lowflyer

15 miles. At least that's how far I have to drive to the range. I suppose it could be a bit closer.



Okay, 7-15 yards is about where I train. I say 7-15 because I don't measure it.

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Whatever doesn't kill you postpones the inevitable.

jonathancase

I have done some training with a close friend, LEO/swat. One of the excercises we practice with is as follows:

1:Stand faceing target angled so firearm is farthest from target. Aprox. 4 feet or so

(for practice, with weak hand, grab strong side sleave at shoulder to prevent injury)

2: Draw, butt of weapon against hip bone, 2 shots center mass

3: Raise weapon to eye level, side step to strong side, place third round where desired.


That is my training for a close incounter. If this is something you would be interested to try, PRACTICE UNLOADED FIRST!!!!!

The muzzle of the weapon is very close to the body, be carefull.

JimmyC4

A good practice routine is the IDPA Classifier. It does it all from strong hand only, weak hand only, shooting while moving, etc.

And, if you want to keep track of your progress and learn your strong and weak points, you can time and score it.

A friend and I try to shoot part or all of the IDPA Classifier monthly when weather permits.

Here's a link: http://www.idpa.com/classify1.asp

kylebce

I shoot most rounds at 7 yards. That said- I also shoot 15 and 25 yards- for the sake of shooting.

I believe when the SHTF it will most likely be belly to belly in touching range. That makes the unarmed drills and drawing a whole lot more important, huh? There are some good materials out there on drills and techniques, (there's also alot of crap)

I recommend: Defensive shooting for real life encounters by Ralph Mroz.

js

I practice at many different ranges, 7-30 yards. I know retreat is popular outside of 15-20 yards, however with small kids in tow it complicates the issue.

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Fast is fine, but accuracy is everything
Wyatt Earp

mech1369dlw

Most of my shooting is done at 10 yards or less, but, I know where the bullets are going to hit at 20 yards if needed.

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A person is justified in the use of deadly force, if such person reasonably believes deadly force is necessary to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm to such person or a third person.

Elder51

5-7 yards is the norm (also covers the "Tuller drill" scenario).

However, we need to cover contact distances. Not only is it psychologicaly harder to shoot someone at eye to eye contact distance, it also becomes an issue of weapon retention skills. this is an area often forgotten. Short barrel guns are an advantage here.

__________________
Condition "yellow" is a heightened state of awareness & response.
It is not paranoia...
"IT IS YOUR ONLY ROUTE TO SURVIVAL"

An armed & knowledgeble Citizen has significantly increased their chances of continued Freedom & Safety... SO ALSO IMPROVED IS THE FUTURE OF THEIR NEIGHBORS

rachilders

I mostly practice on targets at 15-25 feet (75% of the time). That being said, I also try to get a bit of distance training in plus some close in drills. If I shoot 100 rounds at the range, 60-70 will be at the 15-25 foot range. Of the other rounds fired, I'll split them between quick draws on targets at 10 ft, and slower, more deliberate fire at 50-75 ft. My usual drill is to shoot 6-8 rounds at the mid range target, take a few quick shots at the close range target and then do a couple of long range shots. Then I repeat the process.

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"... Americans... we want a safe home, to keep the money we make, and shoot bad guys." -- Denny Crane

LegalMonkey

Great posts folks. I got a lot out of them all. I would only add the dry firing muscle-memorization repititions described in "Leadership and Training for The Fight" by MSG Paul R. Howe. It's basically taking out the trigger slack while punching the gun out from the ready position, dropping that front sight down into the rear notch on the target and taking the shot. The object is to get your reps down to less than a second and repeating them 2000 to 3000 times.

BushidoMarine

To each their own, but since most defensive pistol encounters happen within 0 to 10 feet, I am surprised that more aren't training up close and personal to the target. 7 yards seems to be the standard range both in the responses to this thread, and what I usually see on the range, but how often is a BG going to inform you of his intent to take your life from that far away? Next time I hit the range, most of my shots will be from muzzle touching the target to around 10 feet. Of course I will crank the range out to max distance at least once, just to confirm the fact that I can still take the Danny Glover Lethal Weapon head shot (after the prerequisite neck strech, of course!)

Just some food for thought...

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"An unarmed man can only flee from evil, and evil is not overcome by fleeing from it."
- Col. Jeff Cooper, USMC