arrested development: 8" targets at sub 25y

[T2C]

When I trained people to shoot carbines, we zeroed the rifles at 100 yards and worked on accuracy for most of the first day before moving inside 25 yards and working on CQB techniques. People who shot well at 100 yards were better able to master CQB drills than people who struggled at 100 yards.

There is nothing wrong with training inside 25 yards if you are already proficient at 100 yards. If you cannot shoot with reasonable accuracy at 100 yards, I suggest working on that part of your skill set before shooting at 10 yards.

[sboza]

What a waste to be using a rifle at 10 yards.

Absolute comments are absolutely useless.

Training at cqb distances is important. It is also challenging because the goal is to get good hits rapidly (from ready positions or on target). Accuracy isn't sacrificed but the realization of what constitues acceptable hits (this isn't bullseye shooting) and the fact that set time will be much shorter needs to occur. At these distances, weapons handling skills need to be highly refined. There is much to train at these distances.

And needing to be able to get x inch groups at 50 or 100 yards before training at cqb distances is also bs. It depends on the students goals and needs. But for the average suburban guy who wants to learn basic handling and marksmanship skills to defend his home, I would have no problem with him having an unconfirmed 25 meter zero an then working on 10 yard and less shooting skills.

Some of you folks only see through your own eyes. Everyone's goals and need aren't the same as yours. Ideally, for a basic class, I would have a small group for at least three days and the class would start with classroom lecture on safety, nomenclature, field strip and cleaning, and fundamentals even before we get to the range. Then, once on the range, a range brief, medical brief, and another repeat of the safety brief. Then we would get to zeroing. The zero would be approximated at 25 yards to get all the students in te neighborhood and then cleaned up at the 100 or the 50 (I prefer the 100). During this time, the fundamentals of prone shooting and precision shooting would be taught an demoed. And after all of this, every now an ten, a shooter will still be outside of the (generous) acceptable moa and I will have to zero for them.

Now, is all of that necessary for a guy with limited time/funds who just want to learn the basics in order to defend his home safely? No. I am gonna take that guy and get him zeroed quickly (yes at the 25) and work at closer distances (what he is likely to find in his home) incorporating weapons handling, reloads, and malfunction clearence (time permitting) with various drills. If this dude gets into it and one day wants to learn more when he has the time and money, he can fill in all the gaps then.

Obviously this would not be my approach to le/mil/psd dudes. I'm taking about te average homeowner here.