{"id":255,"date":"2018-12-03T19:26:22","date_gmt":"2018-12-03T19:26:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.targetbarn.com\/broad-side\/?p=255"},"modified":"2021-05-10T21:34:59","modified_gmt":"2021-05-10T21:34:59","slug":"live-fire-practice-strategies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.targetbarn.com\/broad-side\/live-fire-practice-strategies\/","title":{"rendered":"Shooting Practice: How to Target Practice Effectively"},"content":{"rendered":"

Getting some target practice time at the range can be tough. It can be overwhelming to juggle schedules, ammo budgets, and finding somewhere you can work on practical skills like drawing, reloading, or shooting multiple targets. Once you\u2019ve found a place and a few precious hours, you’ll want to make the most of it by getting in some meaningful target practice that will help you improve.<\/p>\n

That only sounds easy.<\/p>\n

How many times have you gone to the range without a plan? Have you wondered what you should practice? How do you know if you\u2019re even getting better?<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re starting from ground zero, it\u2019s hard to know what to do. While it would be great if we could all have private, in-person coaches, that\u2019s just not always possible.<\/p>\n

Fortunately, once you\u2019ve learned some basic skills and are able to shoot safely on your own, you can set up your own improvement program. Let me tell you one way how.<\/p>\n

Target Practice Step One: Start Somewhere, Anywhere<\/h3>\n

Not everyone knows what particular skill or set of skills they want to work on, and that\u2019s okay. If you are at a point in your shooting career where you are overwhelmed by what you still need to master, then you can just pick anything. As you target practice and improve at those things, then you\u2019ll be in the position to identify the weaknesses that you need to work on.<\/p>\n

Either way, start your range planning by picking a standard drill or exercise. I like using USPSA classifier stages<\/a>, or you can look through the drills at pistol-training.com<\/a>. What you\u2019re looking for is something that you can set up at the range with the resources you have available and that has some performance standards associated with it.<\/p>\n

\"Diagram<\/p>\n

By definition, USPSA classifiers all have a \u201chigh hit factor,\u201d which is the theoretical maximum hit factor for each division. If you\u2019re already a USPSA shooter, you probably have an idea of how target scoring and hit factor works. For the rest of you, the basic idea is that each section of a USPSA target<\/a> has points associated with it. The “A” zone always gets five points for each scored hit. Depending on your equipment division and power factor<\/a>, the “B” and “C” zones get four points for major and three points for minor. Similarly, the “D” zone gets two points or one. To arrive at your hit factor, you divide the total points by the time it took you to shoot. You can do the math to calculate hit factor manually, or you can use an app like PractiScore<\/a> to do it for you.<\/p>\n

Many common drills or exercises also have scoring brackets or maximum scores. For example, the F.A.S.T. Test<\/a> brackets scores into Novice, Intermediate, Advanced, and Expert buckets. Meanwhile the Hardwire Tactical Super Test<\/a> has a maximum score of 300, with a suggested passing score of 270, as scored on an NRA B-8 target<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The idea is that you should be using a course of fire where you can objectively measure your performance under controlled conditions.<\/p>\n

Step Two: Set It Up<\/h3>\n

\"targets<\/p>\n

Whatever you pick, it will come with setup instructions.<\/p>\n

USPSA classifiers can get quite elaborate with diagrams that will specify everything from precisely how far apart targets should be from each other to the shooting box to the height of each target.<\/p>\n

Other drills and exercises can be as simple as \u201cstand five yards from the target.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"measuring<\/p>\n

Either way, it\u2019s important to follow them precisely and consistently. If something about the way you need to set up isn\u2019t specified or is unique to where you\u2019re shooting, make sure to note down what you did.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s important both to be practicing the same exercise that you\u2019re measuring yourself against and to be able to reproduce\u00a0it during future range trips.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

If you shoot a 15-yard drill at 10 yards, obviously your scores aren\u2019t going to be easily comparable against the outside standards that have been set for it. The only way to know if you\u2019ve shot a passing score is to shoot it as intended.<\/p>\n

And if you set up your practice classifier stage different at every session, trying to measure your improvement over time will be difficult because you won\u2019t be able to compare apples to apples.<\/p>\n

Step Three: Shoot It<\/h3>\n

Did you think I was never getting to the fun part? Of course not! It\u2019s just that in order to make your fun productive, a little bit of work is going to be involved.<\/p>\n

But for right now, you get to actually shoot what you\u2019ve set up. Make sure that you follow any instructions that come with the classifier, drill, or exercise including mandatory one-handed shooting, reloads, or time limits. If time is a factor \u2013 and it should be for most \u2013 then make sure you\u2019re measuring with an accurate shot timer<\/a> and not just guessing.<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/BaFcEbGnli2\/<\/p>\n

How much should you target practice? Some of that will be dictated by your time and ammunition resources, and that\u2019s fine. If you\u2019re lucky enough that you can shoot as much as you like, then you\u2019ll likely get the most benefit out of only practicing one to three drills in a session. Shoot each drill a minimum of three to five times, and stop when your performance starts to degrade. You\u2019ll know it has, because you\u2019ll be keeping track, right?<\/p>\n

Step Four: Record It<\/h3>\n

That’s because as you shoot, you need to not only pay attention to what you\u2019re doing and how the results look, but you need to record them. In detail.<\/p>\n

That means for timed work, you should at a minimum write down the total time it took you to shoot the course of fire or, if there are multiple segments or strings, each one. It\u2019s also helpful to note the amount of time it takes you to perform significant steps such as a draw from holster or a reload. You can find that by looking at the split times recorded on your shot timer, which are the times between shots.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re shooting something on a limited par time, don\u2019t just record whether you were over or under time. Writing down the exact amount of time you actually took is still important.<\/p>\n

\"range<\/p>\n

You\u2019ll also want to write down your scores or hits, and you may find it helpful to include a certain amount of detail. For instance, instead of just saying you shot one miss in the F.A.S.T. test, say that you missed the second head shot. Some practice sessions, I\u2019ll just snap a picture of the target with my cell phone.<\/p>\n

And while you have your cell phone out, consider getting some video if you can do so safely. The most helpful angles are usually to your immediate right and left. This isn\u2019t for social media, so don\u2019t worry about \u201cperforming\u201d for the camera \u2013 you just want to be able to see what you did. If you have slow motion capability, it can be worth grabbing a bit of that kind of video as well (or you can edit your video after you get home, during the next step).<\/p>\n

The goal during this phase is to shoot, then record all of the data that you can about what you\u2019ve just shot. In addition to the hard numbers, major impressions that strike you are helpful too: did a run through the drill feel \u201cgood\u201d? Did you screw up something you were able to immediately identify? Don\u2019t rely on your memory, especially since you\u2019re writing things down anyway<\/p>\n

Step Five: Analyze It<\/h3>\n

After you\u2019ve cleaned up the range and gotten home, it\u2019s time for you to look at the data you collected. You want to answer questions like these:<\/p>\n