Do You Actually Practice with Your Handgun Like You Plan to Use It?

[squidsix]

To answer your title question, yes. I see guys all the time at the range practicing their technique with cargo pants, tac vest, gloves, etc. When I ask them if they are training for a competition, its always "no just making sure my ccw piece is good to go" or something like that.
Great idea as always to train. But what do you wear every day? You wear a business suit? Shoot at the range in your business suit. You gave a baby? Shoot one handed with a sandbag in your other arm. Practice your draw, reloading, etc wearing what you wear, doing the things you do in your life. If you pocket carry a j-frame and never practice the draw from your business casual pants, from the pocket, and fire, why are you training?
I am not saying to do this 100% of the time, but it should be a percentage greater than zero.
My wife shoots one handed holding a bag of flour in her offside hand, turned away from the target shielding the "baby" regularly.
I shoot in my everyday clothes, with my actual carry piece, carried like I actually carry it, at least 25% of my range time. In winter its with gloves, coat, etc.
I typically dont like rails on pistols, so no lights on them, but there is a dedicated portion of my training around employing a flashlight, and what to do with that light when you have to reload fast, or hold the gun on a bad guy while using the phone to take a photo of the bad guy and then call 911, etc. Where does the light go for that moment? What about the phone? The pistol? Etc
It is a significant part of my training and my students' training as well.

 

[CA Escapee]

Fortunately, there's a range nearby that has/did have a monthly two-stage match where one stage has a low light setting and the other is total darkness.

I've used both a weapons mounted light and a handheld flashlight in the matches. When I've used my M&P's with a Surefire WML I don't really notice any difference in balance. I imagine with a little extra weight up front it tames that massive 9mm recoil better. Handling-wise it's a little slower re-holstering with the light on the luggage rack. No difference racking the slide, or changing magazines. I do turn the light off when reloading because you're usually situated very close to a barricade and I just don't need 60-500 lumens lighting up that white plywood two feet away.

When shooting my Glock pistols I carry the flashlight in my non-dominant hand and use the crossed wrist method. When it comes time to reload I turn the light off, put it under the armpit of the arm on the side I'm holding the pistol with. (I shoot both left and right-handed.) I rack the slide using the same method.

Bill

 

[Mike SC Hunter]

No..............

 

[thewittmp]

For home practice, I use a laser to improve my pointing accuracy. I use an unloaded gun with my finger off the trigger and quickly point towards an object. I then touch the laser to see where it would have hit. It actually works very well at indoor distances and I am now able to point at a light switch size target and have the laser confirm a hit fairly consistently. My point shooting with live ammo at the range has greatly improved.

You should try one of the available laser-trainers. It sits in the chamber and creates a momentary dot when the striker hits it. I have one in each caliber and use it often. There is a secondary plus in that with this device in the chamber you cannot have a negligent discharge. There are no rims on these either so they won't accidentally be extract it while training.

 

[ContinentalOp]

I shoot in my everyday clothes, with my actual carry piece, carried like I actually carry it, at least 25% of my range time. In winter its with gloves, coat, etc.

Same. The only difference between range wear and everyday wear for me is eyes and ears, and a ball cap at the range (keeps hot brass from getting caught between my face and shooting glasses).

For dry fire/self defense practice at home I actually have a set of older, more heavily worn clothes that duplicates my everyday wear so I can practice with what I'm wearing, but don't have to worry about wearing a hole or tearing it. Most of the time I don't use it, but if I'm planning on being more physical than usual I'll go to the trouble of putting it on to save wear-and-tear on my clothes. Practicing self defense techniques while wearing a gi is quite a bit different than wearing a shirt, jeans, and shoes. It can be an eye-opening experience.

 

[double-dipper]

OP zogger52, no lights on my self-defense handguns but, I do have Crimson Trace lasers on them. One thing is for sure bad guys don't stand still like a paper target does at 7 yards. You're not going to take the perfect Weaver stance at 0300 hrs. when a meth head just kicked in your front door looking for cash. I don't practice in my boxer shorts ether but, maybe I should.

 

[ContinentalOp]

I don't practice in my boxer shorts ether but, maybe I should.

FWIW, every once in a while I do dry fire practice at night, in low light, starting from my bed using my nightstand gun (triple checked unloaded for safety, of course) and flashlight. If nothing else, I can see what effect my flashlight would have on low-light-adjusted eyes when reflected off the walls (I ended up switching from a 360-lumen light to a 200-lumen warm-LED light) and work out potential lines of fire to minimize the risk to my neighbors. I also have a night light installed that provides pretty good ambient light in my hall and living room.

A blue gun, if you have one, could also be used for additional safety.

It may seem like a lot of work, but we're talking literally 10-15 minutes every few months, and most of that time is letting my eyes adjust to the darkness.

On a related note, it's a good idea to create security layers around your home, if possible, to give you as much as advanced warning as possible should an intruder try to make entry.

Just some suggestions.

 

[Smoke]

If you are person who prefers to carry a light in your non-dominant hand by holding the light away from your gun hand or using the cross wrist approach, do you actually do this when you are doing drills? How do you change magazines if the light is in your other hand? How do you rack the slide?

As someone has already said the only difference between my range wear and my daily wear is the PPE. When I wore external armor I clipped the lanyard to my vest with a carabiner. Otherwise I use the lanyard attached to the light. When I use my light at work I make a specific point of carrying it with the lanyard on my wrist. I have reloaded and cleared malfunctions with my light hanging from my wrist

 

[Kurusu]

Always. Even when the "use" is "only" competition. I don't compete to loose.

 

[Classic Radio99]

I also use one of the laser devices as described above. Highly recommended both for simple sight picture and trigger control practice, as well as practicing the entire draw stroke to shot. A side benefit is that it's really improved my accuracy when shooting actual ammunition.

As far as realistic practice, I'm fortunate that one of the ranges in the area has reserved time on their range to actually practice drawing, and scenario based practice with instructors present. (You have to have gone through their defensive handgun classes to be eligible though.)
When at these practice classes, I always practice my draw with a IWB holster and a concealment garment on, just like I'm out and about. Getting the shirt up and out of the way for a clean draw consistently is sometimes harder than it looks. Most in the class practice using a OWB holster and no cover garment, some with an actual "battle belt" with a duty holster. Cool stuff, but if they aren't LEO's, it doesn't seem to apply for a regular Joe or Jane.
Shooting is a perishable skill and needs constant practice. Looking forward to these sessions starting up again after the Zombie Apocalypse is over.

 

[ISCS Yoda]

Not a fan of light mounted gun. Always though it would be a perfect target for the perp.
Jim

I'm not a fan of a weapon mounted light (WML) on a handgun. There are lots of reasons, but it's enough for this thread to say I don't like them.

I agree with both of those comments. Admittedly, holding a light in one hand and a gun in the other makes for tricky door opening but you can always extinguish the light, pocket it if necessary, open the door in the dark, and then retrieve it if it's pocketed, pop that puppy on, maybe blinding the opposition in the process.

I was taught to not only keep my light separate from my gun but to hold it high and away. If it becomes a target my hand takes the hit, not my head.

More importantly, if you have to see into a room, you can keep the weapon at the ready while the light moves around and, little known fact, since in homes most ceilings are white, if you point the light at the ceiling you will illuminate the room, including some corners. Try it some time. meanwhile, your weapon is pointed where you want it pointed.

 

[stansdds]

First, I am not a fan of having a flashlight attached to a sidearm.

Second, my range does not allow for practice by drawing the handgun from a holster, so I have to practice by starting from a low-ready position. This is due to liability concerns and I expect there will be more restrictions with ever growing regulation and liability insurance issues.

 

[Donn]

As much as possible. Should the body waste ever get real, I might not be able to hit that solid two-handed stance with the front sight lined up. My range doesn't allow holster draw or rapid fire. I practice from low ready, two hand, off hand and weak hand. With Miami-Dade in mind, I replace my prescription glasses with standard safety glasses and move the target to different intervals. Not hardly Gunsite Academy, but better than nothing.

 

[Rastoff]

For all those stuck with a restrictive range, you can practice your presentation at home without ammo.

 

[St0rmshad0w]

Yes i do shoot my handguns a lot. I stop by the range as often as i can and i always take a few handguns to keep them warm and sharp.

 

[fredj338]

I have & do practice with weapon mounted & hand held lights, a couple of idpa night matches annually. You really need both. For the most part, regardless of hand held technique, you are shooting strong hand only imo. Cross hand or Harris tech offers little support from the support hand, same for Rogers & some techniques are very flashlight dependent.
Best thing to do is go run your day drills At night & try diff techniques & equip. Weapon light is easer to shoot with but all have to learn light management during reloads & movement. Reloads & malfs are done as sort of normal. you are just juggling a light. The smaller the light the easier that is.
I am also a night sight fan for ambient light & no flashlight. If I can see & ID a target, with good night sights I can hit to 20y or so under very low ambient light.

 

[Univibe]

Yes i do shoot my handguns a lot. I stop by the range as often as i can and i always take a few handguns to keep them warm and sharp.

That's not the question.

If you're firing a handgun desperately to save your life in a short-range firefight, you'll be peeking out from behind a gas pump, crawling underneath a car while firing, shooting suppression over your shoulder as you run zig-zag, engaging four targets at once (while all four are shooting at you), shooting with your left hand, or anything else you can imagine.


Is that what you're practicing?

 

[Ziggy2525]

To the question "Do you actually practice with your handgun like you plan to use it?"

No. If I need to use my handgun in real life, I will be using it to shoot real rounds at one or more real live people that are trying to kill me. They may or may not be shooting real bullets back at me. The range where I shoot at frowns on practicing like that.

What I do at the range is practice different individual drills that work specific skills I can only practice at the range. Marksmanship. Draw to first shot. Multi-shot strings. Live fire malfunction clearances. I try to shoot an IDPA match once or twice a month. I like the camaraderie and I get live fire moving and shooting. At home I use dry fire for typical dry fire stuff plus a blue gun for some scenarios - get up from bed in the dark, no glasses, grab gun. Yada, yada. I also do some airsoft training to get a feel for the dynamic working against real people. BUT .. all those approaches have rules, so they're just practice. Not like I'm expecting it will be if SHTF.

I'm also a "no" on using a WML as a civilian self defender. One skill, flashlight, is easier and simpler to practice than two - flashlight and WML.

 

[rkittine]

Yep, I practice keeping it in its holster where I want it to stay!

 

[Old cop]

Realistic practice @ public ranges can be tough. I use this w/my EDC (340PD or LCP): Use a standard paper plate @ three, five & seven yards. Empty the gun as fast as possible, combat reload (speedloader/speedstrip or magazine) and repeat. The objective is to keep all rounds on the plate. I shoot the gun exactly the way it's carried, no oversized grips for the revolver.