It does not matter how long you have been a shooter, or how long you have known about guns, practice is vital to enhance your abilities with your firearms. It is important to understand that practice does or can improve your fundamentals, speed and also accuracy. But how do you practice? What do you practice?
Most will go to an indoor range, hang a paper silhouette target, send it back a few feet and then proceed to shoot at the center of the target. Some “hot shots” will go for head shots, maybe to show off, maybe because they don’t quite understand that “IF” they happen to shoot down the target cable that allows each shooter to send their target back, they will then own that cable system and anything else that that range can charge you for. So…is it worth taking that chance?
I have seen some that go into the range, put their target onto the cable system and send the target all of the way to the back of the range. Some of these people were also attempting to teach their girlfriends how to shoot. How did it go? Poorly, every single time. Why?
-Not everyone should/could be an instructor
-Sending the target to the very back is not a realistic distance
-If you, yourself, do not know the fundamentals, how can you teach someone else?
Anyway, back to practice: what do you practice when you go to the range?
There are many courses of fire that can be used to increase speed and accuracy but practicing the fundamentals will also increase speed and accuracy. Accuracy above all else.
First recommendation:
-Use a small-caliber handgun
If you want to increase your skill, try using a .22 caliber pistol. The .22 is a great caliber because it has minimal recoil. If there is a deficiency with your grip, it will immediately show you on your target. Same thing goes with being steady, aim, control of the trigger/trigger pull, etc. Once you fine tune your skills with the .22 (which has very inexpensive ammunition) then move on to your firearm which you desire to better your skills. The .22 is a great warm up pistol.
It is wise to acknowledge that going to a range and shooting at a paper target at a set distance will not prepare you for an attack. There are many courses of fire that will, but many ranges limit the amount of movement that a shooter can accomplish while on their range (for liability reasons). It is important to have a desired end result before starting your shooting. Remember: a paper target will never shoot at you or attack.
Practice does mean more than once a year. Just because you have a good time and shoot well once does not mean you have finited your skill, hence the practice, practice, practice speech.
Remember also: there are good days on the range (everything goes smooth and you put the bullet exactly where you wanted to) and there are bad days (where everything goes somewhat wrong for you). Take each practice session as a new practice session and get what you can out of that session.
Lastly: Most threatening/deadly encounters occur within 21 feet.
Smart Tactics 