Are you REALLY Training? Or just shooting? Train the right way with practice after!

Training – Practicing – Shooting

I hear people talk all the time about some “Training” they have done. Many times, they haven’t really trained at all. They have just been practicing or shooting. There is a difference and this article is going to break down each of those in detail.

Shooting

Shooting is not the same as training. That doesn’t mean you can’t be shooting while you are getting trained, but they are different. Shooting can be going out and plinking at unreasonable targets. It can be a 100 round drum dump! But let’s be honest that isn’t Practicing and it certainly isn’t Training.

Now before you get upset, I love going out and shooting as much as the next guy. I mean who doesn’t love that? The recoil, the smell of the gas and carbon, the hot brass piled up around you! Fun stuff if you have the money to do it. But that really isn’t making you a better shooter.

NRA Certified Training Center
NRA Certified Training Center

Practicing

Practicing is what you do on the back end to reinforce what you learned when you were being trained. Practice is simply doing the things you learned in repetition. We have several articles about practice and things you can do to be a better shooter. https://12thgun.com/why_am_i_missing/ and Natural Point of Aim | 12thGun LTC and Instruction are both good spots to start for training on how to practice better.

That last sentence might have sounded a bit confusing but it will all make sense here in a minute.

Training

Ok now we get into the real meat of it. I think Sun Tzu might have said “you haven’t been trained if you didn’t train.” (probably not)

To be truly training you should have a focused effort on improving or learning a new skill. There are tons of ways that you can do that. The difference between here and practicing is that you have someone or something guiding you along the way and either pointing you in the right direction or correcting you along the way.

So we first TRAIN. Then we Practice what we learned while being trained. The important thing to take away from all of this is that just going to the range and blowing rounds out does not mean you are getting better. It doesn’t mean you are improving your skillset. It can still be a blast and I enjoy it just as much as the next red blooded American, but it isn’t doing you any real favors other than the fun you are having.

Below are just a few ways that you can Train:

Categories:

Related Posts

12thGun LTC and Instruction