by Ralph Mroz, Training Director, Police Officers Safety Association
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Most officers get to the range now and then. Some go weekly if they’re lucky and disciplined; many folks less often. (For context, a trainer of a national - asset HRT team once told us that 200 rounds a day of practice was the minimum for that level, and 200 rounds a week the minimum for any operator at a lesser level. Frankly, I thought he was being generous - I would have expected the numbers to be much larger. I know of units where several thousand (handgun) rounds before lunch is common.)
Once at the range, most people tend to shoot the same routines - they have fallen into a rut. Most practice is at 7 yards plus, and people tend to care a lot about nice, tight groups…and they practice all the little things that achieve them: sight focus, steady posture, two - handed shooting, deliberate shot release, and so on.
So here’s 10 ways to take your irregular practice sessions and make them more realistic, with no additional time or equipment needed.
1) Move closer
The average gunfight happens at five feet - which means that half of them occur even closer! The dynamics of a fight with a gun change dramatically at these extremely close quarters (ECQ). You can’t stand still. You can’t bring the gun up to eye level. You can’t use two hands. In short, you have to learn an entirely new repertoire of skills. You have to practice fighting - not shooting.
2) Shoot from realistic ECQ positions
Clear the holster and shoot from the a close shooting position. That is, one-handed, with your forearm next to your ribcage (and the gun canted out slightly, for obvious reasons.) This is sometimes called a “retention” position. Pelvic shots are the most natural thing from this position. From here, target indexing has to be done propriosepticly - that is, you have to have a good sense of where your gun is pointing because you have no visual index, and your “felt” index is tenuous and is unlikely to be recognized in the violent chaos anyway. This is why you need to practice ... despite the “can’t miss” distance involved.
3) Use target focus
Under the extreme stress of a violent encounter we are hardwired to focus on the threat. Trying to focus on the sights is an unnatural action. It can be trained into us, so long as we also train to keep our stress level below the “tipping” point where our sympathetic nervous system (SNS) overrides our para sympathetic nervous system (PANS). (Training isn’t just to develop skill at shooting, it’s also to reduce our SNS response to stressful situations.)
If you are over the tipping point - if you are into SNS override - then Mother Nature rules, and you threat focus. This is more likely the closer you are to the violence, and the more surprised you are. So ... if this is the way you are likely to have to fight (while looking at the threat), then you need to practice that way. But since you aren’t under extreme stress at the range, you will want to focus on the sights - which it what you’ve trained yourself to do while you’re calm. Thus you need a trick. The trick is to force yourself into a Zen-like concentration on the target (mimicking the overriding focus we will have on it under stress), raise the gun to eye level (once we are past the ECQ range) and fire with tight grip on the gun - one handed. You will be amazed at how far out you can get pie - plate-sized groups with this method - 10 yards is not unusual.
4) Use your carry gun
This sort of goes without saying. If you carry a J - frame but practice with a 1911 ... well, the reality disconnect is obvious. You’ll have to give up the performance that you’re used to at first, but you might be surprised at how well some of those little guns shoot.
5) Move and seek cover
Don’t just stand there! Either get to cover or move laterally - which is the single most effective thing you can do to avoid getting shot yourself. Or even aggress on the target - that is, move towards it. In a multiple threat situation at close quarters, moving towards one threat may be necessary to accomplish your overall goal of triumphing over them all. But make every shot coincide with a movement of some sort. After a little of this, standing still and shooting will seem uncomfortable.
6) Draw from the holster
This is another obvious one but don’t get in the habit of firing from a ready position or from the bench. In real life, the first shot from the holster is the most important one, and firing from the holster is the most likely scenario for you - so re-holster after every string and draw to begin each one.
7) Staple an old t-shirt over the target
Get used to shooting something that looks like the violent criminal you may have to shoot for real.
8) Shoot at multiple targets
Do so at close range. Attacks happen fast, upclose and are increasingly perpetrated by multiple assailants. So set up a few targets in random positions (positions that are safe for your range) and get used to the gross body movements that are necessary to get fast hits. This experience is much more physical than long-range multiple target shooting.
9) Strike the target
Since your attack is likely to happen at touching distance, get used to integrating empty hands techniques into your shooting repertoire. The most common technique is to strike the target with your hands or feet prior to executing a fast draw and assessment.
10) Practice dummy gun scenarios
Anyone can learn to shoot at paper targets, even up to the limit of realism - as per the above - that the range allows. The next step - and the one that will determine your street results - is to practice fighting against live, thinking human beings. You don’t need a range or even a gun for this - just a dummy gun and dummy knife or two. Practice with a partner, one person being the bad guy and one person being him/herself. Simulate scenarios that are realistic for your lifestyle and location. Learn to be aware, to verbalize, to de-escalate, to find cover, to properly handle the aftermath and to fight in full, living 4D color. If you have honed your marksmanship and “hitting” ability on the range, then you can assume you will hit when your dummy gun “fires.” Here’s your opportunity to practice all the much more complicated aspects of survival gun fighting. This costs nothing and can be done anywhere, anytime.