Editor’s Note: This article is part of Police1’s Training Week, which explores how agencies can improve knowledge retention, prevent skill decay and ensure officers can apply what they’ve learned under pressure. Thanks to our Training Week sponsor, T4E.
Police officers generally fall into one of two groups when it comes to firearms training: those who embrace firearms as an interest or hobby, and those who view them as just another tool of the trade. Those in the first group will continue to enthusiastically practice and hone their firearms skills, while those in the second group face the serious risk of those skills deteriorating. Couple that with an agency that considers going to the range once or twice a year to run a qualification course sufficient firearms training, and these shooters could find themselves in dire circumstances.
Thankfully, most law enforcement officers will never fire their weapons in the course of their duties. But having strong firearms skills is the best way to tip the scales toward a favorable outcome should the need arise. It all starts with weapon handling.
Get comfortable
I would argue that in a deadly force situation, good decision-making begins with good weapon handling. If an officer is comfortable and confident with their weapon-handling skills, it removes one more stress factor from the situation, as the firearm becomes simply another tool for conflict resolution. Confidence can breed competence. Without regular, consistent practice, however, these skills are quickly lost.
On the range, reloads aren’t just for feeding more ammunition. Practicing various magazine-change techniques builds weapon-handling skills that will significantly improve shooting performance. By building drills that incorporate downloaded magazines, shooters are forced to recognize an empty weapon and rectify the problem.
Similarly, weapon malfunctions can be induced during a course of fire, giving shooters the opportunity to recognize and address the cause of a misfire beyond an empty magazine. The more time shooters spend manipulating the weapon system, the more familiar and comfortable they will become with it.
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When doing this in training, avoid drills that end with an empty magazine unless a full one is available to replace it. Don’t practice bad habits. Reloading an empty firearm or clearing a malfunction should become automatic.
A smooth, consistent draw is important. That was true before, but as pistol-mounted optics become more prevalent, it is even more critical. Once the handgun is up and on target, you want the dot to appear in the same place every time without having to search for it. This allows you to maintain an uninterrupted view of the threat, giving you more time and focus for better decision-making. Nothing can replace repetition when it comes to cementing the desired conditioned response. With enough reps, the dot is simply there; you stop looking for it and start looking through it.
Get secure
Consistently training with a strong, stable shooting platform is key. A solid platform will produce the largest performance gains, especially for casual or occasional shooters. Every success is built on a strong foundation, but without maintenance, that foundation will crumble. You will be amazed by the difference that solidifying your shooting platform can make in your performance. Better recoil management, a consistent return of the sights to the target and greater mobility are all benefits of a solid shooting platform.
One-handed shooting and weapon manipulation are other areas where many programs fall short. These skills are easy to skip because they’re difficult. It is much more enjoyable to practice tasks within our comfort zones, but it’s best to prepare for the worst-case scenario. Fighting with one hand certainly qualifies. Unless you practice it, you will lose the ability to do it well when it’s needed.
As for patrol rifles, weapon handling is everyone’s weakness. With a strong shooting platform, making good hits with a patrol rifle is easy, but manipulating the rifle is where most people struggle. Mounting the rifle, operating the safety lever, reloading and transitioning between weapons are the skills that require the most reps. Fortunately, these are also the skills that require the least time and expense to improve.
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Make it efficient
On the topic of being budget-friendly, who isn’t being asked to accomplish more with less? With limited time and resources allotted to keeping firearms skills sharp, let’s use our strengths to our advantage.
Presumably, law enforcement personnel are hired because of their ability to problem-solve and communicate. So, stop relying on so many boring, static-line drills. Tedious marksmanship drills have their place, but they only take a shooter so far. Instead, incorporate more complex drills into your range training program. Use drills that combine multiple skills and include a cognitive or decision-making component. This opens up a new world of range experiences that are more realistic and relevant to what officers encounter on duty.
Combining multiple skills in each drill frees up time and resources for additional practice repetitions while keeping shooters interested, challenged and engaged. Good firearms instructors acknowledge that their students’ minds and enthusiasm are their greatest assets in the learning process. Work with those assets, not against them.
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When it comes to the use of firearms, decision-making goes beyond shoot/no-shoot exercises and the use of scenarios. While the firearm may not be instrumental in every encounter, problem-solving and decision-making are. Incorporating these elements into regular and frequent firearms training will strengthen and demystify some of the skills that challenge infrequent shooters. One example is accounting for mechanical offset at various distances. Most shooters fail to get it right on their first few shots. Some misjudge it, while others forget about it completely. If we always train on the same targets, at the same distances and under the same conditions, we are missing a valuable learning opportunity.
The ability to accurately engage moving targets may be the most overlooked — or outright ignored — aspect of law enforcement firearms training programs. Yet it is critical if we want to truly prepare officers for real-world deadly force encounters. Targets that swing in and out or pop up from behind cover offer an incredibly realistic challenge. These systems are inexpensive and provide a return far greater than the initial investment. There is no reason not to have some type of moving target on every law enforcement range.
Conclusion
When it comes to firearms, some of the old sayings apply. Practice may never make perfect, but it can make you good enough to save a life. It’s also a case of “use it or lose it.” So, get out there and put some quality practice under your belt. While you’re at it, don’t just practice the skills you’ve already mastered — focus on those you need to improve.
I look forward to seeing you on the range!
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