What do YOU think is "good enough" pistol skills for an armed citizen ?

[Shawn.L]

This came up in another thread.

Im sure some of us will have fully different ideas. Without going down the rabbit hole of all the other factors like "it doesn't even matter because you should eat healthy first blah blah blah." simply what standard do YOU feel is reasonably good enough for a armed citizen carrying a pistol as an isolated topic.

Past that, as an addition comment feel free to tell us to what standard you hold yourself currently or are working to achieve.

[SteveinNEPA]

Good enough for an armed citizen?

A few factors to consider, but first things first i will assume that the person has safety rules understood AND in FULL USE all the time.

If someone cannot hit C.O.M. CONSISTENTLY then that is where they must start. Sight picture, trigger control in both slow fire practice and speed practice starting from the draw.

Now not everyone is expected to hit a dime or quarter size mark at 25 yards, but if someone cannot hit COM/VITALS at 21 feet or less (average range for a self defense shooting), then they can very well kill or injure someone OTHER than the target should they need to fire.

I consider the following to be "good enough", however EVERYONE should strive to improve and become a better shooter.

In no particular order except number 1, because without number 1 none of the others should even be TRIED...

1.SAFETY
2.Target Identification (similar to hitting COM, if you misidentify an innocent as a threat you are screwed)
3.Ability to CONSISTENTLY hit COM at 21 feet or less
4.Reload and reacquire the target quickly (For self defense it probably wont be needed by and large, but I read a news paper article where an off duty officer came home for lunch, walked in on a burglar and 20+ shots were exchanged at LESS than 20 feet - Ill have to find it)
5.Clearing any of the various malfs that can and will occur.
6.The Draw - Look up a video for "Tueller Drill" and you will see why.
7.Movement with a drawn weapon (Say you are clearing your house at 3am because it sounds like your door was just kicked in and you have a child - SAFE direction and TARGET ID REQUIRED HERE AS WELL AS ACCURACY)
8.KNOW THE LAW AS IT PERTAINS TO YOU AND USE OF A FIREARM. Too many people own and carry and have NO CLUE about lethal force laws...
9.Be aware of what places are designated gun-busters.
10.If you want to open carry, dont just do it for the boobies ( lol, sorry had to bring some humor in to this long winded list) and KNOW THE LAW SURROUNDING IT!
11. Ill make this the final one because I want to go eat something and many others will post - PRACTICE YOUR SKILLS!!! One trip to the range in 6 months is not going to keep you shooting well. EVERYTHING IS MUSCLE MEMORY AND PRACTICE.

[PAallterrain]

I feel every person has a level of training they are comfortable with, and as long as they act within their level of training i see no reason for anyone to question that.

A lady has almost zero traning but knows how to handle her gun safely and shoot a target at 5 yards. If someone attacks her and she shoots them at point blank range and keeps from getting raped, she acted within her level of training and all is well.

Now the same lady is in the bank when it is robbed. The suspect is holding a bank employee hostage and she shoots at the suspect from 10 yards within the bank and hits the bank employee. She has now acted outside her level of training and bad things happen.

So i guess this is where i stand.

A. You need to be able to handle your firearm Safely.
B. You need to know your what your abilitys are with your firearm.
C. You need to always act within your ability.

If you can do those 3 things, you're good to go in my book. I am sure others will disagree, but its a free nation.

[comsubin61]

There is only standard.

Good enough to stop any assault immediately. Stop. end of discussion.

[mpan72]

Let me preface my reply by saying we should all handle our guns in a responsible and safe manner. I do not agree with any goverment mandates.

I think good enough is being able to hit what you are shooting at, even under presure, without hitting anything else.

[Lycanthrope]

Unless it's a home defense scenario where I may have some forewarning......I'm going to assume I'm in imminent danger and I'm likely to be behind the curve.

So..in simpler terms....I need to be significantly better than most other basic gun handlers to survive.

Lycanandluckythrope

[synergy]

No one has given a timed/ measured standard yet... so I'm going to throw a few out there.


Hackathorn Headshot Standards - IMO this is a bare minimum level of proficiency where once attained, one can breath a sigh of relief.

5 yards, (3) IDPA targets spaced 3 meters apart, headshots only, 3 second par time per string, from the ready

1) Right to left.
2) left to right.
3) center first. your choice of order for rest.

7/9 or better to pass.



The Test - another good check in that's easy to setup and practice.

B-16 bullseye target, 10 yards, 10 rounds, 10 seconds. Anything out of the black doesn't count. Hi cap's shot from the ready, single stack guns shot from the holster with 8 rounds. 8/10 (or 7/8) is passing.


Neither or these are break-neck speed drills, but these seem to be hard enough to push people with poor fundamentals to improve. They are realistically much harder than most LE qualifications as well, which are generally about as hard as passing your driving test to get your drivers license.

People far smarter than me came up with those, and they have a pretty good feel on what is real world and what isn't. I personally push myself a lot harder than that, and always will... but I would rest pretty comfortably if a loved one was capable of doing either of those, on demand. If not, I'd have some serious concerns about them being capable of handling the marksmanship problems that they may need to solve.

[MOUNTAINORACLE]

Ability to hit what you are shooting at & stop the threat!!

You're question was asking for what's "good enough".

[Palerider]

If its at all like ISO/Weaver (modified ISO by the way) this thread should get interesting...

To answer what is good enough:

1) Safety first, don't want to lose a gunfight with yourself.
2) I like the Todd Green FAST drill and I want to be reliably under 9 seconds. That means times can vary but can't have misses. I bellieve < 10 seconds in considered Intermediate with <7 Advanced. The 10 to 7 range is what I'd consider 'good enough'.

The last time I ran it was before winter when I clocked 8.39 (7.39 + 1 since I drew OWB without concealment).

The second part, "what you're looking to achieve" requires a little longer response. Training with firearms is not my only life pursuit and the reality is time constraints means it gets prioritized with a whole host of other life adventures. I intuitively know I've gotten far better from a few years ago based on grip/stance changes, draw techniques and practicing with them. I've also found continually driving improvements is not all that easy since removing tenths is sometimes way harder than removing seconds.

I'll keep shooting at longer ranges, some basement dry-fire and draws, enjoy my practice and target staying reliably in 7-8 range.

[EZ1]

The second amendment does not make any statement as to limitations, why should we?