Trigger time? Unholster/reholster practice?

[kenjimatic]

There isn't any range, that I know of, who lets customers practice drawing and reholstering their weapon. I decided to get the Sig P229 gas blow back pistol, from KJW. It's the same size as the real thing and fits my super tuck and my safariland duty holster. It's pretty fun and it really helps with drawing. I didn't think I was that slow(due to hollywood). I got the propane alternative so I didn't have to use the expensive green gas. I don't mind the smell as long as I shoot outside. I say it's good up to about 10 yards. I guess it'll save on gas/range fee also

[RRichie09]

Awesome. I'm thinking about getting the same in a P226 version. How is the trigger? I'm assume its nothing like the real think, especially in DA?

[sequoia_nomad]

Very interesting, I too am interested in the trigger pull. Fwiw, you can shoot on most public land where safe (Blm, Usfs) with no stupid range rules.

[kenjimatic]

The DA trigger isn't that hard(compared to the real thing), just longer pull. It field strips just like the real one. The airsoft one has a very light recoil spring and I'm too used to racking the real one, that I'm afraid I might break it .

[adrenaline]

I was up at El Dorado NF this weekend doing exactly that. It was really nice to hit my target after drawing and then rehostering. Having a USP SA/DA.... (just got my LTC)... and carrying in DA, I was drawing, firing single shot, decocking, reholstering....then repeating.

It definitely takes the boredom out of just shooting paper. and reminded me of....

[paul0660]

Very interesting, I too am interested in the trigger pull. Fwiw, you can shoot on most public land where safe (Blm, Usfs) with no stupid range rules.

I think stupid is overstating it, but there are of course many places where you can practice your draw, including some membership ranges.

[BamBam-31]

I practiced my draw and presentation, complete with trigger pull at a small target on the wall, with my unloaded Glock. Threw in a bunch of mag changes as well.

[SuperSet]

I'm with BamBam. Not sure why you need an airsoft gun for drawing practice. You only need live fire to learn recoil control. The rest can be done dry fire using your unloaded pistol.

[kenjimatic]

@ superset
True, but there's also trigger time. It's not the same trigger pull but won't it be the same if you are shooting 2 different guns. The recoil is similar to a .22. Besides I can punch paper in my backyard and not worry about range fee's or driving 1hr+

[RRichie09]

Yeah, dry firing won't really tell you if you were on target. I don't just want to practice drawing the pistol. I want to get on target as soon as possible.

[SuperSet]

Understood. Even though it's not part of my regimen, airsoft can be extremely valuable practice. If you look for Rhino Tactical's video on airsoft practice regimen, you can get the most out of it.

[Voo]

@ superset
True, but there's also trigger time. It's not the same trigger pull but won't it be the same if you are shooting 2 different guns. The recoil is similar to a .22. Besides I can punch paper in my backyard and not worry about range fee's or driving 1hr+

You should get most of your drawstroke/presentation practice without firing a live round.

Drawing the gun should be just that.. reaching down and grabbing it from the holster in a smooth, consistent manner and then bringing it up to whatever 'ready' position you want.

Your practice should start with simply drawing the gun and presenting it to eye level. There shouldnt' be any firing done until you're competent with doing this. The action of drawing the gun is not the same action as firing the gun. It's a combination effort to draw and shoot- practicing both before mastering either is a poor way to learn. What happens typically is that people quickly plateau in terms of speed and wonder why/how the competitions guys are so fast.

It's all about how you approach it. Sure you'll get results, but are you maximizing your potential or just ingraining bad habits?

Just food for thought as there's no one "best" way to practice. I just think how you approach it will more often than not dictate how well you'll do against others who also practice.

[kenjimatic]

@ voo
Yes. You are correct. I do noticed that after a few mags I started to not look through my sites to shoot and noted to not make it a habit. It, did, suppressed the feeling of wanting to go to the range but obviously it still isn't the same as shooting the real thing.

[BillCA]

For the most part, I agree with Voo.

Our mantra, learning to shoot, then learning to draw, then learning to put the two together was the old adage "Slow is smooth, smooth is fast."

IN real terms, that translates into moving slowly at first. Each stage of the drill is practiced and repeated several times before moving to the next stage.

For instance, we practiced acquiring our stance while moving our hand to acquire a proper grip on the gun. Most of us still used revolvers so the holsters varied from a low-ride "swivel" holster to belt holsters, Bianchi "Breakfronts" to highrise belt holsters. Each student took their stance and was corrected as needed. Then we check the grip, ensuring a complete grip and finger off the trigger. The idea was to correct and practice the proper movement up to ten times before moving on.

The next stage was to release retention devices, draw the firearm and bring it to meet the weak hand. All done very slowly. Start from zero, get stance, grip. Then release, draw and present to the weak hand. Again, instructors correct for errors like jerking or wiggling the gun out or unsafe muzzle directions (including pointing at the weak hand). The final stage was from the meeting of the hands, to present, acquire target (aim) and prepare to fire (finger on trigger). These steps were done slowly and until the class was performing each step without errors, we repeated the sections.

We then took a day off and let our minds process this "new" information (some of us had bad habits to correct). Then slow drill as the instructor counts off the steps, this time walking through the entire sequence. When he was satisfied, he would pick up the pace. After doing this about 30 times it becomes easier to do the steps "on autopilot".

After another day's rest we'd load six rounds. The instructor walked us through the steps, slowly at first up to "present-Aim". Then came "Fire". One round, retain position, observe suspect reaction. Reholster and start again, moving a bit faster. By the sixth round it was a slow, smooth draw and fire operation.

Why not fire every time? Practice like you fight, fight like you practice. If you fire every time you condition yourself to that end. So what happens when your perp sees you drawing and throws up his hands saying "Don't shoot"? By drawing a line between presenting the gun and firing, even a small delay, we reinforce the idea that firing is a separate, last decision point before firing.

Working for a limited time and then "resting" (as in sleep) allows the mind to absorb and organize the lesson better than doing it all in a single day. This is true whether you go to Gunsight or practice on your own. Fatiguing yourself allows mistakes (shortcuts, laziness) to creep in. Pick up your practice and repeat it before moving on and correct any mistakes you find.

That slow work translates into smooth, "natural" movements for you. If your movements feel natural you can execute them smoothly without errors. With some practice, you can build speed, sometimes blazingly fast speed.

"Practice don't make perfect. Perfect practice makes perfect."
-- Coach Vince Lombardi

[iareConfusE]

One reason why I started thinking about airsoft as a training alternative was for learning to shoot on the move. Yeah, there won't be any recoil and no loud bang, but instead of just practicing drawing from a standing, static position, what about drawing from non-ideal positions and shooting while on the move? You can pretend to go bang all you want, but the plastic BB projectile, however slow it is at least serves to give you a general idea of how well your point and shoot technique is doing while moving (at a limited range of course). Additionally, instead of having to rack the slide or cock the hammer back each time to actually dry fire, you'll be able to practice with a very similar manual of arms using a gas powered airsoft gun, and it won't interrupt your shooting on the move practice.

I can practice walking around my room and saying bang bang bang all day, and I won't flinch a single bit when dry firing at home, but it's totally different at the range and in competition especially. Honeslty airsoft is just about the closest analog to real firearms you'll get when speaking in terms of just practicing in your backyard. Obviously you wouldn't be focusing on how the trigger feels, or how to manage the recoil, but you could at least work on reaction drills and see where your first points of impact are.

You can probably set up a typical IDPA course in your backyard using cardboard targets and shoot them with your airsoft gun without issue, but you obviously can't do that with a real firearm. Until my local range allows me to run around on the firing line shooting at targets, airsoft seems like the next best alternative to getting real (expensive) live fire training at an institution.