun that is not used in that particular work out, then I’ll shoot it. (I love shooting my guns!) This is a distraction from my practicing goals. If you want to shoot other guns, then schedule a different session for fun. But be serious about your practice.
I try to limit my ammunition to what is needed for the drills I’m doing. Otherwise, I put a limit of 50 rounds on myself. If I don’t, I’ll blow through 300 rounds easy. I used to not do this, and it was hard to maintain my ammo storage. I was having to replenish my storage with 2000 or 5000 round buys. Not only is that expensive, it becomes more recreational than educational. Don’t get me wrong, I love bump shooting my 10-22 through 200 rounds! It’s fun and satisfying! (I do NOT own a bump stock, by the way. I use my belt loop as I have for the majority of my life) I think there is a time and place for rec shooting but practice is not time.
The unexpected is to be expected. There are always things that go wrong, you run out of ammo, there is a malfunction, but these are good. This teaches reality in your practice. Often, I will put in snap caps mixed in with my ammo. I know we’re not really training for a firefight, but the reality is you won’t be able to keep track of your rounds no matter how controlled your fire is. If you are getting shot at, that’s pretty much what you’re thinking about. Don’t let running out of ammo throw you off. Be ready for it. I was fighting from a fighting position eons ago and I would always have at least 30 extra 30 round magazines near me at all times. Seldom did I use all 31 mags. I think I ran out only twice. That is not a good feeling. In a typical self-defense situation, you probably won’t go through a full 10 to 15 round magazine. Always have more and always practice mag changes. But I’ve seen law enforcement who experienced a shooting event, and they emptied their weapon even though they could only recall a lesser number of rounds fired. The “fog of war” is real, but preparation and practice can help mitigate that fog.
Competing is a good and fun way to practice with some realistic results. Consider local matches of IDPA or USPA. Check out their activity near you on their web sites.
Once you get into a routine of practice, you’ll miss it if you can’t. It is like exercise. You must plan for it seriously. I feel incomplete if I miss a week. Come up with something you can devote time and resources to. And don’t forget to enjoy!

Semper Paratus
Check 6
Burn