I have this neat ability. If I take one large pace, it is almost exactly a yard. It’s close enough that I’m off by less than three inches when I pace something off. I don’t know why, but it’s a talent and skill I was blessed with. It’s a neat trick in the construction industry, for sure. Anyway, I bring this up because I recently paced my local Walmart aisle and realized it’s about 20 yards long, and it dawned on me that it’s a lot further than seven yards.
What exactly does seven yards have to do with anything? Well, seven yards is the commonly cited distance for most self-defense shootings. People often parrot that most self-defense shootings occur within seven yards. That is seemingly true, and knowing that isn’t bad, but where it goes butt up is when you only train to shoot at seven yards.
Why Training at a Distance Is Critical
It’s easy to think that training at that range makes the most sense since, statistically, you are most likely to face an engagement at that range. The problem I see with that logic is that you are already training to be a statistical outlier. Being involved in a self-defense shooting is statistically very unlikely, but you wouldn’t use that statistic to justify not carrying a firearm, right? Statistics put us in a box, and we like to think outside the box, right?
My second question is, did those self-defense scenarios end at seven yards because that’s about the max range a person is effective with a firearm under stress? Did they have to end at seven yards? Could you have stopped the threat sooner, at a greater distance, and lessened your inherent risk? Obviously, there are some legal considerations you need to make, and to use a firearm in self-defense, you have to truly be in danger for your life.
Shooting a man who has a knife that’s 50 yards away might make your case difficult to prove. However, if the threat has a gun, their effective range has opened up significantly. In fact, I want to overmatch them with my firepower. I want their effective range to be limited to seven yards because I want the ability to hit them at 50, 40, or 30 yards if need by. Eli Dickens did just that at the Greenwood Mall against a threat carrying a rifle.
Getting Good at Any Range
Let’s say those statistics are dead on. In fact, you’ll never be in a gunfight or threatening situation beyond seven yards. It’s as sure as death and taxes. In that situation, is it appropriate to only train at seven yards? That’ll be a no from me, dog. Why? Well, I train at seven yards or maybe even closer. I can be pretty good at those distances.
However, if I train at 10, 15, 20, and 25 yards, I can be beyond pretty good at seven yards. If I can drop and put a shot on target in less than two seconds at 15 yards, imagine how fast I can do it at seven yards.
It might have been my time in Afghanistan that made me a little more accepting of going beyond the averages. As Marines, we trained out to 500 yards, but the commonly accepted infantry combat range was inside of 300 yards. When we got to Afghanistan, we commonly had to rush 300 yards just to get into the average infantry range.
Shooting Far But Not Wide
Like anything with guns, there are two steps to getting better. Get out there and shoot, and seek out training. That will make you more proficient. The first step to take is to just get out of that comfort zone. Shoot at longer distances; pretty simple.
Go out to 20 yards and see where you stand. Suppose you need to, move forward until you can hit the target and start practicing from there. Here is where you really figure out the intricacies of your carry gun. Beyond 20 yards, guns with red dots become a huge advantage, especially when we factor speed into the equation. It’s why my main carry gun, my P365XL, wears a red dot.
With a red dot, I can very easily engage out as far as 35 yards with a good dose of speed. If I take my time, even 50 yards isn’t a major difficulty with a red dot. The ability to shoot at increased distances is one of the main reasons why I advocate heavily for red dots on carry guns.
Going Small
At 20 yards, I can ring steel all day long with my P365XL or my Arex Delta Gen.2, or any other somewhat large gun. If I whip out the KelTec P32, that 20 yards suddenly seems to get a lot longer for some reason. It’s odd, and I’ve tried to make training with my P32 a priority.
This includes dry fire at 20 yards. I need to be able to visualize the distance and practice my trigger pull and grip at that range. Even dry fire training with a shot timer can help you learn to get the perfect grip and sight picture with some speed to it. It allows you to track your ability to get a good sight picture, a good grip, and a trigger press. Without a timer, how would you ever know how fast you could deploy the weapon?
If I’m making an effort the carry the little booger, I might as well be capable of it. Or at least as capable as I can be. The same goes for my entire arsenal of pocket pistols outside of the recently acquired Seecamp. No sight makes it tough to be anything but a contact pistol.
My LCP II in 22LR, with its low recoil and proper sights, seems to be a fairly steady and easy shooting gun at 20 yards. I’m not making T-Zone shots, but a bad guy is likely to get a quick dose of lead to hit the chest and guts with good speed. The lower recoil is one of the big reasons why I think the .22LR makes a good carry pistol. It’s certainly easier to use for follow-up shots at extended ranges.
Keeping Distance
Distance shouldn’t always be seen as a downside. One of the main advantages of firearms is distance. For a skilled shooter, distance is a benefit and an advantage when they are armed. Don’t see distance as a downside; see it as a challenge you can overcome and train to deal with and overcome. Once you can do that, it becomes an advantage.
