I'm just starting out training for qualifying for a concealed carry arms permit and I'd like to just be comfortable shooting a 38. I like the Walther PPK but it's too expensive, so I'm just practicing on Tony's S&W 38 for now (saves $texas at Davi's shooting range). There's a lot of other shit I'm interested in learning that's probably above and beyond the requirements for a typical concealed carry permit but I just want to figure it out for myself.

Now, I've been experimenting with different ways to build up my muscles. I've been squeezing a stress ball and dry-firing the S&W for a while, now I'm just holding the trigger at double-action without firing it for as long as I can. What other methods can I use to strengthen my finger, hand, arm and shoulder muscles?

Note to the flamers: I've gone a range for the first time last week and did damn good.

3/13/2006 11:37:54 AM

i don't think dryfiring a gun is the best idea

that's just what i've been taught

3/13/2006 11:39:34 AM

+

3/13/2006 11:40:26 AM

^^ Me too, but Tony doesn't mind it so I'm going to use it as much as I can.

3/13/2006 11:43:28 AM

just because ol boy doesn't mind, doesn't make it a good idea.

3/13/2006 12:16:49 PM

Granted, I don't do a lot of pistol shooting, but practice is what you need: shooting over time. There isn't really a shortcut.

3/13/2006 12:21:23 PM

Ok, I've gone ahead and spared the pin by firing a set and keeping the brass.

Besides practice, I'm looking at anything I can do without firing the damn thing and loosing my hearing. We don't have ear protection over here so that means we have to go to Davi's and pay out their prices (and yes I'm half-deaf as I type this). I'd just like any other methods of strengthening that group of muscles. One guy who trained FBI people explained to me a process where he'd have them tie a rope to a brick at their feet, and attach it to a dowell rod. With both hands they'd roll it up and slowly unroll it. This would target the muscles. I could do that but I just wanted to see if y'all had any other ideas.

3/13/2006 12:40:02 PM

Invest in some good snap caps. It's much better than dry firing your gun, and you can load them along with live ammo and it will be real obvious if you are flinching. Are you trying to improve your accuracy by building your muscles, or are you just having strength issues in general? If consistant accuracy is your problem, there are much better ways to improve that, because it is usually some mannerism or the way you hold the gun that is the root of the problem.

Work won't let me look at firearms sites so I can't look for it, but there are targets you can print out that have problems listed in different areas of the target that do a pretty good job of telling you what caused you to be off if you were aiming right to begin with. One of my problems was/is flinching, and snap caps have gone a long way in fixing that.

3/13/2006 12:43:26 PM

Quote :

"We don't have ear protection over here so that means we have to go to Davi's and pay out their prices (and yes I'm half-deaf as I type this)."

go get some from somewhere


durrrr

3/13/2006 1:29:48 PM

durrrrrr

Thank you for clearing this up for me.

More seriously, thank you ^^.

3/13/2006 2:20:56 PM

you can get earplugs for like 50 cents

saving the old brass and re-firing it is basically the same as dry fireing, since there is already a dent in the primer. use snap caps like mentioned above.

the concealed carry class is VERY easy. you can have never fired a weapon before and pass just fine.

how much is it to shoot at davi's??

3/13/2006 3:56:42 PM

Didn't keep tabs on things before but I can tell you there's a discount on "Lady"s Day" (Tuesday) shooting for women. Lemme go with Tony tomorrow afternoon and get back to ya.

3/13/2006 4:19:08 PM

The brick/rope/rod thing will work. Just hold your arms out and using only your forearms rotate the rod. Repeat.

3/13/2006 6:07:54 PM

dude the qualifying shoot is a joke. it was stupid. you could be blind and pass it. nothing over like 7 yards. dont waste your time praticing

3/13/2006 6:30:08 PM

Quote :

"i don't think dryfiring a gun is the best idea"

use plastic snap caps, they dont damage the firing pin

3/13/2006 7:04:54 PM

rest a dime on the end of the barrel. fire single action. repeat until you can fore without knocking the dime off. We do it with a small dowel in the end of the barrel and the dime on the dowel.

3/13/2006 9:42:08 PM

another trick that works well is to go shooting with a friend, and load magazines for each other. when you load the magazine, put a snap-cap or two in the mix, and don't tell your friend where.

if you have a habit of anticipating the recoil and jerking the pistol, it will be noticeable when you get to that snap cap. you'll squeeze the trigger, the gun will just go "click", and you'll be waving it all over the place and thinking "no wonder my targets look like they get hit with buckshot."

once you train yourself to break that habit, you'll hit a snap cap, but the gun will go "click" and remain perfectly motionless, and your targets will look like someone cut the bullseye out.


oh, and i've found that it helps to "follow through" on your trigger squeeze by conciously holding the trigger all the way at the end of the stroke for a second after the shot is fired, then releasing. once you get the hang of it, it's like you're in the zone, everthing happens in slow motion, you tune everything else out, and it's your moment of zen. the pistol never moves except for a bump from the recoil, then it settles right back down where it started, with your finger still squeezing the trigger...then you release the trigger, breathe, and do it again.

3/13/2006 10:29:10 PM

Quote :

"there are targets you can print out that have problems listed in different areas of the target that do a pretty good job of telling you what caused you to be off if you were aiming right to begin with."

Your range master will be able to tell you this. Just show him your target and ask him.

Go to PDHSC

3/13/2006 10:42:12 PM

^yeah, def PDHSC, not Davi's.

http://www.pdhsc.com

3/13/2006 10:51:08 PM

^,^^

agreed - they have flat rates, not hourly, and their weapon rentals are only $5. they even have an interactive combat pistol course!

3/13/2006 11:37:29 PM

cheaper, better, allow double taps/rapid fire, and aren't a bunch of dicks.

3/13/2006 11:42:31 PM

^have you tried the interactive course there? i really wanna go do it but i'm not sure what to expect

3/13/2006 11:43:24 PM

unfortunately, i have not.

but i've fired the interactive course at MCB Quantico several times. thing's probably 400+m or so.

used both an M249 SAW and an M-16, and done it at night with the M-16 with NVGs and a PEQ-2

3/13/2006 11:50:42 PM

Quote :

"another trick that works well is to go shooting with a friend, and load magazines for each other. when you load the magazine, put a snap-cap or two in the mix, and don't tell your friend where. if you have a habit of anticipating the recoil and jerking the pistol, it will be noticeable when you get to that snap cap. you'll squeeze the trigger, the gun will just go "click", and you'll be waving it all over the place and thinking "no wonder my targets look like they get hit with buckshot." once you train yourself to break that habit, you'll hit a snap cap, but the gun will go "click" and remain perfectly motionless, and your targets will look like someone cut the bullseye out."

interesting

almost makes me want to go out to a shooting range

-ZiP!-

3/14/2006 12:59:33 AM

^^man, i bet it's fun as hell to run through that thing with a saw... did you get to use belts with it, or just mags?

3/14/2006 1:05:25 AM

Thanks for all the info guys. Headed out to Davi's tomorrow but I'll take a look at PDHSC. Right now I've gotta figure out a magic way to patch up my goddamn finger so I can shoot the 38 some more after firing it yesterday... >.< It was the first time I had actually fired live rounds and Tony didn't warn me about the noise so that shook me up and fucked up my aim.

3/14/2006 2:12:52 AM

^^belts. I can only think of one time when I've used mags in the SAW, and it kept jamming.

3/14/2006 2:17:15 AM

And get some damn earplugs unless you are particularly fond of Tinnitus

3/14/2006 3:05:31 AM

Shot that same 38 with earmuffs today at the range and damn did that do a world of difference. I could actually focus. Next thing is to get used to getting that flash in my face - I instinctively squinted or completely shut my eyes just before the shot yesterday and today I forced myself to keep 'em open. Helped me out a lot.

3/14/2006 6:37:17 PM

jesus christ buy some real ear protection

3/14/2006 6:43:41 PM

Well I don't know what they hell they're called - they're just rubber earthings that clamp around my ears and really lock out the sound. I could barely hear Tony before we stepped onto the range. One of these days I'll get some but they don't charge us to use them so I don't mind.

3/14/2006 6:51:55 PM

hey, we're not all a bunch of dicks at davi's

3/17/2006 2:58:59 AM

I found cheapo ear-plugs, the foam kind, under the ear muffs works well.

3/17/2006 10:47:45 AM

Dry fire, dry fire, dry fire. It helps quite a bit. And yes, use snap caps if your gun can't dry fire without them.

And




Use that to help correct your shooting. Mirror the target for left-handers.

[Edited on March 17, 2006 at 5:01 PM. Reason : .]

3/17/2006 5:01:13 PM