# practice drills to improve aim?



## 22skill (Jul 15, 2009)

Hi all,

Just found this forum and am excited to get some much needed help from other gun owners.

I dont own my ideal gun...instead I own a Beretta .22 Bobcat pistol. I go and shoot now and then and want to know of specific drills that I can use to improve my aim most effectively.

Should I just take 5 shots at an object 15 yards away, then 30, etc.? Is there a systematic way that I can get the most out of my time and money with certain practice drills I can do?

Thank you so much and all comments are more than welcome.


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## jdeere9750 (Nov 28, 2008)

Welcome to the forum!

Get you some snap caps, and do lots of dry fire practice. Also, here's a link that I saved that has several good practice drills that you might get some good out of.

http://pistol-training.com/drills


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## PhilR. (Apr 25, 2007)

22skill said:


> Should I just take 5 shots at an object 15 yards away, then 30, etc.?


Hello,

Given that your pistol was not designed with the intent to shoot 15 to 30 yards away*, I think you might look at drills aimed at targets a bit closer. Heck, even Olympic smallbore standard/sport pistol is only shot at 25 yards (meters, actually). Also, the kind of thing you are talking about is something done for training for defensive shooting. Defensive shooting is typically _not _done at that kind of yardage. Most defensive shootings have been done at seven yards or less. IOW, if you are shooting at people 15 to 30 yards away, you will most likely not be justified in doing so**.

IMO, you won't develop a lot of skills with the pistol you have, and any you do develop will have to be re-learned all over again when you get a proper defensive handgun. Rather than drills, you might consider actual range time with live ammo. That way you can at least develop some trigger control skills, and learn the ins and outs of shooting in public places. Of course some of this can be done with snap caps as nicely suggested above.

I hope you can get a larger caliber handgun soon. A .22 is better than nothing, but you will feel a lot safer once you have a primary defense handgun. Let us know what you finally end up with, too....

*to other members of the forum - this statement does _not _mean one cannot shoot this pistol at 15 to 30 yards. It is perfectly fine to do so.

**to other members of the forum -- this statement does not mean that defensive shootings _never _happen at long ranges.


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## SaltyDog (Jan 1, 2009)

PhilR. said:


> Hello,
> 
> Given that your pistol was not designed with the intent to shoot 15 to 30 yards away*, I think you might look at drills aimed at targets a bit closer. Heck, even Olympic smallbore standard/sport pistol is only shot at 25 yards (meters, actually). Also, the kind of thing you are talking about is something done for training for defensive shooting. Defensive shooting is typically _not _done at that kind of yardage. Most defensive shootings have been done at seven yards or less. IOW, if you are shooting at people 15 to 30 yards away, you will most likely not be justified in doing so**.
> 
> ...


Hey phil are you a lawyer? - I was thinking so with all those disclaimers.:smt082


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## 22skill (Jul 15, 2009)

Ok great thanks to all of you. I think those drills will help a lot and I will focus on doing 1 every day I head out to shoot.

Due to reasons outside of my control I can't really have another gun where I currently am...just shoot a 22 rifle and this 22 pistol, neither of which are mine. But I can use them various time in a given week.

I am living outside of the US but once I return, probably in a year, I will get a good defensive handgun. Cant wait. 

Also, I always use live ammunition to practice...take maybe 10 shots, then spend some time dry firing, then another 10 shots, etc...so that I dont go broke too fast.


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## PhilR. (Apr 25, 2007)

SaltyDog said:


> Hey phil are you a lawyer? - I was thinking so with all those disclaimers.:smt082


Ha ha!:mrgreen:

Actually, the disclaimers came about because there are people here with poor reading comprehension, and feel the need to correct a statement that was not incorrect to begin with. One example is the time I said that small handguns like snubbies were not designed with the intent of shooting at 25 yards, but instead were designed for concealment and defensive shooting. Then some guy comes on here and basically states I'm wrong, because he shoots his snubbies at 25 yards. It was like I said that one cannot shoot a snubbie at 25 yards, which I did not do (really, you can shoot your snubby at _any_ distance), and that person just had to come here and correct me. Happens here every now and then - people don't understand the difference between can't/won't, might/will, etc., so spelling out the obvious will hopefully prevent having to explain the kind of things that are instantly apparant to most of the rest of us......


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## PhilR. (Apr 25, 2007)

22skill said:


> Due to reasons outside of my control I can't really have another gun where I currently am...
> 
> *Can you state where you are? Don't need to of course, but as I have traveled to around 60 different countries on all of the inhabited continents, I always am interested in where people live or are from.*
> 
> ...


regards,
PhilR.


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## 22skill (Jul 15, 2009)

Sure, living in Central America currently. I was a Peace Corps volunteer and now work for an NGO. Yup....I was carrying around a friends rusty 22 rifle while I was in the Peace Corps a few years ago...good image huh

I dry fire the 22 but always with a used cartridge inside it so as not to damage the pin, as Ive read. If that is still bad please let me know...


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## Bisley (Aug 24, 2008)

Since you are obviously limited by the equipment that is available to you, your best bet is to just concentrate on basic marksmanship, and when you are able to get a serious handgun, you can also upgrade your training regimen.

Basically, the only thing you are really ever trying to accomplish, is the simple act of keeping your sight picture superimposed upon your target, during the trigger squeeze. If you do this, you will hit where you aim, if your gun is sighted correctly and your target is within its range. 

So, any drill you can conceive of that will help you to develop your concentration so that you can keep your trigger finger independent from the rest of your hand will improve your skills. There are ways to grip a handgun, and stances that aid in this process, but the goals are always the same - keeping the sights on the target until the bullet has cleared the muzzle.

Basically, start out shooting up close, and as it becomes too easy, extend the range so that you keep challenging yourself. If you can consistently hit a small target at a reasonable distance with a .22, you won't find it terribly difficult to transition into something like a 9mm, when the opportunity arises.


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## clanger (Jan 27, 2009)

The Gun is a Tool. Make it work for you.....regardless of caliber or type. 

Grip, sight pic, trigger control. Practice same live and dry firing. Stance is a matter of convenience.

Shooting is about Mindset, Tactics and Marksmanship. Identify your needs and goals and work to their ends. (defensive? target? etc.). 

Practice, practice, practice untill it all becomes second nature.


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