The Ordinary Citizen

This was supposed to be a set of 5, but I didn't eat enough for the past 2 weeks and once again failed my 5th rep. But intensity must increase so this coming week it'll be 410 for 2 sets of 3 reps. The struggle is real and it continues.

This morning's workout included some rack pulls at #405. Coming back from a minor back tweak, but all is going very well. I expect to be pulling this from the floor soon.

I like to practice fast strings, at increasing distances, to work on accuracy and recoil management. The payoff is being practiced at very quickly putting several rounds on target accurately, as an important self-defense skill. Pistols are little pop guns and do comparatively little damage to the human body and key organs. When the aim is to stop a threat--to stop an assailant from continuing to be able to inflict harm--multiple rounds accurately placed is very important to success. If one doesn't have the ability to shoot fast and accurate, the chance for unsuccessful defense and collateral damage go up dramatically. Hope you work this or similar drills in your weekly training. Training works.™

I do this drill every week. It presupposes that my primary hand/arm is injured and cannot be used, so I draw from concealment using my support/left hand, reorient the pistol, press out and put 2 rounds on target. It's good to be practiced at less-than-optimal techniques so that when you have to defend your life or the lives of others--and you're injured--it's not your first time to try and figure it out.

This is a simple drill for introducing dynamic movement and quickly acquiring a stable shooting platform and good sight picture. I'm using an 8" and 10" steel plate about 8 yards apart, at a distance of ~11 yards. Hope you give this one a try on a regular basis.

I seldom train in battle gear; only 2-3 times a year. This is because I'm an ordinary citizen so I carry and train from concealment almost all the time. BUT you gotta know you can run your own gear, so today was a battle-belt day and I was drawing from my Safariland ALS LVL II holster. These shots were somewhat slower than my usual, as I was going for precise hits and precision takes a couple hundredths of a second more to pull off (for me, anyway). These draws/hits were conducted at 10 yards. The group was pretty good, with one clear slight miss out of the 2.5"-3" target area. So MOAR TRAINING.

Keeping the fives going on heavy day. Next week is #395.

A Bill drill is typically 6 shots in the A-zone at 7 yards, from the holster. Today I was working at 10 yards from concealment--and on an 8"x12" silhouette plate, trying to stay under 2 seconds. Moar training.

Part of today's training: Shooting accurately while running to cover. Here are a handful of reps. These are done with a 12" plate at only 10 yards, but that's only because all the small plates were being used in a class. Shooting accurately while running is not particularly easy, but I'm having decent results. I hope to improve the speed at which I'm moving while maintaining accuracy. Also practice this left-handed.

The round count in my EDC Gen4 Glock 19 made it time to replace a number of parts, as part of normal periodic maintenance. The parts were: - recoil spring (every 5-10k rounds) - trigger spring (ever 10k rounds) - mag-catch spring (every 20k rounds) - slide-lock spring (every 10k rounds) - locking-block pin (every 20k rounds) These parts are cheap and easy to replace. Regular replacement of these important parts makes far more sense than risking a catastrophic failure when your life is on the line. Hope you find this video helpful for your own Glock maintenance efforts.

Here I'm just working a good draw and first shot on target, from concealment--followed by a precise transition to the other plate, and accurate hit. I want to be under 2 seconds, and mostly I am, but not always! Moar training.™

This morning's drill was meant to keep the round count low (only 2 shots per rep) in order to conserve ammo IN THESE TRYING TIMES.™ Two 6" plates at 20 and 22 yards respectively were the targets, draw from concealment at the beep and try to get both hits under 2.5 seconds. I recommend this drill because it requires you to focus on some important fundamentals, including those concerned with your body attitude in and after transition from one target to the next. Give this one a try; start at 7-10 yards and work your way out. Keep the target small--don't go for a 10" or 12" plate or paper target. Keep it at 6" or smaller.

Today's carbine drill was to practice maintining good shot placement while moving toward the target at around 20 to 15 yards, then move to a second firing position and quickly get good hits on target. I ran this particular drill 33 times this morning, moving both left and right.

Spent most of today's training running this lefty-draw & fire drill on a 10" steel plate. I'm a righty, so drawing from my EDC holster left handed requires reorienting the gun. Do that, press out, and in this drill I'm putting 2 rounds on target at 16 yards. It's a bit precarious, but I've run this drill thousands of times and I've got the transition down. But I need to keep practicing so I can stay competent!

Nine outta ten ain’t bad. Moar training.

Just a small vignette from Saturday's training. When the timer goes "beep," you gotta mow 'em down.

Here I'm just working getting on target quickly and putting rounds on two targets at different ranges. In this case: 10 yards and 6 yards, using 1/2-size torsos (with anatomical internals on paper). I think my times were averaging somewhere around 1.2 to 1.4 seconds. Hits were all good ...except for one I threw left a couple inches at 10 yards. Moar training! Dunno why I didn't close my dust cover after loading. Guess because I was thinking about videoing. smh

This is a fundamental drill for enganging from concealment. Two targets at 10 yards about 5 yards apart. Draw from concealment and put one round on each of the two plates in less than 2 seconds. Pretty simple, but requires well-ingrained fundamental mechanics.

I just got my new Safariland ALS holster to accommodate my pistol's light and red-dot optic and spent Saturday trying it out, getting used to the draw and position on my hip. All at 50 yards. I seldom work with an outside-the-waistband holster and the ALS's level II retention presents a whole new aspect to training for me. I had the opportunity to use the 50-yard range and was excited to get in some more difficult shot reps. After spending some time on the full-size silhouette plate, I spent around 150 rounds on the 12" plate at 50 yards, for time and accuracy. My accuracy was not what I hoped, but here are a couple of nice reps. Moar training! And yes, I was in a "bulking phase" with my diet and weight training. Nice big belly goin on!

This is one of my regular drills, involving two medium-sized plates at 15-20 yards (8" and 6" respectively). At the beep, draw from concealment and put one round on each plate In summer clothes, I like to have this at 2.1 or less. With winter clothes, like today, 2.5 is a good time for me. Give this one a try on a regular basis!

Today it's been roughly 10k rounds since I last replaced the slide-lock spring and the trigger spring. Since these springs get replaced every 10k rounds, it's time to do that!

Today I ran some deployment drills and basic manipulations with the Kel-Tec Sub-2000, as part of the evaluation of this gun for an upcoming review. This is the first time I've run the Sub-2000 and it's an interesting gun. Folds up to 16.25" x 7" for easy concealment and carry in a bag or ruck. I look forward to shooting this one more. Look for the review later this month on the Eagle Gun Range blog at https://www.eaglegunrangetx.com/blog/

For most of us, our homes are THE most dangers place we'll ever go. Home is where most of us are the most vulnerable and our homes are the sites of the most violent crimes perpetrated. If you only carry part of the time, make sure that you carry 100% of the time while at home, for reasons I explain here.

Here are a few insights and strategies to help ensure your everyday-carry system is sound, comfortable, concealed, and deployable. Relevant associated information can be found in my previous articles: Your Everyday-Carry Belt - https://www.eaglegunrangetx.com/your-everyday-carry-belt/ Organization Options for Your EDC Kit - http://shootymcbeardface.com/org-options-for-your-edc-kit.html

This video is part of the article: EDC Skills: One-Handed Pistol Reload at Eagle Gun Range blog: https://www.eaglegunrangetx.com/edc-skills-one-handed-pistol-reload/ This is just a demonstration for how to effect a one-handed reload with either your support hand or your strong hand.