Beware false certainty
The vast majority of shooters I see never evolve their training beyond basic slow fire target practice at an indoor range from an extended low ready at 5 to 7 yards. Most of those shooters are carrying concealed and believe they’re doing what they need to do to prepare. The reality is, however, if this is your only practice, and you think you have the skill and capability to defend yourself in a fight, you are seriously overestimating your skills and woefully unprepared.
Overconfidence arises because we’re wired to overestimate our skills. We have an innate need to reduce uncertainty. So, if skills aren’t tested based on an objective criterion, we have a tendency to overestimate our abilities and what we know. For some, it can be difficult to overcome this tendency, because fear and ego will often lead people to resist learning something new, rather than admit they don’t know something. And sometimes a little bit of knowledge and skill will lead to false certainty about your true skill level, making it difficult to see where there may be gaps in your capabilities and knowledge.
What to do? It’s absolutely critical to not only test your current skills, but to gain a truer understanding of where your skills fall short and to be open to getting outside your comfort zone, trying different things and considering new ideas. It means treating your target as a diagnostic, not a pretty photo op. It means knowing the difference between shooting in a training zone, an unproductive zone or stagnating in your comfort zone.
Go to the range with a plan
If you’re carrying concealed, this classic drill is something I always recommend. It can be done at an indoor range. It has a ton of defensive and practical utility. You’ll be working draw speed and efficiency, maintaining target focus, grip durability through an extended course of fire, and getting the gun to return consistently so you can react and shoot sooner. It’ll get you practicing placing multiple rounds on target with speed, while maintaining accuracy.
The Bill Drill
USPSA target
5 to 7 yards
From concealment, hands at your sides
At start signal, draw from holster and fire six rounds into the A zone as fast as possible
If any shots fall outside A zone, it’s a fail
A par time of 2 seconds is considered proficient but if you can hit 4 seconds as a newer shooter, this a good place to start
In this video I'm pushing to go faster. But I know what's happening. This is my training zone. I don't want a perfect target, per se. I want to see what skills need work. For me, that means making sure I'm staying relaxed, maintaining a laser focus on a small spot on my target and improving index on draw.. But breaking through 3 seconds was a big milestone for me. This was @ 7 yards, time was 2.70 with 5 Alphas and 1 Charlie.
What’s next
If you're running the Bill Drill and consistently getting all A zone hits, you want to incrementally increase speed and distance. Try to go faster. Increase distance and move target to 10 yards. Add a reload or a turn for additional complexity. If outdoors, add advancing and retreating movement.
This isn’t a parlor trick
Always be honest with yourself. One good run every now and then doesn’t mean you’ve mastered this. You want consistency and repeatability.