Why You Should Train 3-5 Yards! 

Why You Should Train 3-7 Yards video is up now!

Retired SoCal cop here. You are spot on. As a civilian, you are very unlikely to be engaged in a self defense situation at greater distances. I spend the majority of my practice shooting at 5 to 7 yards. Double tap to the body and one to the head. I do it over and over. I'll mix it up with a multiple bullseye target I use to simulate two threats. I'm reinforcing muscle memory. This isn't bragging rights practice. It's self defense practice. Those further shots can come with a lot of liability. Living in a rural area will create different potential circumstances. But even then; you should try to get away from the situation as you correctly pointed out.

Years ago an FBI statistic was the normal shooting scenario was: 3shots fired, at 3 yards, entire incident took 3 seconds or less. Always practice quick, just clearing the holster, tac-tac, center mass. Thanks

Former Maryland State Trooper, huge gun enthusiast and 2A advocate here, I can definitely say from my own experience, you learn a lot more about your own shooting habits when you practice with targets closer. Plus, most self defense shootings take place 5 yards and closer, not to mention, fundamentals go out the window when you’re in a real life stressful situation.

Bro explains calmly. In words that i use so its easy to understand. Doesnt sound overly teachy or professional. Bro got a subscriber.

I’m a pistol instructor and I constantly work on getting people to slow down when practice shooting. I often load only load one round in a magazine to practice reloading at speed. I really liked the side to side step as it is very hard to incorporate movement on a flat range. I liked the switching from strong to weak hand drill. I had not seen or practiced this before. I really liked the alternating from body shot to head shot drill. At 72 and working with some of the best trainers in the country, it is nice to see something new that I can put to use. Thanks

Great job! I’ve been a NRA certified instructor for over thirty years and this presentation was absolutely spot on!

You have to me the most sensible guy I've ever watched. Not only was this excellent advice but your ability to articulate was very good.

If you pay attention, you'll notice I say to STILL train at distance. I shot these drills over and over for an hour on the same target to get different angles. My grip when I'm shooting 1 handed is exactly what I explained in my "How to Grip a Handgun" video. Thanks for watching 👍🏾

As an advanced pistol instructor I find a significant amount of value in what you said in this video. I tell folks all the time that anyone can empty a box of 50 on a target but can you put 50 in the same hole making it no larger than the size of a quarter? That skill is mastered at the 3-5. Keep doing and teaching what you're teaching bro, it's good stuff!

Thanks for showing this. Everyone says train, train, train, and justifiably so. But no one talks about training effectively.

It's also important to do rapid acquisition as you did here. I see a lot of folks pride themselves on precision at 25 yards instead of quick combat accuracy. I'm a lousy bullseye shooter but have zero misses firing fast at 5-7 yards. You have produced excellent content here. Made me a new subscriber.

Just came across this video,100% on point close range , practice is 1# and 3-5 yards is key 100% .great video

The side step and the changing hands drill is nice.

Very informative and well done video. I've been practicing for over 40 years self defense shooting and I normally place my targets at 10, 15 and 20 feet out. What people forget is handgun are for close engagements. Rifles are for distance. Another thing people forget is most self defense encounters are within room distance. Great job young man. (Smile) Stay safe and healthy. Peace

That side step drill is interesting. I'll have to try it next time I go to the range.

Absolutely fantastic information in this video. This really helped me not feel like I’m wasting my time and money at the range just “having fun”

When I worked many years with an armored truck service, we trained for that up close and personal attack. Worked on clearing the holster clean draw center mass shots. The furthest we trained at was 15 to 20 yards. In situations like that few shots are fired and lasts up to 5 seconds. Eat that humble pie because it could save your life or someone else’s. Great video thank you for posting this.

Left pinky was funny… 🤣🤦🏻‍♂️ Work itself was creative and great… 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼 Thank you 🙏🏼👊🏼

Yepp this is spot on! When I got my first gun a buddy told me to find and measure the greatest clear line of sight distance within my home. We then went to the range and he set up my target based on my measurements. It's at that time that it clicked that practicing to hit a target at 50ft was pointless because the greatest clear distance in my home was only 30ft and at the time I did not plan on taking my gun out of my home. We then practiced 2 handed shooting, then later on offhand one-handed shooting. .

Sir, your video is 100% spot on the money. As a retired Cop all I train now days is 3-5 yards with my red dot. Over and over I run all my drills with all my guns at this distance. Thanks for the video.

Spot on man! We were just discussing this last night and you are 100% correct, tight groups at 3-5 yards when calm open up when confronted by a real threat. Thanks!

WELL DONE Alston, I'm impressed and will look forward to more videos, thank you.

Great tips for indoor range shooting.

I was involved in three deadly force encounters in my career w/my issued .38, furthest distance was one car-length away. While I did miss some, most of my rounds hit center mass ending the threat. I don’t know if it was luck or skill, but looking back I do believe luck was on my side.

Well done, I have been looking online for a clear concise video about training, and you made one. I appreciate the fact that you explained the "why" behind certain self defense tactics. Good work!

Excellent info, practicing at 5-7-10yds is a must. At home, recommend using a laser training system to practice holster draws, reloading, clearing, and incorporating different angles. Keep up the great work.

Stumbled on to this video. And I'm glad. Your cool demeanor, and the way u break things down is a much needed alternative to the majority of other guntube channels with their theatrics and shenanigans. Your voice and the smooth way u talk is soothing without putting me to sleep. Lol you're like Bob Ross but with guns! Definitely subscribing 👍

Fabulous video and great tips on how to properly practice and train.

That was dope bro. Thanks for the advice and content. Definitely got a follow.

Love your explanations. Very clear and precise. I am an instructor too - USCCA certified. I just stumbled upon your video. I'll be watching. Have a great day. Stay safe!

Some very good basic drills that all concealed carry people should work on.

Terrific. You absolutely nailed it. Some of the very best advice on RU-vid. Thank you.

Learned a lot for real life practice. You are so correct in training methods for real life self defense . Thank you!

Good stuff. And thank you for demoing those drills at the end. I'll remember those next time I'm practicing indoors. I train at a variety of distances. The longer distances are more about fun and challenging myself than about defense. When shooting steel, I'll sometimes use my last mag for fun by increasing distance by three or five yards for every ding on the target.

Wow, great video. This was one of the best and most useful/practical training videos I've seen. I will for sure be incorporating these exercises at the range. Thanks for putting this out.

Slick work! I appreciate the drills too. Often I just see people plinking at the range. One can play at a martial art or one can work at it…

Great lesson, thank you for the information

Great energy and very informative.

All good points Bro. I'm a pistol instructor and I work with a lot of new to novice shooters and they initially think you're insultig them by placing the target at 3/5 yds. I explain to them the self defense distance point you made. First time subscriber....Thanks!!

You’re page is about to go up sir! So glad RU-vid put you in my algorithm. Im watching and sharing your videos. Very informative.

You are exactly correct with you knowledge you are sharing.

Excellent advice and practice regime... Thanks

Love the energy, thanks for keeping it real and being positive

Good video! I know that you aren’t talking about this particular scenario, but it’s important for people to understand that if they do make a B zone, or event an A zone hit that isn’t on a central hit, it may not incapacitate that target. By the Tueller drill that most of us consider, you are still in danger. It’s important to train it keep them as central as possible and even if you use a flash sight picture that doesn’t look perfect, where your hits will be. Hitting central line makes a big difference in the time it takes for stopping capacity. Ideally, we hit center line and with good grip and position walk it up and down (as you demonstrated). Centerline ie very important and I’m glad you’re covering all of this. I’m also a long range shooter and happy that you covered the way we really learn is from our misses. Anybody can show their highlights, but when you can assess your misses and why your miss is when it really clicks for you and you learn how to make the adjustments that you need to, and even what may have influenced your shot or the way you were thinking when you pulled the trigger. Very good video, and I will definitely be watching more.

Very informative and useful. As a retired soldier and policeman, I can say these drills are set up for even us older folk without too much difficulty as far as movement and balance, etc. Practicing with your offhand is a must; you never know when your primary hand could be injured or your arthritis kicks up and you can’t use your primary hand. I carry a .38 snub nose revolver so reloading drills would be a little bit different. Train as you fight! Hooah! 🎚️🇺🇸🪖👮‍♂️

Really good stuff man. I had already decided to train one handed more but I will absolutely be adding the movement and different targets. Great insight on indoor range use. Thank you.

Really good vid. Simple, straightforward and well reasoned. If this is what your channel is like all the time, I’m in. Thanks for the content.

Excellent video, your presentation was fantastic, thank you sir.

Sound reasoning. Thank you. Respect 🙏

Great advice. Thank you.

Excellent video! and very good drills! I'll put these into practice, thanks!

Well done video with solid advice. Keep up the good work!

Awesome advice and video man!!! I enjoyed your tips and tactics. I subscribed so I can start watching more of your stuff!

Good simple drills and fun , thx for the break down and tips. I did these yesterday at my range. A few guys came over to say my groups were nice and asked for tips. Always good to share best practices. I shared your page with them.

Good stuff, thanks for posting! ✊🏾

Thank you for making this! Always looking for more ways to train!

Learned a lot from this. Thank you very much. I do appreciate it.

Good video. Great advice. Thank you for sharing.

First time at range yesterday. I really appreciate this video. Very easy to understand for someone like me. Subbed.

You young man, are a credit to your generation...

Great instruction on doing drills. I only have access to an indoor range that does allow double tap but no rapid fire and an outdoor range that doesn’t allow anything. Thank you for the great video. 👍🏾👍🏾👍🏾💪🏾💪🏾

I appreciate your instruction. Every word made sense. Ive been taking a break from practice but its time for me to get back out there. Im lucky. I do have farmland.

Never seen this guy before, but what great instructor!! Well spoken, knowledgeable and clear. No bs. I’ll be watching more of his videos.

Good stuff my man keep up the good work

Appreciate this vid bro 💯

Great training advice! Thank you! I

Awesome advise Senor , well presented . Your skills and knowledge of hand gun operations and practices are ON POINT !!!

Excellent information. Very wise training tactics.

Great video and very valuable information for someone starting out with their handgun self defense training. Thank you. I’m a new subscriber now.

Great vid! Thanks so much👍👍

Very good concept of insight, true on the 3-5yd confrontation scenario and 50yd walk-away..

Really good info on close training. Like your drills, gonna try it next time out!

First time watching any of your videos. Love the content, you're spot on. Looking forward to watching/learning more.

Awesome video! Very well presented with applicable drills for the average person.

Great video! You know what you are talking about! It's one of the best videos on RU-vid! Keep it up! Keep your cool head! 👍👊

Some very good training exercises- Thank You@.

Nice work. Thank you.

Just came across your video. Great information. I am now subscribed to your channel. Keep the content coming and thank you for sharing this information.

With my handgun I only train combat style from 3, 5, and 8 yards. I assume a combat stance, both eyes open, point, and shoot in three round bursts. The key is having a tight, strong grip on your gun, fully extend the arms, bend slightly at the knees, and shoot. I hit within the kill zone with almost every shot. God forbid you have to use your weapon in a self-defense situation you are NOT going to be aiming and firing. If you want to survive and win the fight you will point and shoot. Training for competitive shooting is one thing. Fighting for your life is completely different.

Solid. Good advice. Thanks for this.

Amazing man explanation. Nice humor too. I like the music background timing on the ‘side-step’ part. I have the Sig M-17 too. Keep it coming man. You earned a subscriber bruh. Peace, be safe and stay on the healthy side of the bed at all times.

Great advice brother. You’re spot on.

I like those drills! I go out to an outdoor range and I'm the only one at the dedicated handgun range 90%+ of the time so all of them are easy to attempt. I'll also make another target stand and alternate between them whilst doing drills. Thanks for the ideas!

This is a great video, Sir. I feel a lot more comfortable. Yes, I’m relatively new to firearms. This was spot on! Thank you. Doug

Absolutely enjoyable video. There's something very Zen in the way this man teaches.

Good stuff man . Valuable information

First time seeing this guy’s video and subscribed 👍 these videos came during a time where I’m in the process of getting my CCW so just in time.

100% agree w/ you your spot on, i also practice depends on the range but i would set the target to Bull run which causes the target to come at you at a fast pace resembling an attacker or animal attacking you

You youngsters (a few of you anyway) are impressing us old geysers (this one anyway). I have trained all of my life. I was an NRA certified instructor for a quarter century. Competed in IPSC/USPSA extensively and was NROI certified RO in the mid eighties. I just want to say keep it up, man. The more people on the good side who focus on this discipline - the better off we will all be.

Excellent training.

New subscriber. Great advice that I’m definitely taking to the range. Thanks man and hello from Oregon.

Good points. We'll done, thank you .

Goon tape video brought me to your channel. This video (first one I watched) made me a subscriber. Nice work, very professional and stays on topic.

Thank you sir this a great teaching opportunity, strong work.

Awesome advice my brother

Yes this gent is absolutely right. I do this occasionally. Good remember, will do this more often.

Good stuff right there!

Awesome Video. Very Informative. I will definitely work on the skills you demonstrated. Stay Safe And Keep Your Powder Dry.

dude top notch production!