Home pistol training

V

VirgilCaine

New member
My wife and I live on 20 acres in northern Michigan. We are surrounded by 1000's of acres of state and Fed land. We do quite a bit of shooting "in the yard", rimfire silhouettes, clays, sight in the "big stuff" , blah-blah-blah.

We have been toying with the idea of setting up a pistol course on the north end of our property. I have my own ideas on what type of senarios/ situations to simulate. My question is this:

What type of distances, senarios, targets, overall layout would make the best training tool? Also, i might want to run my scatter gun thru it as well from time to time.

my wife likes her Taurus 85 J-frame in .38 and she shoots her MarkII Ruger for fun.

I'll be shooting all kinds of stuff out there.

just looking for ideas and and things that worked for you, or better yet, things that apply to real-world situations.

thanks.
 
If I had the option as you do, . . . my first would be to set up a mock bed room. Determine the most likely scenarios you would face being awakend in the night, . . . or forced in there during day hours.

Put up targets in their most likely location and see how good you do. You could also take turns with your wife. She could set up a scenario for you, . . . see how you take care of it. You could set up one for her, . . . see what she does.

After the bed room, . . . maybe a hallway with doorways plainly marked (don't have to have full wall, . . . just sticks stuck in the ground every 2-3 ft to simulate wall.

You could set the thing up on a Sat morn, . . . shoot all weekend, . . . tear down Monday eve.

Good luck, and may God bless,
Dwight
 
I've not tried this yet but intend to soon. I read about reactive targets which drop when hit. As I understand it, you use a cardboard box which has a small hole cut in the top. It is suspended from above by a string which is tied to an inflated balloon located inside the box. When the balloon is hit and deflated, it passes through the hole and the box drops. I would think you could use a little imagination and come up with some very realistic targets which require center mass hits to "kill."
 
a few ideas......

I would start off by getting a few hours of dozer to work you up some berms and side safety berms.... Do you have any local restrictions or distance limits to the Fed and or State property areas? If not I would get the main berm darn near up to the line.... Maybe a 20-30' buffer to the line. That way if you for any reason needed to drive around the back side you could. If it were me I would build it so I could have at least 100 yard long range. Depending how much you want to spend you could build a small shed-overhang to shoot from in bad weather. You could even put a wire system up to send targets back and forth for score. For the up close training I like the previous inputs of door frames... and distances should be realistic with your residence set up. I like to do some realistic CCW training when I am at the range. Some of the things I practice are: Emergency Step Back.... This gives training for quick drawing and point and shoot.... On this drill I never use the sights... Not saying it is right or wrong but it is a good way to see how fast you can hit two shots on target. I also train to reload after those 2 shots hit center mass on target... This for me represents bad guy #1 has taken 2 stopping shots......and I am topping my cylinder off in case somebody else is going to attack..... If you carry a pistol a then this drill is not likely worth the time....and true not all would agree to reload after 2.....just the way I was and continue to train.... I would also suggest practice from your back (as you have just been knocked down) I also like to practice with off hand..... as if your main shooting hand has been injured.... I was trained with the Weaver Stance.... but as we know an attacker isn't likely to wait for us to get in our best defensive posture. I would practice from behind an object sized in height same as your sofa, bed, desk, and other objects your family would take cover behind in your home. These are just a few ideas and by no means do I know what your background is so just trying to give a few ideas. I think it would be good to fence off the area and sign it for the lost hunter in the state land doesn't stick his head up over the hill as your ready to unload you shotgun down range...... Sounds like a real neat and productive project... You will notice how the extra practive will improve all whom use your range. Tell your buddies that they bring the pizza and pops...cause if you build it They Will Come......... Good luck and shoot straight......... sorry I went on a little long here.... :D
 
not too long winded....good stuff.

my father in law has a big farm tractor with a bucket. I talked to him about building me a few burms. the only caviat with long dug in shooting lanes is my property is heavily wooded. My only clear 100yd range is from the side of my garage to the woodline.

great ideas..thanks
 
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