My CCW teacher said he'd be holding a defensive shooting class but until then how can I make the best use of my ammo and practice time.

I have a S&W 63 and 642.

I will be going to an indoor range to 'practice'. I know I can hit the 'blue guy' ...what should I be 'practicing'? I read about shot patterns etc. Sighting in a gun..how do I do that?

Have 100 rds of 22.r ammo, 100 SD .38 (so I don't want to use it all up) and 150 rds of Remington .38 spec practice ammo. That isn't much and I will get more eventually.

I know I will get a lot of advice and it is very much appreciated y'all. Thanks.

1) Safe gun handling
2) Sight picture
3) Trigger control
4) The rest will come

5. Double taps
6. Reloading
7. Drawing from concealment

'splain 'double taps' please....

I was planning to get snap caps for dry fire practice at home for the trigger control part.

Don't need ammo, just sit in front of TV and shoot everything that moves (dry fire). Just make sure its empty and not a 22 . One of the hardest things to do is to look at the front sight and still see clear what you are shooting, best to watch the action channel and do the point of aim on the bad guys.

"Double taps" are firing two shots as quickly as the second shot's sight picture can be (re)acquired. Generally you want to aim center mass (upper-mid chest) - the two shots don't have to overlap on target.

Agree with lots of dry-fire practice, and primarily double action even with the 63. With live fire, use the .22 first then use the .38 in the later part of the range session, especially if you will be in an indoor range, so as not to develop a flinch with shooting the loud stuff early. The other tasks mentioned (#6 and 7) for concealed carry are important, but will come after the fundamentals. Stock up on .22s and enjoy!

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Alan
SWCA LM 2023, SWHF 220

Learn slow motion safe draw from your CC holster, then very slowly speed it up. Do not wear a jacket at first... just learn proper grip, finger off trigger until you get a rough sight picture.

When you do dry fire, put the ammo some place else. When you do sight the gun, concentrate on the front site, not the target. Pull the trigger and don't let that gun move. Not one little bit. Ok if it moves when you release, but when you pull that trigger, don't let it move. Think about what a little movement at the muzzle does down range. Do your breathing stuff, your grip stuff, all the stuff you are going to need to have as habit if you ever do "need" to pull that trigger.

Remember, you don't want those little brass/lead thingys in the gun when you do this. You really don't.

Be safe and have fun,
Lop

Edited to add:
Hey Denise, give this a read. Mr Ayoob is very highly regarded in the shooting world.
http://www.backwoodshome.com/articles2/ayoob85.html

Best thing you can do is free. Start a regimen of practicing your draw from your usual concealed carry position and dry firing at home. Keep it around 10 minutes each day, you can do more if you want but don't do it so long you lose focus and get sloppy.

BE SURE your firearm is clear before dry firing or practicing at home. Check and check again before starting.

Then when you go to the range your ammo will go much farther. Start with the 22, then the practice ammo, then shoot a small amount of your SD ammo. No need to burn the good stuff, after all this practicing your couple cylinders of SD ammo will mean much more than for the guy who just went to the range cold with a couple boxes of +P.

I have a friend that sit there watching TV practicing shooting double action shooting his revolver with a 38 shell sitting atop the barrel.
It is quite amusing to see him snap away fast without the shell falling off.
He has no flinch when I watch him shoot .22 or 44 mags.
Peter

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Need 1/2 moon Chiefs special

Just make sure that your indoor range allows double taps and drawing from concealment if you're going to practice along those lines. Some have rules against drawing a gun from a holster period, and many have rules about rapid successive fire.

I wouldn't mess a lot with adjusting sights on the 63 just yet. Learn to adjust your sight picture without doing anything to the gun based on what kind of load you are using. You will figure that out as you go from heavier recoiling loads to lighter ones, etc, and try to stay on target.

As far as where to learn to shoot, I try to tell people over and over that the heart is mostly slightly left of the sternum (breast bone) from the suspect's perspective, right from the shooter's, and a little lower than people picture it. I'm not sure what CCW teachers teach, but I can tell you as somebody who actually knows something about the heart, when we listen to heart sounds we listen in four places. 3 of them are to the left of the sternum (suspect's left, your right). The best shot is slightly to the suspect's left and your right of the middle of the chest horizontally and a little lower than people usually think - just above the nipple line. Let's say the intersection about an inch from the sternum and an inch above the nipple. The bottom two heart sounds are generally heard just below the nipple. For CCW class, I'd aim likey the tell you. In the real world of anatomy and doctors and such, I'm just giving everybody a tip about where the heart can really be located.

Your CCW instructor will likely spend time teaching how to draw from concealment. I would wait until you get some instruction on this before doing a lot of practice, as not to learn and reinforce bad or unsafe technique.

The hardest thing to learn will be good double action shooting. You will benefit the most, in my mind, by dry firing while maintaining a proper sight picture and grip. Focus on the front sight and let the target blur.

Try putting a nickle coin, laying flat, across the rib on the top of the model 63's barrel. When you can pull the trigger six times without the nickle falling off the barrel, you are getting your trigger stroke down.

When you are obtaining a good, smooth trigger stroke repeatedly, add some gun movement. Hold your gun in your two handed shooting grip with the muzzle pointed down at the floor. Pick a specific spot on your target. Raise the pistol to eye level and shift the focus of your eye from the target to the front sight as the gun comes onto target. Then, stroke, stroke the trigger.

If you can get a paper target that is humanoid in shape, use that to practice with. Hang it on a solid wall or on a bookcase full of books, something likely to stop a bullet if one somehow gets into your room while you are practicing. You want to use the center of the chest area ("center of mass") as your target or aiming point, both when practicing and for real if the chest is exposed- it is the biggest part of the body and thus the easiest to hit and it contains items that are vital to the function of your target, so putting bullets there will disrupt those functions.

Having that good double action .22 revolver to practice with is going to make you a much better shot as your ammunition dollars will go so much further. Getting it was a very smart move.

good AM all, some good reading to start my saturday off...I knew I'd get some great advice here. Thanks so much. I'm like a sponge right now soaking it all in. I don't have any habits yet.

My .22LR 'baby' is ported. It has ZERO recoil. (I really love that gun!) Trigger stroke with that is a piece of cake!

Point Shooting - Colonel Rex Applegate - Sykes - Fairbairn - bobtuley.com Real World Gunfights Happen At Close Range


And dry fire[make sure gun is unloaded!]

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WALSTIB