Firearms Training: So What Do I Need to Learn?

If you agree with my premise that firearms training is the responsible thing to do, then you next need to determine how much training you need. The primary purpose of training is to measure your abilities against some pre-defined standard of performance. In the case of required training, such as what is included in Ohio’s concealed carry law, the performance standard is established by lawmakers. In other cases, the standard is determined by some governing body—such as the NRA—or by the school or instructor providing the training.

For Ohio concealed carry training, the minimum “standard” established in law is that individuals must be able to:

• Name, explain, and demonstrate the rules for safe handling of a handgun and proper storage practices for handguns and ammunition;
• Demonstrate and explain how to handle ammunition in a safe manner;
• Demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and attitude necessary to shoot a handgun in a safe manner;
• Demonstrate proper gun-handling.

Many other states have similar requirements.

Instructors certify that students have successfully met the minimum standards by issuing a competency certificate. To receive this certificate, individuals undergoing training must take a written examination and participate in live-fire range exercises where they show they understand the required information and procedures.

Notice that Ohio’s mandated requirements do not include shooting proficiency. Instead the emphasis is on safety. The law-makers don’t want anyone to accidentally/negligently shoot themselves or someone else and they don’t want anyone—such as unsupervised children or adults prohibited by law from firearms possession—to get their hands on a gun and/or ammunition.

Firearms instructors are encouraged to expand on these minimum requirements and they usually do. At LongMeadows Shooting School, we include a minimum shooting proficiency requirement—specifically being able to place five consecutive shots into a 10-inch circle from a minimum distance of three yards—and it is surprising the number of people that struggle to achieve this objective.

For you the question should be what is the “standard” that you should measure your ability to defend yourself against? While there is no established standard for this, one that I and many other instructors would consider adequate is the ability to draw a handgun from concealment and place three shots into a 3-inch circle from a distance of three yards in three seconds—the “3-3-3-3” standard. If you can consistently do this, then you are probably at a suitable level of competency to be comfortable that you will be able to successfully defend yourself. This “standard” has three elements to it—speed, accuracy, and distance.

Speed is a combination of how quickly you can access your gun from where it is, point it at the target, and then manipulate it to deliver the shots. Dennis Tueller, a Salt Lake City police sergeant and the creator of the “Tueller Drill”, has shown that a determined attacker armed with a knife can get to you in 1.5 seconds from a distance of 7 yards, so you must be able to recognize what is occurring and respond to protect yourself within that timeframe.

While some instructors do include training on how to draw a handgun from concealment during their basic concealed carry courses, most find it difficult to do this while also covering all of the other material that is required and to accomplish it within the time allocated for the course. In the most advanced NRA pistol courses— “Personal Protection Outside the Home” and “Defensive Pistol”—just the portion covering the different methods of concealed carry and how to select the appropriate holster, etc., takes about an hour of classroom instruction and additional time at the range practicing the procedure.

Practice is important because the goal is to minimize the amount of time it takes to draw the gun and get it pointed in the right direction. Ideally you should be able to do this in 1-1.5 seconds, leaving you just 1.5-2 seconds to deliver those three accurate shots to the target required to meet the “3-3-3-3” standard. The various concealed carry options require varying amounts of time to access the gun.

Given that you cannot walk around with your gun in your hand all the time, experience has shown that the most efficient and least time-consuming method is to carry your handgun in a holster—either outside-the-waistband (OWB) or inside-the-waistband (IWB)—on the strong side of your body. Accessing your handgun is complicated by the fact that it must be carried concealed — i.e. under or inside some sort of clothing or case. Thus, practice is required not only in getting the gun out of the holster (or pocket/case) quickly, but also doing so while not getting the gun caught or snagging it on anything.

While speed is important, it is probably more important to focus your attention on accuracy first—speed can come later. Accurately shooting a handgun is heavily dependent on your hand-and-eye coordination to bring it up into your line-of-sight, point it to where you want your bullets to strike, place any safety controls in the proper position to allow the gun to function, and hold it steady while you press the trigger and fire it.

This is where those things like grip, stance, sight-alignment/sight-picture, hold control, breath control, trigger control, and follow-through come into play. A basic requirement is to get the front sight on the target where you want your bullets to hit it. If you do not, you will not hit your target at the intended place. Indeed, you may not hit it at all, and a miss doesn’t do anything for you in bringing a life-threatening situation to a successful conclusion and could make the situation worse if your bullet hits an innocent bystander!

Gary Evens is an NRA-Certified Instructor and Range Safety Officer.