"Ready, Aim, Fire: A Beginner's Guide to Action Pistol Shooting"

Being the novice in a group of veterans is always intimidating. That's a fact of life. I will tell you that the folks at the shooting range are some of the best people that you could ever ask to be surrounded by. They are all interested in making sure that all participants are enjoying themselves in a safe and responsible manner. I wanted to write this post in an effort to take some of the mystery out of your first time shooting with us.

Word of mouth is the best advertising and this is what got my wife and I to show up for our first visit back in 2022. Our good friend Jeff had told us a number of times how much fun it is and we decided to check it out. We intentionally arrived unarmed so we would be sure to spare ourselves from embarrassment. We would be spectators and we were super glad we did. What we witnessed was a group of 10 to 15 friends laughing and enjoying their passion. No egos, no condescending tones, just playful banter. What we heard, we liked and this got us to come back the following week.

Now we have seven days until the next Wednesday night practice. Seven days to get ready. Thankfully it doesn't take much to get started and we already owned everything we needed. I had a Glock 23 and my bride has a Glock 48. We both have Outside the Waist Band (OWB) holsters that cover the trigger and we already owned eye and ear protection. Sturdy belts are a necessity and we both wear those everyday anyway. The only item we needed to purchase to continue to enjoy this on a weekly basis was ammunition.

We arrived that following Wednesday at 6pm and did as we were previously instructed. We came with our firearms in soft cases and unloaded. First we put on our hearing protection, eye protection and holsters, then we proceeded to the SAFE TABLE. The "safe tables" are designated places where shooters can handle their firearms. These safe tables are the only places where shooters can handle their firearms outside of when they are actually going through the course supervised by a Range Safety Officer (RSO). There is no ammunition allowed at the Safe Table. At the Safe Table we unzipped our soft pistol cases, removed our firearms and holstered them.

Then we proceeded back to our range bags so we could retrieve our magazines and load them up. Magazines go into the magazine holsters, never into the firearms until directed by the RSO.

We next made sure we were in the line up for shooting and paid our $5.00 for the night. Now we have the opportunity to watch several participants go through the course before its our time to shine.

Soon my name is called and I step up to the RSO. The RSO is in charge of everybody's safety. It's crucial to listen and obey his commands. What I found difficult at first was not to do anything until told. When you get up to the starting line: don't do anything. Wait for the commands. The RSO is going to be sure that everything is safe before any action is taken. At this point it is a good idea to tell him that this is your first time.

When he deemed the course to be safe, he directed me to "load and make ready". This command signals the shooter to remove the firearm from the holster and insert a loaded magazine into it. Then rack the slide to chamber a round and reholster the firearm. I have heard that the act of reholstering the firearm is where most shooters run into trouble. The advice I was given was simple and obvious. I now have a loaded weapon. Keep my eyes on it as I guide it into the holster, keep my finger off the trigger as I guide it back into the holster and for God's sake don't aim it at any part of my body when I am putting it back into my holster. This all sounds like common sense, doesn't it.

Now the RSO will ask "Are you ready?". Shooters have different responses to this. Some will give a nod, some will reply "Ready", some will just stay silent. The next line from the RSO is "Stand by" and a moment later the timer chimes. Now I draw and fire. I don't imagine that I hit anything as I fumbled my way through the course. This is a good time to note that the muzzle of the firearm always needs to be pointed in the safe direction of the forward berm.

At this point I have successfully navigated my way slowly and clumsily through the maze of targets. I haven't created much work for the target resetting crew but I sure had a good time doing it. I have reached the end of the course and naturally I start to holster their firearm here an turn around. Don't do that. When the final shot is fired the shooter needs to stand still with the potentially loaded pistol still aimed at the down range berm. The RSO will now give the command of "If you are finished, unload and show clear". Now I release the magazine from the pistol, let it fall, don't pick it up, pay attention to the loaded gun in your hand, pull the slide back and lock it into the open position. This action allows any chambered ammunition to discharge from the pistol. I am then directed to look inside the pistol to visually confirm that it unloaded. I now know that there is no magazine in the gun and no bullets in the chamber. I now (while keeping the muzzle down range) position the empty chamber of the firearm so that the RSO can look into the chamber and confirm it is indeed unloaded. The next series of commands from the RSO are "if clear, hammer down and holster". So now both the shooter and the RSO have visually confirmed it is empty, the shooter closes the action, points the pistol at the down range berm and pulls the trigger. We have now triple checked that the pistol is unloaded. Now is it safe to reholster the firearm, safely, while watching yourself and keeping your finger off the trigger and not aiming it at yourself. Once the firearm is securely back in the holster and the shooters hand has been removed, the RSO will call out "Range is clear" to signal to everybody that it is ok to move down range to help with resetting or scoring.

That's it. Go reload your magazines and get ready for another run. In your first weeks, new shooters should worry more about safety than speed. Practice safe habits and the speed will naturally follow. A good thing to remember is that the timer stops at the sound of the final gun shot. The timer has nothing to do with how fast you get your gun back into the holster. Take your time, do it right. Don't rush. And don't beat yourself up about people doing better than you. I assure you that everybody there started the same way at some point and everybody there is very excited to see you progress.

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