Where do folks practice rapid fire?

R

rdtompki

New member
My wife and I have entered into handgun ownership with both home defense and recreation in mind. We both believe in the value of instruction and practice. Some training venues do provide an opportunity for certain tactical skills (e.g., rapid fire) while others do not.

I'm in California (San Francisco bay area) and public ranges preclude the use of a holster and limit rate of fire (1 sec or 3 sec interval between rounds, for example). It appears that IDPA may afford the best opportunity to practice some of these forbidden skills. Dry fire at home also has tremendous value in terms of trigger pull, reloads, draw stroke and such, but isn't a substitute for learning how to manage recoil in stressful situations.

How do others handle this need to train realistically, whether for HD or SD? Private ranges, competition, Airsoft, other?
 
Private ranges and competition are likely your best venues. If you don't want to compete, try showing up at the matches and start asking shooters where they practice. It's likely there's a private range somewhere that doesn't advertise much and is where some (or many) of them practice. It may even be the venue that's hosting the match.

Even if you find such a place, dry fire is still a good friend.
 
Airsoft at home.
I've been doing it for years, now, with excellent results, as do many others.
Modern, blowback handgun replicas are very realistic these days.
About like shooting a .22.
There's airsoft versions for just about every popular firearm.
There's lots of reviews and ideas at pyramydair.com, my favorite source.
Also on youtube.
Even brianenos.com, the go-to competition web site, has a section for them.
Airsoft works very well as a training tool, especially for doing things that are not allowed at public ranges.
 
We're definitely getting an airsoft M&P. And competition is on my to-do list, maybe in a month or so. I took an all-day tactical pistol class that's given me at least a foundation and most of the skills can be practiced at home. We've also found a very affordable instructor that uses a private range.

If I ever move out of CA I'll have three requirements: firearm-friendly state,low maintenance acreage and ability to have (at least) a handgun range on the property.
 
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rdtompki said:
My wife and I have entered into handgun ownership with both home defense and recreation in mind. We both believe in the value of instruction and practice. Some training venues do provide an opportunity for certain tactical skills (e.g., rapid fire) while others do not.

I'm in California (San Francisco bay area) and public ranges preclude the use of a holster and limit rate of fire (1 sec or 3 sec interval between rounds, for example). It appears that IDPA may afford the best opportunity to practice some of these forbidden skills. Dry fire at home also has tremendous value in terms of trigger pull, reloads, draw stroke and such, but isn't a substitute for learning how to manage recoil in stressful situations.

How do others handle this need to train realistically, whether for HD or SD? Private ranges, competition, Airsoft, other?
Click to expand...

Calguns member and Californian regrettably. I see you are from SF. I usually go to BLM land to shoot when I want to practice the very scary and deadly technique of rapid fire. Lol. I'm a lil north of you so I go to Cow mountain in Ukiah.
 
Steel

I too live in California (northern central valley). I happen to live three miles from a wonderful range. It's small, but clean; and well ran by competent RSO's. But they have a maximum fire rate of 1 round/second.

I go there a lot and have shown to exhibit strong safety habits; so they give me a little latitude with that rule. That said, I still don't push it too far. And I only push it on weekday mornings - when there are few people, and "regulars" at that. My point here is that you might find a similar type of range, that will afford you similar latitude - in due time.

The other option is - and it's a good one - is to get into steel shooting (after getting the appropriate range experience, and gaining second-nature familiarity with your guns and safety protocols).

Steel shooting is a lot of fun and it's easy. All shooting is from a stationary position and there are always 5 steel targets to shoot. The idea is to shoot the 5 targets as quickly as possible. The targets don't fall down, so you repeat the shooting stage 5 consecutive times - 25 rounds total (minimum). And in the course of the match, there are 8 stages. So 5 rounds/stage, X 5 runs through the stage, X 8 stages, = 200 rounds minimum. i.e. it's a good day's practice with rapid fire techniques.

Shooting steel is less complicated than going through IDPA stages, and in a given day, you shoot a lot more rounds. So you get a lot more actual trigger time (practice).

I'm not knocking IDPA, btw. I shoot IDPA too. I enjoy them both immensely. (For added fun and challenge, I use a 6-shot Smith & Wesson revolver for both ;) )

Here's a link to some venues kind of near you: http://steelchallenge.com/steel-challenge-ClubFinder-Results.php
 
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I'm lucky enough that the local range I go to doesn't have a restriction on rapid fire or use of a holster. I did notice however, last time I blasted through a mag rapidly the RO watched me a little closer... but when he noticed all my shots hitting the target he didn't seem to care too much.

Driving out to the boonies has also been productive. ;)
 
I joined a private club/range. Each member gets a key to the building and as such is able to shoot 24/7. With very few exceptions, each time I go to the range I am there by myself. One can shoot from the holster, set up multiple targets, and create whatever scenarios limited only by the imagination. Further, the range supplies barricades such as doors in a frame that can be moved to any position and other such places where one can shoot from the standing, kneeling, or sitting positions. One can even lie down and shoot if the urge strikes.

Incredible fun. Excellent for developing skills. Worth the price of admission.
 
Join the league over at the Richmond Range, or the Chabot league. There's also one in Santa Clara IIRC. There's also a weekend league in Ft Bragg if you want to do a nice over-nighter. You could probably fill every Saturday and Sunday as well as a couple of weeknights shooting in Action Leagues around here.

Why am I suggesting Steel/IDPA/USPSA? Because you'll learn more in your first year of organized competiton that you'll ever learn on your own. Don't worry- there will be other new shooter there too- everyone there was new at one time, and they remember what it was like. The guys who mentored me were incredibly supportive.
 
I'll go along with "Nevada"

I live in N NV, and just go out into the desert away from everyone else. Can pretty much do what you want - just don't be stupid and endanger others.
 
As has been mentioned, check out the Richmond Rod and Gun Club. It is open to the public. Go and watch some of the competitions and gather some information. There is usually something scheduled just about every weekend. It's located right on the bay, on the east side near Point Pinole.

There is also the Martinez Gun Club. I've only been there a few times. I don't recall what they offer.:cool:
 
Appreciate the club suggestions. I'm going to be trying IDPA and Steel through the Laguna Seca club (their IDPA/Steel activity is in Soledad). I'm in Hollister, 50 miles south of San Jose) so heading north to Richmond is pretty tough traffic-wise. It may be in the course of time I'll find a private range that I can shoot at.

Thanks for the plug for steel which might suit my wife better than IDPA. We go to the range together, and take training together; it would be great if we could have one common "competition" venue.
 
Steel Challenge matches are a great way to learn and practice fast shooting.
No running around, no on the clock reloads, just very fast transitions with five targets of various sizes and at various distances.
And most of the matches have a category for .22.
The rimfire rules don't even require a holster; the stages all begin from the low ready position.
 
A neighbor has a nearby friend with a small ranch. There's a gully with sand sides and there's a another much higher sand burm behind it. It's a safe place to practice rapid fire. Now, if he'd just invite me to shoot more than a couple times per year.:( I'm sure he would if I paid for all the ammo... anywhere from $100 to $400 out of my pocket.:rolleyes:
 
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