OK, some interesting feedback. I guess I've concluded that there are many different things you may have to do in a defensive situation where you have to use your firearm. For the purpose of this thread, Let's stick with scenarios where you are carrying a handgun concealed. To that ends, you may have to reload, you may have to use cover. You may have to shoot from awkward positions, you have to clear a malfunction or shoot one-handed. But the thing you will certainly have to do is get your gun out of the holster and onto the target. If fail to accomplish that, you weren't really in a gunfight, you just got shot. Again, this is just my opinion and it's based on training and observing dozens of surveillance videos, and articles about the subject. To be clear, I'm not talking about a fast draw where you outdraw the bad guy. I'm talking about situations you can find on many different surveillance videos or body cam videos from law enforcement. For instance, it's late you ran into the local convenience store to get something to drink. A thug with a shotgun walks in. He's nervous and demanding all the money. He's looking around, checking that there is only one clerk, that no one is coming out of the back storeroom or the restroom. He's checking the front door, etc. He's also working himself up and you believe he intends to kill both you and the clerk as soon the clerk gets the register open. As he again scans the area, you have a couple of seconds before he looks back at you. Is that enough time to draw from concealment, get on target and make the shot? If you trained enough, probably. Another situation was in the church shooting in White Settlement, TX. The first guy who went for his gun couldn't get it out in time to act. He appeared to be trying to draw from a SoB holster while sitting and couldn't do it. He stood up, and when he did, he got the bad guy's attention while still trying to draw and was killed. These types of situations can demand a smooth, quick, flawless draw. I'm not talking about trying to get a sub-one-second shot onto the target. I'm talking about an efficient, draw with no wasted motion and good shot placement. It takes practice and lots of it. The ability to do smooth reloads, shoot offhand, etc are still important, as well as several other skills. But my focus is typically on a smooth presentation and a double-tap. Often I'll practice like I'm shooting an assailant to the ground, which is more realistic. I'll also practice against multiple targets and get in some target transition practice. Most of my range sessions, I'll shoot 200 or rounds doing nothing but this.
Let my state one more time that is what I think is right for me. I'm perfectly fine if you feel, for you that other areas of practice are more important. I'm just curious as to what that might be and why. I try and stay open-minded about such things. The more you learn, the more you come to realize how much there is you don't know. This is a journey that doesn't end if I think the closed-minded tend to walk in circles.
Let my state one more time that is what I think is right for me. I'm perfectly fine if you feel, for you that other areas of practice are more important. I'm just curious as to what that might be and why. I try and stay open-minded about such things. The more you learn, the more you come to realize how much there is you don't know. This is a journey that doesn't end if I think the closed-minded tend to walk in circles.
As to the rest, Perfect practice is only valid if you are practicing the right things with the right technique...and training is for finding those techniques. The reason for training with multiple people even in the same "space" is that a particular instructor may present a specific thing in Just the "right" way for you to internalize it and Understand it for you while another may give you another piece of that. However getting to the point where you can tell the difference often involves getting to higher skills levels and exposure levels to training. Monkey see, monkey do doesn't mean you Understand it. And understanding and context are what enable you to get to those next levels. Training 20 years ago in an institutional setting doesn't mean you have everything you will ever need. Technology and understanding and changes in understanding are ongoing. That med class you took 20 years ago doesn't mean there isn't better ways now etc.
