If you carry regularly for your job or as a licensed citizen there are several things to consider when you practice at the range. It is far too easy to get caught up in the trap of just blazing away. When you go to the range think about shooting that makes sense. You need to practice with purpose. Just hosing rounds down range won’t make you better. You need perfect practice.
- Practice with the rig you will wear. A level 3 holster demands much more than your off duty holster. Your concealment garment should be worn to familiarize the draw stroke.
- Practice reloads. Load a mag with one or two rounds shoot then reload.
- Practice drawing and shooting. Start with a full mag. Draw and shoot one round. Reholster. Continue this for a full mag. Then draw and shoot twice. Spend time where it counts.
- If you are crazy enough or unfortuante enough to have gun with a decocker, practice the above mentioned drill decocking each time.
- Slow down more than you think is necessary and make sure your form is good.
You don’t have to practice by shooting thousands of rounds. You have to practice in a way that makes sense. If you want to get really crazy, take a class or shoot IDPA.
By the way, if you are an L/E you owe it to yourself to get out and shoot. Please don’t let yourself say things like, “I have a badge. I’m an expert.” Or worse, “I qaulified in the 90′s. I don’t need to shoot again for another 6 months.” Go to and IDPA match and see where most of the cops place. It isn’t at the top. You owe it to yourself and your family to get out to the range this week.
What is your effective range? You should have a general idea of every gun’s effective range that you use. Then you should have an idea of your effective range. Can you place solid hits on game from 200 yards? Can you shoot comfortably past 25 yards with your handgun?
Every gun has limitations, and most shooters have more limitations than the guns they use. For instance, you only practice 15 yard shots with your Glock, but some larger stores have 50 yard aisles. You need to think about where you will be using your weapon and practice accordingly. It’s way to easy to go the range and just blow ammo by shooting close and fast. Take sometime to practice precision shots at longer distances, and you will improve your overall shooting.
In the same way if you have a hunt scheduled practice shooting under pressure with a timer. You may even want to get your heart rate up to simulate climbing at altitude. It will be a rarity that you will have the perfect rest with plenty of time in the field. Work on getting better at ranging your shots and doing it quickly.
When you know your effective range you will have confidence to make the shot that counts.
I was talking with a friend today who happened to have several very nice guns which were stainless. Just as a reminder to everyone, stainless can still rust. It is more resistant to the elements, but it is possible. Go ahead and wipe your stainless guns down when you are finished with them. This will protect your investment from dreaded rust.
One other pitfall to remember. If you are having a 1911 built by your favorite smith, make sure you don’t buy stainless. You run a very high chance that the rails will gall while they are being fit, or while shooting. Either way you will end up with a gun that doesn’t have a good fit. Go with carbon steel when the slide and frame will be fit to match tolerances.
Just a reminder that you need to keep your guns wiped down. It doesn’t take a much to make a wipe down rag. All you need is a zip lock bag from your wife, a very soft cloth or t-shirt, and some of your favorite gun oil. We use Break-Free CLP because it is readily accessible in our shop, but any oil will do. Put some on the cloth and make sure it covers the cloth evenly. Then put it in the zip-lock bag until you need it again.
If you have a gun in storage, set specific times every year that you will take them out to wipe them down. We recomend doing it every few months. Cover all the metal with the cloth. If you keep your zip lock bag sealed up, you shouldn’t have to put oil on it very often. By the way, DO NOT oil your wood. It will shine it up, but the oil will eventually hurt the wood.
Spend more of what you don’t have so you can have more of what you don’t need. I want to remind everyone that the answer to the economic crisis is not to spend more. It is not to spend less. As one man said, “it is not to live in fear.” The answer is to live smart. Let this be a wake up call to us all that we must be fiscally responsible.
We are seeing things slow down in some areas, but in gun repair we have not been hurt by the current crisis. What we are seeing is people begin to really consider their options and whether or not they can truly afford work or products. This isn’t a bad thing if you have the right perspective on it. What we are seeing is some of our friends looking for work because their companies couldn’t hold up under this strain. If you are in this situation, hang in there. This too shall pass.
Found this at an interesting website called conealedcarryholsters.org, you may want to check out if you have questions about CCW methods. It is supposedly given to some officers to train them to look for handguns. As a citizen that is the whole point of CCW, hence the reason having a CCW badge only confirms you were suckered by someone who said it was tacticool, or you didn’t get enough play time as Starsky and Hutch when you were a kid. If you are cop, this could save your life. You need to make sure you are practicing these tells so you will prepared on the street, because we all know that at the end of the day you are sucessful when you have made it home safely.
p.s. it doesn’t specifically mention this, but STOP wearing your 5.11 vest to the mall!
I am not from TX, but I have listend to enough Jackopierce to make me feel like I’m a true texan. If you like acoustic rock you would enjoy there older albums. The new album, Promise of Summer, reflects the place they are in their lives with families and children. You can get it at I-tunes. Why do I mention this on a gun blog? Because if you come to our shop you will likely here JP on the radio.
I am often asked if I have seen a magazine article that someone has written by a customer. They are usually curiuos about the latest greatest item that is being offered. Too often I can’t help because I just don’t keep up with that many. The problem with the magazines is that they are there to promote the industry and make money, not always in that order. What you don’t want to do is start buying stuff just because you saw it this month’s magazine. You also don’t want to trust everything you read. All too often the magazines produce articles about people they have never met in person, with guns that are sent as test pieces for short periods of times. This makes an honest assessment difficult to reach.
One thing that you can be sure of on this blog. No one is paying the bills but the customer. We don’t have any sponsors yet, so there is only one boss, the owner of MCC. There may be a day when that changes, but right now if you see us advocate something, it is because we have tested it, tried, and believe in it. When we say you should get a trigger job on your Glock, AR, and 1911, it’s because that is what we do on our personal guns. If we promote a product you can bet that it works. We use them everyday.
Believe half of what you see. Some and none of what you read. Especially if that article is followed by a full color add. Use the magazines to keep up with the industry. Get your evaluations from friends and people who use the products you are interested in purchasing.
Taurus's Judge
Taurus has been getting some publicity over their Judge revolver. It is a light weight revolver that shoots either 45 Long Colt or .410 shotgun shells. Their website says it is so named because many judges are carrying this weapon in their courtrooms.
This is just one of the latest entries into the 45 LC/.410 field. Many be wondering whether or not they would be good for self-defense. The first thing to remember is that any gun is better than nothing, and have no doubt, a 45 Long Colt is serious enough to handle any task you will face. But is a .410 capable?
Well this week a man in Nashville, TN used a .410 handgun, brand not specified, to save his life when two thieves armed with handguns approached in his driveway. One was injured and later captured, and the other won’t be robbing anyone else. Beyond self-defense, it is a adequate trail gun to dispose of snakes and other critters that you might run across hiking or fishing.
For the full story, click here.
Taurus's Judge
Taurus has been getting some publicity over their Judge revolver. It is a light weight revolver that shoots either 45 Long Colt or .410 shotgun shells. Their website says it is so named because many judges are carrying this weapon in their courtrooms.
This is just one of the latest entries into the 45 LC/.410 field. Many be wondering whether or not they would be good for self-defense. The first thing to remember is that any gun is better than nothing, and have no doubt, a 45 Long Colt is serious enough to handle any task you will face. But is a .410 capable?
Well this week a man in Nashville, TN used a .410 handgun, brand not specified, to save his life when two thieves armed with handguns approached in his driveway. One was injured and later captured, and the other won’t be robbing anyone else. Beyond self-defense, it is a adequate trail gun to dispose of snakes and other critters that you might run across hiking or fishing.
For the full story, click here.
