Handgun proficiency

[oldprofessor]

Here's one for you law enforcement, military, or handgun instructors.

How often must one practice and how many rounds must one fire to acquire and maintain proficiency?

I shoot a LOT during winter and spring but during summer, when I may have real need to use my weapon, I am usually too busy or it is inconvenient to practice.   I do not want to lose my competence or confidence, yet I usually have very little opportunity to go out and shoot during the summer season.

If I were to fit firing sessions into my schedule, how often would it have to be?

I have never practiced by "dry firing" and don't consider that to be a legitimate way to practice - but that's just me.

[ButlerFord45]

From the topic, I was hoping for tips!!  I'm not a very good marksman with a pistol, the only way I can maintain ANY profiency is to shoot on a real regular basis daily being best, but that's me.  Maintance of profiency is an individual thing, I'd have to say that as long as you are happy with the first round out of the barrel, you're practicing frequently enough.

[Dave in WV]

The one dry firing tip I believe in is a good tool for double action training. Place an empty case on the barrel rib or top of the slide and when you can dry fire six times straight without dumping the case you're getting there. When you think you're good try a loaded round instead of an empty case. It helps to develope a smooth DA pull. When you get the smooth pull down then you can get faster at the range.

[Jerry Lester]

Great post!

I look at proficiency this way. It's how you shoot at the moment you have to that counts more than any shot you might take while practicing.

I practice a lot with my Revolvers(357 Blackhawk, and Single-Six). I may hit streaks where I can't shoot for a little while, but It's never hurt my hunting that I can tell.

After a spell of not practicing, it may take me a few shots to get back to hitting targets consitantly. For some reason though, even if I haven't shot my revolvers for a while, more often than not, I'll hit hit where I want on game. I think that when you're mind is occupied with all the stresses of getting close to game, being quiet, and watching for game to present the perfect shot, it doesn't have time to "think" about shooting. Under these circumstances, I believe all the practice comes into play, and the actual shot is second nature.

[Iowegan]

While in LE, we were required to shoot 50 rounds a month for proficiency and "qualify" every 6 months (50 riunds). To start, we had excellent initial training that really taught you how to shoot and how to identify and resolve common problems such as anticipating recoil, grip, trigger finger position, sight picture, etc. I would suggest you attend a good class and learn "how" to shoot, then back it up with practice. Most people think they know how to shoot because they have been doing it since they were 10 years old. I was one of those. What a world of difference when you learn good techniques. By the way, the hardest people to train are the ones like me that thought they knew how and had to "unlearn" bad habits.

Depending on your desired proficiency, you may need to practice more frequently. If you are happy with a 10" group, then monthly might be good. If you have to be a "10X ring" shooter, then weekly or daily might be required.

Some things that will make you a bad shooter: Bench shooting with a hand gun will make you dependent on "crutches". When you stand up and shoot like you would for self defense or hunting, you will tune your skills. Heavy recoil guns are not good learning tools and tend to make you develop a fear of recoil. Try learning with a 22 or a 38 Special, then work up to the desired power level. Bouncing from one gun type to another causes you to develop bad habits with all of them. Get proficient with one type (SA revolver, DA revolver, or semi-auto) before changing types.

You don't have to go to the range to practice some techniques. Practice drawing from a holster, loading and unloading (use dummy ammo), dry firing, and just handeling the weapon will help you to maintain proficiency.

Hope this helps, even though there is no correct answer for your question.

[bigdaddytacp]

Here's one for you law enforcement, military, or handgun instructors.

How often must one practice and how many rounds must one fire to acquire and maintain proficiency?

I shoot a LOT during winter and spring but during summer, when I may have real need to use my weapon, I am usually too busy or it is inconvenient to practice.   I do not want to lose my competence or confidence, yet I usually have very little opportunity to go out and shoot during the summer season.

If I were to fit firing sessions into my schedule, how often would it have to be?

I have never practiced by "dry firing" and don't consider that to be a legitimate way to practice - but that's just me.

..........I don't think you will find many instructors and winning shooters that agree with you on the dryfiring........done safely and properly with good mechanics and mental attitude the dry firing can be almost as good as firing live rounds....the gun and holster -if used- needs to be the same and if a timed event..use a timer......do the draw and obtain a sight picture and concentrate on the smooth trigger action while maintaining the sight alignment.......count shots.....do a reload drill if that is part of your shooting........the brain will remember and the muscles will remember........dry firing safely and properly is never a waste of time.......due to illness I was unable to shoot or even be out and about for several months and my first chance to shoot involved "defense" type drills and the first two shots weren't X's but unaimed center mass hits.......the aimed shots were back center after a sight picture was obtained........I dry fire almost daily with different guns.......HTH..good luck and good shooting!!

[Questor]

It depends on what you mean by proficient. If I ever get truly proficient, according to my concept of it, I'll probably give up the game.  But then, I'd also be an olympic-class shooter too.  For others, it's hitting a man-size target at 10 yards or less.  For others, it's hitting a distant deer with a scoped contender.  In any case, it's not like riding a bicycle. It takes continual practice, with "continual" meaning greater or lesser frequency depending on your need for precision or speed.

[Glanceblamm]

Turning point for myself was eye focus. When I learned to keep the short radius of the front & back sights in clear focus, and started letting my target blurr, my scores went way up & group size way down.

[Buckskinner]

Maintaining any level of proficiency once it has been achieved, is sadly one of the biggest problems facing defense handgunners who are no longer working in, or around an environment that requires us to to make effective deadly force decisions. In the civilian world, it is all to easy to "lighten up" on how we train, and our once well honed edge diminishes quickly

All is not lost...A well understood dry-fire training routine can maintain us at 70% and shooting 100 rounds per month can boost that to 80% or more depending on the student. Concentrated effort towards a proper firing stroke, draw sequence and target acquisition (not in that order) will determine the outcome of a dry training routine. Gun-handling skill in every aspect of training from the beginning of the draw to conclusion of the firing stroke is paramount to being prepared when the "surprise" of lethal threat comes. It is that once the threat is recognised, no conscious thought should have to put into the armed response itself, rather, any thinking that may have to be done should be directed towards "shoot-no-shoot" possibilities as well as controlling the environment and all that it entails. The armed response should be an unconscious decision that is based on cognitive thought process, separate from what information that our conscious mind is processing. That is where speed and precision manifest based on training for immediate need.

This is not to suggest that any training technique should be without timed event, because stress and pressure are valuable training tools that should be incorporated at least three time per year when we continue to "qualify" as a portion of our training routine. Timed shooting events, like night drills should continue to be incorporated.

[JOE MACK]

That is a loaded word. Do you compare yourself to the next guy? Just how proficient do you want to be?

I shoot on average 2000 rounds a month for handgun. This is divided between my hunting handguns and my .45ACP. I "snap-in" for 50 shots, 3 times weekly. After snapping-in, I do about 50 presentations from the holster, concealed. Then I quit. I do not load the gun and then decide to do more. That's an invitation to a ND. About 3 months before hunting season, I increase the rounds shot in my hunting handgun choice for that season. All are shot from field positions. I also attend a shooting class 2 to 4 times a year. I can do this because I'm not married, my SO likes to go with me and shoot, I don't have a mortgage or car payment, it's a priority. How proficient someone wants to be is up to them and to what use they can put it. :-)

[oldprofessor]

I thank everybody who has jumped in and contributed.  Most everybody has had something positive to recommend.

I should have specified that what I meant by competence is the ability to hit your target with the first shot and without delay.

My situation is probably different than it is for most of you.  My summer home is in SE Alaska.  I have been co-existing with brown/grizzly bears for over a dozen years.  I am not paranoid about an encounter but I don't want an encounter to escalate to where I am not in control.  Every year I find myself inadvertently in close proximity with the big, brown, fuzzy critters and, fortunately, we have been able to tolerate each other's presence thus far.  For the past three years, one of them has been occasionally leaving a pile of turds a measured 110 feet from my front door.  From previous experience, I find that I don't get nervous until the critters and I are within 35, or so, yards of each other.  I don't want to shoot one.  I admire them and I prefer them alive.  I don't carry a weapon all the time but I do carry when I am in places where an encounter would be likely.

So, competence for me would be the ability react with sufficient time to place the first shot in the kill zone of an advancing critter that is about 35 yards and closing with apparent intent to do me, or a companion, harm.  I would also hope to have competence to place follow up shots until the encounter has ended.  I have previously determined that a bluff charge will be interpreted to be the real thing.

It may sound as though I am as blasé as Tim Treadwell about these critters.  I am not.  I go out of my way to avoid them but the bears and I like to catch the same fish, eat the same berrys, and enjoy the same scenery.  Sometimes we surprise each other on the same turf.

I used to carry a .44mag but recently acquired a .454 Casull.  I was told by some folks, who should know, that I was undergunned with the .44.  My .44 is also a snubby and since it is prohibited in Canada I cannot drive to Alaska with it.  Nor can I drive from SE to the interior of AK with it.  The .454 is merely restricted and I can get paperwork to carry it through Canada.  I have only had the .454 a few months and am only now getting comfortable and confident with it.

I am not interested in combat shooting nor in "shooting it out" with a human.  If I ever have to make that decision I will hope that my preparation to deal with the bears has given me ability to react appropriately.

I was just wondering how often the professionals have to play with their weapons in order to stay current.

[papajohn428]

Just as there are different situations, there are different types of proficiency.  In most LE scenarios, the threat is just as likely as not to strike from ambush, and the ability to draw and fire an aimed/pointed shot is critical.  For me, it's also damned difficult.  In my 20's it was a matter of a few minutes practice every few days.  Now in my late 40's, maintaining that same speed is about impossible.  Worse yet, I now carry openly in a belt/holster rig on the job, where previously I was usually carrying concealed, and had the element of surprise, rather than a badge/target stuck on my chest.  My training has taught me what I needed to know, now I just have to remind my body how to do it, and fast!
I'm not as fast as I once was, but a co-worker and I shot together recently, and he tells me that I'm faster than I look!   :-)    I hope it's enough.  Actually, I REALLY hope I never find out!
Papajohn

[Buckskinner]

Any commentary from me was strictly in the realm of self defense with human adversaries. I have only black bears and perhaps a chance encounter with cougars to be concerned with and so, my power needs are not so elevated as the big bears require hence, my defensive shooting needs while similar, are very different. Gunfighting with ultra heavy revolvers beyond the level of .44 magnum is outside my realm of experience. The last thing that I can offer in this regard is to remember that shooting to survive is an intellectual excercise and as difficult as it may appear, you cannot allow any emotion to influence your response.

In reading papajohn's post, I can relate to his plight, I too am in my late fourties and no longer possess the speed that my job nor my training once provided. What I used to be able to accomplish in 3/5ths of a second now takes more like 1/2 second at speed from the draw at close range. Indeed, tactical advantage and environmental awareness become even more important as one ages!