Prepare Against Stress in Firearms Practice
by Sara Ahrens
Introducing stress to a firearms practice program can help inoculate shooters against stress and preventing panic. Those who consistently train outside their comfort zones will be better able to handle the stress brought about by competition, and even deadly force encounters. There are several methods that shooters can use to artificially replicate or heighten stress during training
Method #1 – Physical Extertion
Increasing physical exertion, using a shot timer, and creating competition are some basic methods for increasing a shooters stress level. By physically exerting oneself, the end result is an increase in heart rate. This increase mimics the physiological symptoms of stress. The shooter must learn to control their breathing and discharge their firearm during naturally occurring pauses. If they dont, their shot placement will suffer. Physical exertion is the least effective method. Even though it replicates an increased heart rate, it fails to affect the mindset to the degree of truly stressful events.
Method #2 – Shot Timers
Shot timers cause stress for the shooter because of personal expectations to succeed. The stress of being timed caused shooters to rush their shots leading them to shoot faster than their capabilities. Keeping a written record of speed and accuracy will document long-term improvement. Shot timers are only effective if the users are willing to push themselves.
Method #3 – Competition
If you are a competitive person, you will most likely feel stress when set against another shooter. If you are significantly better than the other shooter, the stress may arise from fear of losing to that person. If both of you are equally skilled, you want to prove you are better. Even if you are a novice shooter, competition increases stress because of your desire to beat someone you know is more experienced than you. Each of these scenarios impact a shooter’s mindset to one degree or another. When shooters cannot control their physical reactions to stress, they are likely to face a mental breakdown and “choke.” Competitions need not be informal, the formal competitions area just as stressful. Formal competitions may be more stressful if onlookers create stress for the shooter.
Read more:
http://blog.beretta.com/firearms-practice-to-train-against-stress
John Veit
Apr 06, 2015 @ 08:26:37
Just read Sara Ahrens article on Stress Training in Firearms Practice.
It would be nice to know what is used in actual CQ encounters and then train via competition, shot timers, ect. in how to do that to a very high level of effectiveness.
To me it just doesn’t make sense to have a deadly weapon for use in self defense, and then train to use it in a way/s that are not established to be used in real CQ encounters.
Hoping that shooting training will transfer over in a real time life or death situation is a nice thought, but CQB studies have established that what most all PO’s and civilian shooters are trained in (SS), is just not used in CQB.
I was also going to cc this e-mail to Sara for her info, but could not find her e-mail address. Would appreciate it if you could forward it along to her.
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John M. Buol Jr.
Apr 06, 2015 @ 08:55:30
>> It would be nice to know what is used in actual CQ encounters and then train via competition, shot timers, ect. in how to do that to a very high level of effectiveness.
Yes, that would be nice to know. Too bad almost every police, military, CCW, and tactical class never bothers to establish a proven approach to elevate skill levels of every student beyond the novice, introductory skill levels that most remain at.
However, we do have some data. Research the real-world results of people known to have a high level of skill, such as established in formal competition, and decide if that works. Here’s a short list to get you started:
Bonnie Harmon, SGT Clark (7th Cavalry, first Distinguished Rifleman awarded by Philip Sheridan), GEN George Patton, Harry Reeves, Horace Bivens, Jack Arcularius, Frank Kruk, Lones Wigger, Tommy Pool, Bill Kriling, SSG Jim Gilliland, COL Colonel Walter R. Walsh, MAJ “Iron Mike” Eddson, Ryan and Jason Benedict, Daniel Duetsman, Leroy Brink, SGM Skiles (USMC, at Fallujah), Bill Allard, Charles Askins, Simo “Simuna” Häyhä, Carlos Hathcock, Jim Land, Herbert McBride, Sam Woodfill, Kyle Lamb, Frank Proctor, Pat McNamara, Brian McKibben.
If that isn’t enough, cross reference every Distinguished Rifleman and Pistol Shot that has military and/or police experience and see if they found their shooting experience useful.
https://ct.thecmp.org/app/v1/index.php?do=reportDistinguishedShootersByCriteria
Do the same for anyone with a Master classification or higher from NRA, USPSA, and/or other national-level competitive organization.
>> Hoping that shooting training will transfer over in a real time life or death situation is a nice thought, but CQB studies have established that what most all PO’s and civilian shooters are trained in (SS), is just not used in CQB.
No. CQB studies have shown what the majority of people do under stress and the majority is under trained. That CQB event was likely their first stress shoot as there is little to no stress in most military, police, and tactical shooting classes and qualification. This has zero representation of what actual, skilled, higher-level shooters will do under stress.
The majority remains at low levels of skill because most trainers continue to remain at novice levels. Most police and military would need to increase skill by 200-300% just to (finally) arrive at minimal competent levels. Until this changes, no amount of pontification of an “ideal” approach matters.
>> I was also going to cc this e-mail to Sara for her info, but could not find her e-mail address. Would appreciate it if you could forward it along to her. Thanks.
I bet she is easy to find online:
http://lmgtfy.com/?q=Sara+Ahrens
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