3 Defensive Handgun Drills That Will Keep You Alive

The next three defensive handgun drills can greatly improve your shooting abilities — and keep you alive.

Defensive Handgun Drills (#2): Off The X

Safety!

So instead, use the”return drill.”
The shooter starts with a weapon hidden and holstered. RSO or signal goes off and drill begins. Shooter moves to the left, right, backward or even forward. Forward movement is not to move toward the poor man, but only to pay. Moving in a diagonal pattern is often the best method; you could get away and move from the line of sight to the poor guy.
The point of this drill is to draw, get your gun on goal, and move hard and fast from the line of sight of the goal. You may change this drill in multiple ways. Add obstacles and cover. Have someone place cover randomly with no prior knowledge and have your back turned to the participation area. Again, 99 percent of the drill can be efficiently learned without the use of live ammo. If ammo is used, be safe.

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If you do not have a second person, I suggest placing a full magazine of ammo minus one round into a plastic container of some type. Then toss a dummy round in. Now load one round at a time without looking at the ammunition and try to focus on something else.
These are merely three easy defensive handgun drills you can practice easily and safely to gain some experience. These drills can teach you a variety of different skills and survival methods, and you can practice them with little instruction. For more advanced maneuvers I propose a live fire training course on a dynamic selection.

Over the last few years, I’ve issued various opinion pieces on many different guns, types of firearms, drills, and different practice procedures. In that time I’ve attended a quite a couple of training classes, and I’ve also become certified as an NRA pistol instructor and have started hosting my own courses and class (NRA and non-NRA).
The shooter starts with a pistol holstered and concealed. Hands at the side. The range safety officer chooses when the drill starts.

Defensive Handgun Drills (#1): Get Back

This drill is remarkably simple but does require another person, or a little creativity. The point of this drill is to practice engaging targets and dealing with malfunctions. So have someone load your magazines for you and utilize a dummy round or snap cap randomly placed in the magazines.

At the RSO’s command, the shooter draws the weapon and moves backward. Engage the goal with two shots at the middle mass, head or pelvic girdle. Keep shooting until you create these two shots. Actually yelling”return” will make it a habit and serve as a verbal warning if it ever comes up in an investigation.
This one is often difficult to practice live, but the main point isn’t to score shots with this drill. Dry functions for 99 percent of the drill. That 1 percent of marksmanship clinic can be accomplished elsewhere.

Here, I’ve chosen to counter a particular method of training I believe is dangerous and irresponsible. I have seen other educators proclaiming that when shooting defensively, you should move toward the bad guy and shoot at the exact same time. This is foolish.

What advice would you add concerning defensive handgun drills? Share it in the comments section below:

Here are three defensive handgun drills that can greatly improve your shooting skills — and keep you alive:
Keep your gun up after every drill. What I mean is this: once you fire a successful series in a drill, make it a habit to keep your weapon trained on the target. Too often, I see people fire a drill and drop their weapon into a low close or ready ready, or even holster their weapon. When you practice like this, you can expect to battle like this. You may drop your weapon after firing a perceived successful drill. Keep your gun up and keep ready to engage.

Practice engaging targets with double taps; the more targets the better. As you won’t know the placement of the dummy round, it will come as a surprise. This will let you practice clearing jams with live fire involved.
The safety aspect cannot be stressed enough. If you are not comfortable when it comes to a certain maneuver, just don’t do it. Seek additional training and require more time to practice if necessary. Never do anything you are uncomfortable doing.
“This guy made you fear for your life, so you chose to approach him as you shot him? And you’re scared of him, huh?” says the prosecutor.
Approaching a bad man during a defensive gun situation is a bad idea all around. Putting distance between you and the bad guy takes you from his range and gives you a opportunity to get away. Getting away is living. Rushing toward an enemy could also be misconstrued in a court.