How Do You Learn To Run With A Gun

[MetropolisLake]

I just started and have my own land, so to get used to it, I'd just grab a gun and take off running. I'd pick knots on the side of trees and whatnot to dry fire at, mostly to gauge how winded I was and see how that affected stability. I'd run about a mile and dry fire at something every so often, and some days would sprint more, as much as my back would let me at least. Pistol is easy, but heavier rifles suck due to balance and needing upper body strength.

Worst part about pistol is watching your 180, as it's easier to run if you can flip the pistol sideways, but if you will get a DQ if you did that, you have to point it forward, but then you can't twist your upper body as much, throwing your stride off.

Of course when I finally got on a course, I didn't run at all due to being so overwhelmed. Whenever I figured I'd have a chance to run, I'd have to use that opportunity to reload a shotgun, or unsling a rifle, which turned into a brisk walk while I was doing these things.

Edited January 23, 2014 by MetropolisLakeOutfitters

[JWeber]

DAA has a video on their web site going over moving and shooting. Things to do and what to practice. If you can shoot and move at the same time you will need to run a lot less. Not saying I can do it but have seen others do it very well.

[Shadowrider]

Pick a consistent spot on the firearm you are moving with and apply a bit of additional pressure with your trigger finger (finger straight and don't choose the trigger as a spot), this will give you a bit of additional safety when on the move. Be aware of your muzzle at all times, keep you gun within your sight as you move, and go for it

This is great advice. I was pretty intimidated too because I started with a M&P having always owned 1911s or some other model with an external safety, so I was kind of doubly intimidated. I taught myself to do this and more. Before I move I do this:

1) Trigger finger off trigger and rested on frame above.

2) I rotate the gun counter-clockwise and carry it almost gangsta style while moving or opposite if I'm reloading at that point, but will go back to trigger finger up after the reload (I'm right handed). This is a mental check for me to ensure that the trigger finger is where it's supposed to be, and secondly the RO can see it better.

3) Move.

After a while 2 & 3 happen at the same time. At first I would almost always work a stage from left to right if I have had the option and it's still my default. Left to right allows me to turn and move straight 90 degrees and if I hold the gun across my body it's pointed straight downrange where it should be. I also hold it up high, like shoulder or eye level. Holding it high ensures you don't DQ by covering yourself (weak hand/arm) when opening doors or ports and if you have to run uprange it's easier to "stick it in your ear" (hold it behind you) to maintain muzzle direction.

Just pick some basic things for yourself to always do no matter what. It gets easier with time and becomes second nature, just make sure your habits are good ones.

[Ultimo-Hombre]

The dry fire on the treadmill idea is kind if cool. I am gonna try that one. If I can have any sort of sight pic running at 7 mph, then it will be like a bench rest walking at 2 mph right?

[zypherdex]

I also run around my home with an empty gun, ive noticed a few benefits ofndoing so. One of them is getting used to the feel of your particular firearm. I think that the more natural the gun feels in your hand the easier it is to shoot/manipilate. Another benefit is if you practice safe handling of your firearm, over time it comes natural to you. Just remember safety first, then speed.

[MetropolisLake]

Be mindful of sweeping your other arm when you run. The only way it feels natural is to run with the pistol in your strong hand. It's very easy to sweep your other arm when you do that.

[Scooter567]

I'm a pretty new shooter and DQ'd today because I almost always practice moving from left to right. Today's second stage had us moving From far right to far left, and for those of us in production it was right at first reload. I dropped my mag and brought the gun up in front of me to insert mag just as I turned to run left. That automatically points the barrel right at everyone behind the safe line. I got to spend the rest of the day watching, and learning, and I know I won't make that mistake again! It just didn't cross my mind when I did my walkthroughs that it was an unsafe time/place to reload. Next time I will keep the gun pointed down range, and reload when I get to the next shooting box/area.

[prairiefire]

Great tips here. One of my partners was on a SWAT team and they used many of these principles when "clearing" a house. I really like the paintball idea. Living in a part of the US that is cold several months of the year, it would be nice to practice indoors and paintballing would accomplish that.

[lawboy]

I'm a pretty new shooter and DQ'd today because I almost always practice moving from left to right. Today's second stage had us moving From far right to far left, and for those of us in production it was right at first reload. I dropped my mag and brought the gun up in front of me to insert mag just as I turned to run left. That automatically points the barrel right at everyone behind the safe line. I got to spend the rest of the day watching, and learning, and I know I won't make that mistake again! It just didn't cross my mind when I did my walkthroughs that it was an unsafe time/place to reload. Next time I will keep the gun pointed down range, and reload when I get to the next shooting box/area.

BUMMER. but realize that it was the perfect time to reload just the wrong time to point the gun across your body and uprange. Practice reloads moving rt. To lf. And you will be fine.

[Dkrad1935]

To learn to run with a gun, you should practice with scissors!

[dhunt91]

For me it came naturally Iv been playing tournament paintball for 4 years now and that is one of the key elements of the position I played so it came fairly easy to me. As well as shooting by instinct instead of by sight point and shoot is easy for me while I know many others that have trouble relying on feel.

[obsessiveshooter]

Good stuff here. I'm a new shooter and from the few matches I've shot, the two main differences I see between the GM/M shooters and the rest are 1. short splits and 2. They actually RUN. I can't shoot as fast as them at this point but I'm a young athletic guy and I can run. This upcoming match I'm going to try to break out of the fast shuffle and move into actually busting ass towards my next place to post up. Moving while shooting is another thing though. I can walk and shoot but anything faster is going to take a lot of practice.

[IHAVEGAS]

The 180 rule usually comes into effect running let or right and doing so while attempting a reload. It was suggested to me , as a right handed shooter , I rotate my wrist clockwise running to my right or strong hand. The opposite should be used running to the left or weak hand. Hope this helps. It has helped me.

Wish I'd have read this advice a little sooner . . . .

Other thing.

They had a course recently where you sort of had to start at a side and run along an oval shape, this had you moving more sideways but slightly backwards for the first few targets. When not reloading I've tried to get in the habit of sort of following the gun. When preparing, I followed my pointed but unloaded finger as it broke the 180 while traversing the oval. It is so much nicer to catch this stuff rather than get caught by it. Respecting the 180 is something I first thought that I would just know to do automatically, but now I think of it as something I need to look out for.

[eric nielsen]

If you really want to improve your efficiency (get higher hit factors) especially with lateral movement, try this at home:

Find a hallway in your house with doors opening off to the sides. My downstairs hallway I start -

1. In guest bedroom: draw, engage target, then move to

2. Guest bathroom engage target, move to finish up at

3. Laundry room, engage target; done. Reverse direction drill starts in the laundry room, ends in guest bedroom.

For all movement going to my right, I pull the gun back to have the gun vertical about shoulder-high, the slide pointed directly downrange, and I see the slide directly under my right eye. Pushing out to the target and making a clean shot goes quicker and easier than any other gun position (i've tried a bunch). No twist, no elbow up, or any of that. Just figured this out after taking some of Max's advice about dry-fire, see link.

For movement going to the left, which is tougher for most right-handed people, I still find a way to get the slide/optic directly under my right eye and when setting up into the 2nd and 3rd positions, I'm still pushing directly out to the target, just that the slide might have been a little bit off from directly downrange (not much). If you engage 2/more targets or have doorways off at angles (like my upstairs) it's a different drill but also good to work on.

The less often you mag-change, the more this efficiency shows itself on the timer and on the quality of your shots. So for Open with long mag and an optic, this is a good way to shoot just about non-stop. With mag changes thrown in, I might move my gun off that right-eye/downrange spot a little, but going to my right it's almost no difference and going to my left I commit to moving the slide no more than 45 degrees off of downrange which has worked well for a long time: I've never been DQ'd. Link:

Edited March 17, 2014 by eric nielsen

[MotorMouth]

I keep my hand with the gun fully extended and I rotate so my index finger is up. I look like an idiot running around with a gangsta grip, but it's fast because I don't have to extend my hand again when I get to the next shooting box and it's safe because the RO can clearly see my finger on top of the gun and along the rail. Although, honestly, most of time I'm transitioning from one shooting position to the next, I'm probably reloading.

[kylehb]

In my opinion, go to the range and just practice doing it until it becomes almost second nature.

[zhuk]

You have to walk before you run. Dry fire at home is a great method of reinforcing muzzle awareness and trigger control. In USPSA the is a blend of accuracy and speed. If you shoot all Alpha's but your time is slow you will not win. If you are blazing fast and shoot C's, D's, and M's you won't win. My first match I did not run at all. More of a fast walk. I shot well but finished poorly. Next match I tried shaving time by shooting faster. Very bad idea. Times came down very little and my scores suffered. What I have learned is to move fast and shoot slow. Hold the gun at eye level whenever you move. It will get you back on target faster and in the unlikely event that you slip and fall you won't fall on to the gun.

^This.

It must have been around 4 months before I felt comfortable enough to break out of a slow walk during a COF and felt I had a solid handle on safety. 180* direction etc. Walk before you can run, literally.

That said, due to range restructions we cannot practice shooting on the move at our club - the only time to 'practice' that is at away matches lol

Edited April 3, 2014 by zhuk