springfieldsan Posted August 17, 2012 Share Posted August 17, 2012 (edited) I have owned guns all my life (or since 10years old) but never took shooting serious but would like to start. I am not interested in competition shooting but would like to learn the ins and outs of shooting not only for fun but for home defense and conceal carry. Will this book (Practical Shooting, Beyond Fundamentals)help me accomplish this? Thanks Edited August 17, 2012 by springfieldsan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jetracer013 Posted August 17, 2012 Share Posted August 17, 2012 I am not familiar with that book however, I can recommend the Magpul handgun DVD. It covers all of the most critical points of shooting pistol. You may want to rethink the competition aspect. There are several members of my local club that shoot our matches for practice purposes. They do not "compete" to win but rather for the skills that practical shooting builds. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BSeevers Posted August 17, 2012 Share Posted August 17, 2012 I am not familiar with that book however, I can recommend the Magpul handgun DVD. It covers all of the most critical points of shooting pistol. You may want to rethink the competition aspect. There are several members of my local club that shoot our matches for practice purposes. They do not "compete" to win but rather for the skills that practical shooting builds. Good luck! That book was written by Brian Enos, I hope you know who that is. It is a book centered on shooting competition but I always feel shooting faster and more accurate has its place in defensive shooting. What you are not gonna get out of it is tactics like cover/concealment, fight techniques or legal considerations which is some of the areas to investigate in your defensive education. Stay in the sport and have fun. Soon you will have better pistol shooting skills than 90+++% of the world. That can't be a bad thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MTSCMike Posted August 17, 2012 Share Posted August 17, 2012 Don't rule out shooting in "competitions"...at least at the local level. Books and articles can help but they can't really "show" you how to do things or how to apply what you've learned. That comes from hands on experience which most folks never get in the traditional firing range environment. Most ranges preclude you from doing the very things that build skills in the defensive realm. Look at the IDPA website www.idpa.com and find a club close to you. Go there, introduce yourself as a new shooter wanting to learn and go from there. Some guys will be mostly BS and some will be good mentors and instructors. They all have something they can teach you even if it is only to serve as a bad example As stated above, it's only competition if you make it that. It can be pure training for you if you don't care how you finish in the match and pay more attention to how you solve the scenario. It's the best practice you can get because you will never get all you need just from practice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GunBugBit Posted August 17, 2012 Share Posted August 17, 2012 I just started reading Brian's Practical Shooting, Beyond Fundamentals and am finding to be a different kind of book. In a good way. I think the audience is the well developed competitive shooter who has developed the fundamentals of shooting quite fully, but is looking to improve his state of mind to really SHOOT dynamically and creatively, without mental constraints. You could buy it now and probably appreciate it more and more as you go through phases of development as a competitor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
springfieldsan Posted August 17, 2012 Author Share Posted August 17, 2012 thanks guys for the quick replies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grapemeister Posted August 19, 2012 Share Posted August 19, 2012 (edited) I have owned guns all my life (or since 10years old) but never took shooting serious but would like to start. I am not interested in competition shooting but would like to learn the ins and outs of shooting not only for fun but for home defense and conceal carry. Will this book (Practical Shooting, Beyond Fundamentals)help me accomplish this? Thanks The book is excellent and highly recommended, even if you're not interested in competition shooting. But, it does not cover the basics of conceal carry and personal defense. Bottom line, you need to take some classes. Certainly don't limit your education and training to books, and DVD's. I know you're not interested in competition shooting, at least not now, but after you take some classes, I would at least shoot a IDPA or USPSA match. The matches, at least for most people, will prompt you to take your shooting to a higher level. Once you've had that experience you will get even more out of Brian's book. Edited August 19, 2012 by grapemiester Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DerrickJ Posted August 21, 2012 Share Posted August 21, 2012 I have owned guns all my life (or since 10years old) but never took shooting serious but would like to start. I am not interested in competition shooting but would like to learn the ins and outs of shooting not only for fun but for home defense and conceal carry. Will this book (Practical Shooting, Beyond Fundamentals)help me accomplish this? Thanks The book is excellent and highly recommended, even if you're not interested in competition shooting. But, it does not cover the basics of conceal carry and personal defense. Bottom line, you need to take some classes. Certainly don't limit your education and training to books, and DVD's. I know you're not interested in competition shooting, at least not now, but after you take some classes, I would at least shoot a IDPA or USPSA match. The matches, at least for most people, will prompt you to take your shooting to a higher level. Once you've had that experience you will get even more out of Brian's book. I have met a lot of shooters that simply shoot USPSA or IDPA for the fun of trying something new and to get out of the rut of the square range. I think the book is helpful on different levels for different folks. I know that reading it after putting it down for a while gives me new perspective and insight that my new experiences make relevant. Experience just gives somethings context, or new meaning. Competition shooting is much more than just trying to win, it can be a different level of practice and training. Something to consider when you want to give yourself a new challenge and meet some good folks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimmyZip Posted August 21, 2012 Share Posted August 21, 2012 I have owned guns all my life (or since 10years old) but never took shooting serious but would like to start. I am not interested in competition shooting but would like to learn the ins and outs of shooting not only for fun but for home defense and conceal carry. Will this book (Practical Shooting, Beyond Fundamentals)help me accomplish this? Thanks Shoot the sport to give you an ingrained feel for your pistol/shotgun/rifle under at least a simulated stress situation. IDPA/USPSA will both give that to you. Then learn tactics. By that time you will have your fundamentals at a level that will give you time to think about everything else including the shooting should you ever need to defend yourself. Oh, and the book just kind of keeps on giving. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Griffin Posted August 31, 2012 Share Posted August 31, 2012 (edited) I think it is critical, critical, CRITICAL to shoot or watch a few competitions just to reset your understanding of what is possible. By no means should you worry about actually competing, but it will save you years of effort to understand what the end goal can look like. I recommend jumping straight in, but you can go the spectator route if that is more comfortable. The common knowledge about shooting is woefully inept. Crazy Japanese movies about crazy superhuman shooters are still about half-speed compared to the real, full-power competitive shooters, and likewise accuracy is dumbed down similarly. I don't think there's really any reasonable distinction between competitive shooting and self-defense as defined by what might be required from a normal US citizen. It's like asking whether you need to become a competitive lightweight or heavyweight to win a slapfight with your drunk friend; if you box at all everyone looks like they're standing still. The same is true of pistolcraft, once you decide to consciously practice speed and accuracy all the normal "standards" will quickly become trivial. The only real standard is . . . beat Bob Vogel. Beat Rob Leatham. Beat frickin' Nils. Beat Jerry. (I'm working very hard on one of those.) The upshot is this: You can have an immense amount of fun trying out competition, and I don't really think there is any better possible training for the common man as far as self-defense. You don't have to cut cards lengthwise on demand, you don't have to clear houses, you don't have to man Iraqi checkpoints. You need to know how to shoot accurately, quickly, and with no constraint as to the format, but under pressure. USPSA does that, in spades. Edited August 31, 2012 by Matt Griffin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dsb45acp Posted August 31, 2012 Share Posted August 31, 2012 I tried Brian's book when I was starting to actually compete (instead of just having a membership card) and I understood it on an intellectual level. Then I started to compete and use Anderson's dry fire book. After I had a classification and a little competition experience I re-read "Practical Shooting Beyond Fundamentals" and the things Brian is talking about in the book made much more sense to me. I still read it every now and then; I learn something new everytime. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daves_not_here Posted August 31, 2012 Share Posted August 31, 2012 Take a class from a good instructor! I think shooting techniques are only truly understood only after you do it. Taking a class from a Master level shooter really helped me a lot. I've also read how others progress faster by having a more experience and competent teacher. A good instructor can point out where you need to put the effort to the the most gains. I learned a lot about trigger press and grip my first class. It sounds like a basic thing but one little change can have a great effect. Another important thing to help improve your shooting is to have fun! DNH Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
g mac Posted August 31, 2012 Share Posted August 31, 2012 BE forums are excellent source of knowledge and experiences. Keep reading different topics from here, you'll learn a lot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
promod1385 Posted September 1, 2012 Share Posted September 1, 2012 Trigger time, its all about trigger time! I have read the book and it helped me learn a lot about the mental aspect of the game, deveoloping a sight picture, etc... However the bottom line is that trigger time is what its all about! GET SOME! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe L Posted September 16, 2012 Share Posted September 16, 2012 Brian's book is excellent. I bought it a year ago and still go back and re-read sections. After you learn the mechanics of the fundamentals, the book will be helpful, very helpful. It is the mental side of shooting that is so difficult to address by yourself. I continue to learn from Brian's book. But I didn't really appreciate the book first time through. That changed the more I shot. Or, come to think of it, that changes the more I shoot. I'm still learning from it. Joe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vincerama Posted September 18, 2012 Share Posted September 18, 2012 I'm a way better shooter now than I was before I started shooting USPSA. I'm not very good at it, but having other participants watch you, knowing you are a newbie, is great. I got lots of good tips on grip, technique and lots of USPSA specific tips too. Mostly though, it's a lot more fun/exciting than just punching paper at the static range, which in turn made me want to look up specific techniques, etc, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jetdriver71 Posted September 27, 2012 Share Posted September 27, 2012 In my experience its best to take the time and money and find an expert shooter and spend the day with him/her and learn the proper techniques of shooting. Grip,trigger control,sight pic...trust me it will save you time and money in the long run. Wish I'd done that from the beginning. I spent the day with Larry Brown in NC (trained Chris Tilley) and it made a world of difference. I went from C to B in no time. Whether IDPA or USPSA etc. it makes a huge difference. Books are great but practical experience is better! My humble opinion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jetdriver71 Posted September 27, 2012 Share Posted September 27, 2012 Chris Tilley, Max Michel, Travis Tomasie all offer first class instruction. Just google them and you'll see contact info. Can't emphasize how important it is to learn the right way the first time vs. taking the time to unlearn. I didn't know any of this when I started. Oh where I would be if I'd done it right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daves_not_here Posted October 1, 2012 Share Posted October 1, 2012 I'll +1 Chris Tilley. I've been shooting at the Tilley's indoor range for two years now. Chris is always around along with the rest of the Tilleys. They also have some acreage for long range work. If you do go to Personal Defense pat Sammie the border collie for me. If you're in town (Raleigh NC area) there's likely to be a practice match in the area that will be at the national level. DNH Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biz Posted October 2, 2012 Share Posted October 2, 2012 I agree with most of the posters, although I have military background (Marines), you can never know enough, read and glean from as many sources as you can. It can only make you a better shooter in the long run. Biz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toothguy Posted October 2, 2012 Share Posted October 2, 2012 Brian's book is excellent. I bought it a year ago and still go back and re-read sections. After you learn the mechanics of the fundamentals, the book will be helpful, very helpful. It is the mental side of shooting that is so difficult to address by yourself. I continue to learn from Brian's book. But I didn't really appreciate the book first time through. That changed the more I shot. Or, come to think of it, that changes the more I shoot. I'm still learning from it. Joe Ditto. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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