(It’s not what you think…)
The debate of how far out do I put the target goes on. I see this almost every time I go to a public range.
Put it too close and it doesn’t look very “cool.”
Put it too far and it would be embarrassing to miss.
Should I put it at 21 feet because of the “21-foot rule”?
Should I put it at 11 feet since half of law enforcement fatalities happen within 11 feet?
Should I put it at 9 feet since an “average” self-defense encounter happens within 3 yards, lasts 3 seconds, and 3 rounds are fired?
The answer is a little simpler and a little more flexible than you might think. There are a couple of things that I think might be important to you.
The first is distance, 6-10 feet.
Six feet is about as close as you can get to a hanging paper target without the muzzle blast from normal practice rounds moving the paper too much. Six – ten feet is close enough that any gun, ammo combination can shoot 1” or better groups.
Drilling holes flat footed at the 6-10 foot range is an indication that you can align the muzzle properly and press the trigger without disturbing muzzle alignment. Any flyers or problems that show up here will be magnified with distance, stress, speed, or movement.
The second is shooting fundamentals.
Your grip, stance, breath control, hold control, trigger control and follow-through all help minimize movement, but muzzle alignment and trigger press are the only two things that are vital at this distance.
This seems like it should be simple, but what I’ve found over time is that only about 10% of shooters who carry regularly – including military, law enforcement, competition, and concealed carry permit holders, can actually shoot a 5 round 1” group at 6-10 feet under perfect lighting conditions and no time constraints.
If you’re one of the 90% who throw an occasional shot at 6-10 feet, it means you’ve got what some call “opportunities for improvement” that will only be magnified with speed, distance, movement and stress. Work that you do here (6-10 feet) will impact every level of shooting that you do, regardless of the gun, distance, or speed.
Once you’re drilling holes at 6-10 feet, then what?
It depends on what phase of learning you’re in. Whether you’re building a basic skill or trying to make it perfect. You’ve heard the phrase “Practice makes perfect” well that’s not exactly true. Practice makes permanent! You practice poor fundamentals (grip, stance, etc.) you’ll develop what are called training scars, and you’ll never become a good defensive shooter.
How can I become a better shooter; you ask?
You need “Perfect practice” – “Perfect Practice Makes Permanent Perfection”. I know it’s a play on words, but if you really think about it, you’ll come to the same conclusion I have. If you’re trying to build skill, you want to aim for a distance where you’ve got a 75%-90% success rate, regardless of the size of the target, speed of shooting, stress level, or speed of movement. That may be slow fire at 5, 25, 50, or even 100 feet at first, then add rapid fire, shooting while moving, or whatever combination of speed, accuracy, stress, and movement that puts you in that 75%-90% success range. That means that you’re hitting your intended target 7-9 times out of 10 and the misses tell you where the edge of your performance envelope is at any given distance, speed etc.
At first, you want to focus on perfection and a 99%-100% success rate, but once you’re dialed in that level of perfection, you want to start expanding your performance envelope. Don’t pat yourself on the back and say, boy I’m really good, look at the group I just shot! Move the target back another 5 feet and see if you’re level of perfection it still on target. Or, fire a string of 3-5 rounds and see how well you did. The goal should always be to make precise hits on target faster, at greater distances, fire faster strings of fire more accurately, and do it under more and more challenging conditions. Never be satisfied shooting a 5 round, 1-inch group from 5 feet away.
How does this play out at the range?
Start with a few rounds at 6-10 feet with sterile conditions, push time, distance, speed, movement, and stress until you’re in the 75-90% success range, and then end your “Perfect Practice” with a few reps at 6-10 feet again dialing in your “Perfect Perfection” 1 inch group.
As you see, no matter how fast-and-cool or how tactical you want to be, it all comes back to a solid foundation of the fundamentals – muzzle alignment and trigger press. Get those down as a solid foundation and the sky is the limit.
That’s why shooters at all levels – from new shooters to special operations need to train often and push themselves to their breaking point, then dial it back in. Skipping over the fundamentals we’ve just been talking about, just so you can get the “cool” stuff, might be fun, but you end up with bad training scars. It’s like driving a fast sports car with the parking brake on! You’ll never shoot to your full potential.
Now that I’ve covered a few of the basics, next time you go to the range, think about what you need to work on. Is it marksmanship (accuracy), distance, speed or something else? Just remember “Perfect Practice Makes Permanent Perfection”
Be safe and train hard
Wayne