I’ve slacked off on my pistol shooting the past few years and I’m trying to get back into it. Rather than show up to the range and randomly shoot shit till I’m out of ammo, I’d like to follow a methodical approach to solo pistol training with some way to gauge my progress.
I’ve looked at some of the existing pistol qualifications for FBI, FAMS, etc. but they all require movement, position changes, and/or barriers. All that is great, but my current range options are limited to a private indoor range with no drawing from a holster or shots faster than 1sec, and a public outdoor range where I have limited opportunities to reset targets. What I’m looking for is 1 - a standard repeatable performance test I can do periodically to judge progress that does not require a partner and 2 - A series of training drills to address the major skill areas of pistol shooting like sight alignment, sight picture, trigger control, followup, drawing, etc. Does anyone know if something like this already exists or do I need to come up with it on my own?
To answer my own goddamn question, I’ve decided take a shot (ha!) at the NRA MPQ to see how far I can progress. The pistol qualification seems to be accuracy and precision focused, so I should be able to easily do it at my local indoor range. https://mqp.nra.org/courses-of-fire/
I don’t suppose your public range lets you put up steel targets? I strongly prefer shooting rifles to pistols, but steel targets do allow me to enjoy myself, relax, and consequently improve my shooting. 100 yard shots with a Glock 19? Sure, why the hell not. Anything to hear that “tink!”
It took awhile to sink in, but eventually I realized that I was missing fun from my training because I was trying to squeeze in every last drop of quality time in my more limited range opportunities these days. Having fun allowed me to break through some lingering form barriers that dry firing and paper punching never have. I will typically expend at least half of the ammo I bring to the range fucking off and having fun, and I try to do a lot of that first to warm up and relax, with some “fun” breaks in between. I’m thankful to have access to a range that also allows me to set up clays, golf balls, water bottles, and other stuff that is fun to shoot as long as I clean up after.
Even with rifles right now, I really only find myself shooting groups if I am having issues hitting steel reliably. I’ll get back to more serious target shooting eventually, but right now I’m focused more on practical accuracy with iron sights than precision shooting.
So my advice is to take yourself just seriously enough to get the job done, but make sure you’re having fun. If that’s blowing up sams club soda bottles, so be it.
I’m going to look at doing monthly two gun matches starting this summer. I like competing, and I suspect that two gun will give.me.lots of random novel scenarios to do that will be a lot more interesting than ventilating paper targets.
[QUOTE=Cassius;2925634]I don’t suppose your public range lets you put up steel targets? [/QUOTE]
I fucking wish. I find all sorts of stupid shit out there that rednecks have shot, but technically it’s only supposed to be paper. I do enjoy shooting steel, but even if I had a place to do it I would want to dial in my accuracy a bit more before making it a regular part of my shooting.
[QUOTE=ghost55;2925652]I’m going to look at doing monthly two gun matches starting this summer. I like competing, and I suspect that two gun will give.me.lots of random novel scenarios to do that will be a lot more interesting than ventilating paper targets.[/QUOTE]
I’m not very competition minded, but I think two gun action challenge (a la InRangeTV) would be super fun.
It’s not about competing, it’s about shooting in varied environments while under pressure. And holy shit if I lived near inrange I would do that stuff all the time.
[QUOTE=money;2925666]I fucking wish. I find all sorts of stupid shit out there that rednecks have shot, but technically it’s only supposed to be paper. I do enjoy shooting steel, but even if I had a place to do it I would want to dial in my accuracy a bit more before making it a regular part of my shooting.
I’m not very competition minded, but I think two gun action challenge (a la InRangeTV) would be super fun.[/QUOTE]I’m not saying you need to do what I do, I’m just saying that you’ll progress much faster if you spread out your focused training with something fun that isn’t likely to frustrate or discourage you. A frustrated shooter is a bad shooter.
I went to the range on my lunch break and shot the “Marksman” course of fire from the NRA Pistol Qual. It was pretty damn easy.
Marksman: Position: Standing, two hands. Distance: 15 feet. Target: Paper plates or paper disks (nine-inch diameter). Time: No restrictions. Course of Fire and Rating
Requirements: Shoot 10 plates with 10 shots on each plate. All shots must be inside a one and a half-inch margin from the edge of the plate.The 10 plates do not have to be fired in succession or on the same day.
I shot with my P229 and P320SC. Worst group was a 5in vertical stripe with the P229; best group was 2in with the 320. So far I am enjoying this.
Update: I’ve been making a range trip every week or two for the past month and I’ve shot the “Marksman First Class”, “Sharpshooter”, and “Expert” courses of fire. They continued to be easy till expert, where the difficulty suddenly jumped significantly.
Expert: Position: Standing, ready, one hand, with strong side and weak side stages. Distance: 15 feet. Target: AP-2 precision target
This is conducted in two stages. Both stages must be completed in the same session to qualify as one completed course of fire.
Stage 1 Strong Side: Five shots in three minutes and five shots in 10 seconds Stage 2 Weak Side: Five shots in three minutes and five shots in 10 seconds
A total of 20 shots (10 per target).
Possible score: 200
Course of Fire and Rating Requirements: Shoot two times over the course with a minimum score of 130 or better and three times over the course with a minimum score of 150 or better.The number of courses does not have to be fired in succession or on the same day.
I just plowed right through it like I did the others and that was a mistake. When I scored my targets I got 110, 148, 128, 151, and 164. I lost a lot of points rushing the easy part, which doomed me when I had to make the quicker shots. I came back on the next session a wiser man and focused on what I was doing. I finished up with a 185, 178, and 160.
I feel like this entire experience has been very helpful and greatly improved my shooting. In concert with the various courses of fire I have been warming up by shooting 50rds of .22 at a small target and I’ve noticed my groups getting smaller and shots faster, and have been increasing the range from 5 to 7 and now 10 yards. The final level of “Distinguished Expert” requires you to be witnessed by a NRA member, so I’ll have to plan that one out.