shooting

Benefits of Obtaining a Texas Gun License

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A Texas License to Carry (LTC) offers a range of benefits that extend beyond just the ability to conceal a handgun. Here are some key advantages:

**Enhanced Personal Protection:**
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* **Deterrence:** Most criminals prefer easier targets. Openly carrying a firearm can deter potential attackers.
* **Self-defense:** In a dangerous situation, an LTC allows you to legally respond with a firearm if necessary.
* **Confidence and peace of mind:** Knowing you have a means of self-defense can provide a sense of security and well-being.
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**Legal Benefits:**

* **Streamlined firearm purchases:** With an LTC, you no longer need a separate background check when buying a handgun from a licensed dealer.
* **Reciprocity:** Your Texas LTC is recognized in over 30 other states, allowing you to legally carry concealed in those jurisdictions.
* **Trespass protections:** An LTC provides specific legal protections against being charged with trespassing for carrying a concealed handgun on private property (unless posted signage explicitly prohibits it).

**Additional Benefits:**

* **Employment protections:** Texas law prohibits employers from banning LTC holders from keeping firearms in their vehicles parked on company property (unless the employer is a government entity or certain safety-sensitive businesses).
* **Enhanced legal knowledge:** Obtaining an LTC requires training in firearm safety and Texas gun laws, promoting responsible gun ownership.
* **Lifetime investment:** An LTC is valid for five years and can be renewed for life, making it a worthwhile investment.

However, it’s important to remember that carrying a concealed handgun is a significant responsibility. Before obtaining an LTC, it’s crucial to undergo proper training and understand the legal implications and ethical considerations involved.

I hope this information helps! Feel free to ask if you have any further questions about Texas LTCs or specific benefits that may interest you.

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How To Improve Your Shooting Accuracy

For anyone who is committed to mastering firearms, the struggle to sharpen their accuracy seems to be a never-ending challenge. Of all the firearms in our arsenal though, the handgun can be the most challenging to master. It is small with a short sight radius and generally has a trigger that requires more pressure than the gun weighs. With so much to wade through, it is time to look at eight simple things anyone can do to improve their overall accuracy with a handgun.

Trigger Control
The first thing to focus on is trigger control. We often hear this phrase used when discussions of accuracy arise. Few times however is it given sufficient attention. The truth is that pistols for the most part are accurate. It’s our manipulation of the weapon that interferes with its ultimate capability. Here are some solid trigger control drills to help you improve.

Dime on the Front Sight Drill
Always easier with the help of a partner, unload your weapon and remove the magazine if possible. Reset the action on your pistol and have your partner balance a dime on the front sight. Now, execute a smooth, clean press of the trigger. If you do this correctly, the front sight will not dip or move and the dime will stay in place. If the dime falls off, you are generally jerking the trigger and causing movement in the gun. That movement translates into missed shots. The key to keeping the dime steady is a smooth continuous trigger press with a clean “break” at the end.

Keep the Slack Out
The more we move the trigger, the higher the probability that we will miss our shot. The trigger press is composed of three stages: the slop, which is the distance the trigger travels freely to the rear before you encounter resistance; the slack, or the distance the trigger will still travel while under tension prior to firing; and the shot, which is where the trigger finishes its’ travel and ultimately fires the weapon. In our initial press of the trigger, we will experience all three stages of the trigger motion. However, after the initial press, the trigger will reset. The distance required for reset generally takes it only as far as the “slack” point. Do not allow the trigger to travel any further forward than is necessary. A great drill for this is to empty your weapon and press the trigger. With your support side hand, rack the slide, and as it is moving forward relax your trigger finger. The tension of the trigger will push forward and allow it to reset. Only let the trigger move as far forward as it has to. Having a partner actually rack the slide for you while you stay pointed in is also very helpful. Continuous dry practice with this drill will familiarize you with how far your trigger needs to travel. At all costs we look to avoid letting the trigger move all the way forward and even worse, our finger comes off the trigger. This generally ends up in a “slap” of the trigger on subsequent shots and will interfere with accuracy.

Follow Through
Follow-through is the act of keeping the gun steady to send follow up shots on target. The challenge faced comes in the way of anticipation or flinch. Especially true with newer shooters, the anticipation of the next shot can cause a flinch response to the weapon firing. This causes muzzle dip and is never helps to accuracy. To deal with this challenge try this proven drill.

Ball and Dummy
One of the most classic pistol drills, the ball and dummy drill is designed to help eliminate flinch. The drill is generally done with a partner to assist. While the shooter is turned away, the partner will place their weapon in a state of readiness. It will either be set with a round in the chamber or reset without around. Either way, the trigger will function. The shooter has turned back around and given the weapon. They point in and press as if they were shooting a bull’s eye. If the weapon is unloaded, the trigger will “click” yet the muzzle should not dip. If there is a noticeable dip, it is a sign of anticipating the shot. Continue this drill with an occasional live round placed in the chamber so as to keep the shooter off balance. Approximately 75% of the time it should be empty, however. This is a solid drill for learning to overcome the anticipation of the shot firing.

Sight Picture and Alignment
The last part of our accuracy formula looks at sight picture and alignment. There are many theories and methods of shooting when it comes to the world of sites. At the most fundamental and reliable level though we look to align the sights on target while intently focusing on the front sight. The rear sights should be slightly blurry as will be the target. The front sight should be crystal clear. A few reliable drills to build confidence are these:

Bench Shooting
One of the best ways to learn certain components of shooting is to minimize the need to focus on other parts. By shooting from a benched position you are able to eliminate the need to stabilize yourself in order to make good shots. This is a confidence builder as well as a drill to help you build good sight alignment habits. Sit at a bench with your arms resting on a shooting bag. Acquire a solid sight picture and alignment. Take your time and fire shots with the intent of managing perfect sights throughout the process.

Figure 8 Drill
One of the challenges we face is the feeling that our sights are all over the place as we begin to make a shot. For the most part that is just our perception and not reality. With good mechanics, you can make good accurate shots consistently. A drill to show you this, as well as to work on trigger control is the figure 8 drill. At about six yards point in at your target, now take all of the slop and slack out of the trigger. Intentionally move the front sight six to eight inches in figure 8 over the bull’s eye. Now, as you come across the bull’s eye, break your shot and reset your trigger to shoot again. Continue this for five or six shots. What you will find is that you are much more accurate than you may think. By managing the trigger well, it allows for quite a bit of motion and you still maintain good accuracy.

The goal is always to bring these components together. Unless you are a static bull’s eye shooter, there will be many moving parts to making a shot. Here are a few drills designed to start mixing components without overwhelming yourself:

Bring Them All Together
Ragged Hole Drill
The ragged hole drill is another classic. From six yards, you will slow fire five rounds into a single point on your target. Do your best to focus on a small portion of the target. Better yet, get a target that has one to two-inch dots on it as focus points. Take your time and use the exact same point of aim each time. Do not chase your shots or try to make corrections. If you manage your trigger and sights well, you should end up with a single ragged hole. If your shots are spread out, it is a sign that you need to polish up on one or more of the basics.

Shrinking Targets
Similar to the ragged hole drill, the goal is to start shrinking your shot groups. Find or make a target that has three or four circles on it each a little smaller than the previous one. From six yards, fire five rounds into each circle. The goal is to have all the rounds inside the circle. As you master one circle, move to the next smaller and so on. This is as much a confidence builder as it is a skill builder.

Shooting a handgun can be a challenge. As with all shooting, it always comes back to the fundamentals. By practicing these drills you can improve individual portions and ultimately bring them all together. In the end, like all complex motor skills, shooting is a perishable skill. The practice must be ongoing but with practice comes skill!

Need help with your new firearm? Enroll in our Basic Pistol 101 Class….

5 Levels of Shooting Competence

                   What Level or Type of Shooter are you?

Intentionally Incompetent
A classic example of Intentionally Incompetent gun owners are those who are aware of organized shooting events,
but refuse to attend or even acknowledge the potential benefits.
Typically, these individuals mislead themselves and others by fabricating lies justifying non-participation or below average
results: You may hear them say things like…
“Competition shooting will get you killed.”
“Organized/target shooting isn’t real shooting.”
“Marksmanship is for soldiers/police/hunters and very different than marksmanship for competition.”
“I’m horrible on paper targets, but I’m deadly in the field.”

UNCONSCIOUSLY INCOMPETENT
The UI does not know what he or she does not know. The UI represents the majority of all gun owners and includes people
(police and military) who carry a gun for a living. The UI is incompetent but does not know he or she is incompetent
because he or she had no training or low-level training and has not yet experienced a situation exposing his or her
inadequacies.
Examples of the UI can be found everywhere:
**The officer who only practices shooting his weapon a few times per year only to pass the POST or department
mandatory range qualifications is UI.
**The gun owner who buys a gun and box of ammo, only attends mandatory CCW classes, fires a few shots at the
range and then places the gun in his closet, confident he or she can use it effectively to protect him or herself is UI.
**The hunter who only attends mandatory hunter safety and only shoots once a year to sight-in his or her rifle before going
hunting is UI. **Most plinkers are UI. **Military personnel who only shoot the same course of fire as in Basic training
(even with an “Expert” qualification) are still UI. **Any gun owner who has never attended an organized shooting
event beyond a mandated safety/basic training course is UI.

CONSCIOUSLY INCOMPETENT
The next level of competence hits you like a ton of bricks because you immediately become aware that you know very little, or
previously held notions are incorrect, and that there is so much to learn. This often happens when the UI
attends his/her first organized shooting event. This is the quickest, cheapest and safest way to figure this out.

CONSCIOUSLY COMPETENT
If the CI makes the effort to learn, through study, proper training and practice, the CI develops into the CC. The
length of time needed to develop from CI to CC is directly related to the quality of the training or events attended
and the motivation of the student. Study brings you to the level of theoretical knowledge. You understand the
concepts, but to apply them, you have to think about them. In a lot of subjects or skills, you might never move
beyond this level. Every decision and action occurs as a result of an intricate thought process and has not yet
reached the reflex response level.

UNCONSCIOUSLY COMPETENT
The speed of reflex. Riding a bike, driving a car, touch, typing and speaking in your native tongue are common
skills most people are Unconsciously Competent in. At this level, theoretical knowledge is transformed into practical
knowledge. Study might get you to CC, but only proper practice and training will get you to UC.

The UC has programmed his mind and body (after thousands of correct repetitions) to react in a fraction of a
second with consistent responses that require no perceivable thought process. The UC functions flawlessly even
under stressful situations because the UC’s extensive training overrides his conscious thought process. As you can
imagine, the UC is not common in today’s society.

CONSCIOUS UNCONSCIOUSLY COMPETENT (very rare & often not considered a sixth level)
The highest level of competence is the ability to do something without thinking about it, yet retain a level of
awareness of how you do it. This level of competence enables you to teach the skill to someone else and is the
identity of a true Master. Many people who are experts at something find it difficult explaining it to someone less skilled.
They are so unconsciously competent, that they don’t know how they do it. They just do it. The CUC is a UC who can effectively teach others to reach a similar level of skill.

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