107 Secrets e Book

8/3/2019 107 Secrets e Book

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107ACCURACY

SECRETS

+ HANDGUN

Q


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Copyright 2003-2011 Delta Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Reproduction without permission prohibited.

All Random Thoughts and Case Studies written by Delta Media.

All end-o-chapter summaries are complied by Delta Media by

content ound within each article.

No part o this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any orm

or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying,

recording, or by any inormation storage and retrieval system,without permission rom the publisher.


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Table o Contents

ix

IntroductionChapter 1: Sight Alignment

by Kathy Jackson

Chapter 2: Trigger Pull

by Massad Ayoob

Chapter 3: Grip and Stance

by Larry Correia

Chapter 4: Point Shootingby Gabe Suarez

Chapter 5: Long-Ranges Accuracy

by Robert H. Boatman

Chapter 6: Shooting Well Under Pressure

by Jack Rumbaugh

Chapter 7: Accurate Weak-Hand Shooting

by George Hill

Chapter 8: Accurate Shooting while Moving

by Jack Rumbaugh

Chapter 9: Eliminating Flinches

by Kathy Jackson

Conclusion

107+ HANDGUNACCURACYSECRETS

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INTRODUCTIONDelta Media, LLC


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107+ Handgun Accuracy Secrets

Copyright 2003-201112

Introduction

www.DeltaMediaLLC.com 13

This report is dedicated to the Armed Citizen. Just as any

given currency is only as valuable as the precious metal

or similar commodity backing it, any given reedom or

right is only as good as the armed men and women by whom

it is backed.

As Armed Citizens, we all come rom extremely diverse

backgrounds. We may dier in ethnicities and religions. I may

swear by a 1911, while you may swear by a j-rame revolver. We

may not see eye-to-eye on the 9mm Vs. .40 caliber debate.

Yet as Armed Citizens, we all share one common belie, and

that is an unyielding perception o the value o human lie. We

carry deadly weapons to protect our own lives, and the lives o

loved ones. We all understand evil, and we recognize the reality

that there will always be violence. We know that bad things do

indeed happen to good people. In that sense, any dierence in

opinion or background is irrelevant- we are all united as brothers

and sisters in arms- and such a bond can never be broken.

In the Armed Citizen Bond hierarchy, where the preservation

o innocent lie is at the top, many more similarities can be

assumed. One such similarity is that we all agree that i you are


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Introduction


going to carry a weapon with the intent o using it to preserve lie,

it is always better to have a higher level o prociency with the

weapon than a lower one.

O the way to be procient with your pistol, ew are as

important as being able to accurately hit what youre aiming at.

It is this objective, that o Pistol Accuracy, which this report

will attempt to achieve in you, the reader.

Ready Set LEARN!

Delta Media, LLC


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17


Q

CHAPTER 1

Sight AlignmentKathy Jackson


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Chapter 1: Sight Alignment


Marty Hayes, owner o the Firearms Academy o Seattle,

is ond o telling new students the one and only real

secret o accurate marksmanship. Are you ready? Here

it is, the secret o accurate shooting:

~ THE Secret of Accurate Shooting ~

Your sights must align with the

target at the moment the shot is fred.

Thats it. Thats the entire secret o accurate shooting.

Everything else -- grip, stance, smooth trigger press, ollow-through

-- all o those are just detailed ways to help ensure that your sights

are in the right place when the shot res. I your sights are lined

up with the target when the shot goes o, you will hit the target.I they arent, you wont. Its that simple.

So how can a shooter be certain that the sights will be lined

up on target when the hammer alls? (See Figure 1.)

Different types of sights

Handgun sights come in a variety o congurations. There are

three-dot sights, bladed sights, U-shaped sights, V-shaped sights,


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dot-the-i sights, peep sights, and on and on in nearly innite variety.

(See Figure 2.)

All o these dierent sighting mechanisms are designed to

assure that the barrel o the gun is held in the correct orientation

to the target on both the vertical and the horizontal axis. This

ensures that the shot will land neither to the let or right, nor high

or low, rom the intended point o impact. When the entire length

o the gun barrel (represented by the sights) is properly lined up

with the center o the target at the moment the shot breaks, the

bullet will hit the center o the target.

Understanding the relationship between

front and rear sights

Since the purpose o the sights is to align the gun properly, its

important to understand how the sights are designed to do that.

Looking at the ront sight, it may be a blade or a dot. I it is a

dot, it may be large or small. The rear sight may be a U shape, a V

shape, two dots, a straight line, or a simple notch in the back edge

o the slide.

No matter how the sights are congured, the ront sight is

designed to be placed on the same vertical axis as the rear sight.

I the rear sight is a basic straight line, simply place the dot o the

ront sight right on top o that line, as i you were dotting an i.

Otherwise, place the ront sight so that it is centered within

the notch o the rear sight. There should be an equal amount o

The relationship between the shooters eye, the sights, and

the target is critical when shooting or accuracy.

Figure 1

Figure 2

Several common types o sights.


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light on either side. This will keep your shots rom going to the let

or right o where you aim. (See Figure 3.)

Except in the case o dot the i sights, the top edges o the rear

sight should be held exactly even with the top edge o the ront

sight. Holding the top edges o both ront and rear sights on the

same plane will prevent your shots rom hitting high or low. (See

Figure 4.)

When the sights are held in the correct relationship to each

other, the shot will go neither high nor low, neither let nor right.

The gun will be aligned with your eye and with the target on both

the horizontal and the vertical axis. (See Figure 5.)

Some sight designs which have a large ront sight in comparison

to a relatively small rear sight will tempt you to bury the ront

sight while shooting. This will cause your shots to go a bit low. Pay

special attention to the horizontal axis (keeping the top edge o

the ront sight in line with the top edge o the rear sight) until you

have become very amiliar with using these types o sights. (See

Figure 6.)

Where to put the front sight

Now that you have the ront and rear sight in the correct

relationship to each other, where do you place the ront sight in

relation to the target?

Most handguns will have their sights aligned on the horizontal

axis to provide either a combat hold or a target hold. Those phrases

are shooting jargon which answer the commonly-heard question,

This shot will go to the

let o the intended point

o aim.

This shot will go to

the right.

This shot will go low.

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Figure 6

Especially when using

big dot sights, be

careul not to bury the

ront sight.

This shot will go high.

Instead, keep the top edge

o the ront sight aligned

with the top edge o the

rear sight.

This shot will hit the

intended point o aim.


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Do I put my ront sight in the middle o the bullseye, or at the

bottom o the bullseye? Guns which are sighted in or a combat

hold require the shooter to place the ront sight where it covers

the exact center o the target, while guns sighted in or a target

hold achieve greatest accuracy when the ront sight is aligned at

the center o the bottom o the bullseye.

Generally speaking, handguns which are appropriate or sel-

deense will use the quicker but less precise combat hold. (See

Figure 7.)

Remember Mel Gibsons advice to his son in the movie

The Patriot? Aim small, miss small. This is an excellent piece o

shooting advice. When you are aced with a large target, pick asmall area within that target upon which to center your shots.

For instance, when looking at a cardboard IPSC target, rather than

aiming or somewhere in the center, try to hit the triangle which

makes up the top part o the capital A in the A-zone.

As discussed above, remember that the correct placement o

the ront sight on the target must happen at the same time as the

ront and rear sights are held in the correct relationship to each

other. (See Figure 8.)

Where to focus

No matter which sighting system is on your handgun, when

you are using sighted re, it is important that you learn to keep

your eyes ocused on the ront sight the entire time you pull the

trigger, and during ollow-through ater the shot breaks.

Target hold.

Figure 7

Figure 8

Combat hold.

Even though the ront sight is in the correct place on the target

in both images above, the shot rom the image on the right

will not land on the center o the target because the ront

sight is not held in the correct relationship to the rear sight.

The ront sight must be centered in relation to the rear sight.


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Physiologically, it is simply not possible or the human eye to

ocus on a near object and a ar object at the same time. This means

that when your eye is ocused upon the ront sight, the target will

be blurry. And when your eye is ocused on the target, the ront

sight will be blurry. Some people (mostly young olks) can switch

their ocus back and orth rapidly enough to ool themselves into

thinking that both are in ocus at the same time, but its not true.

One or the other is in ocus at any given time.

What all this means is that you will need to decide which is

more important to have in sharp ocus: the large target, or the tiny

ront sight. I you want to shoot accurately, you absolutely need

to really see that tiny ront sight and what it is doing. And that iswhy shooting instructors always tell their students to look at the

ront sight.

Especially i you are prone to missing high, it is possible that

you are shiting your ocus rom the ront sight to the target at the

last possible moment beore the shot goes o. When you shit your

sight to the target, its very common or the muzzle to rise slightly

in response -- just enough to cause the shot to land high rather

than in the center o the bullseye.

What about that wobble?

It is normal or the sights to wobble a bit when you are holding

your rearm on target. Accept that act. The wobble is a normal

event, and it happens to every shooter. Human beings are not

machines! There is no human being on the planet who can hold

a rearm with machine-like stillness and immobility. The wobble

will always be there.

Sometimes the wobble will be worse than other times. As

humans age, our hands naturally become a little more shaky. Ater

a ew swallows o tea, coee, or caeinated soda, most people

experience slightly shaky hands (though most o us never notice

this apart rom the range). And when there is a lot o adrenalin in

your system -- or instance, when shooting in ront o someone you

want to impress, or or points in a match, or under the signicant

stress o a deadly orce encounter -- hands will always shake. Its

just a act o lie.

So what to do about it? First and oremost, you need to admit

that you do shake. Dont try to deny it or orce yoursel not to do

it. You must accept the wobble and pull the trigger smoothly while

the wobble is happening. I instead you ght it or try to snatch the

trigger back during that brie, absolutely perect moment as your

ront sight trembles across the center o the target, your shots will

go low. Dont say I didnt warn you!

You must accept the wobble or what it is: a minor, natural

event that cannot really keep you rom hitting the target unless

you overreact to it. Keep your sights aligned as evenly as you can,

but do not try to snatch the trigger back at the magic moment

when the sights are absolutely, totally, perectly aligned. Instead,

smoothly increase pressure upon the trigger while keeping the

sights aligned on the target as steadily as you are able.


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By steadily increasing the pressure on the trigger while

keeping the sights lined up as steadily as you are able, you assure

that your sights will be aligned with the target at the moment the

shot is red.

And whats the entire secretof accurate shooting?

Your sights must align with the targetat the moment the shot is fred.

CHAPTER SUMMARY

Your sights must be aligned on target at the moment the

hammer alls.

I your sights are lined up with the target when the shot goes

o, you will hit the target. I they arent, you wont.

No matter how the sights are congured, the ront sight

is designed to be placed on the same vertical axis as the

rear sight.

Many handguns have replaceable sights! I the sights on your

handgun arent working or you, you should experiment

around with dierent types o sight systems!

When the sights are held in the correct relationship to each

other, the shot will go neither high nor low, neither let

nor right.

Ater each shot res, continue holding the trigger

completely to the rear and re-align your sights

on the target. Count one-one-thousand, two-one-

thousand beore you release the trigger. During that

entire time, do not allow your gaze to shit to the

target itsel. Keep your ront sight in extreme ocus.

This trains your trigger nger and your eye to do a

complete ollow-through, and reduces finching. Asyou become a more procient shooter, you will be

able to reduce the time spent in ollow through until

it seems nonexistent to an observer, but dont skimp

on it in practice.

Ater you have done that with single shots, try

shooting an entire magazine without allowing your

eyes to change ocus rom ront sight to target.

Your sights (and thus the barrel o your gun) may be

perectly aligned with the target even i your eyeball

is not behind them, which is why a well-practiced

shooter may easily hit the target while pointshooting

at close distances.

But when shooting or accuracy rather than pure

speed, it is important to use your eyes to be sure

that your sights are aligned correctly.

Note

Practice Tip


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Guns which are sighted in or a combat hold require the shooter

to place the ront sight where it covers the exact center o the

target, while guns sighted in or a target hold achieve greatest

accuracy when the ront sight is aligned at the center o the

bottom o the bullseye.

Generally speaking, handguns which are appropriate or sel-

deense will use the quicker but less precise combat hold.

Aim small, miss small. When you are aced with a large target,

pick a small area within that target upon which to center

your shots.

It is important that you learn to keep your eyes ocused on

the ront sight the entire time you pull the trigger, and during

ollow-through ater the shot breaks.

Especially i you are prone to missing high, it is possible that

you are shiting your ocus rom the ront sight to the target at

the last possible moment beore the shot goes o.

It is normal or the sights to wobble a bit when you are

holding your rearm on target. Accept that act. The wobble is

a normal event.

I instead you ght the wobble or try to snatch the trigger

back during that brie, absolutely perect moment as your

ront sight trembles across the center o the target, your shots

will go low.

By steadily increasing the pressure on the trigger while keeping

the sights lined up as steadily as you are able, you assure that

your sights will be aligned with the target at the moment the

shot is red.


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CHAPTER 2

Trigger PullMassad Ayoob


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To hit what youre shooting at with a handgun, trigger

control is the heart o the beast. It seems to be ar more

important than, say, sight picture. At close combat distances,

a poor sight picture may pull the shot out o the heart and dump it

elsewhere in the chest, but a convulsive jerking o the trigger can

cause the shot to miss the whole human-size target.

The late, great Ray Chapman was the rst world champion o

the combat pistol. He used to say that shooting a handgun well

was simple, it just wasnt easy. Thats true in spades or the trigger

control element.

Once the decision to re has been made, and the gun is on

target, the shooter must bring the trigger straight back in a manner

that doesnt pull the gun o the mark. The rearward pressure

should be smooth, it should be uninterrupted, and it should beevenly distributed.

With any physical skill, we must crawl beore we walk and

walk beore we run. Trigger control development should start

with dry re, progressing to live ammunition only ater the

shooter has been conditioned to hold the gun steadily on target

as the hammer drops. (Dry re should always be practiced


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with a sae backstop, as i it were live, as a hedge against the day

human error nds us with a round in the thought-to-be-unloaded

rearm.) When its time or live ammo, the pace should begin

with careul slow re, progressing into aster and aster cadenced

shot sequences, until true rapid re is achieved. With any complex

psychomotor skill a chain o physical events, which ring a gun

most certainly is the quickest route to learning to do it ast is to

start by doing it slowly.

Finger Placement and Handgun Grasp

Historically, we have been taught to manipulate the trigger

with the tip o our index nger, or with its pad, which means that

the whorl o the ngerprint is centered on the trigger. However,

this history comes largely rom bulls-eye shooting with cocked

revolvers and light-trigger, single action semiautomatics. Target

guns tend to be heavy, usually somewhere between 34 and 60 plus

ounces. A light touch rom the sensitive ngertip will serve us

well i our pistol is a gently-held 48-ounce High Standard .22 with

the recoil o a mouse burp, and were shooting at NRAs specied

Rapid Fire rate o ve shots in ten seconds.

However, in deensive shooting with a concealment handgun,

the dynamics change. Now we have a 20-ounce baby Glock that

must be stabilized against a ve- to eight-pound trigger pull, or a

twelve- ounce Smith & Wesson AirLite snubby with up to a twelve-

pound trigger pull. Now we have recoil that can truly live up

to its colloquial name, kick. Now, rapid re means ve shots in

(1st o 2): Laser sights such as this Crimson Trace LaserGrip

on S&W Model 442 are useul or dry-fre trigger control

practice. The laser beam, emitting rom the grip...

Photo by Gail Pepin

Figure 9


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one second beore our homicidal attacker can reach us with his

clubbed tire iron.

Different jobs require different skillsand different tools

For a heavier than target trigger pull, youll nd that getting

your nger deeper onto the trigger will give you more leverage.

The sweet spot is what the old double action revolver masters

called the power crease, and what medical olks would call the

distal joint o the nger on the palmar side. With longer, heavier

pulls, this index nger placement simply gives the shooter more

biomechanical advantage or a smooth, straight-back pull that

wont deviate the gun muzzle o target.

Similarly, the light grasp so long avored by target shooters is

poorly suited to stabilizing the handgun against a heavy trigger pull,

or to keep it rom shiting in the shooters hand when jackhammer

recoil must be dealt with. Hal a century o handgunning has

taught this writer that a very rm grasp a crush grip, i you will

better serves both needs.

The harder you hold the handgun, the less it will shit in yourhand during recoil. It will eel as i its kicking less. Thats not

happening; grip orce doesnt alter the laws o physics. Whats

happening is that your body is more eciently managing the

recoil. The gun is not moving as much and is coming back on

target sooner. A strong stance that puts body weight into the gun

helps considerably here, too. The less the recoil moves your body,

(2nd o 2): ...is held on target as shown here as shooter

practices rolling trigger to hammer-all.

Photo by Gail Pepin

Figure 10


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the less likely you are to develop anticipation that makes you jerk

the trigger and bring the shot low.

The rm grasp also helps trigger control. Our ngers are subject

to a sympathetic reaction called interlimb response. When one

nger moves rapidly, the others want to open and close with it.

This creates a phenomenon the old masters called milking. When

the ngers close as i upon a cows udder in sympathy to the index

ngers movement on the trigger, they pull the gun down and

toward the weak hand side. I youre a right-handed shooter and

have been hitting low let, that may well be the diagnosis.

I milking is the disease, a hard grasp is one proven cure. I

the rest o the ngers are already closed as tightly on the grip-rame as they can be, they cant close any more in sympathy with

the index ngers rapid activation o the trigger.

Fit Factors

No shooter will shoot their best without a gun that ts their

hand. A key dimension o that t is trigger reach. The gun should

sit in the ring grasp with the barrel in line with the long bones

o the orearm, the web o the hand high on the backstrap o the

rame, and the nger naturally in its sweet spot on the trigger.

I the gun aords too short a trigger reach, a longer trigger on a

1911 pistol or larger grips that cushion the backstrap and push

the web o the hand urther back can solve the problem. The

new generation o polymer rame auto pistols with replaceable

backstraps in various sizes, pioneered by Walther, help here, too.

Suggested trigger fnger placement on a gun with a heavy

trigger pull, a double action S&W .357 Magnum N-rame

in this case. Distal joint o index fnger centered on trigger

maximizes shooters leverage.

Photo by Gail Pepin

Figure 11


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Shortcuts

There are shortcuts to achieving good trigger control. Not

many, but a ew. One is what I call an Exemplar Drill. The new

shooter takes his or her ring stance and grasp, and is responsible

or sight alignment. The veteran shooter places his or her gun

hand over the shooters, with the experienced trigger nger in

ront o the novice digit. The old-timer presses the newcomers

nger slowly back against the trigger the rst ew times to show

them what a good trigger press should eel like. Then, the new

shooter and the veteran pull the trigger together at the same pace.

Finally, the trainee is pulling the trigger with the trainers index

nger just lightly touching theirs, to monitor the movement and

make sure theyre not backsliding into poor technique. I learned

it rom Ray ChapmanChapman learned it in the Marine Corps

and the USMC Marksmanship Manual circa 1930 had it in print.

Sometimes, old secrets get lost and have to be rediscovered.

For the shooter working alone, a laser sight is a great tool

or developing trigger control. Put the red dot on the target, and

hold it there through the trigger stroke. Do it dry re to start. It

conditions the shooter to the eel o smoothly stroking the trigger

back without deviating rom point o aim. Progression to live re

is smooth and natural. Then switch to the conventional sights: the

smooth trigger pull should remain constant.

As Chapman said, its simple, but its not easy. It takes time

and dedication. Sometimes, youll need to open your mind to new

On a pistol with a short, light trigger pull -- such as

this Guncraters Custom 1911 placing index fnger at

tip or pad may work well...but with a longer and/or

heavier pull, the shooter may need more fnger or

maximum control.

Photo by Gail Pepin

Figure 12


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techniques, or work with a gun that youre not amiliar with but

which might be a more suitable t to your hand. Once youve got

it, youll eel the light bulb come on, and now it will be up to you

to maintain a training regimen to keep the eel o it and make

a smooth trigger pull happen aster and aster. Stay with it, and

youll be a better shot beore you know it.

CHAPTER SUMMARY

To hit what youre shooting at with a handgun, trigger control

is the heart o the beast.

A convulsive jerking o the trigger can cause the shot to miss

the whole human-size target.

The shooter must bring the trigger straight back in a manner

that doesnt pull the gun o the mark.

Trigger control development should start with dry re,

progressing to live ammunition only ater the shooter has

been conditioned to hold the gun steadily on target as the

hammer drops.

The pace should begin with careul slow re, progressing into

aster and aster cadenced shot sequences, until true rapid re

is achieved- the quickest route to learning to do it ast is to

start by doing it slowly.

Rapid re means ve shots in one second beore our homicidal

attacker can reach us with his clubbed tire iron.

For a heavier than target trigger pull, youll nd that getting

your nger deeper onto the trigger will give you more leverage-

The sweet spot is what medical olks would call the distal joint

o the nger on the palmar side.

The harder you hold the handgun, the less it will shit in your

hand during recoil- A strong stance that puts body weight into

the gun also helps considerably.

I the rest o the ngers are already closed as tightly on the grip-

rame as they can be, they cant close any more in sympathy

with the index ngers rapid activation o the trigger.

No shooter will shoot their best without a gun that ts their

hand. A key dimension o that t is trigger reach.

A laser sight is a great tool or developing trigger control- It

conditions the shooter to the eel o smoothly stroking the

trigger back without deviating rom point o aim.

Maintain a training regimen to keep the eel o the trigger pull

and make a smooth trigger pull happen aster and aster.


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CHAPTER 3

Grip and StanceLarry Correla


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One o the basic undamentals o shooting a handgun is

grip. Having a good grip is key to being a procient

shooter, and without knowing how to hold the handgun

correctly you will lack in both accuracy and control.

In the days o yesteryear everyone shot pistols one handed.

This still works great or things like Olympic pistol games wherepure accuracy is king. A one handed grip with a bladed o stance

works great or slow re bullseye because there is very little outside

infuence to disturb the gun. But were talking about deensive

pistol shooting, where calm leisurely accuracy goes right out the

window and it is all about being ast and acceptably accurate while

under a great deal o stress.

The key to that is control. A two-handed grip will provide a

greater deal o control. I youve got another hand available, use

it. A very experienced instructor once told me that the thing to

remember is Meat on Steel. The more Meat (hand) you can get on

Steel (the gun) the more control you will exercise.

First o, lets talk about your primary hand, the hand that is

actually the rst one on the weapon and the one controlling your

trigger. You want to get as high up on the gun as possible without


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getting struck by any moving parts. A common mistake made

by new shooters is that they will grasp the gun low on the grip,

leaving a large gap between the web o their hand and the tang o

the gun. The problem there is that anytime you give the gun room

to move, it will move. I there is an air bubble there, the gun will

reely shit into it.

Plus the lower you grip the gun, the greater amount o torque

youll eel as the gun recoils. The higher you place your hand, the

more inline the bones o your wrist will be with the barrel, the less

the muzzle will rise.

On the fip side o the coin, dont grip a semiautomatic so

high that youre in danger o being hit by the reciprocating slide. Ihave very big hands. I have a small Bulgarian Makarov that I shoot

occasionally. These two things dont exactly go well together. I

have to make a concentrated eort every time I shoot that little

monster to keep my primary hand lower than Im comortable

with, because otherwise the slide bites the web o my hand. This

is the same reason that, though I worship at the altar o St. John

Moses Browning, I cant shoot a stock Hi-Power or GI 1911 without

leaving skin on the gun.

When it comes to a solid grip, a gun that ts you more naturally

will be easier or you to shoot than one that you struggle with. A

gun that is too small or a big handed shooter is obnoxious just as

much as a gun that is too large is or a small handed shooter. This

is a major reason why spouses should never just pick out a gun or

their signicant other without their input. As an instructor, there

is nothing more painul to watch than the 46 petite girl trying to

shoot the HK USP .45 her husband picked out or her because he

thought it was the best gun ever.

That said, with good technique and practice you can learn to

shoot a gun well even i it isnt a perect t. Anyone whos ever

been issued a particular gun by an agency is aware o this. But we

live in America, and this article is directed at permit holders, so

thankully we can buy whatever the heck we want. Why wrestle

with a gun youre not comortable with i you dont have to?

Next, how hard should you hold the gun with your primary

hand? Ive heard a ew things over the years that are pretty intuitive

ways to explain this. Hold the gun about as hard as you would holda hammer to drive a nail, or hold the gun like a rm handshake.

Basically you dont want to squeeze the gun to death, because that

is just going to cause shakes and atigue, and dont hold the gun

too weakly, because then it will shit more under recoil, and on

some semiautomatics may even cause malunctions.

Now that youve got your strong hand on the gun, what do

you do with the support hand? As an instructor Ive seen pretty

much every kind o grip you can imagine, and most o them are

absolutely terrible.

My personal avorite bad grips are the 1980s Cop Drama grip,

where the support hand holds the strong arms wrist. This does

absolutely nothing to control the gun. It may have worked or

Hunter, but it will not work or you. The next bad grip is the old

Cup and Saucer. With this grip the shooter just lays the strong


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hand on top o their support hand. Unortunately, under recoil,

the strong hand just moves up and away rom the support hand.

The worst grip o all, however, is The Sel Correcting Grip. I call

it that because you will only do it once. Basically this is the one

where the support hand is up high, encircling the strong hand,

but they take the support thumb and place it over the web o the

strong hand, right in the path o the slide. Ouch! Once in awhile

somebody manages to do this grip during a class. There is usually

no small amount o cursing involved.

Most shooters just take their support hand and mash it on top

o their strong hand. The problem with doing this however is the

old adage about Meat on Steel. For many shooters, depending onhand size and the size o their rearm, oten times what happens

is that the support hand isnt touching Steel at all. The strong

hand thumb is blocking the grip, so the shooter is let squeezing

Meat on Meat, which is better than nothing, but isnt allowing the

shooter to reach their ull potential.

Now this is where everyone is dierent, and some

experimentation is in order. While holding the gun in your primary

hand, try moving your strong thumb up higher, out o the way,

then mash your support hand down on the grip. Then place your

strong thumb on top o your support hand, both thumbs pointing

alongside the gun, downrange. I your gun has a rame mounted

saety, oten times your strong thumb will t right on top o it,

giving it a comy place to ride, and ensuring your saety is o. This

is usually reerred to as a high-thumbs grip.

Figure 13


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Your support ngers should be on top o your strong ngers.

I hesitate to use the word interlaced, because that always causes

conusion amongst students who then try to basket weave their

digits together, but your support ngers should naturally all onto

the low spots between your strong ngers. Now your support

hand can exert some pressure on the rearm.

This doesnt work or everyone, once again depending on

hand/gun size, but play around with your gun until you nd

whatever gives you the most Meat on Steel. What youre going or

here is to make your support hand do some work also. I you can

get a relatively neutral grip, where your support palm is putting

equal pressure inward on the gun, you can make your supporthand actually help out, rather than just being a feshy appendage

that gets in the way.

Try this experiment. Take your strong hand. Make a st, about

as hard as you would squeeze your gun. Now move your trigger

nger back and orth like youre pulling the trigger. Now imagine

that your support hand is squeezing the gun and helping control

it. Loosen up your strong hand a little bit, and now pull your

trigger nger as ast as you can. You should notice a signicant

dierence in how reely your trigger nger can run. I you make

your support hand help control the gun, you will discover a ar

greater degree o trigger control.

On triggers, there is a lot o argument about just what point

o your trigger nger should be pulling that trigger. Personally,

Im not sure there is no one right answer, as it depends on the

shooters hand, gun size, and trigger weight/distance/reach. When

I shoot a single action gun with a short, light trigger, I nd that I

shoot with the pad o my nger, and when I shoot double action,

with a longer, heavier pull, I nd that I use the crease o the distal

joint. One gives me more control, one gives me more leverage.

Im a huge proponent o dry re practice. I honestly believe

that i you go to the range to practice the undamentals o shooting,

like stance, grip, and trigger pull, and youre spending twenty cents

every shot, the average shooter will run out o money way beore

they become procient. But i grip is all about controlling the gun,

how can you simulate recoil during dry re?

Now this is not a perect solution, but I do nd that it helps.

This drill works with semiautomatic rearms only. You will need

someone to help you. For saety concerns, any time you dry re

make sure that the gun is unloaded, make sure there is no live

ammo in the room, check the gun is unloaded, make sure youre

still aiming at a backstop that will stop a bullet, and then check to

make sure the gun is unloaded. Did I mention to check and make

sure the gun is unloaded? Good.Remove your rearms magazine so that the slide will not

lock to the rear. Get into your shooting stance and take up your

grip. Put the ront sight on your dry re target. Have your partner

stand o to your side. All rules o gun saety still apply while doing

this drill. At no time is the muzzle ever to point anywhere other

than the dry re target. Once you are in your stance, your partner


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will reach up and orceully rack your slide all the way to the rear

then let go.

It isnt the same as real recoil, but you will notice a ew things.

I you ound that your stance rocked back quite a bit, that will

show you the weak points in your stance. Oten this is where you

will need to lean into the gun more. Remember, youre driving the

gun, it isnt driving you. But more in line with the topic o this

article, did you have to shit your grip? I you nd yoursel having

to fex your hands and adjust your ngers ater your partner ran

the slide that is showing you all o the spots in your grip where

Meat wasnt properly contacting Steel. Have your partner give you

a moment to adjust your grip, then try it again. Ater youve done this drill a ew times you should have

isolated all o the spots where your grip was lacking. Ideally ater

your partner runs the slide, then the gun will come right back

down, and you wont have to shit your hands at all. Everything

will be nice and solid. Now practice that grip. Remember how it

eels, that way when you go to the range and youre shooting live

ammo you already know what you need to do. Once again, this is

a valuable drill, but anytime youre manipulating a rearm with a

partner, it is extremely important that the muzzle is kept in a sae

direction. Remember, they stand o to the side, and NEVER get in

ront o the gun.

Once you have some condence in your grip, you must practice

at the range. An ideal grip will allow you to rapidly engage the

target and repeat as necessary. Keep an open mind, and be willing



Figure 14


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to experiment with dierent nger placement until you nd what

allows you to exercise maximum control. Practice until youre

ready to ght the bad guy, and not your technique.

About the Author

Larry Correia is a Utah Concealed Firearms instructor, and one

o the owners o Fuzzy Bunny Movie Guns in Draper, Utah. www.

bmginc.com FBMG teaches a variety o deensive rearms classes

and is a ull line gun shop and NFA dealer. Larrys novel, Monster

Hunter International will be available in 2009 rom Baen Books.

CHAPTER SUMMARYHaving a good grip is key to being a procient shooter.

A two-handed grip will provide a greater deal o control- The

more Meat (hand) you can get on Steel (the gun) the more

control you will exercise.

You want to get your primary (trigger) hand as high up on the

gun as possible without getting struck by any moving parts.

The higher you place your hand, the less the muzzle will rise.

When it comes to a solid grip, a gun that ts you more

naturally will be easier or you to shoot than one that you

struggle with.

With good technique and practice you can learn to shoot a

gun well even i it isnt a perect t- BUT, why wrestle with a

gun youre not comortable with i you dont have to?

Hold the gun about as hard as you would hold a hammer to

drive a nail, or hold the gun like a rm handshake.

You need to experiment with your o-hand to nd the best

positioning, but your support ngers should be on top o your

strong ngers. Avoid the cup and saucer grip!

You should be able to use your weak hand to exert some

pressure on the gun, to take some o the tension o your

strong hand.

I you make your support hand help control the gun, you will

discover a ar greater degree o trigger control.

Dry Fire practice is VERY important to nd the best grip

or you.

Weak grips can cause rearm malunctions in semi-

automatic pistols.

An ideal grip will allow you to rapidly engage the target and

repeat as necessary.

Practice until youre ready to ght the bad guy, and not

your technique.


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CHAPTER 4

Point ShootingGabe Suarez


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Chapter 4: Point Shooting


Not that one should stir some controversy right? What

would you say i I told you that they are not mutually

exclusive, and that anyone who tells you that they are

That is a pro-active, preemptive gunght: No startle, no catch up,

no problem. The only thing needed is a pistol, marksmanship skills,

and the will to use them. We used to call those ree shootings as

the event really is an easy event.

Such gunghts, or I should say, shootings, make up the lore o

sighted, marksmanship-based shooting methods. All you need, the

advocates say, is an alert mind, a clear sight picture, and a manageable

trigger. But such ghts, while very supportive o certain skills sets,

are not the norm. The norm is a gunght where the other man, or

men, has begun the attack upon a relatively unprepared victim. I

you were paying attention, you would likely be able to avoid the

entire thing completely. That would-be victim must rst realize

what is happening; when the inormation coming in reaches a

tipping point that indicates he must act quickly or perish, he must

react aster than the bad guy. Does it sound dicult? Does it

sound dangerous? Right on both counts.


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What is lacking is preparation. I know all about the Color

Codes, and about mental preparedness. I also know that human

beings are allible. We are over-worked, preoccupied and

sometimes even physically sick. We are rushed, and we carry the

weight o the world on our shoulders. Hardly conducive to living

in a state o condition yellow, or relaxed alertness. Rather than

living in Condition Yellow--as my late riend Je Cooper described

it--we oten lapse into Condition Brown: Oten sadly inevitable,

it is the situation we may nd ourselves to be in when the ght

unexpectedly comes to us.

Lets analyze what happens in a gunght. You may see the

bad guy. He appears to be a bad guy because o his attire, hisdemeanor and maybe even his ethnicity. (Yes, we are proling).

Something about him isnt right. You catch yoursel proling.

Unless you have cleansed your mind rom politically correct libreal

programming, you might chastise yoursel or being judgmental.

Yet you are receiving bits o inormation constantly. You notice

his eyes and where he is looking. You begin to notice that all the

customers in the store are also looking at him. You notice that they

appear scared. He is about ve eet away now and you notice his

gang-style clothing seems big or his small rame and you begin to

wonder i there is a weapon hidden. Then you begin to notice the

outline o a pistol butt and his hand resting on it. It is beginning

to move rom the belt line and toward you. His rst words dont

even register as the adrenaline dump in your gut begins to shoot

through your veins. That is how it happens.

Figure 15


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Now lets look at the rest o the story: You draw your pistol.

Actually, its more o a desperate grab and shove toward the bad

guy than a perect and correct shooting school range draw. You

are looking right at him. Your hunter/predator eye is drawn to the

movement o his hand and xes on his gun. It is small and black.

Your pistol is out by now, pointing at him one handed as your body

screams, MOVE! Still transxed by the image o him, and visually

drawn to the gun moving toward you, you pull hard on the trigger

once, twice, three times. Not the controlled trigger pressing you

did in school, but hard trigger smashing. Your eyes have not let

him as he begins to all dead at your eet with a gratiying thud.

His gun clatters against the counter.That is a reactive gunght and the most likely scenario or the

CCW olks. To tell you that its all about Front Sight Press here

is to insult your intelligence.

So what is the answer, point shooting or aimed re? Are sights

useless? Should we rip them o our slides and train only inside

elevators? Not at all. Point Shooting and Sighted Fire are two

dierent ends o a continuum o shooting. You use what you

need, and what is called or, depending on the ght at hand. This

description was rst coined by a man in Federal service who posts

under the nom de guerre 7677 at Warrior Talk, and it explains the

situation quite well:

Shooting is a physical act that does not change. There are

degrees to your visual ocus (ully on threat, ully on sights or

somewhere in between).



Figure 16


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So, analyze your shooting system. I all you are doing is pro-

active sighted re, rom open carry and rom a stationary shooting

position, at medium distance, you may not be totally prepared or

what Lies bad guys have in store or you.

About the Author

Gabe Suarez was born in Cuba, but grew up in the USA when

his parents fed the communist regime. He has been a lie-long

student o ghting, whether hands, contact weapons or rearms.

He served with distinction as a police ocer in Southern Caliornia

working various high risk assignments rom Special Weapons

to gang Investigations, to Narcotics. During his service he was

involved in numerous gunghts one or which he was awarded

the Medal o Valor.

Today Gabe teaches his methods today all over the world to,

mostly, private citizens, and occasionally to military and other

orces. His training comprises all aspects o combat rom hand to

hand ghting to pistol shooting and up to advanced team tactics

and rife gunghting. He is noted or introducing orce on orce

training to the CCW community as well as or the promotion o

the Appendix Carry method and the use o the Kalashnikov Rife

or private citizens.

Gabe has also written numerous books and produced several

DVDs on his training and ghting concepts which can be located at

his online store www.onesourcetactical.com. His training courses

may be seen at www.suarezinternationalstore.com

CHAPTER SUMMARY

The reality o reactive gunghting on the street proves that

there are plenty o times when you will not be prepared or

the ght, and have to catch up against uneven odds or die.

Gunghts are either reactive or pro-active.

The norm is a gunght where the other man, or men, has

begun the attack upon a relatively unprepared victim.

Rather than living in Condition Yellow, we oten lapse into

Condition Brown: Oten sadly inevitable, it is the situation

we may nd ourselves to be in when the ght unexpectedly

comes to us.

Gunghts happen VERY, VERY ast: A draw turns into a

desperate shove.

Point Shooting and Sighted Fire are two dierent ends o a

continuum o shooting. You use what you need, and what is

called or, depending on the ght at hand.

I all you are doing is pro-active sighted re, rom open carry

and rom a stationary shooting position, at medium distance,

you may not be totally prepared or what Lies bad guys have

in store or you.


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71


Q

CHAPTER 5

Long-RangesAccuracy

Elmer Keith Was Dead Right

Robert H. Boatman


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1950s, would raise the level o long-range shooting and big-game

hunting with a handgun to a height never beore imagined. At rst,

many in the rearms establishment doubted Keiths exploits with

his hand-loaded .44 Specials, his 700-yard accuracy, his long-range

big-game kills, but as undeniable evidence accumulated, many

took Elmers accomplishments to heart.

Gunmaker Smith & Wesson and ammo manuacturer Remington

stood on the sidelines watching or 30 years beore they got on

board Keiths .44 program, but the day the rst S&W .44 Magnum

revolver (soon to be designated the Model 29) shipped out, the

Big Pistol Revolution began in earnest. Keith didnt do it alone, but

he provided the vision, the direction, the concept, the relentless

prodding that made it possible, just as he had done earlier with the

development o the .357 Magnum cartridge, the Winchester Model

70 rife and, later, the .41 Magnum.

Thanks to what has been described with a variety o fourishes

as a highly successul case o industrial espionage, when Smiths

double-action .44 Magnum made it to dealers shelves, Bill Rugers

single-action .44 Magnum Blackhawk was already sitting there.

Shooters had an instant choice, and Remington couldnt turn out

ammo ast enough.

Keiths ultimate development o the .44 Special cartridge,

the .44 Magnum, has held up well. Its sheer power, considered

awesome beyond belie at the time o its introduction, has since

been surpassed by a handul o wildcats like the Casulls and the

Linebaughs, and new supermagnums rom S&W and Ruger, but its

The .44 Magnum was made 1/8-inch longer than the .44

Special to prevent loading the magnum cartridge in non-

magnum cylinders, though Keiths maximum .44 Special

load o a 250-grain bullet with a muzzle velocity o 1200

ps was the equal o many .44 Magnum loads today.

Figure 17


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still the .44 Magnum thats the standard. The Elmer Keith cartridge

that was 30 years in the birthing process is enough gun to take

down Alaskan brown and grizzly bear and Arican elephant, lion

and Cape bualo, having done so many times, and is still perectly

controllable in experienced hands and a pleasure rather than a

pain to shoot. It is also one o those cartridges that seem, without

any logical explanation whatsoever, to be inherently accurate. With

the .44 Magnum, that accuracy can extend to ranges normally

considered the exclusive territory o rifes.

Gunwriter Roger Clouser has an incurable addiction to 1,000-

yard revolver shooting. He claims that shooting distant 24-inch

steel gongs ohand while standing on the ront porch o hismountain cabin has altered the molecules in his brain to such an

extent that he now considers such pursuits normal.* Roger shoots

.44 Magnums almost exclusively, and his avorite 1,000-yard loads

are 300 grain jacketed bullets at 1,325 ps out o heavy single-

action Freedom Arms revolvers and 1,050 ps out o lighter Smith

and Wesson Model 29s.

Clouser gives some o the best advice on long-range handgun

accuracy Ive ever heard: With an experienced hand and match

grade revolver and ammo, gun handling in recoil is by ar the

most important accuracy variable, in my opinion. Second is trigger

work, and third is probably the wobble radius in holding the piece.

That radius is easily decreased with dry re practice, and good

trigger work can be learned with practice and experience. But

riding the bronc thats the tough one. Its huge eect on accuracy

Though long-range accuracy is most oten associated

with the big revolver cartridges, high-velocity semiauto

cartridges such as the 10mm chambered in this Robar-

customized Glock are competitive, and much smaller

calibers right down to the .22 LR may surprise you with

their long-range accuracy potential.

Figure 18


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is because the bullet is still in the barrel during the recoil. My

slightest muscle inconsistency in the ballet is a disaster, and brings

with it a cacophony o cerebral cortex nasty comments through

plugs and mus. A proper recoil ballet will bring me the relie

o head silence and allow contemplation o lie, happiness and

impending chocolate chip cookies while waiting out the our-

second fash-to-bang time, which eels long enough to sit down

and eat my lunch. Long-range revolver work can be embarrassing i

one is unprepared, as gongs have no mercy in their snickering and

cat calls. But a determined, experienced shooter with an accurate

piece can make a 1,000-yard gong as nervous as a hen pheasant in

a ditch with its neck stuck up.

Clousers explanation o his introduction to long-range

handgun shooting warms my heart because it sounds exactly like

my own introduction to long-range handgun shooting, including

the little Chies Special as the agent o enlightenment. Roger says,

Twenty years ago I went ater 140-yard tin cans on a dirt bank with

a 19 oz., 2 barreled S&W Model 36 Chies Special. Shooting o

the roo o my car, I ound the snubby .38 Special was shockingly

eective. Any decent shooter would have no trouble getting rst

shot hits on a 12-inch gong at that range. The largest detriment to

the capabilities o a handgun at longer ranges is between most

shooters ears.

Long-range handgun shooting is done rom all the conventional

positions, such as prone and ohand, and includes an Elmer

Keith innovation called the sitting back rest, where you sit on

Maximum long-range accuracy may be enhanced by

heavy handloads, which may require customized and

strengthened guns such as this Ruger by Gary Reeder o

Flagsta, AZ.

Figure 19


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the ground with your back braced against a tree or other vertical

backing and your knees are raised to provide support or your

arms while shooting. Keith also gives some unconventional advice

on long-range sighting with actory iron sights. The problem is, i

you just raise a conventional sight picture higher than you want

to hit, you obscure the target, and aiming somewhere in the sky

above your target can hardly be considered precise gunhandling.

The Keith method is to hold the ront sight blade up above the

rear notch a certain measure. It takes a while to determine how ar

to raise the ront sight or dierent ranges, but the technique can

be surprisingly accurate out to about 500 yards.

Because we think o our pistols as short-range weapons,inexperienced shooters trying or a long shot tend to shoot high

in general and to ignore the wind, which is long-range shootings

greatest enemy. Even i you never plan to shoot past ve eet, serious

handgunners should practice on 12-inch gongs or cardboard pie

plates at 100 and 200 yards and should be on amiliar terms with

the sight picture o their primary deensive piece to at least 200

yards. You never know...

I you get hooked on shooting handguns accurately at long-

range, you might even want to compete with others o like mind

or altered molecules.

Don Bower and Marc Sheehan ([email protected]) put

on an annual long-range handgun shooting seminar with games

that include shooting gol balls and splitting bullets with angle

iron at 600 meters.

The Keith method or long-

range sighting with iron sights, whether fxed or adjustable

already at maximum elevation,

is to hold the ront sight blade up

above the rear notch a certain

measure. It takes a while to

determine how ar to raise the

ront sight or dierent ranges,

The Smith & Wesson Model 29 may be the quintessential

handgun or long-range accuracy, and the Smith J-rame

quite the opposite, Yet, many shooters began their long-

range careers by taking a shot with the little .38 Special at

50 or 100 yards and seeing the unexpected results.

Figure 20

Figure 21

but the technique can be surprisingly accurate out to about

500 yards. The main problem with just raising a conventional

sight picture higher than you want to hit is that the sight or

the barrel will obscure the target.


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The International Handgun Metallic Shooting Association

(IHMSA, http://ihmsa.org/) is an organization started in 1976

with the purpose o promoting handgun silhouette competition.

The object o the competition is to knock down lie-size steel

silhouettes o chickens, pigs, turkeys and rams at various ranges

out to 200 meters. The sport has spread to many countries and

matches are shot all over the USA. There are many dierent types o

matches with dierent handguns rom .22 to big-bore and dierent

shooting positions rom standing to ree-style and its all un.

The burgeoning sport o handgun hunting is a great proving

ground or the guns and ammo that produce long-range accuracy.

Probably the most amous single perect shot, written up by myselas well as other gunwriters, was the one red by Ted Nugent rom

his 10mm Glock 20 into a South Arican warthog at 106 paces.

Shooting handguns accurately at 100 to 500 yards was once

thought to verge on the impossible. Elmer Keith tells the story o

a day in the lie o a prototype Model 29, with a 6.5 barrel. One

day Judge Don Martin and I were shooting the big gun over at

the city dump. When we started back, I spotted a rock down the

canyon below the dump at what looked like 500 yards rom the

road. The rock was about three eet long by about 18 inches high

in the middle tapered a little bit at each end. Resting my arms out

the car window, I tried it. The rst shot was low. Holding up more

ront sight and perching the rock on top o it, I managed to put the

next ve on the rock. Don said, Damn it, I seen it, but I still dont

believe it.

A little later, Elmer took the rst game ever shot with the new

.44 Magnum. It was a goshawk perched in a tree at 100 yards. Ater

that he was called upon to kill a rife-wounded deer at 600 yards,

which he did, and long-range handgun hunting was suddenly a

reality. It has been said that Elmer Keith almost single-handedly

pioneered modern sport handgunning. His infuence on handgun

design was substantial, his infuence on handgun cartridge design

truly revolutionary. One strong man supplied the guts and the

vision, and the world ollowed, which is the way things usually

work in real lie.

Long-range mechanical accuracy is easy enough to gure. I you

and your gun can shoot 2-inch groups at 50 yards, you can shoot

4-inch groups at 100 yards and so on out to 40-inch groups at 1000

yards. But anything that seems that simple is never that simple.

There is something I call the Zen eect which will sometimes

let you hit things you cant even really see at distances you dont

believe yoursel. These are the shots you keep quiet about, or ear

that the Short-Range Police may throw you in the slammer along

with characters like Elmer Keith, Roger Clouser and Ted Nugent.

*All Roger Clouser quotes used here rst appeared in the

magazine The Accurate Rife, which is no longer published.

Elmer Keith quotes are rom Hell, I Was There! by Elmer Keith

(Petersen Publishing Company, 1979).


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About the Author

Robert H. Boatman is the author o ve recent best-selling

rearms books published by Paladin Press, Living With Glocks,

Living With The Big .50, Living With The 1911, Living With The AR-15 and, with son Morgan W. Boatman, How To Customize

Your Glock. He has published eature magazine articles in NRAs

Americas 1st Freedom, Sports Aeld, Petersens Rife Shooter,

The Accurate Rife, Precision Shooting, American Handgunner

and AHs Tactical Annual, S.W.A.T., Pistols & Revolvers, Concealed

Carry, NRAs Womans Outlook , Very High Power, Law and Order,

South Aricas Big Bore Journal and many more publications. He

and his son are currently at work on a new book, Living With YourConcealed Weapon.

Boatmans essay, The Constitutional Right And Social Obligation

To Carry A Gun, which rst appeared in Living With Glocks and

is available online at www.IronwordRanch.com, has become a

seminal document in the ongoing concealed carry movement.

Boatman can be reached, much o his writing reviewed, and

books purchased at

www.BoatmanBooks.com

CHAPTER SUMMARY

Handling the guns recoil is by ar the most important accuracy

variable- Its huge eect on accuracy is because the bullet is

still in the barrel during the recoil.

Trigger work is the second most dicult aspect o long range

pistol shooting- and good trigger work can be learned with

practice and experience.

Third is probably the wobble radius in holding the piece, and

the wobble is easily decreased with dry re practice.

Any decent shooter would have no trouble getting rst shot

hits on a 12-inch gong at 140 yards.

The largest detriment to the capabilities o a handgun at longer

ranges is between most shooters ears.

It takes a while to determine how ar to raise the ront sight

above the rear sight or dierent ranges, but the technique can

be surprisingly accurate out to about 500 yards.

Inexperienced shooters trying or a long shot tend to shoot

high in general and to ignore the wind.

Even i you never plan to shoot past ve eet, serious

handgunners should practice on 12-inch gongs or cardboard

pie plates at 100 and 200 yards and should be on amiliar

terms with the sight picture o their primary deensive piece

to at least 200 yards.

Anything that seems that simple is never that simple.

There is something I call the Zen eect which will sometimes

let you hit things you cant even really see at distances you

dont believe yoursel.


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87


Q

CHAPTER 6

Shooting WellUnder Pressure

Jack Rumbaugh


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In the rst six sections, the undamentals o shooting have

been presented to you. Its easy to perorm any o these skills

on demand when you are on the range under no pressure at

all. But what happens when a sense o urgency is introduced to

the equation? I you are not properly prepared to deal with the

pressure, it is likely that your perormance will be less than stellar.

How do we gain the condence to perorm well under pressure?

There are several training methods that are useul or simulating

dierent types o pressure. Lets nd out what they are and how

to use them eectively.

Drill the Fundamentals

The rst step someone should take is to practice the

undamentals outlined in the previous chapters until they becomerefexive and smooth. As you become more amiliar and well

practiced with the techniques needed, the more condent you

will become. It will take time and hundreds i not thousands o

repetitions to really make a technique yours where you can perorm

it on demand without much conscious thought. Making sure you

understand sight alignment, trigger press, your grip and stance, and


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how each o these areas interact is extremely important. Once you

have these undamentals rmly established in your toolbox, you

are ready to introduce that sense o urgency into your training.

Meet the Timer

Introducing a time actor into your training can generate some

o that pressure we are concerned with. Modern shot timers

are a valuable tool to have in your training gear. Be careul when

using a timer, however. Never make the holstering process part

o your timed drill. Going back into the holster too quickly can

lead to accidents and also trains in a bad habit. You should always

reluctantly and careully holster your pistol. You can introduce

time pressure into your dry practice or your range session very

easily. A simple drill is to prepare or dry practice (triple checked

empty pistol, no ammo in the training environment, etc), set the

timer or random start and a 2 second par time. When the timer

sounds, you acquire your pistol, present it to the target, get your

sight picture and alignment , and press the trigger, all beore the

second beep. Once that is easy or you, set the timer or 1.75

seconds. As that becomes easier, reduce the time. Whatever you do,do not sacrice technique or speed. You can also take the timer

into your range sessions as well. There are numerous standard drills

you can incorporate into your range time such as the amous El

Presidente drill. Using a timer, you can quantiy how long it takes

you to perorm a certain technique properly. As you gain skill, you

can see how you have improved. The timer is extremely useul in

Figure 22

Modern shot timers are a valuable tool to have in your

training gear.


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generating some anxiety in your training. The more you train with

a timer, the less the anxiety aects you.

Play Games with Your Guns

Compete! I you want pressure, competition gives you ahealthy dose. The rst time you head up to the line, heart in your

throat, waiting or the beep, youll see what I mean. I have had

the pleasure in competing in IDPA, IPSC, and indoor and outdoor

GSSF matches and I can tell you that the rst time is stressul.

The more you compete, the easier it gets. The pressure will always

be there but the manner in which you perceive and handle it

changes. Try out dierent shooting sports. Each one has slightly

dierent stressors involved. Not only do you have the stress o a

time constraint, but you also have points involved. On top o that

there are usually a set o rules to ollow. Failure to ollow the rules

may result in a disqualication. More stress. And i you go with a

riend, you have the stress o not letting them beat you. Once you

have run a ew courses o re, you wont even break a sweat.

Train in Force on Force

This is my avorite training method to learn about pressure.Nothing ramps up the anxiety level like acing another human

being that wants to stab or shoot you. Working with a live opponent

introduces an element o chaos to your training that can not be

duplicated with any other method. The most cost eective method

o training is with Airsot pistols. There are other options out there,

to be sure, but they are not readily available to civilians and they

Figure 23


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tend to be quite costly. Airsot is easily obtained, is very reasonably

priced, requires no special saety gear other than an Airsot mask

and a sweatshirt, and does not require much to clean up ater a

session. All you need is a broom or a vacuum cleaner.

There are quality training classes available such as Suarez

Internationals Interactive Gunghting to get you started. Once

you have the equipment and a training partner, you are ready

to go. The simplest drill to run is the Teuller Drill. You and your

opponent stand 21 eet apart and on the go signal, you both draw

and re. You can mix things up with unequal initiative, shortening

the distance, or trading a contact weapon or the pistol. The only

limiting actors are the space available, and your imagination. As

you run more drills you will nd the anxiety level becomes less

o a distraction. You are learning to deal with the stress in realistic

training and hopeully you will be able to deal with the stress in a

real situation more eectively.

I want to reiterate that you need to make sure the undamentals

are not sacriced in the name o speed in any o these drills. All

our areas we discussed are useul or simulating stress. The main

idea with the drills we have outlined is to desensitize yoursel to

the stresses that you would nd yoursel exposed to in a deensive

situation. The more you perorm under pressure in training, the

better you will perorm when it counts. You will ght like you

train and deault to the level o your training. Keep the level high.

CHAPTER SUMMARY

I you are not properly prepared to deal with the pressure, it is

likely that your perormance will be less than stellar.

The rst step someone should take is to practice the

undamentals outlined in the previous chapters until they

become refexive and smooth.

Making sure you understand sight alignment, trigger press,

your grip and stance, and how each o these areas interact is

extremely important.

Introducing a time actor into your training can generate some

o that pressure we are concerned with, and can help greatlyin making your training session more realistic.

Never make the holstering process part o your timed drill.

Going back into the holster too quickly can lead to accidents

and also trains in a bad habit.

I you want pressure, competition gives you a healthy dose.

Use airsot pistols or something similar to train orce on orce.

Nothing ramps up the anxiety level like acing another humanbeing that wants to stab or shoot you.

Make sure the undamentals are not sacriced in the name o

speed in any o these drills.

The more you perorm under pressure in training, the better

you will perorm when it counts.


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CHAPTER 7

Accurate Weak-Hand Shooting

George Hill


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The one crucible or rearms tactics that we have that doesnt

involve people shooting back at us, is competition. IPSC,

IDPA, Cowboy Action... whatever your favor o choice is,

they are going to ultimately throw you a curve ball by asking you

to shoot with your weak hand. Everyones scores will take a dip on

a stage that requires weak hand shooting. This tells us something

in very clear, numeric and measured way. We all have to work on

our weak hand shooting.

There is no magic trick that can help us here and no matter

how good we are with our strong hands, we are not as good

weak handed.

Is this going to have any real world value to us? Absolutely. Look

at the way we present ourselves in a deensive situation: knees

bent, head up, eyes orward, and arms up and out. Our arms aregoing to be the rst things injured should damage come out way. In

a deensive situation we might have to ward o a knie attack, or a

swing rom a club, or we might catch a bullet in the strong arm or

hand. Something else might occupy our strong hand, like a riend

or loved one and we are controlling them to move them to a saer

position. Anything can happen and i you lose your strong hand,

h A W k d hd


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then youve probably lost 75% or more o your ability to engage

your target eectively. Or what i you are coming around a corner

that would expose most o your body beore your strong hand is

able to cover the target? You would be much saer i you could

switch hands and navigate the corner with condence. What we

need to do is to raise our skill level so we can lower our liability

with weak hand shooting.

Since there is no trick to weak hand shooting, it is a simple

matter o coming back to the basics and taking your time, without

taking too much time.

Lets start rom the draw. Since we most oten carry our

weapons concealed, our weapons are usually not in a convenient

location or weak hand draws. This is going to require some

stretching, bending, maybe some grunting, and possibly colorul

language. But we need to be able to access our weapons. To

practice this, raise your strong arm and put it on your head to

keep it out o the way. There is no specied draw technique here,

because all o us pack concealed dierently. I you pack cross

draw or in a shoulder rig, this challenge will pose no problem.

I you pack in a typical manner with the gun just behind yourstrong side hip, you might go across your ront, or around your

back depending on your position or fexibility. Whatever works

or you, do it. The point here isnt how you do it, just getting the

gun into your hand. This needs to be realistic or incidences on

the street. Practice this standing till you work it out, then practice

this sitting. In competition, you will not be required to draw with

Figure 24


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107 H d A S t Ch t 7 A t W k H d Sh ti


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weak handed. Physiologic because you have not developed the

muscle memory to accomplish the tasks o control manipulation

and recoil recovery, let alone just holding the weapon steady.

They call your weak hand the weak hand or several good

reasons. Typically its not as strong as the hand you write with. The

muscles are not as trained and sensitive as your strong hand either.

What you are going to nd on the range is a lessened ability to

hold your weapon stable and manipulating the trigger is no longer

something o nesse... you will nd that youve suddenly become

ham-sted.

Beore you even start practicing shooting weak handed, you

need to get that hand up to speed. Try typing with just your weak

hand, or dialing your cell phone with your weak hand. Not that

these skills transer to shooting but you need to rewire your brain

to your let hand and let it know that it can do some ne motor

skill activities. I know a doctor locally that ties his shoes, right oot,

right hand, let oot let handed, just to keep that dexterity up. He

can also tie his knots on a sh hook with just his let hand too. Get

a squeeze ball to help improve your grip as well. Ive ound that

these are handy items to have anyway i your job requires you totalk to strangers.

While in a ght, we want to move... but i you are down to a

weak hand only shot, I would hope you are already behind some

sort o cover. Use that cover to your advantage. Try to brace your

weak arm or hand on the cover. I you cant brace your shots to get

that added stability there are a couple tricks you try.

Try holding the weapon at a slight angle and not straight up

and down. The angle is roughly to the One OClock, and not much

urther. I dont do this to look Gangster. The reason or this has

to do with the alignment o the bones in your arms. You can hold

your gun steadier with a slight angle, and you can manage recoil

better this way. The angle is going be dierent or everyone. Try

this on or size next time you are at the range, and see i it can

help you.

Another technique that can help, having to do with muscular

tension, is to make a tight st with your nonring hand, and

hold it to your chest. This is probably something you might do

naturally already i it is injured, but practice this anyway and see

i it helps.

The most important thing about shooting weak handed it so

take your time, concentrate on your sight picture and breaking

the shot consistently. You should devote 10 to 20 percent o your

shooting to ring weak handed.

Practice, Practice, Practice!

CHAPTER SUMMARYWe all have to work on our weak hand shooting.

Our arms are going to be the rst things injured should damage

come out way.

What we need to do is to raise our skill level so we can lower

our liability with weak hand shooting.

107 H d A S t Ch t 7 A t W k H d Sh ti


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There is no trick to weak hand shooting, it is a simple matter

o coming back to the basics and taking your time, without

taking too much time.

First, you must master drawing with your ohand. You may

have to adjust your carry position to make this possible!

To transer the weapon saely to the weak hand, loosen your

grip and let the pistol tilt orward. Then place your weak hand

behind your shooting hand and slide it up under the beavertail

and slide your shooting hand back down and away.

Learn to reload your weapon one handed, and practice

is oten.

There are psychological hurdles and physiological challenges

that must be overcome to shoot weak-handed.

You should practice doing everyday things such as typing and

dialing the phone with your weak hand to build up its muscles.

Get a squeeze ball to help improve your grip.

Try holding the weapon at a slight inward (1 or 11 oclock)

angle- this aligns the bones more naturally.

Another technique that can help, having to do with muscular

tension, is to make a tight st with your non-ring hand, and

hold it to your chest.

You should devote 10 to 20 percent o your shooting to ring

weak handed.


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109


Q

CHAPTER 8

Accurate ShootingWhile Moving

Jack Rumbaugh

107+ Handgun Accuracy Secrets Chapter 8: Accurate Shooting While Moving


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Chapter 8: Accurate Shooting While Moving


Shooting on the move is by nature, a complex skillset. You

have to move while presenting your pistol and also placing

shots on your adversary with acceptable combat accuracy

without getting shot. Some o the skills we will employ deserve

their own in depth study but those are or another time. Lets

break this down to the components and outline each one.

Gunghting is ty percent shooting and ty percent not

getting shot. Im o the opinion that most important is the not

getting shot part. I this were not so, movement would have no

place in our toolbox. There really is no big secret on movement

in a gunght. Its something Man has been doing or eons and we

have been doing a great deal o our lives. You put one oot in ront

o the other and start walking. It gets more complicated as you

dive deeper into dynamic movement, but we must walk beore werun, so to speak. As you realize you are acing a bad guy, you simply

move o the X (where you are originally standing) to one o several

angles well discuss in just a moment. You must combine your

movement with a smooth presentation. Not present, then move

or move then present. They should be one motion. As you move,

there will be angles o movement that will be more advantageous

Chapter 8: Accurate Shooting While Moving107+ Handgun Accuracy Secrets


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Chapter 8: Accurate Shooting While Moving




to you to use. The situation will dictate which one will be the most

appropriate. Using the clock analogy, you may nd that movement

to the 11 oclock will work well and movement to another angle

will be less than optimal. You never want to backpedal. You will

always lose. Your adversary will be able to move orward much

aster than you can move backwards.

This is where Force on Force training really shines. You can

get all the repetitions you will need to practice the s

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