It’s that time of year when many people think about training with their firearms. It’s sometimes a New Year’s resolution, and other times, just time to get it done.
Sponsored by Walther Arms
We all know the value of a training regimen, but sometimes, there aren’t enough hours in the day to pack up and head over to the range. However, we cannot stress enough the importance of good training, and training that is done under the watchful eyes of a great instructor. There’s really no replacement for that option, but if you need a refresher, or want to learn more about what you’d accomplish if you did go to training, check out the array of free firearms trainings tips offered by Walther Arms, in its dropdown menu listed as “Campus.”
Walther compiled a series of videos for a new handgun owner, called the “Beginner’s Guide for New Handgun Owners.” It includes the four basics of firearms safety – which you should be able to recite upon command, and you definitely should incorporate into any range day with youth. At our range, we insist that kids be able to tell us the four rules before we even crack open a gun case.
Then, Walther unloads a series on the following topics: Grip, stance, sight alignment, red dot alignment (What a great idea! After all, many guns are sold with red dots, and for new shooters, that might be even more confusing.), trigger pull and dry-fire practice. At The WON, we have featured instructor Gabby Franco with tips for dry fire practice, but again, it’s important that you do it right. So if you can, get some tutelage at the gun range.
If you purchased a gun for concealed carry purposes, you have thought about carrying it. In this video, Walther’s Cody Osborn breaks down different styles of holsters, such as an IWB and OWB (see the video). After this video, you can delve deeper into carry options with more offerings on the following holster carry options: appendix, 3 o’clock and 6 o’clock. Note: for women, especially, I’ve heard that 6 o’clock is the worst way to carry, since an attacker more than likely will want you on your back. Imagine trying to get a gun when it’s smashed against the pavement. Two more videos deal with drawing and re-holstering your gun. It’s important to practice these skills with an empty gun, hundreds or even thousands of times.
If you’re over 18, you may watch the video on YouTube (flows over from the site) called “Skill Drills: Reliability with Carry Ammo.” Gun writer Richard Mann presents information about finding the perfect ammo that complements your gun. He touches upon how many rounds you actually need to shoot, and how often you need to clean your gun and how that relates to testing ammo. It’s pretty interesting stuff, but its goal is to give you confidence in the ammo that you choose to load into your defensive pistol.
Having been to Gunsite and other training academies, I recognize some of the titles of the drills that Walther includes in its short videos: Failure drill, controlled pair and four-five drill, to name a few. These are commonly found drills, and if you’re going to head out and pay big bucks (at least $250 per day) for top-level training, it would behoove you to watch a few (or all) of these videos so that you can see what you’ll more than likely be doing on the range.
Another great thing about training on the range is that you usually get to move. Most of the time, shooting ranges don’t allow people to move with their firearms.
Wow! Now this series applies to all of us who carry on-body and drive. Rick Hogg masterfully explains topics such as “Holster Placement Inside a Vehicle,” “Drawing from Inside a Vehicle,” “Shooting from Inside a Vehicle,” “Exiting a Vehicle” and “Movement Around a Vehicle.” After watching this series, I am game to find a course where I can practice live fire drills such as these in a real vehicle.
Larry Vickers, of Vickers Tactical, also appears in videos for Walther. His videos cover the basics, such as these topics: “How to Turn and Shoot,” “How to Diabnose and Fix Your Shot Groups” and “How to Shoot Strong Hand Only.” He finished the series with two drills, “the 5-5-5 drill,” and “the close-out drill.” I plan on incorporating all of these drills into my time on my private range with my Walthers this year.
Rick Hogg, Jamey Caldwell and Larry Vickers combine forces to bring a 76-part series of training titled “It’s Your Duty Training Series.” This series just became a goal for me to watch in 2022, and to apply.
Thanks to Walther for its superb customer service by offering all of these firearm training tip videos for free to the public.
Visit Walther Arms online.
Publisher/Editor Barbara Baird is a freelance writer in hunting, shooting and outdoor markets. Her bylines are found at several top hunting and shooting publications. She also is a travel writer, and you can follow her at https://www.ozarkian.com. View all posts by Barbara Baird
