Favorite (or most valued) drills.

[NateTheShake]

For defense, the best rule of thumb is keep dumping shots COM until it's no longer a threat. Thinking you'll be able to make a headshot on a roughly 3" moving target under stress is unrealistic. In the time it takes to aim more carefully for the headshot, you could have poked 3-4 more holes COM. The COM shots are more likely to hit(bigger target), sending fewer liabilities downrange. Also, skull increases odds of deflection on even a good shot. 3-4 more pulls increases odds of hitting heart, lungs, spine or pelvis...which is better than changing point of aim to probably miss a target that may deflect even with a relatively solid hit.

For defense, if u want a drill....get good at drawing and dumping a mag, keeping all shots inside of a 5" circle from 5 yds. Once you can do that, speed up the cadence and work at that faster cadencE until all shots are back inside that circle, then speed up again.......this is of course for after mastering the more important skills of grip, sight alignment, breathing control and trigger pull.

That's my basic take on it as well.

The head is a very small, very mobile target. A skilled shooter might be able to register a good hit on a target like that, but it's unlikely and even then it will probably require several shots. Even non-lethal hits on center of mass can temporarily slow an attacker. They may, they may not. But they have a better chance than an outright miss at the head.

Wait, you guys don't think someone should do the failure drill at all? Not just in the sense of practicing, but in a defensive situation?

My impression was that with handguns, unless you do sufficient damage to the spine shots to center of mass, even very lethal ones, are going to take a while to incapacitate someone if shock or the desire to have you call the hospital for them doesn't halt them. Even if you put one through the heart you're going to be in for a tussle for perhaps longer than you'd like. Putting more rounds through a already perforated lung aren't going to speed things up all that much.

This is why you continue to fire until the threat is eliminated. There is no magic number for how many rounds a human can survive and for how long. Fire until the threat has been suppressed. If you are switching your point of aim during the engagement you are entering a whole new variable in the likelihood of scoring a valid, incapacitating hit. Do you know the average shot:hit ratio for law enforcement? It hovers right around 17:1 for most agencies. That's right, for every seventeen rounds fired in self defense only one hit, on average. Now there are clearly many variables in that number, but it does give one a good idea that they are most likely going to miss with more shots than hit. Why increase your chances by moving to a harder-to-hit target?

Aim for center of mass, fire until the fight is over. Maybe you fire once, miss, and the guy puts his hands up and calls it over and done... maybe you fire fifteen times and he finally goes down. You won't know until you are there and between the adrenaline and the chaos you will revert to your most basic motor skills. Concentrate on reinforcing basic skills until you can do them as easily as blinking.

Anyone who has had a gun pointed at them in anger will tell you all training goes out the window instantly. All those Rambo, ninja drills are gone. There are hard cases of police officers who trained to unholster, fire two rounds, and assess the target who were killed in the line of duty when they unholstered, fired two rounds, and stopped to assess the target WHO WAS STILL SHOOTING BACK.

Body armor seems a bit high end for a robbery gone wrong, but a BTK type psyco might spring for it. And a phonebook in the jacket is affordable for anybody.

If you're fighting a bad guy with body armor you've already lost, at least in a home defense scenario. This goes into my "tiger" theory of home defense. If the guy has planned thoroughly enough to attack your house like some sort of Splinter Cell agent you will be dead before you ever get in the fight. It's about the same as walking into your living room and finding a hungry tiger. You lost, time to make your peace.

EDIT: Upon further thought if you're really expecting to fight some wild Splinter Cell bad guy with body armor and phonebook SAPI plates stick with a rifle. Even an intermediate caliber like a 5.56 will zip through soft armor like it wasn't there. In fact a 5.56 platform is actually a fantastic home defense weapon.

 

[Guderian]

I would be interested in drills one can perform at an indoor range, assuming all the usual restrictions regarding holsters and etc.

 

[Huckleberry]

You don't stop shooting when you think the other guy is dead, you stop shooting when you convinced him that he is dead......John Connor, Gun Mag Scribbler

 

[Huckleberry]

That's my basic take on it as well.

The head is a very small, very mobile target. A skilled shooter might be able to register a good hit on a target like that, but it's unlikely and even then it will probably require several shots. Even non-lethal hits on center of mass can temporarily slow an attacker. They may, they may not. But they have a better chance than an outright miss at the head.



This is why you continue to fire until the threat is eliminated. There is no magic number for how many rounds a human can survive and for how long. Fire until the threat has been suppressed. If you are switching your point of aim during the engagement you are entering a whole new variable in the likelihood of scoring a valid, incapacitating hit. Do you know the average shot:hit ratio for law enforcement? It hovers right around 17:1 for most agencies. That's right, for every seventeen rounds fired in self defense only one hit, on average. Now there are clearly many variables in that number, but it does give one a good idea that they are most likely going to miss with more shots than hit. Why increase your chances by moving to a harder-to-hit target?

Aim for center of mass, fire until the fight is over. Maybe you fire once, miss, and the guy puts his hands up and calls it over and done... maybe you fire fifteen times and he finally goes down. You won't know until you are there and between the adrenaline and the chaos you will revert to your most basic motor skills. Concentrate on reinforcing basic skills until you can do them as easily as blinking.

Anyone who has had a gun pointed at them in anger will tell you all training goes out the window instantly. All those Rambo, ninja drills are gone. There are hard cases of police officers who trained to unholster, fire two rounds, and assess the target who were killed in the line of duty when they unholstered, fired two rounds, and stopped to assess the target WHO WAS STILL SHOOTING BACK.



If you're fighting a bad guy with body armor you've already lost, at least in a home defense scenario. This goes into my "tiger" theory of home defense. If the guy has planned thoroughly enough to attack your house like some sort of Splinter Cell agent you will be dead before you ever get in the fight. It's about the same as walking into your living room and finding a hungry tiger. You lost, time to make your peace.

EDIT: Upon further thought if you're really expecting to fight some wild Splinter Cell bad guy with body armor and phonebook SAPI plates stick with a rifle. Even an intermediate caliber like a 5.56 will zip through soft armor like it wasn't there. In fact a 5.56 platform is actually a fantastic home defense weapon.

Nate, this one damn excellent post. Well Done, Sir, Well Done

 

[fivepointstar]

http://pistol-training.com/drills/bill-drill
Another advanced technique..but at least it developes muscle memory.

Draw and fire six shots into a standing target. It may also be called or known as a mag dump drill. Distance varies from 3 to 15 yards.

EXCELLENT

thank you!

 

[NateTheShake]

I would be interested in drills one can perform at an indoor range, assuming all the usual restrictions regarding holsters and etc.

At indoor ranges I practice moving from position 3 (pistol gripped in the zone of dexterity, aimed at target) to position 4 (fully extended):

position 3:

position 4

(from Gun-Jutsu-Training.com)

The 3 to 4 exercise, "dry fire" is the same as Firing Table 2 in the Live Fire section. By practicing "dry" shooters can work on the shooting fundamentals.

Sight Alignment: Start slowly and work on consciously aquiring the sights as the weapon is pushed out.

Sight Picture: Always pick a point of aim when practicing. This will help orient your sight alignment.

Trigger Control: Work on timing the shot to break when you want it to, during your presentation.

Follow Through: Regain your sight picture after you have let the "shot" break.

(from my own personal experience):

When moving from position 3 to position 4 work on gaining a quick acquisition of the front sight as the pistol extends toward the target. Make a conscious effort to practice staying in position 3 prior to engaging and returning to position 3 after firing. As I know it this is your "box" in which the pistol stays, at the high or low ready, whenever preparing to engage a target and during reloads. The pistol is still available to engage the target again or engage a new target if one appears. I see too many shooters either swinging up from low grip with arms extended or chasing their dominant hand with their control hand while extending. The pistol should be captured and controlled prior to and after firing. This reinforces the muscle memory of keeping the pistol at the ready and in the fight.

There are certainly many variations of weapons retention and presentation, this is the one I've learned and it works very well for me. I feel I have the most control over the pistol and can present it or move to a more defensive posture very smoothly (and we all know smooth is fast.) The point is find a posture that works for you and practice it silly. You should be able to move from a defensive posture to a firing stance immediately and without thinking because, again, when the time counts you won't be thinking.

I also like to practice with the FBI "Q" targets at indoor ranges. I feel the simplicity versus a scoring-ring style silhouette offers the shooter a better feedback in their proficiency as real targets don't have scoring rings. Most of the time I go so far as to cover the "Q" so I have a totally blank bowling-pin shaped target. IMHO it is too easy to get sucked in to the rings of a scoring-style target and not focus on just shooting for the middle (aka center of mass.)

Q:

Scoring-ring (or B-27) style:

 

[joppaj]

Nate, this one damn excellent post. Well Done, Sir, Well Done

Between this and a recent shotgun thread, Nate has beeen writing some damn fine stuff lately.

 

[sandbanger]

OAKOC
OAKOC
OAKOC

sorry i heard drills.
all 11series should have this shit stuck in the frontal lobe.

 

[NateTheShake]

Between this and a recent shotgun thread, Nate has been writing some damn fine stuff lately.

Wow, thanks guys. I'm stuck doing TOC duty a good portion of my time here so other than sitting next to a radio waiting for something to happen all I've got is time (and a so-so internet connection.)

 

[Wapato]

If you're fighting a bad guy with body armor you've already lost, at least in a home defense scenario. This goes into my "tiger" theory of home defense. If the guy has planned thoroughly enough to attack your house like some sort of Splinter Cell agent you will be dead before you ever get in the fight. It's about the same as walking into your living room and finding a hungry tiger. You lost, time to make your peace.

EDIT: Upon further thought if you're really expecting to fight some wild Splinter Cell bad guy with body armor and phonebook SAPI plates stick with a rifle. Even an intermediate caliber like a 5.56 will zip through soft armor like it wasn't there. In fact a 5.56 platform is actually a fantastic home defense weapon.

Actually, I've been considering that for all the time and ammo spent on practice with a handgun, I might just do better getting a shotgun. As far as I can tell there isn't a generic self defense or home defense board to pose a question of what to use.

I already have a rifle, but I do worry about overpenetration and the thing getting grabbed. Though currently the biggest hurdle is simply the logistics of getting at the thing from the bed given that with all the kids around the house I don't leave guns unlocked or visible.

 

[Kimerazor]

Thanks for all the great drills!

 

[smokey]

Actually, I've been considering that for all the time and ammo spent on practice with a handgun, I might just do better getting a shotgun. As far as I can tell there isn't a generic self defense or home defense board to pose a question of what to use.

I already have a rifle, but I do worry about overpenetration and the thing getting grabbed. Though currently the biggest hurdle is simply the logistics of getting at the thing from the bed given that with all the kids around the house I don't leave guns unlocked or visible.

Rifle(ar-15/m4gery version)
$700-1200
pros:
*Limited overpenetration- with fast hollow point ammo(expecially 55 gr and lighter varmint stuff) the projectile deforms and fragments, usually after the first wall and quickly loses ability to cause damage to liabilities. It still packs good energy to do some impressive damage though. Heavier weights like 77gr hollow points are better for defense(as when they come apart, they have more mass to turn in to more fragments...they also penetrate better in person...but walls too)
*30 rnds....higher capacity than handguns and way higher capacity than shotguns
*easy to aim-with a handgun your wrist, elbow, and shoulder are all free to move and must be controlled to make an accurate shot. With a rifle/shotgun, your wrist and elbow are largely stabilized and taken out of the equation. Aso, the longer barrel/sight radius makes ar-type rifles easier to snap shoot quickly and accurately without using the sights at all.
*can be used one-handed since it's a semi-auto....however, it is difficult and you will need something to support the front.
*Stopping power- 5.56 is no slouch and is more than adequate for most things with HP ammo.

cons:
*No free hand- While you CAN shoot one-handed, it's better to use both. This doesn't leave you with a free hand to call 911, pull a child along, or open doors.
*Loud- All guns are pretty loud inside a room, a carbine is very loud...especially if you made the mistake of putting a comp on the end of a home defense ar. It can be minimized with krink/flaming pig/levang style muzzle devices that project sound more forward and away from the shooter.
*Long- Even a m4'ish gun with the stock collapsed is long and harder to move around with than a handgun.
*expensive- At $700-1200(unless you're getting a kel-tec), they're more expensive than a decent handgun or shotgun.

*Ideally in a defensive situation, you are at an automatic disadvantage trying to clear your house by yourself, without a team. The person/people in a room know where you will be coming from(the door/opening), they just dont know when. You 1) don't know when you will encounter them and 2) don't know in which part of the room they will be located. If you were clearing with a team, you've divide rooms into sectors of fire so that each person knows what part of the room is his/her responsibility. They also know when they will be making the entrance. All they must decide is if the person in their sector of fire is a threat or not..a much faster decision process than reacting to someone coming through the door.

The best defensive strategy is to get you+loved ones behind a locked/barricaded door, get 911 on the phone and keep your gun on the opening. If something comes through that you identify as a threat, make it holey.


Handgun
$400-800
Pros:
Maneuverability- IF you HAVE TO go wandering through your house to check out a mysterious bump in the night or if you need to grab your kids and pull them to your room you're going to barricade yourselves in....then handguns are easy to move around with.
capacity/reloading- Capacity is less than the carbine, but more than the shotgun. Reloads are typically faster than either.
Free hand- Handguns only take one hand to operate. You can even chamber rounds and clear malfunctions with relative ease one-handed if need be. This allows you to pull kids along, hold a flashlight(so you aren't pointing a loaded gun at the shape you're trying to identify as family/foe), or talk on the phone with 911.

Cons:
wimpy- Shot placement is always key, but 9mm, 40 short n wimpy, and 45 ACP/AGI(as god intended) wound by crushing a permanent cavity through someone. The permanent cavity will be a hole roughly .6-.8" x 12-16" long with 9,40, or 45 with .45 only really having an edge because of less deflection through hard stuff(ribs/glass..etc). Compared to a rifle or shotgun, handguns are pretty pathetic stoppers. They're roughly equivalent to stabbing somone with a sharpened broomstick...you've either got to hit structure(fracture hip gurdle/ other important bones), Hit CNS(spine or brain), or make them bleed out quick enough to lose blood pressure and pass out.
Hard to aim- Because your wrist, elbow, and shoulders are all free to move, under stress you will have a large margin of error each time you pull the trigger. Like mentioned earlier...LEO shots/hit ratio is something around 17/1. You've got to train constantly and you'll still have a hard time hitting somethin important when both you and the target are moving in the dark while you're shaking from adrenaline.
Overpenetration- When compared to the aforementioned ar choices, any handgun cartridge that's a worthwhile penetrator(which it must be to be effective) will also penetrate through dozens of sheets of drywall. Slower/heavier projectiles like handguns shoot tend to stay together, retain weight and truck on a relatively straight line through lots of walls. Combined with a 17/1 ratio....not good for your neighbors/loved ones.


Shotguns:
$200-450
*Generally misunderstood. People think of them as the most simple defensive tool, when in reality they are one of the most complicated. You must decide on chokes, slugs vs. shot...what kind of shot...what kind of sights....when does your pattern open up to where you'd need slugs instead of buckshot...where is the POI on that slug at that distance and the next 50 yds or so...how are you going to continuously reload it during a fight.....etc?

Pros:
"Stopping power"-8-15x .36 caliber lead balls flying through the air towards your attacker makes a big mess of him/her. Every pull of the trigger, you're essentially unloading an entire magazine from a 9mm.
Easy to aim- Same as a carbine. Long sight radius and locking your wrist and elbow
Cheap- Around $220 for a mossberg maverick 88 with 8-shot and 20" barrel

Cons:
Overpenetration-"no it isn't, i just use birdshot in my shotgun"...birdshot will still penetrate drywall.....however, it won't penetrate badguy to any depth that will matter. You're using OO buck for defense, it penetrates badguy effectively...birdshot wont. Buckshot is very "handgunnish" in ballistics and will penetrate lots of drywall
Liabilities galore- as mentioned in the pros...each pull of the trigger, you're letting fly up to 15 .36 cal balls. You have general control over where the cloud of shot goes, but not where each individual shot goes. Depending on your distance, that could mean lots of liabilities skipping past the threat that you have absolutely no control over.
Capacity- Even your highest capacity shotguns will have about half the capacity of the average handgun. Instead of slapping a new mag in, you have to be a master of continuously feeding a shotgun.
Unweildy- Even short tactical shotguns are longer than a m4ish ar(18" barrel vs 16" barrel plays in to that).
Two-hands- You're home defense pump-shotgun requires two hands for operation(unless you're sarah connor)....again, no phone, open doors, or dragging of kids.

 

[smokey]

Actually, I've been considering that for all the time and ammo spent on practice with a handgun, I might just do better getting a shotgun. As far as I can tell there isn't a generic self defense or home defense board to pose a question of what to use.

I already have a rifle, but I do worry about overpenetration and the thing getting grabbed. Though currently the biggest hurdle is simply the logistics of getting at the thing from the bed given that with all the kids around the house I don't leave guns unlocked or visible.

oh, also...give this a look
http://thepiecekeeper.net/
you could mount it in the back of your closet or something and have a locked gun that you could access relatively quick.

if you want something more secure, with quick access...you could get one of the stack-on cabinets and bolt it to the studs in the back of your closet. They're way cheaper than a safe and easier to haul up the stairs. They don't offer any fire protection though and are a little easier to get in to with a crowbar. They'll keep curious hands off pretty well. As with anything where guns and kids mix, education and familiarity trumps keeping them away and locks every time.
http://www.basspro.com/StackOn-RTA-8Gun-Cabinet/product/65532/94014