Shooting small things far away with a pistol is hard. Today we're going to talk about how to get better. And because ammo is in short supply, I'm gonna show you how to put in some meaningful practice at 25 yards using less than a full box of ammo.
Printable version of the B8 Bullseye target: loungecdn.luckygunner.com/lou...
If anyone's still keeping track, this is Episode 15 of our Start Shooting Better series.
Support our channel. Buy ammo from Lucky Gunner!
No tacticool gimmicks, no clickbait, no politics. Just precise and practical information about gun ownership and improving one's skill. That's why this channel shines above the rest.
I can't even count how many channels over the years I used to be subscribed to that started veering more and more into those subjects you highlighted (which in turn attracts hordes of extremists like a toxic feedback loop). Those channels I dropped like a defective clip and my donations went elsewhere. This channel focuses on common sense and leaves the posturing BS for the LARPs and perpetually angry.
Umm if Americans lose their gun rights and their freedom to train and defend themselves w firearms, it will be because of politics and nothing else. So why in heavens name would you or anyone praise a gun channel who won’t get involved w politics. Not saying every video has to go off topic, but we need to teach this notion that we should talk politics when the refusal to talk politics under obvious persecution has led to mass suffering and opened the door to things like genocide in places where politics stripped away gun rights. Let’s use our brains here and. It suck up to mainstream political Correctness
@@stephencancel939 ~ You missed the entire point, so...congratulations? _"So why in heavens name would you or anyone praise a gun channel who won’t get involved w politics."_ Guns are not political, they are a tool, making it a political hammer and anvil is a choice that only manages to pollute the entire community and divide people further. _"Not saying every video has to go off topic, but we need to teach this notion that we should talk politics when the refusal to talk politics under obvious persecution has led to mass suffering and opened the door to things like genocide in places where politics stripped away gun rights."_ Are you actually suggesting that there is not an overwhelming percentage of gun channels, organizations, and individuals who spend the entirety of their time -talking- yelling about the politics of firearms? It's not as if there is any shortage of this (in fact just the opposite) and yet ONE channel chooses to stay focused on the mechanics, use, safety, and practical application of guns and you get bent out of shape as if it is some unconscionable approach. You're kind of illustrating the point of how toxic the environment is because of hysterical pundits and irrational individuals. _"Let’s use our brains here and. It suck up to mainstream political Correctness"_ I honestly don't even know what that was supposed to mean.
@@stephencancel939 I agree. Very good balanced comment. +
Dorothy......truer words have never been spoken👏👏👏👏
So true “maybe today isn’t the day to practice the 25 yards”. But still... A bad day at the range is better than a good day at work.
Always!
Unless the range is work. ? Lol.
@N Webb I assume you're replying to a comment I made? (7 months ago?) You'll have to clarify my friend. But to answer your inquiry, no, I haven't. The only "accidents" I've witnessed were usually after-the-fact when we arrived with the ambulance.
The use of the blurry target and the big chungus pistol sights as visual aids are awesome. Another reason why Lucky Gunner is one of the best gun channels out there
“Big chungus pistol sights.” That’s hilarious and accurate.
thinking that shooting is easy, and thus police shootings are easy, is probably one of the most common cases of the dunning kruger effects thanks to the media/social media. most people aren't able to hit 25 yards consistently within their first 500 rounds out of a pistol
This an excellent tutorial. This echoes the same instruction I've received from my mentor at my club range. For myself, the dry fire exercises have been very beneficial as I only use iron sights. I also alternate between my pistol firing live rounds and shooting my revolver with a single live round in the cylinder where I don't know when it will be chambered in my 5 shot exercise. This really helps with trigger control and shot anticipation (flinching).
Great video man I agree on all points. A red dot is much easier to hit at distance and shoot smaller groups. Also a better overall contrast to the black target than standard pistols sights. Another thing to consider is maybe trying further distances like 30 or 40 yards first to take out all the anxiety, once you have shot 50 yards, 25 seems very close by comparison. That can elevate some of the gitters that may effect your trigger pull and sight alignment. Just relax, have fun, and press the trigger strait to the rear.
It also prevents some mistakes that one would make when you can really see the target. Dropping the gun slightly to look at the target, trying to adjust after every shot, caring too much if you missed one. At those distances you look at your groups of five later.
Lol I was thinking about honest outlaw the whole time I watched this video - then come down to the comments and it turns out you weighed in!
Especially getting older with astigmatism, a red dot does wonders...
So awesome. I just told my partner that Lucky Gunner is in my top 3 firearms channels, along with Honest Outlaw and Paul Harrell, and here’s Honest Outlaw commenting on Lucky Gunner’s video! Love it! 👍
@@UTAZCO.Overland I have the same problem and a red dot solved a lot of issues with my Ruger LCP. Love my Viridian red dot with their IWB holster. My red dot comes on automatically when I draw my gun. Goes off when I holster the gun.
Finally someone who understands there is more to shooting a pistol than trigger press and grip. I inform people all the time about what you are covering but if you watch the “experts” online its all trigger press and grip …🤦🏻♂️
Explain more
8:45 - one of the most realistic, outstanding prop presentations I've ever seen regarding the task of sight alignment. The blurry target, and the to-scale-for-our-sight sights - Bravo. Lucky Gunner info is always above the grade.
A lot of people are saying this is pointless because it’s beyond self defense distance. Not so. Andy Brown shot an active shooter at 70 yards during the Fairchild Air Force base mass shooting. He hit the guy 2/4 shots killing him with a head shot from his Beretta M9 while taking fire. It also broke the myth that a guy with a pistol will always lose to a guy with a rifle. How close would you want to get to an active shooter? Plus I shoot at 25 because it shows my flaws much better than at 7. The point is to challenge yourself and learn point of aim point of impact at farther distances.
Exactly
A couple of years ago a Dallas cop shot an active shooter at around 100 yards w his pistol.
Always good to challenge your self with distance and being comfy enough to pull n shoot.... U will get to the point were it's automatic...
Here in Germany we often have a Duell- system where the target is visible for 4 s and hidden for 7 s - 5 times @ 25 m. Usually I can do 200 ... 225 out of 300 possible after many years of practice with my H&K Match in . 45 ACP or with a Walther GSP in . 22 LR. Targets here are never closer than 25 m.
Keep shooting your country needs you!
My gun club has steel plates at 25 yards and that accounts for 90%+ of all pistol practice I do. Open sight/ red dot, full size/compact all pistols. If thats the norm for you, 10 yards feels like cheating. I'm not trying to do a bunch of big talk. Its hard, especially in the beginning, but if you keep at it, you become a much more proficient pistol shooting.
Dude same. All I ever had was 25 yard paper until I the army base finally built a new setup with 7, 10, 15, and 25. Dude 7 feels like i can push the target over.
Mine set up a Texas star at 15 yards... and most people can't enjoy it because they can't hit one plate when it's still, and if they do then they sure can't hit it moving. Good practice for me though. When I got my red dot it went from the challenge I needed to simple, so I tried the Texas star at 25 yards and it was still easier than irons at 15 yards. Red dots are amazing
It is hard and it makes you feel bad, that's why most people blaze away at a man sized target at 5 yards and go home and tell the internet about how awesome they are. I tell you what though, the first time you score a 50 in 5 shots on a 5.5" bull you are hooked. 25+ yards also reveals the honest to god mechanical accuracy differences between guns (if you shoot well enough) which I find very interesting. My Gen 3 Glock 17 no matter how well I shoot can not group like my 4" Smith model 627PC (even with that heavy double action pull people claim can't be overcome to shoot accurately with, lol).
At my range the closest distance you can get is 10m(11 yards) and the maximum is 50m(55 yards). I really don't understand talking about accuracy at 5-7 yards, if you have problems at those distances you have problem shooting guns
100%. I just came back from my local outdoor range today. For the past month or so I've been practicing at 25 yards. My local range also has 6 inch steel plates at 50 yards on a spinning wheel. Last time I went, I shot 4/6 of them at 50 yards with a 5" S&W 629 .44 magnum. This time I only hit 5/8, so the ratio is worse, but I also took down 2 of the plates while the wheel was still spinning. On the 25 yard NRA B-8 target I kept 23/28 rounds of .44 magnum in the black, 2 in the 8 ring, 2 in the 7, and 1 in the 6 with the 6s and 7s all called misses. All my .44 mag shots were single-action. With my .22 revolver, every single shot was within the 8 ring, double and single-action after a little sight adjustment for my ammo. Since I started practicing farther out, my close-range work (3-7 yards) has been much better. I've been much faster and more accurate with my semi-auto carry pistol. I've been shooting for years, but up until recently even 50 feet was difficult for me. Then a couple of KZhead videos helped me out big-time. One was Massad Ayoob's video on the Wedge hold, and after that I found GunBlue490 and his precision shooting series on KZhead. Both of those quickly got me shooting the same groups at 25 yards as I was shooting at 15 yards a year ago. Can't wait to try out the drills from this video.
This will sound dumb but a segment on 'How To Use Different Sight Types Properly' would help numpties like me.
Look up iron sights and red dots or hologram many kinds but the principle is the same. Aligning to the target in a North South line and east west. Crosshairs in a scope works the same way. Not rocket science.
@@nickhammer6408 Oh I get the principles and science of it but reading is different to seeing (pun intended) and most stuff written by gun nuts is long winded and overly complicated. Scopes and dots are pretty straightforward, put cross or dot on thing and make thing go away. However there are so many different iron sights and configurations and the way the target need be placed in relation to the front and rear sight differs with all of them somewhat I imagine. Like some guns don't even have a rear sight, just a little front pimple so does one cover the target with said pimple or sight over the tip of it etc etc etc.. I concede it's a dumbass boring topic for people who are seasoned shooters but for us numpties being shown 'how to' properly will save learning bad habits before we even start is where I'm coming from is all.
@@CathodeRayNipplez I was trying to help. You are on KZhead, dude tons of videos, I still seek these videos and have many saved in favorites, experienced or not they are good learning and refreshers.
@@CathodeRayNipplez Look up sight alignment those videos cover the differences in where you hold on the target. Some like to hold right on the bulls eye blocking the actual center of the target with your own sights. Me. Like the man who made the video likes to hold just below the 🎯 bullseye you can still see the center of your target, they call this a 6oclock hold. I hope this helps.
@@nickhammer6408 Oh I didn't take offence or mean to offend Nick. I'm sure there are a gazillion YT vids on the subject but I'm sure you will appreciate that not all Gun Tubers are someones particular cup of tea. I (and assuming many others) personally like Chris's teaching style and find him engaging to listen too so I would like to hear/watch his delivery on the subject is all. Metaphorically certain driving instructors suit certain types of learners is sorta where I'm coming from. If you have anything in your library on the subject that you think is of benefit by all means throw a link in here and I'll be all over it. Cheers 👍
Wow! Excellent Vid! Twenty minutes of SOLID instruction! No fluff, no keyword stuffing... Just pure instruction! Great Job!
Honestly your videos are the best on KZhead. Your explanations are so clear and understandable and I love the props. Thank you.
One of the best KZhead channels! Very informative and in-depth but still digestible.
I love how helpful and unique this channel is
I really appreciate you taking the time to thoroughly go through some of these things here. Professional, straight to the point, explaining things clearly, and actually having good points! This stuff really helps for the people teaching themselves how to shoot. Appreicate the vid!
I'm glad I found this Channel. I'm very impressed with the delivery of the information. Looking forward to catching up on all of it.
A logical, cost effective and very worthwhile instruction. Thanks, Chris!
Thank you for taking the time to make this video. I appreciate all you do and shop at Lucky Gunner. Best KZhead content, customer service and shipping speed.
One of the sharpest cats on firearms knowledge. Always great where tactical and analysis merge!
I have a Springfield hellcat with a holosun 507k optic on it and all I can say is WOW, what an AWESOME combo. My brother in law and I can hit a 12" gong at 150 yards!! We were so surprised. We love our cats with 507k's. ☆☆☆☆☆
Dot is a game changer for precision distance shooting
@@DWalter.27 It certainly is brother. There's no way I could shoot that far with a compact 9mm with a 1.7/8" barrel..I don't include the barrel chamber in my barrel measurements.
Active Self Protection shows some good examples of folks struggling with longer range shots. Thanks for sharing some good advice on improving our skills at distance.
I have been shooting a long time and I really appreciate how informative this was. I think the older you get (almost 70) it becomes harder to have really good consistency because of physical liabilities. Great video and great shooting sir!
I'm right there with you, Tom. I can't hold steady anymore and can't see well enough even with glasses to shoot 25 yards. Was it Clint Eastwood who said, "A man has to know his limitations."
Again, a great video that demonstrates that the fundamentals are... well... fundamental.
What a simply solid video on the fundamentals. No ego, no fluff, just pertinent thoughtful instruction. I also have a dot on my 365XL, such a game changer.
Improving my distance pistol shooting 'under time constraints' has always been a sticking point for me. Thanks for this video and your very concise explanation and demonstrations of this particular drill and technique. You have to fully understand what/why/how you're doing it (correct and incorrect) to get better. I never fully understood until now with your video. Seriously thanks for taking the time and thoughtful presentation of the whole thing clearly broken down.
I look forward more to your videos than just about anyone else on youtube... including mine. LOL
Thanks!
2nd!
Good to know I'm doing some thing's right in my approach & techniques. Glad you always cover things from techniqual & realistic views
shooting those split times at 25 will make everything closer feel that much easier; def going to add more long work to my range days; grateful for the clear, concise info
I love how you explained the site discussing how each different person might use their sites rather than dictating that there is 'only one way'. Sure, you have your preferred way and explain why, but you don't exclude 'other methods'.
What a great video! I’ve tried this drill many times throughout the years with mixed results. This video breaks it down so a two year old can understand. Thank you!
Great video. Definitely the best discussion regarding the variant site alignment and pictures I have ever seen.
What great instruction! I hadn’t thought about an optic for my pistol, but will now. I have vision problems but have been shooting so long I’ve made work-arounds. Not necessarily good ones. Thanks.
Excellent beginner video. I've had various classes over the years, some good, some not so good. Your vid covers the basics very well!!! Kudos!!!
I really like the visuals of the sights, it really helps explain things
Excellent advice. High quality and concise production. Thanks for sharing!
Mackay you are one awesome individual. It is good to have someone like you on KZhead.
Best beard in the 2A community.
You obviously dont know who Pat Mac is
What about John Lovell?
Thanks! But I'd say... it's in the top 30% at best.
I used to here things like that,,, till I used cheap Walmart shampoo & washed all the color out. LOL.
The Gun Jesus Laughs at you.
Very helpful and easy to understand tips! Probably one of the most useful KZhead pistol shooting channel!
Nicely done. I’ve been a Le firearms instructor since 1993. Inactive now. The 25 yard shots (6) were Always a bear to coach new officers through. Most of it was “between their ears” but then again we were using life sized targets, all they had to do was get a few points in the black. Thanks !
Great drill and you’ve done an exceptional job of explaining the various steps and how to prep for and execute each one. Thanks 👍
LOVED this breakdown. Will be trying it this week.
I have a little training trick that you can steal for free: I use colored paper plates as targets. I use 6” at 3 yds, 8” at 7 yds, and 12” at 15 yds. The result is that the target picture looks about the same at each distance, which helps the shooter not get intimidated by distance as much.
You are a very good instructor, you are able to make complicated actions understandable for anyone. Thank you for your efforts.
Having shot really fired a pistol in a long time (and not having much experience before - long time rifle guy) this video makes me feel much better about my performance yesterday when braking in my new pistol in terms of my groups and such
Incredibly informative video. Huge kudos to the visual representations. Whether it was the cardboard sights and blurry paper target, or the images added in post, it helped me really understand what you were talking about. I imagine this is going to really help newer shooters, too. Too bad I can’t try this out, though, as I lost all my guns in a boating accident :/
It's been my experience that the mantis-X really helps with the dry fire and trigger management practice and it saves on the expense of ammo, targets and range fees. I say this as a supplement to what you've already provided which is really helpful.
Many years ago I was tested for an armed position, and we had timed shots from 7 ft out to 45 ft. At 45 ft it worked out to 2 sec per shot. I found the best thing that helped me, was to spend some time looking at my watch and counting seconds. If you're given 20 seconds to fire 10 rounds at a distance, why not use all of it. It helps in managing that rushed feeling on the trigger as well. Another great video, thanks..
I especially like that you were specific in mentioning that you yourself experience a drop off of skill after time without practice. Whether that really settles in with some people...I sincerely doubt it will, but thanks for the great tips and information.
Solid content as always. And best presenter of the bunch. Nice job.
Good video. Excellent presentation and advice. It’s a great reminder that different pistol ammo can be as much as 8” inconsistent even at only 25yards
Absolutely great video. I just started shooting and usually hit my targets at about 20 yard. But watching this video give me a goal to aim for. And I love challenges. Also I learn I am probably extremely bad at draw. I now know I will need a better holster and lots of practice. I will save this video to remind myself of my new goal.
Really enjoyed this series! Keep em coming!
Love the videos. Keep them coming.
The last stage of my annual LEOSA retiree qualification is the 25 yard line and this was very helpful. Thanks!
Nice job, love the videos. You do a great job of explaining things. Just wish you could post more often. Thanks!
Absolutely great video. I'm putting in practice with this system tomorrow.
Great video!!! This is an awesome training tool. Thanks for making this video. Lucky Gunner always impresses me!!!!!! Keep it up!
Just another great video from Lucky Gunner.. I love these guys
What a great video!! Thank you Chris from Lucky Gunner. So much good info and very detailed.
I too, agree sir. This is grate advice. To know what each manufacturer sets their 0 to each pistol. Good job sir
All excellent tips. Your tips resonate with me, because I tell myself that paper is much cheaper than bullets. I would strongly recommend to review your shots after 5 rounds, and putting up a new target. This has helped me improve my accuracy. Looks like I have a new drill.
Spot the shoots, so the sequence is known. Patch the target frequently with masking tape. EVERY SHOOT COUNTS ! Weights are a big help; five pounds through range of motion. Ball and Dummy drill; easy with two, “coach” and shooter. Trade off often- looking for involuntary motion- especially, the shooting hand squeezing or “Pavlovian” motion to “stop” recoil. The shot going off ruins the anticipated motion to observation but the “DUMMY” will betray all. Dry runs with intensity HELPS groove the mechanics IN. Good Shooting
Thank you for this instruction. It exactly what I’ve been looking for. Much appreciated.
Very helpful… love how you broke the process down.
Enjoyed another great video by you! As a long time gun owner who should have practiced more, really appreciate u helping me relearn and updating my gun skills. Thank you so much. MERRY CHRISTMAS
What a great video. Great information with phenomenal illustrations. I will be taking out my new pistol very soon and trying this drill
Lucky Gunner, that’s a great video! I will practice now.
Thank you so so much for just good, practical, neutral, unbiased information
Tough love "You may have a hard time doing this test.". Meaning you need more practice. I appreciate the advice not to lie to yourself. I had a good day a couple years ago when I shot 290 out of 300 at the MAG 20 25 yard qual with 25 rounds, if I recall. Way better than I thought I could do with a G26. I don't know if I could do that today, but I need to find out. Thanks.
You did what you did so you can deal with the variables presented. Train for the 'different' thing. Like doing precise drills, full speed of execution or not, after a systematic small walk reading a random phrase, picking something on the ground/a table and naming it, THEN if a GO signal is given, pivoting towards your standing still target while stepping on various stuff (from old pillows, to crushed concrete to bricks simply thrown on the ground). Sometimes with combat/mountain boots, sometimes with sports shoes, sometimes barefoot, sometimes with rubber boots. The cheapest way to train this is with rubber boots and mud + pieces of wood at random on the ground.
This is very interesting, great video. I am out of practice as well due to shoulder injury but now getting better got new "resolution" to get back on it and recover lost marksmanship, sometimes i wish i was in a large land where I could build my range because practicing as often as I used to I would go into the desert but this is about 25 miles away from home which it is kind of impractical because the time it all takes going, time there and back, usually at night because work schedule, all ranges are closed by time I am off, I would have to go only on my days off and then there is always something so practicing has slowly become less frequent even before I was injured but I am glad I am watching this; it gives me an incentive to push to do sometime and resolve the times constraint so can enjoy the range; a new Sig SC and Green Dot are also incentives enough, LOL. Repetition and practice is everything, now let's put it again in practice.
Loved the visual aids the sight picture of your big pistol sites
Very good video! It's a great 25 yard practice exercise to follow especially with current ammo shortage in the US which is also impacting Canadian prices as well. But luckily, we still have supplies in most calibre cartridges other than being 30% more expensive than last year.
That demonstration with cardboard iron sight picture was extremely educative, great video.
great vid Chris and well presented as usual ...
This is great advice for any yardage.
Thank you, I always enjoy your channel.
Great video again. Favorite gun related channel easily.
I looked for a video like this on youtube for a couple of years. Thx for making this video.
Active Self protection did one on 100 yard shooting like a year ago. Chris's is better IMO. Basically everything you find is for some kind of handgun competition so they're seated and usually in odd positions. Not much standing unsupported
Thank you, Chris.
Another great presentation and explanation! Thanks!
9:50 Glasses or contacts can also be the real fix for that. Once I got my eyes checked out and got some glasses, my shooting drastically improved even though my prescription is very mild and mostly just corrects my astigmatism. Because of the astigmatism, even red dots don't work well without glasses. With glasses, the red dots go from looking like * to •. Iron sights look way sharper too. I definitely shoot better with a red dot with or without my lenses, so I'm all for them, but just pointing out that sometimes the hardware issue is on your end, not on the gear's.
I need to get prescription shooting glasses. I was at the range on Thursday. I was fine at 10 yards. Anything past that was more of an educated guess. I kept having to bring the target closer after each/few shots to see where it hit. This is great advice...
It's always the same problem: "I'm to manly to use glasses" and they can't hit anything. If you want the best perfomance you must be able to perform at best without the gun
Great practical exercises.
Home run on this video! Hits all the basics yet covers long distance - something not discussed often.
Wow, really good video with a lot of good information well organized and well presented. Thank you for taking time to share all this with us, you just gained a subscriber.
Well said. I will show this video to all my new shooters.
I ordered ammo from you guys yesterday. Best experience I have had buying anything online. Thanks so much guys!
🎉Thank you so much. Your video was extremely informative and fun. Can’t wait to practice.
Great instructional video. Thank you!
New gun owner here. I bought my CZ PCR back in December and I installed new sights on it few weeks ago and still haven't been able to take it out to the range. This was some awesome info as I'm really wanting to get my CCW and want to get in as much practice and training in over the next few months as I possibly can. I would hate to have the responsibility of carrying a firearm and not being proficient or confident with it.
Thank you, thank you, thank you. I dont know anything about the drill, but I think I can use this to improve my shooting without spending a lot of money or ammo that I dont have. This could save my life.
Hello Chris, I do most of my shooting at 25 meters, one handed or two handed. There are a couple of points I would like to discuss: 1) imo, the right process is aligning the sights *as you* pull the trigger, rather than alining the sights and *then* pull the trigger. It is a mental thing but a crucial one. 2) I'm all for a 6 o'clock hold, associated with the concept of area aiming. The six o'clock hold allows to see better the alignment of the front and rear sight, which is more important than the position of the sights on the target. Area aiming under the black prevents you from snatching the trigger in order to finalize a perfect sight picture.
Thanks Chris. Great job. Good info.
Another great video as usual, Thank you for the blurry target tutorial
Very good realistic video! Thanks!
Excellent teaching and skills drill.
VERY good advise. Thank you for sharing.....
Excellently produced Video !!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thank You. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hoped for another lever action vid, but this is also great
Don't worry, there's plenty more lever gun stuff on the way
@@LuckyGunner YAY!
@@LuckyGunner nuts will be busted
@@LuckyGunner . After your last lever action video I scrambled right over to Henry’s Big Boys and got one in .357 mag. It was the last day to get a free, personalized serial number! :)
Fantastic video thank you for the information one of the best I've seen so far.
Great video,and explained a lot!!!!
Thank You. Great info. You have the Best Presitations.