How about for beginners

There is an abundance of information online in the form of both articles and video tutorials. I've written a few myself. (I've been training troops and civilians for over 20 years - but they are being published on another site) The first step is to get a grip on a training plan. (assuming you already have a weapon to utilize) Knowing what you are trying to do and how to achieve it is the important part. Put a plan together, analyze your results, modify as needed, and track your progress. Then it comes down to time behind the gun. For you military guys, you are hindered if your only trigger time is military training. Most soldiers only get to fire their weapon twice per year. Nobody becomes an expert at anything doing it twice per year, regardless of how well you score. We really do a disservice to our troops in this regard in my opinion. Yes, some troops get to shoot more often, but your typical soldier is really left to their own devices. If you hit enough to qualify, they pat you on the back and tell you to get back to work.

Alot of civilians think that because we are currently fighting a war that it is different. Well, in the reserve and guard forces anyway, it just isn't true. When you deploy you spend more time at the range, but still, its inadequate.
 
Posted by phenrichs: I have seen alot of threads on range practice and quick shooting and the like. How about a good "for the beginner" thread.

Basics of handgunning: stance, grip, sight picture, ranging.
I have been rifle shooting for years and have spent a very limited time with pistols of varying type and caliber (all owned by friends) so I am not a complete beginner. However I know that other than basics and safety it is a different world as far as doing it correctly. Anyone can pull a trigger and put a ball down range. I want to do it accurately. I have a local range that will allow me to rent and practice but can I ask them to show me the right way? Is that allowed?
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Several links and suggestions have been provided. By all means, pursue them. Read about the basics and watch a few videos, but I do suggest not stopping there if you are serious.

As Fiddletown has pointed out, there is no substitute for personal instruction. The instructor can tell you what you are doing wrong and why and suggest ways of correcting your mistakes.

I had been shooting bulls eyes informally, and rather well, with different handguns (target, service, and frontier type) at different ranges for just under fifty years, off and on, when I switched to a two hand hold. I had read books, studied training manuals, and so forth, but somewhere among the nuances, I was doing a few little things wrong that were hurting my performance. It took a little personal instruction to get it right. My results improved markedly.

If your sole objective is to be able to "put a ball down range accurately", just a little one-on-one instruction at the range from a qualified person, perhaps followed up after you start to improve, should suffice. I got some valuable help from one of the range masters and from a guy at the next target who shoots more than a thousand rounds a week with a Model 1911 pistol similar to mine with great results on the target range.

If your objective also happens to include gaining skills to defend your self with a handgun, learning the basics is a necessary first step, but being able to apply them appropriately them in realistic conditions is also necessary.

The best way to see that real training for self defense shooting is a good idea is to observe a good training session. Watch the participants at the beginning; time them from the signal to draw to their first shots; count hits; count misses. Repeat these observations after a day of training. Consider the difference in results.

In my recent training, almost all of the participants showed improvements of more than 30% in both accuracy (number of hits out of the shots fired) and time (time from the signal to completion).

We were firing rapidly at three steel plates at seven yards. That provides some of the skills for hitting a rapidly moving target very quickly or for defending against more than one assailant. Getting the stance, grip, sight picture, and trigger pull down pat was the essential first step. After that, repetition, with evaluation and coaching. We had one-on-one one instruction from professional instructors who compete in things like IDPA matches.

That's a pretty simple exercise, but it was an eye-opener to me, and the degree improvement clearly shows the advantage of actual training.

For more realistic exercises, which bring in shooting while moving at moving targets, the improvement is almost always more impressive.

One thing I noted, both in regards to my practice at the range and among the participants at the defensive pistol shooting course I took recently, was how the instruction helped in the "unlearning" of bad habits.

So--reading and watching videos is a good idea, necessary I think, but most probably not sufficient for most people.

I hope this expansion on the answer for which you asked proves helpful, phenrichs. Good luck!
 
Here's a good handgun beginner tip for a transitioning rifleman...do not underestimate the importance of the fundamentals.

As it is with a rifle, it's all about the fundamentals, and unlike a rifle, sloppy fundamentals will have a far greater impact, far closer than you would believe.

Go to any range with handgun shooters, and you will see a myriad of fundamental errors, which reflects in their shooting.

Stance - not balanced, weight not forward to help manage recoil for defensive shooting.

Grip - too low on the gun making recoil management more difficult, too loose, improper use of the support hand, improper alignment in the control hand, poor extension

Aiming - seeing too much based on range / target size, seeing too little

Breathing - overemphasizing, under-emphasizing based on range and target size

Trigger control - pulling on the trigger, pushing on the trigger, jerking the trigger

Follow through - fire and forget, failure to call shot, failure to track the sights

The hardest fundamentals to master, for me at least, are trigger squeeze, grip, and aiming.

Trigger squeeze - mastering the reset and staging of the trigger.
Grip - maintaining the same grip, every time, from the draw, FAST
Aiming - seeing what I need to see, which changes based on range and target size, seeing FASTER

Training helps, especially when you have access to trainers that are ahead of the game. It's not hard to develop proficiency and punch holes in targets, however, it IS hard to find that right compromise between precision and SPEED, both of which are needed in defensive shooting.

Like a rifle, it's a life long pursuit imo...
 
NRA certified classes

I am looking at different handgun safety classes in my area and have found sportsman clubs offer classes at a very reasonable cost. One has a basic handgun instruction class and an NRA certified gun safety class. I understand there is a test at the end of the NRA certified class, but what is the benefit of having that certification?
 
Agent99 said:
...I understand there is a test at the end of the NRA certified class, but what is the benefit of having that certification?
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In some States it will satisfy the training requirement for a concealed weapons permit. Also, it may demonstrate satisfaction of a prerequisite for another class.

The NRA classes are standardized and their content is well known amongst instructors. So if you have a certificate from an NRA class, and you go to take another class, the instructor can know with a good level of confidence what you've been exposed to.

Don't let the test chase you off. If you pay attention, you'll do fine. In all the years I've been teaching an NRA Basic Handgun class, I can't remember anyone not passing the test.
 
Beginners need to go to http://www.thearmedcitizen.com/ and check out the huge numbers of people (in the archives) who've managed to defend themselves with a firearm and yet have NEVER had one minute of specialized training. There are those here who'd have you believe that unless you have a Ph.D from Frontsite you can't defend yourself with a gun. HOGWASH!! Two or three million people do it each year and I'd bet my next paycheck that fewer than .5% of them have ever had any firearms combat training. Outside the home situational awareness is key and inside the home it's "open fire on sight". It ain't thermonuclear science folks, it's just common sense.
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I read these all the time and many folks survive despite poor tactics and shooting skill. For someone to suggest that specialized or professional training is not helpful is just silly.

BTW someone once said that LE hit ratios are around 25 percent. This is with some training. "COMMON SENSE" tells me the more training the better.

For the OP I suggest following teamsinglestack's suggestions. Dryfire alot at home. Check out some books or videos that can show you some tactics. Handle the firearm alot. When you start getting better get some competition in. PPC (police pistol combat) to start then maybe some IDPA or IPSC. You will be pretty good pretty quickly and have a blast (no pun intended) to boot.
 
I read these all the time and many folks survive despite poor tactics and shooting skill. For someone to suggest that specialized or professional training is not helpful is just silly....... "COMMON SENSE" tells me the more training the better.
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I totally agree. I have been reading alot online, found some helpful videos on "ehow.com," and am checking into safety classes in my area. There are so many - trying to decide which is best for me - between ranges and sportsman clubs.
 
Agent99, Look up some of the free videos offered by some of the pro shooters out their like this one from Todd Jarrett.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4584332856867071363#

I am an NRA certified handgun instructor and the basic pistol course is very crude IMO. I tell my students that the basic course is simply designed to insure that you have the base fundamentals for proper handgun shooting and that you understand the rules of firearm safety. A good portion of the course is spent on safety and understanding firearm and ammo components. The rest is shooting fundamentals and positions.

You can get this on line in the book "New NRA Guide to the Basics of Pistol Shooting". This is the book we give our students. Its 9 bucks new.
 
threegun said:
...I am an NRA certified handgun instructor and the basic pistol course is very crude IMO. I tell my students that the basic course is simply designed to insure that you have the base fundamentals for proper handgun shooting and that you understand the rules of firearm safety. A good portion of the course is spent on safety and understanding firearm and ammo components. The rest is shooting fundamentals and positions...
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I'm also an NRA certified instructor. And the Basic class is, indeed, basic. That's the idea.

Folks who have been around guns for a while tend to forget how mysterious they can be for someone who is new to them. The fundamentals are, however, very important; and safety is vital.

threegun said:
...You can get this on line in the book "New NRA Guide to the Basics of Pistol Shooting". This is the book we give our students. Its 9 bucks new.
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And yes, it's all in the book. But IME, nothing is as good, or as efficient, as qualified, hands-on, in person instruction.
 
I talked with some friends of mine in law enforcement that know the range and all the instructors at that range. They recommended the Intro to Handguns class - based on class content and the reputation of the instructor.
 
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