Sight-Radius and the Pistol Learning Curve

by Sandy Keathley

The Pistol Learning Curve is my term for the amount of time (or rounds) required for a new shooter to acquire moderately good control and consistency with a given handgun. My definition of moderately good is the ability to hit a paper plate 8 out of 10 times at 7 yards, or 3 out of 4 times at 10 yards. That is hardly an expert marksman, but someone who is competent with a gun, and could defend themselves or family at typical self-defense distances.

The sight-radius, by the way, is the distance between the front and rear sights on a gun. Compare a typical concealable-sized .380 with a .22 target pistol (above) and you will see the difference.

The question at hand is, to what extent does the sight-radius affect the learning time? Note that, in the first sentence above, I said a "new shooter". An experienced shooter already has a flatter learning curve, due to the experience shooting other guns, and their ability to compensate for the observed differences. The new shooter has no such experience by which to make adjustments.

A longer sight-radius, i.e., longer barrel, makes accuracy easier, because the minute differences in sight alignment become less critical. An alignment error of 1mm on a longer gun has much less impact on accuracy than the same difference on a short gun. New shooters can start hitting that paper plate much sooner with a longer barrel, than with a pocket gun.

Consider this typical scenario:

John Doe is 26, married, with a new baby. He has either never shot a gun, or shot one a few times on his grandfather's farm when he was 16. He feels the need to provide protection for his growing  family.  He also has to carry cash sometimes for his company, so it makes sense to get a Concealed Handgun License (CHL) at the same time. He doesn't want to invest in two guns, so he buys the smallest gun he can find, maybe a .380, or a small 9mm. He reads a few articles online, reads the manual for his gun, then goes to a range and teaches himself. It doesn't go well. He is overlooking some fundamentals, so by the time he can pass the paper plate test, and feels confidant to take the CHL class, he has spent more money on ammo and range fees than it would have taken to buy a second, longer gun in the first place.

My advice would always be for new shooters to start with a full-size pistol for learning. If a concealable gun is desired later, and the finances are tight, then sell the first gun to get the second. It will then be much easier (quicker, cheaper) to learn the smaller gun. I just wish someone had told me this when I was younger!

Breathing and its Effect on Pistol Shooting

by Sandy Keathley

Many people think that shooting a pistol accurately is not a complicated thing; just point and pull the trigger, like throwing a baseball. This has no doubt been exacerbated by what we see on TV. My favorite typical scene is where the good cop shuts down the power to a building by shooting a power line suspended from a tower 75 feet off the ground. One handed. Really?

In reality, shooting involves a complex mix of skills, in balance with each other. None of them are difficult, and can be learned in a few minutes, but managing that mix takes practice. Anything that upsets that delicate mix to impart even the slightest misalignment of the center axis of the bore to the target will cause the shot to miss. Due to the geometry involved, a slight miss at a short distance becomes a much larger miss at longer distances.

The factors most often mentioned that affect the shot are trigger-work, sight-alignment, and anticipation of recoil, but breathing can also have a part. Rifle shooters tend to be more aware of this than pistol shooters, because they have the rifle against their shoulder, and the shoulder moves during breathing, but it is a factor for pistols as well.

Holding your breath is actually not the best approach; it tends to cause tension and stress, especially over multiple shots. A better approach is to "stop" or "pause" the breathing process for about 2 seconds, then resume after the shot. There are two places in the breathing cycle where this happens naturally: at the top (after complete inhalation), and at the bottom (after complete exhalation). Some people like to take advantage of these natural pauses to take the shot. I would tend to use the bottom pause, as there is more relaxation there (and more tension at the top). Another idea is to wait until shortly after the bottom of the cycle, when you have inhaled about 1/3 of your capacity, then pause.

Which way you manage this is a very individual thing, but doing something about it will give you a more stable platform from which to shoot, and better accuracy.

Laser Training for Pistol Accuracy

by Sandy Keathley

The most important factor in accuracy with a handgun is keeping the muzzle from moving before, or during, the trigger break. While dry-firing or live-firing, most people will swear that the muzzle is not moving, and is perfectly still. This is an illusion, caused by the very tiny, imperceptible movements, caused by the muscles, lateral pressures on the trigger,breathing, and just the fact of being human. It is not possible to hold the muzzle perfectly still, as if it were locked into a gun vise. But you have to hold it still to get a good shot. So how do we get around this?

Many experts teach people to not fight this movement, but learn to control it; allow the movement to happen, and learn to time the break so that it happens as the sights align with the target. Tricky, but not impossible. It is a factor of "muscle memory", not unlike juggling. Not everyone subscribes to this, but many people have success with it.

However, it is worth noting that the more you can control the movement of the muzzle, the easier shooting accuracy becomes, regardless of the approach after that. Lasers can be a very useful teaching aid in this development. If you don't have a gun with a laser, you can still do this. Get a small laser pointer, like used in a classroom. It has to be one that can be switched on, and left on. Use masking tape and tape it to your gun. If using only for dry-firing, it doesn't matter if it is aligned with the sights, or taped to the slide. I recommend doing it during live-fire, so make sure it is not taped to the slide, or you will be in for a shock. Also try to align it with your sights as much as possible. Crimson Trace makes add-on lasers for most models of handguns, so for a modest investment, you could add a real laser. I personally think it is worth the cost as a training aid, even if not left on the gun long-term.

Go online and find a target used for rimfire rifles. They will typically have either bullseyes or circles about the size of a quarter, or a dime. Print out, and put on the wall somewhere, or tape to a target at the range. Do this at a minimum distance of 5 yards, although 7-10 yards is even better. Take your normal stance, and try to keep the laser dot in this circle from before you put pressure on the trigger, until the break. Repeat 10 times. Take a break, and do it all again. If doing dry-firing, do this drill every day for 7 days in a row. For live-fire, do it once a week for a month. You should find significant improvement in your ability to hold the muzzle steady. Then again, you're not really aiming, are you? That sounds like a post for another day.

Is 9mm big enough?

by Sandy Keathley

It is interesting to observe the history of handgun calibers. For many years, the .38 Special revolver was the standard police sidearm. It was powerful, but had substantial recoil. When the semi-automatic pistol became common in the 1950s, many police departments moved to the 9mm pistol. While slightly less powerful than the .38 Special, it was still judged to be sufficient, and it carried more ammo. In recent years, many departments have moved beyond the 9mm, to the .40 or .45 caliber handguns. Many officers in the Texas DPS carry sidearms chambered for the .357 Sig, which is described as a .40 caliber on steroids. In fact, it was an attempt by the firearms manufacturer Sig Sauer to migrate the ballistics of the legendary .357 Magnum revolver to a semi-automatic platform. The .357 Magnum revolver is a massively-powered cartridge, more powerful than the .45 caliber pistol, and arguably one of the most powerful handguns to be found in common usage (yes, there is a .44 Magnum, but who carries a cannon like that around with them?). When you get to the level of the .357 Sig, .45, and .357 Magnum, you are now dealing with a gun that, loaded with a FMJ cartridge, will put a bullet completely through the criminal, through the person behind him, and through a wall into the next apartment (which is why police don't use FMJ).

Contrast this to an earlier time. In the 1930s and 40s, many military officers carried a .32 semi-automatic pistol. Soldiers sometimes carried a .22, valued for the way it would dispatch a sentry with little noise. The legendary (and fictional) James Bond carried a .380. German officers favored the 9mm Luger, which was considered a big gun at the time.

Why, now, does it seem to be necessary to shoot through brick walls?

One reason is that criminals are better-armed than before. If I were a LEO, facing a gang of bank robbers armed with AR-15 rifles, and only carrying a pistol, I would want a .357 Sig or a .45, with an 18 round magazine and two spares.

A more common reason has to do with the proliferation of drugs. It is a medical fact that a person in an enhanced emotional state, whether high on drugs, or just enraged, does not feel pain in the same way as normal people. These people can be shot several times, even mortally, and still have the kinetic energy to get to the officer trying to stop him. There is a documented case of a man in a drug-induced frenzy, shot 6 times with a .38 Special, who lived long enough to stab to death the police officer who shot him. Stopping power now takes on a whole new meaning in law enforcement.

This does present a quandary for the concealed handgun license holder. Do you equip yourself to deal with a common street thug, or an enraged 300 lb guy on PCP and meth? Or bank robbers with AR-15s and grenades? Or bazookas?

My view is, if you ever need something bigger than a 9mm, you have bigger problems. I suggest you kill the first person, and take his gun. Repeat as necessary.

Texas School Marshal Program

by Sandy Keathley

Today, classes started for the new School Marshal Program in Texas. Pursuant to a new law, school districts may opt in (or not) to the program, which would put armed first-responders in the schools of that district. Some larger districts, like Dallas, are not participating, because they already have guards in the schools, often off-duty police officers. In some districts, police are assigned to schools for their duty. Still, that is only one person per school, and many Texas high schools are large campuses, with eight or more buildings and 4000+ students. Many elementary schools do not have such Resource Officers.

One benefit of this program is cost, in that the marshals are already school employees, and are just paid a bonus for volunteering to carry a concealed weapon as they go about their normal jobs. Each school participating could have several marshals, for much less than the cost of hiring one full-time LEO. Employees selected for the program have to already have a Concealed Handgun License, and then go through a much more rigorous training course than is normally a part of the CHL process.

The normal carry license in Texas does not require training, per se, but demonstration of a minimal skill set in loading, firing, and clearing a handgun. It is certainly not up to the level of a police officer, but is more than some states require. The Legislature did not want to make it so difficult the average citizen could not qualify, as self-defense is, after all, a Constututional right. However, it is very appropriate that school marshals have a higher level of training. Some of them will probably be veterans, which is even better.

Yes, the liberals will scream, as always, about more guns in schools. I am quite sure there are people in Connecticut who wish they had had armed first responders at Sandy Hook Elementary that day. Israel has done this for decades, and has not had a school shooting for decades. It's a hard way to learn a lesson, but I'm proud that Texas was listening.

Some people like to use the phrase "common-sense" when promoting gun control; well, there are evil and demented people out there, and this is a "common-sense" solution to the problem.

...or you could just post a sign that says "No guns allowed". We've seen how well that works.

Semi-Automatic vs Revolver

by Sandy Keathley

The semi-automatic handgun is now the highest level of technology in the pistol world, and has been around for over 50 years. Police were slow to adopt it, initially, but as designs improved, even they were won over. There are several advantages:

• It fits the hand better, especially a full-size gun, like the 1911-style
• It can carry more ammo, 12-18 rounds for a service sidearm (6-10 for concealables)
• The reciprocating action of the slide absorbs much of the recoil, providing either greater accuracy, more available firepower, or both
• Many different chamberings available, from .22 to .45 or greater

The revolver, on the other hand, is simple, old technology, going back over 150 years. It has few moving parts, but is limited in capacity, has a somewhat unwieldy grip, and sends all the recoil up your arm. They can be painful to shoot, which is a huge drawback for a less experienced shooter.

So why does anyone even use these anymore? Two words: idiot proof.

They never jam, almost never fail to fire (except for a faulty cartridge), and if they do, just pull the trigger again. They have no safety, no release levers, no buttons or switches to learn, except the cylinder release. Point, pull the trigger.

I'll admit, I was never attracted to revolvers (low-tech) until I bought one. Now it is one of my favorite guns. It is the one I keep loaded all the time, at home. Because I wanted it to be fun to shoot, and accurate, I bought a Smith & Wesson 686 in .357 Magnum (also .38 Special) with a 6-inch barrel. It is very well made, solid steel, heavy as a brick, and easy to shoot well. It's way too big to conceal, but for a house gun, can't be beat.

A revolver for concealed carry is problematic, because a short, light revolver is not fun to shoot. It can save your life, but I would prefer a student carry a gun they will actually practice with sometimes. However, there is something to be said for having no doubts whatever that a gun will fire 6 times.

This is not to cast doubt on a semi; an expensive one, with good ammo, might go 1000 rounds without a jam. Others might go 200-300 rounds, but eventually, one of these things will happen:

• You limp-wrist a shot
• The slide grooves get dirty
• The feed ramp gets dirty
• A magazine spring or slide return spring gets weak

Most people don't spend time worrying about all these what-ifs, and most people who carry a concealed weapon shoot often and clean often, so it's not a problem. But what about the person who buys a gun to keep at home, puts it in a drawer, and doesn't touch it for 6 months? That person, I submit to you, should have a revolver.


Disclaimer: one very popular use for the revolver, not relevant here, is a type of competitive shooting called "Cowboy Action Shooting", which uses single-action, Western-style revolvers. These would generally not be used for home defense.

McKinney CHL Services

by Sandy Keathley

McKinney Firearms Training was originally launched to teach people how to shoot. It's true that most people don't get formal training with a handgun. After all, it is just a "point-n-shoot" device. However, there are good reasons why people should seek out an instructor: they may not properly learn the safety rules on their own (or the reasons to be rigid about them), they may not know that the gun they bought is not suitable for their purposes, or is not suited to them, and there are certain of the fundamentals of shooting that are not intuitive.

While it has been enjoyable teaching in this arena, there is an ever-growing market for instruction relative to the Texas Concealed Handgun License. Even in a smaller town like McKinney, CHL instruction is in demand, so it seemed like a good fit to include that on my list of courses. It has been a surprise to me, how many people I already knew told me they had been thinking about it for some time.

Getting state certification to teach these classes was challenging, but enjoyable, especially getting to qualify on the huge firing range at the DPS Tactical Center in Georgetown.

Our bigger CHL classes are taught in Plano, but the McKinney CHL classes are seeing more traffic, including people who have previously taken a pistol class. We do have another website for the CHL classes, McKinney CHL, but have decided to not try to maintain separate sites, so this one now directs users to the main site.

Alas, prices for both the McKinney CHL and Plano CHL classes will be going up in September, and July classes are almost filled, so visitors who have been putting off getting their license are advised to sign up now for August.

Meanwhile, remember this tip: "aim small, miss small."