Indoor and Outdoor Ranges
Most pistol shooters are recreational weekend shooters who love to go to the range to relax and enjoy the company of friends and the solitude of being one with their guns. “Plinking” is a general term used to describe a casual, fun shooting environment where one may set up random targets, such as soda pop cans and bottles, fruit, eggs, and other objects. This is a typical occurrence on many private and public outdoor ranges.
Formal indoor ranges generally only allow paper targets, which must be purchased from the store. At both indoor and outdoor ranges, there are safety officers who ensure that shooters are staying safe.
Hunting
Many hunters use pistols to take all sorts of game, from varmints like coyotes to small game, such as squirrel, all the way up to large game, such as feral hogs. There are expert resources, such as the NRA’s The American Hunter magazine, if you’d like to learn more.
Practical Shooting
When I started shooting, it was at an indoor range at a static line with the typical bench arrangement, with shooting lanes and booths. I got bored pretty quickly shooting at paper targets standing still in a booth. It wasn’t until I started training for Top Shot that I discovered the practical-shooting sports world, which includes shooting from a holster and other fun scenarios.
These sports are open to anyone who is of a responsible age, and mental and legal capacity, to use a firearm. It is a fantastic opportunity to shoot with pros and amateurs alike. All pros start off as amateurs, including me. The only way you get better at anything is by surrounding yourself with people better than you.
I started off shooting two different types of disciplines: 1) IDPA and 2) USPSA. Both of these disciplines have shooters wearing holsters for their pistol and magazines who run through courses shooting at cardboard, steel, and moving targets. While IDPA is for pistols only, USPSA and shooting sports sponsored by other organizations, such as the IPSC (International Practical Shooting Confederation), include rifles and shotgun competitions. I remember seeing a match at my local range and didn’t know how to get involved. Thankfully, I asked someone, and, to be expected, they were very nice and encouraged me to join.
To get involved in any practical shooting sport, head to that organization’s website and search for ranges in your area that organize matches. Contact the range to inquire further about additional training or certifications you may need to obtain. For example, my home range requires a six-hour safe-gun handling course, where you are trained how to shoot safely from a holster and on the move. Only after you complete this course can you compete in IDPA or USPSA matches.
The NRA and USA Shooting, amongst other organizations, also sponsor “bullseye” competitions. Bullseye pistol competitions are shot one-handed and require intense amounts of focus and discipline.
Cowboy action and silhouette competitions are also very popular pistol sports.
One more practical-shooting option is 3-gun shooting, a relatively new shooting sport. In 3-gun shooting, competitors “run and gun,” using a pistol, rifle, and shotgun to complete courses of fire. Like many shooting sports, 3-gun shooting is scored on a formula using time and points scores. USPSA and 3-Gun Nation are two organizations that manage 3-gun competitions and can provide more information about this sport.
Keith Garcia is the 2012 3-Gun Nation Champion. Garcia won a $50,000 grand prize, beating out a field of thirty-two competitors. Photo courtesy of James P. Mason / Aegis Atlanta.
Many of these shooting sports have local, sectional, state, regional, national, and international competitions all over the world. There are wonderful travel opportunities to see the world and to meet wonderful people, all while enjoying your firearm with others in sport.
Personal Protection and Home Defense
Many pistol owners decide to purchase a pistol for personal protection and home defense. To carry a concealed pistol in public, the vast majority of states in the United States require a carrying a concealed weapon (CCW) or concealed handgun license (CHL) permit. The name varies depending on which state you live, and there are many other variants.
CCW permits are issued through your county sheriff or law enforcement office. Certain counties have stricter requirements for CCW; depending on where you live, you may not receive approval.
However, many states—such as Utah, Florida, and Nevada—offer nonresidents the opportunity to get CCWs after taking a qualified firearms or CCW course, paying an application fee, and going through a background check. Many states will honor other states’ CCWs, but others will not. The laws are changing all the time, so I suggest consulting your local and state gun-rights group for further guidance.
Having a pistol in your home for your personal protection is common throughout the United States. Making sure that your pistol is adequately secured from unauthorized persons and children is very important. There is a balance between having your pistol readily available and securing it from access by unauthorized persons. It is up to each individual to strike the right balance for your particular situation and needs.
As mentioned earlier, the caliber of a firearm is important when it comes to defense. While I really hate to talk about guns in any sort of violent manner, the larger the caliber, the more likely you will be successful in taking down an intruder. If you decide to use your pistol for home defense, you really need to think through the ethical and legal consequences of taking another person’s life. There are many excellent home-defense courses just for this purpose. The NRA offers two fantastic courses: Personal Protection In the Home and Personal Protection Outside the Home. Other training institutes offer similar training, so do your own research.
Sometimes, One Shot (or Even Six) Is Not Enough
In January 2013, a mother in Georgia was home with her young children when an intruder broke into the house and forced the mother and her two kids to flee into the attic. When the intruder pursued them into the attic, the mother fired all six shots from her .38 revolver. Five of those shots struck the intruder in the face and neck, but they did not kill him.
Thankfully, his injuries were enough for him to retreat, and he fled in his car. He soon crashed his car and was discovered by sheriff’s deputies. The criminal was expected to survive.
One point of this story is that a larger caliber could have assisted in killing the intruder. What if he had been able to continue an attack on the woman and her children even after sustaining five gunshot wounds? And higher ammunition capacity is almost always a good thing when it comes to self-defense.
If you absolutely have to shoot someone, don’t shoot them in the leg or shoulder to slow them down or injure them. You shoot to kill. Period. However, in a proper training class, the first thing you learn though is to avoid a confrontation altogether, where fleeing is your first tactic. Putting your pride and ego aside is worth the risk of saving your own life and someone else’s.
If fleeing is not an option, talking the assailant down by any means necessary is the next option. Brandishing your weapon is absolutely an option, and verbally announcing you are willing to shoot to kill are additional skills that require training.
Not everyone is capable of taking another person’s life, and you should not feel bad if you don’t feel capable of doing so. However, I would encourage you to really think through situations where it’s “you or them”—and the police or other help are not nearby. What would you do? Make sure you have a plan to keep yourself, your family, and loved ones safe.
This concludes the end of the pistol section of this book. Shooting a pistol well may look easy on TV or video games, but let me tell you, it is much harder than it looks. However, by focusing on the key fundamentals (aiming, breathing control, trigger control, hold control, and follow-through), you will have a huge advantage and learn as quickly as you have time to dedicate to practice.
Next up are rifles and their unique characteristics. As we’ll see in the next few chapters, many of the pistol marksmanship fundamentals also apply to rifle marksmanship.
Chapter Summary: