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In the video below, self-proclaimed actor, filmmaker and firearms trainer Robert Arrizon (above) practices his shooting skills in the desert. One thing I noticed: he doesn’t move and shoot. Whenver I’m shooting outside a square range. I’m practicing drawing, moving and shooting. Left to right, right to left, moving backwards, moving forwards. And then do it all again, reloading on the move. Handgun-wise, at a square range (sigh) I start by . . .

loading a single round and shooting slow fire at a target three yards away. When I’m confident I remember how to fire a gun, I’ll load up more rounds and try to shoot them all through a single hole. Then I’ll move the target back to combat distance (seven yards) and continue to slow fire with a full mag. And then I’ll rapid fire a random number bullets. And then a mag dump. And then Mozambique (two the chest rapid fire, one to the head slower fire).

What’s your training routine, handgun and/or rifle, indoors or out?

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46 COMMENTS

    • My analogy is this.

      My mother is a CPR instructor. She knows the techniques down pat and is very good at teaching them. She’s never done it on a real person.

      I have received one CPR lesson in the PD training and I’ve done it on about a dozen people.

      If I were to have to pick between me ma and myself giving a CPR lesson, I’d pick her every time. Just because I have more real world experience than she does does not mean I’m a better person to teach it.

    • I have been in more than a few as a civilian, the military and as law enforcement and I look for valuable training all the time and it doesn’t always come from those who have had to use it. In this video’s case, its a matter of what not to do, but that’s ok too.

      and if you haven’t evacuated your colon, most of us will be OK with you shitting your pants in your first combat experience, but civilians and cops frown upon it.

  1. Alas I am limited to shooting paper at an indoor range. But I usually start with 1 shot 2 pull to ward off trigger control issues right away. Gets me to just relax and smile. Then my EDC and I just have some fun. If only there were a nice place to outdoor steel shoot in SE VA.

  2. I make excuses to not go to the range, then I watch youtube videos and disparage others with my armchair operator credentials.

  3. One question…I’m Modern Technique trained, so I kinda wince at using the slide stop/release, but what’s the point of flinging the magazines? Either they’ll drop free empty or not, and moving the gun with that jerkiness seems less controlled than simply putting them in the dirt in front of you.

    • I’ve taken courses from Gunsite and I’ve read just about everything I can find written by Col. Cooper, but I have abandoned 2 things in my study. First, the weaver stance. I’m just much more mobile with the isosceles. But more recently, the “slingshot” technique of releasing the slide, which I previously took as a practically religious observance.
      I took a course with Bill Wilson, and agreed to at least experiment with the slide release after he suggested it. For months I struggled with it, and was convinced that the slingshot method was better. But when I really started to measure everything, he was right, the slide release was the way to go. Not only was it much faster, but it actually had fewer malfunctions, not more.
      I know the counter argument, when I am under real stress I’ll miss the release. I don’t buy that. That’s what training is for, to overcome those issues. I’ve been in combat and performed lots of tasks that require more dexterity than that, because I trained them. I also found that, again, I actually had fewer malfunctions with the slide release than the slingshot technique. I’ve finally made the transition to using the slide release as my primary, and the slingshot as my secondary if something goes wrong.

      • FYI in none of my classes at gunsite or the materials did I learn the “slingshot” method. It was always palm&fingers with thumb facing me.

        • I refer to the “slingshot method” in reference to manipulating the slide as a whole, instead of just using the release. I was taught, and used, whole hand on the slide as well, but I’ve abandoned it.

  4. His gear/setup has LOTS of problems… Maybe he needs to load his mags with more bullets, and do press checks BEFORE starting a drill. That way his gear will work when he needs it to.

  5. Naked and drunk because that’s how it’s going to happen IRL. (That’s a joke for those that don’t understand humor).

    I focus on fundamentals. Maybe one day I’ll graduate to operating operationally like an operator.

  6. I like to hide targets behind obstacles. This forces movement in order to get on the target. It also trains one to think and observe, rather than just shoot. This effect is really pronounced if you can find a friend to hide the targets for you. But it works passably well even by oneself.
    Thankfully, I don’t have to shoot at a square range…

  7. Well, I start off by lobbing a few smoke grenades in the direction of the enemy. Then I lay down some suppressive fire with a Colt 1895 “Potato Digger.” Then, I charge up San Juan Hill on my horse Traveler while yelling “Bully!”

    After I’ve surrounded and captured the entire enemy battalion, I celebrate by performing a flawless Mozambique on their CO with a Colt M1892, just for giggles. I then chug a cold Cerveza Hatuey that I’ve been saving for just such an occasion, while gorgeous women fight over who gets my attention first.

    I’m thinking that my fantasies are better than yours.

  8. Shooting ears of corn . My youngest daughter lives in a neighboring city , and being a CPA traveling the East coast has little time to meet up for training .She has a DA snub .38 ( ya I know spare me ) after 20 rounds she tires of it .

    Until I hung an ear over target ,first shot 7 yards , creamed corn ! Soon she burned through a box hitting ears at 7 plus yards .

    Sure no operator is going to pay for,that , then again I would not want to be coming through her door either .

  9. Head out to the range. Set my target at 10 yrds. Load up. Blast away for a few hundred rounds. Get most into a ragged 12″ circle. Get bored and head home. Pretty much it.

  10. Surplus stuffed animals, soccerballs, and toy cars either tossed, rolled, or stationary while on the move. Then shooting stationary at a stationary target before finishing up with stationary shots on a moving target.

  11. I don’t “train” often. When I do it’s draw and fire drills, a few malfunction drills and when I include movement it’s get to cover, assess and then fire.

    I don’t practice shooting whilemoving at all and for a simple reason: I’ve done it and I get the occasional flyer. That doesn’t matter on the range but IRL I’m not in a combat zone and not protected like a cop. As such, being responsible for every round I fire I try not to engrain habits that increase my chances of creating stray bullets.

    Could I train more to potentially eliminate that? Yes. But I have not the time nor the inclination to do so.

  12. If all you’ve ever done is shoot paper, I highly recommend playing some paintball. Whether you’re playing hyperball, hopper ball, or woodsball, you’ll learn A LOT of things you haven’t considered or can’t experience fully at the range.

    Stamina, fitness, functioning under stress, using cover vs. concealment, and communication with a team are all great skills you can learn. The $$$ is quite reasonable if you rent your gear. The only gear I would recommend you buy if you get hooked is paintball pants (you can find them used for cheap). To get the most out of paintball, go with at least one buddy that is also interested in “training”, so at least you have someone you can train with, otherwise you’ll be likely stuck with kids or teens. I mean you can train solo and it’s still a valuable experience.

    If you really want to get the most out of paintball and self-defense firearms training, you get a bunch of shooting enthusiasts together and go as a team to challenge your teamwork against others, or better, rent a field for yourselves for a few hours so you can turn it into more of a self defense training course and really learn some things together.

    It’s certainly less expensive than a simunitions class (but if you can afford that, go for it) but a lot of the basics and techniques will be transferable. At the very least you’ll learn your physical limitations quickly and gain some confidence when it comes to moving, shooting, and situational awareness (or lack of).

    • You can also buy “realistic” or tactical paintball guns: rifles, smgs, and pistols that fit in standard holsters so you can practice all the normal shooting mechanical skills (drawing from holster, etc.) to heighten the training / muscle memory aspect. I believe they make a decent walther clone that comes with magazines and air canisters.

  13. I think its fake news. When I lived in Az. You need a hunting license to shoot in the desert period. Fish and game let me know it. I did get away.

  14. I’m still curious. Other than a hobby or training for a competition, what exactly is the point of “tactical carbine training” for civilians?

    • Some of the CQB and mindset training transfers over to home defense pretty well. Depending on your home’s layout you may need a lil of that to get to loved ones and evac them to your alamo point while operating operationally in a high tempo operations environment off the X. Still though in all seriousness some of those skills and TTPs (Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures) come in handy in home defense and getting to and from loved ones on the other side of your house during a home invasion. Honestly you probably won’t ever need it unless you are under sustained deliberate attack, foreign government invasion of your area, or SHTF and you’re tryin to scavenge supplies from an abandoned building but still better to have the skillset and not need it than to need it and not have it.

      • Damn. I keep forgetting to tell my family where the Alamo point is. I’m going to write myself a sticky note right now.

        • Also grab some VS17 panels to mark the LZ after you call in a 9 line on any casualties you take during the assault.

  15. Too old for run and gun. I shoot a rifle mostly off the bench with a front rest and rear bag. Concentrate on breathing and trigger pull with the ultimate goal of either shooting bug holes at 100yds or ringing steel at 1000yds. Aim small miss small. Just getting back into pistol shooting and have not developed a regimine yet for that but leaning toward multiple target engagement utilizing boarding house rules and DVC.

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