by Doug Koenig discusses shooting for speed in the latest of his NSSF shooting tips videos. He discusses grip, the double tap, and the Bill Drill. It is short and simple video but packs a lot of info.
training tips
Practice For When Ammo Is In Short Supply
When ammo is in short supply or rising in cost, many people don’t get in the practice that they need to stay proficient with their handguns. This new video from the National Shooting Sports Foundation discusses an alternative – dry-firing. Charlie McNeese of Gunsite Academy discusses the many important skills that you can hone with dry-fire practice at home. These include trigger control and reset, your presentation and draw, and magazine reloads. Some of these skills are hard to practice at public ranges as they often prohibit things like drawing from a holster or speed reloads.
Strong Hand Tactical Shotgun Reloads
There is always the argument about whether nature or nurture is more important. However, that argument is moot when you are dealing with pro-shooter Lena Michulek. That is because she is the daughter of champion shooters Jerry Michulek and Kay Clark Michulek. She has both good genes and good training.
This shows in the video below in which she shows how to quickly perform a strong hand tactical reload of a shotgun – and then proceeds to quickly knock down five plate targets. I like her reload technique and plan to get some dummy rounds to practice it.
Doug Koenig On Speeding Up Your Draw
In the latest training video from the National Shooting Sports Foundation, Doug Koenig discusses how he approaches drawing his pistol from his holster for faster times in competition. Of course, being able to quickly draw your pistol smoothly and quickly get on target would also help in a self-defense situation.
Concealed Carry Considerations
In another of the excellent short training videos from the National Shooting Sports Foundation, Charlie McNeese of Gunsite Training Academy discusses various carry options for carrying concealed. Among them are pocket carry, ankle carry, and using a waist pack. The one thing he emphasizes about any of the methods is that they should be accessible whether standing or sitting.
Using Your Lower Body To Stay On Target
In another of the excellent short training videos from the National Shooting Sports Foundation, cowboy action shooter Jim Finch aka Long Hunter shows how to use your lower body effectively to increase both speed and accuracy.
While Jim is discussing this in the context of a SASS competition, I think his technique is transferable to other competitions like IDPA. More importantly, I could see this as being transferable to defensive situations where you face multiple attackers and no effective cover or concealment. While moving may be preferable, it isn’t always possible.
Tips On Weak Hand Shooting With Doug Koenig
In another of the training segments produced by the National Shooting Sports Foundation, Doug Koenig discusses how to properly shoot with your weak – or non-dominant – hand. He shows how to properly transition the pistol from the holster to your weak hand. If you are shooting a 1911, he says it should have an ambidextrous safety so that the pistol is on safe as you make the transition.
Doug makes the point that you should practice this at home by doing dry fire practice before you do it with live ammo at the range. He notes that after a few transition cycles you will start to get comfortable with it.
Understand Flash Sight Picture
In another of the National Shooting Sports Foundation short training videos, Bob Whaley of Gunsite Academy discusses flash sight picture and the importance of using your sights at all times (except shooting from retention).
The flash sight picture is part of the Modern Technique promulgated by Col. Jeff Cooper. It is simply a glance at the front sight which confirms your aim as set up by your grip and stance. Whaley emphasizes that in stressful situations people revert to their training. If you train to always use your sights – even just a flash sight picture – you will use them in stressful situations. The flash sight picture is the final confirmation that you are on target before you press the trigger.
As Whaley makes clear at the beginning of the video every bullet that leaves your gun will have a 100% hit ratio. It is up to you whether it hits the intended target or something you’d rather not hit.
Preparing For That “Cold Bore” Shot
The US Army Marksmanship Unit has produced some useful YouTube videos for the average shooter. In the video below, Sgt. Joe Hein, an International Rifle competitor, discusses how to prepare for the first shot from a cold bore. That is, the first shot of the day which for many hunters may be the only shot of the day.
Sgt. Hein illustrates the difference in grouping for a cold rifle with a clean bore versus one with a somewhat dirty bore. You tend to get more consistent groups from a cold rifle with a dirty bore.
It’s a short video but I learned something.
Secondary Sights
The National Shooting Sports Foundation has released another one of its short training videos. This one features Mark Hanish of FNH-USA’s 3-gun team talking about using secondary sights for taking shorter shots in 3-gun competition.
The one thing that struck me immediately is that having secondary iron sights canted off to the side would also work well on a home defense AR-15 or MBR especially if it was a be-all and do-all rifle. That is, if it was your only rifle and you used it for a number of things including home defense.