What are your thoughts on bullseye vs defensive training?

[RLBreton]

I have always trained and shot handgun with defense in mind. Generally, I'll shoot <10 yards against silhouette targets, looking for groupings (from holster draw) within 10" on the torso and within the noggin' area for head & neck shooting. I've been pretty consistent and groups are generally where I am pretty sure (in a SHTF scenario) they'd be effective. Well, then I took the NRA Certified Instructor course. Qualifying on the range for basic pistol (which I took to be a no brainer, walk-in-the-park) was an eye opener and real nail biter for me. Thank God my training counselor was (everything I hope to be for my students!) a saint and patient and calmed and coached me through my qualifying. I honestly don't know if it was my nerves that got the best of me or if it's how I've chosen to train. So, that experience has me re-thinking how I train and I am curious how all of you approach your range time.

Any feedback would be appreciated.

Randy

 

[economist]

Plenty of options, but this works for me: Whatever you do in the middle of training, begin and end shooting groups. 15 yards, 4 targets. 10 shots both hands on first target, 10 shots strong hand on second, 10 shots weak hand on third, 10 shots both hands on fourth. Go at a steady pace, no hurry, with good site picture and clean trigger pull on every shot. If you are consistently tight at 15 yards, move it to 20 or 25.

 

[Deleted member 12999]

I think they are two sides of the same coin.

....or two ends of a giant tactical phallic symbol. Jury is still out.

 

[Len-2A Training]

With bullseye shooting, the objective is to put all the bullets thru a single ragged hole.

With defensive shooting, the objective is to create "multiple leaks", NOT a single ragged hole, as this is more likely to cause the bad guy to cease being a threat sooner.

 

[PrimusTactical]

I think they are two sides of the same coin.

....or two ends of a giant tactical phallic symbol. Jury is still out.

That's an awesome photo.

 

[Palladin]

try IDPA

 

[SVincent82]

I agree with Economist. I start most range days with dot drills just to get my fundamentals in check. I slowly move to further distances, taking my time and concentrating on sight alignment and trigger press. As you eventually move to faster shooting and multiple target engagements, your body will automatically revert to that muscle memory. No one ever gets better at rapid fire engaging by just rapid firing. Youll be surprised at how accurate your 'natural point of aim' becomes just by taking your time with the slow stuff. If you're shooting great groups during those drills, then just like LenS said, your faster engagements will create those "multiple leaks," which is all you could hope for in combat effectivness.

 

[tryit]

I know for a fact that 90+% of what passes for defensive gun training is just "bullseye" training in disguise! What happened to Geo Z is a lot more reflective of what civilians need to train for, than anything beyond 10ft in range. You need extreme speed from ccw, and you need a lot of hand to hand ability, just to "buy' yourself enough time and space to bring your gun "into play". George came mighty close to having to "eat" his gun, or having it used as a suppository, and the same is true of the great majority of civilian attacks.

 

[Wendell]

It seems to me that your question is really "How accurate does my shooting need to be?" rather than "bullseye vs. defensive?".

These two articles will address your question.

Accuracy
<http://vickerstactical.com/tactical-tips/accuracy/>

Training for Real Life
<http://www.armedcitizensnetwork.com/ken-hackathorn-training-for-real-life>

 

[tryit]

show us what you can do at 10 ft, without ear protection, in 1 second flat, in bad light, while you side step. That is what you have a fair chance of doing in a real fight. Know how much? NOTHING, for any but the most highly skilled, and they will need to be hand on gun, in a front pants pocket. About all that most people can achieve is get the gun visible and "bluff". Fortunately, that works, about 4 times out of 5 attacks, IF you are fast enough and IF you are smart enough to leave the attacker an escape route.

 

[tryit]

I attended the Columbia Conference, I've spoken with Hack at great length. The fact is, however, that your shooting while standing still, when it;s for real, will be bad enough, and the only thing that shooting on the move (while getting hits on the chest) will do for you is slow down your achievement of cover. And I mean slow you down a LOT, unless the range to the target is just 6 ft (and that's if he's fully exposed and holding still). Yes, I agree with firing while you are on the move, but I don't agree that you should slow down to do it. Just fire a few rds to disrupt the aim of your attacker, while moving to cover (diving the last 6-8 ft) or dropping to supine/fetal as fast as you can. If cover is more than at most 5 yds away, best to just shoot as best/fast as you can. If the range to your target is more than about 5 yds, best drop to the deck, but NOT on your belly. Prone is for rifles, not pistols. Going down is probably not best, though, if you're on pavement. If you go to the deck on pavemnt, low shots by your attacker will richochet pavement debris and malformed bullets into you.