Hierarchy of Skills

[Paladin]

"Hierarchy of Skills

We all know that we must train in, and
establish and maintain, competency in
both mental and physical fighting skills.
Without the mental skills, the physical
skills (gunhandling and marksmanship)
will be of no value. In this
discussion though, let’s focus on
the physical skills we need to master.
For most of us, training time is limited, and we have to budget our time to
give us the maximum benefit from our efforts. I believe there are two categories of shooting skills: critical skills and secondary skills. Critical skills are those that are almost certainly going to be involved in any self defense shooting situation. Secondary skills are not less important, they are simply less likely to be needed. If you’re the guy who has to pull off a secondary skill to survive, you’d better be able to do it! By categorizing the skills, we simply learn which ones we need to spend the bulk of our training time on, and remind ourselves to occaisionally work on the others.

CRITICAL SKILLS- The following short list of skills must be mastered. This
requires proper training, and a fair bit of practice, both live and dry fire.

The Presentation- You will not be wandering around a modern city with a
gun in your hand! For social and political reasons, as well as tactical considerations, your gun will be concealed on your person. You can’t do anything with it until you produce it. You must be able to present your pistol from concealment quickly, efficiently, and safely.

Movement Off Line- As you present the weapon, you may need to displace
from the spot that bullets, blades, or clubs are headed toward. You must be able to move without disrupting your presentation.

Rapid Target Acquisition- The other guy is not waiting his turn—his turn is concurrent with yours. You must be able to reliably place several rounds quickly and accurately in the vital area of your assailant before he does the same to you. You must be able to do this under varied lighting conditions.

Reloading- You should be familiar with both Speed Reloads and Emergency Reloads. If your gun runs out, fix it, quickly.

Malfunction Clearance- Your gun is actually more likely to malfunction during a fight than in practice. You should be programmed to quickly fix stoppages and get back in the fight.

SECONDARY SKILLS- Once the skills listed above are mastered,the following skills should be learned, and practiced.

Firing with One Hand- Hits to hands and forearms are very common. You
should be able to deliver controlled, accurate fire with either hand.

Longer Ranges- The ability to hit at extended distances can be very comforting. You should be able to reliably hit a torso sized target out to at least 50 yards.

Flashlight Use- This skill is far more important in the police/military context, but a private citizen should be familiar with a couple of flashlight/pistol shooting techniques.

Use of Cover- In short range personal confrontations, cover may be unavailable or beyond reach. In situations where there is any warning, however, early movement to cover can be a life-saver. You need to know how to use cover properly, however.

Position Shooting- Shooting positions other than Standing (Kneeling, Double Kneeling, Prone) can be very useful under certain circumstances. You should be familiar with their application.

In every practice session, spend the bulk of your time working on Critical Skills. Devote some time each practice session to one or two Secondary Skills. Overtime, you will develop a complete repertoire of skills, and one day you may be very glad you did."

http://www.rangemaster.com/newsletter/M ... letter.pdf

[lrb111]

Good Stuff, and a good link.
Thanks!

[WNallG30]

Good reminder Paladin. I've started doing alot more when my brother and I go out shooting. I'm not just shooting at stationary targets as much. We have a pit that we shoot at and we've set up multiple reactive plate targets, and some large torso targets along the wall so we have varying targets to shoot at and don't get too used to a single type. I've also been hitting my brother up to teach me what he learns at the PD range everytime he goes. The rangemaster here is really good and my brother passes along advice from him to me.

[flintknapper]

Spot on!


Excellent advice.