No matter what you are training for, you must always train safely. Trigger discipline and muzzle awareness are paramount. Your finger should never be on the trigger until you are ready to fire. Your muzzle should only be pointed at things you are willing to destroy. These cardinal rules should be observed always, whether you are sure your gun is unloaded or not. Treat every firearm as though it is loaded and ready to go. No matter how experienced you are or get, these are the basics and should never be overlooked or ignored. Also, know how to operate, breakdown, clean and reassemble every gun you own. Understanding the basic mechanics of your firearms is crucial to maintain a mechanically sound firearm and avoid accidents.

That being said, My best advice is to shoot a lot. Try different brands and variations of ammo. Train different drills. Focus on safety and proficiency. Know what you are training to be good at and gear your training to reflect that task. If you’re training for concealed carry, consider and mimic, as best you can, a likely response to a likely deadly threat. Don’t waste your time training to handle a tank full of terrorists. But, consider what is likely given your lifestyle. You’re at the ATM and a knife yielding robber corners you and your child. Aside from paying the bad guy and avoiding violence, your response would likely be to push your kid behind you, draw your pistol and fire. Think about that process. Break down the actions and devise a safe training plan. Do you keep a round in the chamber? Drill with your gun initially on safe. If not, you’ll have to rack the slide in a split second and without thought. I see so many people at the range training with their carry gun like they are practicing for an accuracy competition. Slow bullseye shooting isn’t necessarily going to help you defend against a surprise attack. Sure it has value, but it’s not the whole story. Shooting quickly and under pressure is a totally different game. Maybe work on two rapid fire bursts from a low read position. If you are experienced enough and your range allows, draw from your holster. Learn these more advanced exercises by only dry firing, at first. Whatever you’re doing, be very conscious of the correct motions and placements. It’s easy to unknowingly train bad habits when you’re dry firing and there are no immediate consequences. Where is your other hand? Is your finger on the trigger before it should be? Are you potentially pointing your gun at others during your draw? Dry firing drills are excellent practice. You can work all sorts of different aspects of shooting, like trigger control and instinctive aiming with dry fire drills. It’s cheap, safe and practically always an available option. Just be sure your gun is OK to be dry fired. Dry firing will damage some guns, including many rimfire pistols.

Whatever you do, have fun and be safe. Shooting is one of those hobbies that is an absolute blast and has a very valuable real world application.