Holster training and Dot Torture

edgy

edgy

CGN frequent flyer
Rating - 100%
79   0   0
Location
chilliwack, bc
The wife and I went to the range yesterday to meet fellow CGN'er Still Alive for some holster training! We just received our first holsters, so it was time to try them out. We spent the first hour and a bit just learning proper draw technique and re holstering drills, with a ton of good info from Still Alive. Once we were comfortable and safely drawing and holstering it was time to load the mags.
I don't know how many of you remember the first time you had a loaded gun with one in the chamber at your side, but it certainly sharpens your senses,lol, and narrows your focus.
The wife really passed a mental hurdle with flying colours, she had said many times over the last few weeks that she didn't think she could carry her 1911 "cocked and locked" but would rather rack a round every time,lol. When the time came, she just did it, trusting in Still Alive's instruction, and not overthinking it.
Then it was " dot torture" time! What a great drill to build confidence, and even though I shot like ####, I wasn't worried, just concentrating more on the overall process than accuracy, and I have no doubt my scores will improve next time.
Overall, a great day of pistol training from an excellent teacher, a big thanks to Still Alive for your time and patience, and when I shoot my first competition i will be even more thankful for the awesome instruction!
As a bonus, I got to shoot a Beretta for the first time, what a great pistol, enjoyed it immensely !
I hope all you new shooters have the opportunity to be mentored by fellow CGN'ers, with the experience and knowledge of Still Alive, we have met a few great local people thru here, can't say enough good things about this community :)
 
Just curious. Having taken a holster course did you get any info you found surprising? Anything unexpected?

There are those that argue a chimp could draw and reholster with zero chance of mishap, and those that say some holster training is a benefit.

Would like your take on whether it's useful training or not (not suggesting anything about Still Alive's teaching).
 
Yogi05 said:
Just curious. Having taken a holster course did you get any info you found surprising? Anything unexpected?

There are those that argue a chimp could draw and reholster with zero chance of mishap, and those that say some holster training is a benefit.

Would like your take on whether it's useful training or not (not suggesting anything about Still Alive's teaching).
Click to expand...
I think for me personally, a lot of it is common sense, and you can watch hundreds of videos on it, but having an experienced instructor helped me more in the mental areas, breaking down and analyzing the process.and many little things that make a difference, proper hand placement, etc. I honestly think I am WAY more comfortable now than I would have been had I just learned by myself, that's my take on it anyway :)
 
Glad you had a great time, local gun club Abby Fish & Game has handgun training usually on friday/saturday nights which you could greatly benefit from.

http://activeshooter.ca/

One of the instructors is moderator Slavex here on the forum, I went to a skills and drills night and wow total night and day change in my pistol shooting.

Get a good turn out of male and female shooters, so your wife and you would feel right at home among the crowd.

The dot torture test is promoted by Rob and the other shooters and even I myself use it for training.

dot-torture-image.jpg


Glad you and your wife had a great time and keep on enjoying the sport together. :)

I also swap between 1911's and Beretta (Girsan copy right now) they are just great feeling and shooting pistols.

Thanks to Rob's (Slavex) instruction, I went from 4-8 inch groups (including random jerked shots) at 15 yards to now being able to stack 10 rounds together in a jagged rectangle.
 
Yogi05 said:
Just curious. Having taken a holster course did you get any info you found surprising? Anything unexpected?

There are those that argue a chimp could draw and reholster with zero chance of mishap, and those that say some holster training is a benefit.

Would like your take on whether it's useful training or not (not suggesting anything about Still Alive's teaching).
Click to expand...


It's very useful if you want to shoot in competitions that require drawing from the holster while on the clock. IPSC, IDPA and cowboy action are examples of events that have that need.



One thing for sure, drawing a loaded gun and presenting it for that first round sure does focus one's mind on EXACTLY where their trigger finger and safety thumb is and when they engage... :d We don' need no leaky legs ! ! ! ! :d
 
One thing for sure, drawing a loaded gun and presenting it for that first round sure does focus one's mind on EXACTLY where their trigger finger and safety thumb is and when they engage... We don' need no leaky legs ! ! ! !
Lol, my legs are pretty skinny, there is a good chance I would miss them hahaha, but it's not a chance I'm willing to take! I will take instruction whenever it is available :)
 
edgy said:
I think for me personally, a lot of it is common sense, and you can watch hundreds of videos on it, but having an experienced instructor helped me more in the mental areas, breaking down and analyzing the process.and many little things that make a difference, proper hand placement, etc. I honestly think I am WAY more comfortable now than I would have been had I just learned by myself, that's my take on it anyway :)
Click to expand...

Well said. (I am in the 'training is valuable' camp.)
 
All training presented by a *competent* instructor is worthwhile whether it be a simple refresher or new material. There is always something to be learned or improved upon when given good instruction.
 
Hunh.... I expected a lot of the "it's not rocket science" people to chime in on how unnecessary any holster training is.

I personally feel re-holstering is where the danger is. We get used to one way use of holsters because in the various competitions you are often shooting until empty before re-holstering.

Shirts, hoodie draw strings, deformed leather holsters all make re-holstering a loaded pistol a different challenge of sorts.
 
I'm very careful on reholstering. Every time.

I think draw and reholster training is EXTREMELY useful if it's good training. Of course, most training is extremely useful if it's good training. But sorting out the good from the bad is often difficult and unfortunately, by the time you know enough to tell good from bad, you've probably put a lot of time and money into bad training, too. But that's life, I guess.

Tough to argue with Dot Torture and a 4-beat draw, though.
 
Yogi05 said:
Hunh.... I expected a lot of the "it's not rocket science" people to chime in on how unnecessary any holster training is.

I personally feel re-holstering is where the danger is. We get used to one way use of holsters because in the various competitions you are often shooting until empty before re-holstering.

Shirts, hoodie draw strings, deformed leather holsters all make re-holstering a loaded pistol a different challenge of sorts.
Click to expand...

I don't shoot in 3 gun events. But that is the only one I can think of where you might be holstering a loaded gun while on the clock.

All the rest of the events out there never involve holstering the gun during a stage. And the one time you do holster during the "load and make ready" we have all the time in the world to do it slowly and safely.

And while things can happen in a hurry I would expect that anyone with half a brain would retire a holster which is getting tattered and deformed.

But yes, you are certainly right that holstering is where a lot of the danger is. It's about equal to someone inserting their trigger finger while the gun is still being drawn and pointed down into the user's leg and feet. It pays to take our time and do it right and safe.

The Dot torture drill does involve frequent re-holstering of the loaded gun. But again it's not on the clock and no one is pushing to do it fast. In fact the dot torture isn't a timed drill at all. So again there's no excuse for not re-holstering between the steps in a safe and slow paced manner.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom