Defensive shooting drills can help you build the familiarity and muscle memory needed to handle dynamic tactical situations. Red dot optics make rapid, accurate shooting more intuitive, which makes them the perfect upgrade to your self-defense handgun. To make the most of your red dot, training is needed to make proper technique a habit your body naturally falls into under stressful situations. Let’s look at how you can build your skills for better defensive shooting.
While it seems like it’s right there in the name, true defensive shooting is a bit more complex than just pulling the trigger to defend yourself. Defensive shooting is about fostering situational awareness, using movement to gain a tactical advantage, and acting decisively to end a threat. Defensive shooting drills focus on putting these core skills into practice in a safe, controlled environment so you can train their use for some of the most dangerous and unpredictable situations imaginable.
Remember to practice your gun safety fundamentals while working on your defensive shooting drills. Keep your barrel pointed down range and your finger off the trigger while moving. Make sure you’re following the range rules and range master’s commands. Finally, communicate with range staff and other shooters about your intent to develop active and dynamic defensive skills. This helps avoid miscommunications and keeps the range safer for everyone involved.
In order to drill for real-world defensive shooting, you need space to safely move and work. Most indoor ranges aren’t set up to accommodate the full extent of the dynamic movements we’re going to be talking about. They’re built for you to improve accuracy and precision. If an indoor range is your only option, however, it’s better to have some practical red dot training than none. Modify these exercises where and how you can to meet the needs of safety and your range’s rules.
Outdoor shooting ranges and private land offer more space for setting up safe, controlled defensive shooting drill areas. If you’re using an outdoor range, make sure you’re communicating with staff and other shooters (who may want in on the action), and if you’re using private land, be sure to position your training where your shooting is backstopped by a berm or another geographical feature that will keep rounds contained to an area you’ve verified as safe and unoccupied.
Defensive shooting drills aren’t the same “stand and fire” shooting used to work on marksmanship fundamentals. Look for a red dot training space that lets you post a target and shoot from a variety of ranges. You’ll need the ability to set up temporary “cover” in the form of barrels or a vertical wooden post. During these drills, you’ll need to shoot rapidly–faster than the one-round-per-second rule many ranges have adopted. You’ll be moving laterally, advancing, and retreating in relationship to your target, and you’ll also be changing levels. These drills are designed to engage real-life skills you’d use to create space, operate from cover, and end a threat to yourself or someone else.
This basic Run-and-Gun Drill helps you learn to move safely with your weapon. It’s relatively straightforward, which allows you to focus on fundamentals while also allowing plenty of room to customize it to hone particular skills. The setup is simple. You need a target about 10 yards away from your initial firing location and the ability to move safely 5 yards to either side to a second firing location.
From your holstered position, draw and fire two center-mass shots. Take your finger off the trigger and keep your gun pointed toward the target as you move to your second firing location. Fire two more shots center-mass, and then holster your weapon safely.
As you become more comfortable with movement, you can practice advancing on position one with your gun drawn. Try reversing the positions. Make multiple position changes until the slide locks back on empty. Just keep the fundamental safety practices in mind as you explore your new shoot-and-scoot skill set.
This defensive shooting drill builds on Drill #1 but adds a few fundamental tactical skills. At its core, the previous drill still involves standing and shooting but with movement in the middle. Now we’re going to work on creating space between you and an attacker and finding partial cover to shoot from. Creating space is important is red dot training because an attacker isn’t going to stand still at range and wait for you to line up your shot. They can advance very quickly, and creating space buys you the time to draw, aim, and fire.
Set up your initial positions just as you did for Drill #1. In addition, set up a third firing position 3-5 yards behind your first two that offers partial cover to practice with. Starting in position one, draw and fire two rounds center-mass. Take your finger off the trigger but keep your weapon pointed downrange while you move to position two. Fire two rounds before retreating to position three, once again keeping your finger clear of the trigger and the barrel pointed safely toward your target. From behind your cover, fire two rounds center-mass, and then safely holster your weapon.
As your skills improve, practice moving all three positions around, varying their ranges, distances from each other, and ranges from the target. Practice using the cover for both weak-side and strong-side shooting to ensure your defensive shooting drills cover a range of possibilities.
Unless you’re on a tactical range, you may not have ready-made cover handy, and most range and land owners aren’t too keen on you digging holes to install it yourself. Two great temporary cover options that are also fairly inexpensive are barrels and wood.
While neither of these will provide the same stability as the cover they’re meant to represent, such as a building’s corner or a tree, they have the stability and presence needed for defensive shooting drills that build your familiarity with using cover tactically.
This drill puts together the fundamental movements and techniques you’ve been practicing but adds the need to change your body’s level to the mix. In tactical situations, cover is not always tall enough for effective use while standing. While leaving your feet isn’t always a good idea, sometimes it’s an unavoidable reality, and getting back up safely with a gun is just as important as the other movements you’ve been practicing.
You can use the same positioning as for Drill #2, including the freedom to move positions around and create scenarios. Start at the first position as normal, firing two rounds center-mass before moving to the second position. Get down to a prone shooting position, with your body lined up perpendicular to the target to keep your own targetable profile small. Fire two rounds prone, then safely get up, finger off the trigger and barrel kept safely down-range, before moving to the third position to fire two rounds center-mass before safely holstering your weapon.
Now, from position three, draw and fire two rounds center-mass from cover. Advance safely, with your finger off the trigger and keeping your sight picture as you move in a controlled manner toward position two. Drop to one knee or a crouch, and fire two rounds center-mass. Rise and move to position one, where you’ll fire two more center-mass rounds before safely holstering your weapon.
There’s a lot of movement here to stay safe through, including advancing, retreating, moving laterally, dropping, and rising. During these physically intense defensive shooting drills, be aware of your balance and head space. If you start to feel dizzy or unsure on your feet. Take a break. Adjustments may need to be made. Likewise, if your mobility is impaired, change levels to the extent your physical condition allows. Above all, keep that finger off the trigger until you’re in position and ready to fire.
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