Shooting handguns to improve rifle skill

[Yaremkiv]

I think you're using master very loosely here lol

Yes of course. Nothing easy about mastering anything but the road is shorter for rifles than it is handguns is all I'm saying.

 

[Gstew1930]

Yes of course. Nothing easy about mastering anything but the road is shorter for rifles than it is handguns is all I'm saying.

I can get on board with that

 

[Jpsmith1]

My experience is very little. The dry fire has seemed to help you?

Dry fire with a handgun is hugely helpful

 

[id_jon]

Dry fire with a handgun is hugely helpful

And it feels like magic to see better numbers on the shot timer after "not shooting" for a week or two

 

[Jpsmith1]

And it feels like magic to see better numbers on the shot timer after "not shooting" for a week or two

Not a 'shoot fast' pistol guy. I'm a shoot far pistol guy but knowing how that trigger breaks and knowing you're doing it consistently is priceless

 

[sconnieVLP]

Oh im getting my rounds off. I might not hit anything but if im gonna suck, ill do it quickly .
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I’d strongly recommend taking the complete opposite approach. Go slow, be deliberate, and get your hits.

On the first stage of your first match your IQ is going to be cut in half the moment the timer beeps. If you aren’t worried about the timer you’ll actually be able to pay attention to what you’re doing. This is important for a few reasons, the first is being safe. You state you haven’t put many rounds through a pistol, and USPSA involves more than just standing there punching holes. You’ll be running with the gun, and it may take a little bit to 1) become comfortable doing that and 2) be able to do it with the presence of mind to not do something stupid with the pistol and get DQ’d for a 180 violation or hurt yourself/someone else.

Second, you’ll actually be able to focus on what you’re doing and not blindly try to go as fast as you can. Focus on the motion of a good draw, focus on where your hands go during a reload, focus on actually hitting what you’re aiming at. The speed will come with comfort with the gun and practice.

When you go shoot the match tell your squad it’s your first time and that you’re inexperienced with a pistol. With near certainty I can tell you that they’ll be extremely gracious with showing you the ropes, giving tips, and giving you some extra time/grace on the stages. (An aside - always help paste targets unless you’re on deck. Nothing worse than a guy showing up and not pitching in, it helps everything go much faster.)

In terms of practice, I can’t emphasize enough how important dry firing is. 15 min/day and you’ll make incredible progress. Find a dry firing regimen, get a shot timer or phone app shot timer, and get after it. I like Ben Stoeger’s “Dry Fire Reloaded”. All kinds of good drills out there though.

 

[Gstew1930]

Thats good advice. Thank you very much

 

[43.6N]

Does anybody have any online resources/videos for good USPSA type fundamentals?
I’m sure a lot of us would rather not build bad habits that then need to be un-learned down the road.

 

[North of 60]

OP, another important point i don't think was mentioned is developing a feel for trigger reset after firing. If the trigger is only released to the point of reset after firing vs relaxing the trigger to its normal position after firing, it takes less force to fire again if only released to the point of reset. This is more important for pistols with normal trigger pull weight vs modified pistols or race guns.

Definitely start slow and develop good form as mentioned above. Slow is smooth, Smooth is fast.

Watch out if you start shooting USPSA, as you may end up deciding you want a race gun.

Another way RS will graciously help you spend your $

 

[Jermh]

I didn’t read back to see what your experience is, but I’m new to getting serious with a handgun as well. I started to shoot a lot of rounds, but after getting serious about dryfire drills with targets in my garage, I don’t feel like I need to expend so many live rounds to grow in my competency. Form gave me a list of drills to do and having some structure to follow really helps.

Any chance you could share which drills these are?

 

[B_Reynolds_AK]

Any chance you could share which drills these are?

You'd have to ask Form. I don't think they have been made publicly available. I'm sure there are dryfire drills you could find online though, or on Youtube.