Self Defence Distance ???

[GreySmoke]

Ok I'm just a dumb newbie but I am very confused with the distances targets are designed for, and that we all practice. I dont know about your homes but there is no room in my house longer than 25 feet. If I am truly practicing for home self defense I would think I should practice getting to that 1-2" group at 25ft or less. Anything more is surely not SD anyway... Comments?

[Torquejunky]

According to what I've always heard most SD scenarios happen at 7-10 yards or less, so tight grouping at 25' is spot on....

ETA I would also practice some up close point-n-shoot type drills as well....

[Mes0hemi]

Tueller Drill - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[tcox4freedom]

Most self defense scenarios happen at distances less than 25ft. So practicing at distances less than that are a good idea. Practice "Center Mass" shots from various distances. It's important to shoot with both hands, strong hand and your weak hand.

I can tell you that in a "real life" situation you are probably not going to have time to get into a "Isosceles" or any other stance typically used at a target range.

Things can get real nasty; REAL FAST! That's why I think training the brain to be more "Aware" is the best way to "Avoid" conflict. I honestly think shooting, h2h and weapons training should be a secondary focus in self-defense.

With the above in mind, I would strongly suggest some more advanced training. There are good training classes in most areas. If you can't find one near you, it's worth traveling for a good training program.


Remember to focus most on: "Train the Brain".


Any "Instructor" worth is salt will tell you:

"Self defense is more about "Awareness" and "Avoidance" than anything else."

Our brain is the "one" weapon that we use to "avoid" trouble.

(Firearms, combat skills and other weapons are mainly used to get us OUT of trouble once trouble has found us.)

Firearms, knives and other weapons, along with some h2h skills should a be a part of a "Self-defense" repertoire; but our primary focus should be on "How To" avoid or at least minimize our exposure to circumstances that invite BG's to see us as easy targets.

I hope this has been helpful.
Good Luck with your training!

[tARfoo]

Originally Posted by Torquejunky

According to what I've always heard most SD scenarios happen at 7-10 yards or less, so tight grouping at 25' is spot on....

ETA I would also practice some up close point-n-shoot type drills as well....

I agree 100% on the close (3-5 yards) draw and shoot/point and shoot drills. Excellent training.

Also, keep in mind that when I hear people talking how they shot "bad" at 15 yards (45 feet) and had "only" 3" groups, take your targets when you're done and hold it up to your own torso. Kind of helps put your accuracy into perspective as to what you really need when that situation arises. Even a 5" grouping at 10 yards is likely more than sufficient. Real-life hardly ever plays out like the video games, there are no extra points for a head-shot.

[carhartt]

Originally Posted by tARfoo

Real-life hardly ever plays out like the video games, there are no extra points for a head-shot.

What!? I thought that meant no lawsuit....

Seriously though, I would practice from 25' down. You also want to make sure that you can reflex shoot. That is to say, draw and shoot without using the sights. You dont really need this for long distance, but 5-10 yds.

[zipgun]

I wouldn't worry so much about "groups" as I would about presentation, trigger control and front sight discipline.

You can do all three by empty gun practice.

Presentation is holding and raising your gun into firing position. You don't need to shoot the gun to practice this. Practice raising the gun and putting the front sight on target. Do it repeatedly on a regular basis until it becomes natural and automatic. This builds muscle memory.

Do the same thing with trigger discipline and control. You can practice this without firing a shot. Again, the goal is to make it natural and automatic buy building muscle memory.

The last thing is to practice getting your sights on target. Again, without firing set up targets you can present and line up your sights on. Natural and automatic is the key. Once you get one target down, try two so you get used to moving the sights to meet other threats.

Practice at different distances. 5 feet is different than 20 feet. 10 feet is different than 30-40 feet.

Do I have to remind you to make sure your gun is empty when you do this?!!!!!!

[akoba]

Originally Posted by carhartt

You also want to make sure that you can reflex shoot. That is to say, draw and shoot without using the sights.

Originally Posted by zipgun

I wouldn't worry so much about "groups" as I would about presentation, trigger control and front sight discipline.

You can do all three by empty gun practice.

Presentation is holding and raising your gun into firing position. You don't need to shoot the gun to practice this. Practice raising the gun and putting the front sight on target. Do it repeatedly on a regular basis until it becomes natural and automatic. This builds muscle memory.

Do the same thing with trigger discipline and control. You can practice this without firing a shot. Again, the goal is to make it natural and automatic buy building muscle memory.

The last thing is to practice getting your sights on target. Again, without firing set up targets you can present and line up your sights on. Natural and automatic is the key. Once you get one target down, try two so you get used to moving the sights to meet other threats.

Practice at different distances.

Thank you for the great ideas

[Bluto]

20 to 30 feet is good for SD. Remember one thing though just because you can hit a piece of paper dead center doesn't mean you are automatically going hit anything when the SHTF. Adrenalin changes everything and you can get stronger and what seemed normal before seems quite different in real life, life and death situations. Ask anyone who's ever been there and they tell you one is quit different than the other. They say accuracy drops off 50 %or better when the juices start pumpin. Try this little exercise run as fast as you can, as far as you can, get you heart rate to the point your ready to take a heart attack, then pick up your gun and see then what you hit at 7 to 10 yds unassisted. This is just a little taste of what a full blown rush of adrenalin feels like. Ever wonder why soldiers use so many rounds and why everyone does not have sniper skills when it comes to using there weapons?

[psehorne]

Originally Posted by carhartt

draw and shoot without using the sights.

I've read experts who say this is not the thing to do (Ayoob, for instance). Ayoob says you need to get your sight up into your tunnel vision.... since more than likely in a real-life encounter you will be nervous, heart pumping, adrenalin flowing, experiencing tunnel vision, and shooting "shooting from the hip" can miss by three or four feet even at short range. You are unlikely to develop muscle memory that would be useful in pointing accurately with the sight out of view.

Ayoob suggests practicing getting the front sight up in your tunnel vision and on the target... you don't have to align the rear sight and the front sight, but you must get the front site up into your tunnel vision.

Paraphrasing from Ayoob's book StressFire