Go to a local gun club and you will see many shooters enjoying themselves. They will be shooting, having fun, and maybe improving their marksmanhip. Their lax, slow paced practice routine may be fun but they are not practicing as they will on the street. These shooters are not training to fight, they are just playing. This is of course, fine if that is their goal.
But what about those of us who are at the range and are dedicated to improving our self defense skills? While the range is the place to work on our live fire skills it can also be the the cause of bad defensive habits if we are not careful.
Keep in mind that range safety is of #1 importance. Never do anything that violates the four basic safety rules, the rules of your range, or the rules of common sense. But what can we do safely at the range to bolster our self defense skills? Here are some tips to lead you in the right direction.
1.) I try to draw from a holster at the range. Sometimes, if the shooting bay is crowded or I go to my other club that forbids it, I will shoot from low ready instead. But I always wear spare magazine pouches so I can practice emergency, tactical, and speed reloading.
2.) Whenever I run the gun dry I do an emergency reload. I do this even if I'm about to unload the gun anyway. I want to hardwire my response to a dry gun. I never want to run the gun dry and casually reload it or secure it for the range session. I feel not acting this way leads to bad habits. I don't think it wise to casually perform emergency reloads at the range and expect to reload instantly in a real dynamic situation. You will act like you train when under stress.
3.) I apply this same philosophy to clearing malfunctions. I never hesitate; I get the gun back in action as fast as possible.
4.) Until Recently, I had been shooting a traditional double action (TDA) semi automatic pistol. (A S&W CS45) This style action is popular and simple; the gun is carried with the hammer down. The first shot requires a heavy trigger-cocking double action pull. All subsequent shots have the lighter single action pull. Most TDA shooters cock the hammer while shooting their practice sessions. This makes the gun much easier to shoot. In the real world your first shot will be trigger cocked, so I believe you should practice that way. I spend a lot of range time practicing 2-4 shot strings, decocking before beginning another repetition. This helps me develop the concentration and control to deploy a TDA pistol effectively.Again you will act like you train under stress.
The trick to handling that first double action shot is a very firm grip and an unbending focus on the front sight. Simple, really.
5.) Push yourself. If you can deliver beautiful controlled pairs at 10 yards don't stick to that distance - go to 20 or 25 yards. Practice at 50 yards, or even 100 (world class IPSC and IDPA shooter Rob Leatham does) Shoot strong hand only, or with your weak hand. Push yourself harder on skills you have not developed yet.
The folks at COMTAC have a saying; Train as you live, live as you train. These are good words to live and practice by.
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