RangeLog Blog: Home on My Range
Posted: Sun, 14 Feb 2010 00:44:53
I often hear that gun owners purchase their weapons for home defense, but I rarely find gun owners that perform dry fire drills. I have always recommended regular dry fire training in your own home - why? Beyond the additional practice and proficiency a regular dry fire routine can provide, you are learning to navigate and protect the most important people in your life: your family. So, when 20 inches of snow piles up in my driveway, I take the opportunity to train at the most important range I can access: MY HOME.
A lane at the range may simulate my hallway, but not the corners of a family room or the space behind the center island in a kitchen. At an indoor range, you rarely encounter more than a spent shell. Most outdoor ranges do not allow shooters to move as freely as you can in your own home. At home, I can navigate stairwells and imitate taking cover. I can practice scenarios where I arrive home to an opened door - or for a forced entry in the middle of the night.
I have my spouse go and hide "targets" in the house that I then find and neutralize. Simulating real scenarios can require a night drill and I have to remember all the same fundamentals, like not giving away my position by turning on lights that could help me easily locate and identify any intruders are in the house. At night, when I hear a noise I can move confidently in the dark since I already know my home terrain, the number of steps to each safe corner, and every fatal funnel - a definite advantage over any intruder.
The last time I ran through the steps of the IDPA 3-gun drill, I was taken down by the unlikeliest of enemies - a stuffed toy bear. Having dry fired my first group of shots, I holstered my first weapon and prepared to move forward, focused on my target. I nearly twisted my ankle but learned two very important lessons: 1) always move with a heel-to-toe technique when advancing on a target and 2) make the kids pick up all their toys every night.
You can also take advantage of your home-bound time to practice "Phantom Firing." Do not confuse this with dry firing - Phantom firing is going through the motions without a weapon in your possession. The first time I did this was when forced to convert from the weaver stance to the modified isosceles. The facility that I was working as a firearms instructor would not allow instructors to shoot from the weaver platform, requiring me to change a shooting habit that was deeply ingrained from decades of shooting.
I began by dressing in all my gear, except my weapon, and getting on a tread mill. Walking prevented me from getting into my 'stance' and while walking, I performed phantom draws mimicking proper hand position for the draw, the joining of the hands near the center of the body, and pressing out. I continued this for more repetitions than I could count before I added an unloaded weapon to the process. I followed this discipline for weeks before taking it to the range. There was no need for me to send rounds down range if my stance was all over the place - I successfully converted and am more mobile because of it. I have learned a great deal through the experience and see how the training can benefit my overall performance. Even better, it is FREE and does not require gear.
The experience of phantom firing is similar to dry fire and requires the same discipline of detail and critique. I simulate trigger pulls and record them as dry fires in my RangeLog.com account to keep track of how often and amount of practice I am maintaining. And, moving around the house helps in the cold.
Safe Shooting.
A lane at the range may simulate my hallway, but not the corners of a family room or the space behind the center island in a kitchen. At an indoor range, you rarely encounter more than a spent shell. Most outdoor ranges do not allow shooters to move as freely as you can in your own home. At home, I can navigate stairwells and imitate taking cover. I can practice scenarios where I arrive home to an opened door - or for a forced entry in the middle of the night.
I have my spouse go and hide "targets" in the house that I then find and neutralize. Simulating real scenarios can require a night drill and I have to remember all the same fundamentals, like not giving away my position by turning on lights that could help me easily locate and identify any intruders are in the house. At night, when I hear a noise I can move confidently in the dark since I already know my home terrain, the number of steps to each safe corner, and every fatal funnel - a definite advantage over any intruder.
The last time I ran through the steps of the IDPA 3-gun drill, I was taken down by the unlikeliest of enemies - a stuffed toy bear. Having dry fired my first group of shots, I holstered my first weapon and prepared to move forward, focused on my target. I nearly twisted my ankle but learned two very important lessons: 1) always move with a heel-to-toe technique when advancing on a target and 2) make the kids pick up all their toys every night.
You can also take advantage of your home-bound time to practice "Phantom Firing." Do not confuse this with dry firing - Phantom firing is going through the motions without a weapon in your possession. The first time I did this was when forced to convert from the weaver stance to the modified isosceles. The facility that I was working as a firearms instructor would not allow instructors to shoot from the weaver platform, requiring me to change a shooting habit that was deeply ingrained from decades of shooting.
I began by dressing in all my gear, except my weapon, and getting on a tread mill. Walking prevented me from getting into my 'stance' and while walking, I performed phantom draws mimicking proper hand position for the draw, the joining of the hands near the center of the body, and pressing out. I continued this for more repetitions than I could count before I added an unloaded weapon to the process. I followed this discipline for weeks before taking it to the range. There was no need for me to send rounds down range if my stance was all over the place - I successfully converted and am more mobile because of it. I have learned a great deal through the experience and see how the training can benefit my overall performance. Even better, it is FREE and does not require gear.
The experience of phantom firing is similar to dry fire and requires the same discipline of detail and critique. I simulate trigger pulls and record them as dry fires in my RangeLog.com account to keep track of how often and amount of practice I am maintaining. And, moving around the house helps in the cold.
Safe Shooting.
, good post.