As someone who is applying for an LEO position but has never shot a handgun, are there physical exercises that are worthwhile to improve trigger control, stability, accuracy, etc?
I live in NYC so I won't be able to easily go shooting at the range until I get into the academy.
Thanks.
Dry Fire, Dry Fire, Dry Fire, Dry Fire, oh yeah, when you get done with that... dry fire some more.
go to www.glockfaq.com, and look up the trigger 101 link (I think that's what it's called). Dry fire practice really is the king of learning good trigger control. Remember to do a lot of one handed dry firing once you get comfortable with two handed. Get comfortable with weak hand dry firing, etc.
Think of it this way: Dry fire drills are you pad drills and shadow sparring. Hitting the range is your light sparring with specific drills and goals in mind (working a push kick, working your jab, etc). An airsoft with pads and FoF is live sparring.
Thanks for the advice. My problem is that NYC has very stringent gun laws. It is very doubtful that I can get my hands on anything to dry fire until I'm already in the academy. I'm looking for things to do before hand.
Go to the NRA's website and look for handgun courses being taught in your area.
I was under the impression that buying guns in NY wasn't that difficult, there was a waiting period, etc, but getting a carry permitw as the difficult part?
Barring that, get an airsoft gun and practice trigger control with that. Don't worry about where you're hitting with the airsoft, just keep your front sights in focus and don't let htem move.
All of the above advice only works if you have some instruction and know what you're doing to some degree.
The best advice I could give you if you're completely new to shooting is to wait until you get to the academy and have them teach you there. If you go out on your own and try to teach yourself, you can give yourself all kinds of bad habits that could be quite hard to break.
I know I have the most trouble teaching people the write way when they already "know" how to shoot before they take a class with me.
cool. thanks.
thread hijack
I was under the impression that buying guns in NY wasn't that difficult, there was a waiting period, etc, but getting a carry permitw as the difficult part?
NYC offers a few different handgun licenses from what I was told when I lived there.
The first lets you own and keep it in your apartment. The second lets you carry it in a case unloaded. The last lets you carry it loaded about your person. I was told that all three are rather difficult to obtain (by the guys who own the range downtown).
Here's an article I found about the difficulties in obtaining a permit. In it, the author is trying to obtain the second type of permit, a "range permit".
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1282/is_3_52/ai_59243533
Relevant portions of the article:
It starts with a form, of course-PD 643-041 (Rev. 1-94) h1. Some of the questions are obvious (arrest record and, excitingly, "aliases"). Others are odd ("Have you ever been denied appointment in a civil service system?") or, seemingly, aimed at members of the Clinton administration (list any incidents of "Temporary Loss of Memory"). Watch out for question 19: "Have you ever had or applied for any type of license or permit issued to you by any City, State or Federal agency?" You haven't? Well, if you are a driver you have. Forget to mention your driver's license and you will be rejected and have to start all over again.
Next, submit the form. This, naturally, can be done only in one place, and in person: Room 110 at Police Headquarters, Manhattan. Nowhere else will do-not Room 109, and certainly not Room 111. Anywhere in Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island, or the Bronx is out of the question (although Queens-and nowhere else-is where you must go for your rifle or shotgun permit). The form needs supporting documentation: yes, including that driver's license. It is not enough, however, merely to present your driver's license. A notarized statement certifying that you did indeed apply for that driver's license is also essential. The fact that your photograph and signature are on the license is irrelevant. No notary, and it's no go.
...
Finally, after five months, a letter arrived. I had to contact the License Division within "five days of receipt" to fix up an interview in, you guessed it, Room 110. "Failure to respond and/or comply with this notice will result in disapproval of your application." Away on vacation? That, probably, would be too bad. Do not pass Go, do not collect handgun.
The interview is to be taken seriously. This is not just a quick check for drool on the chin or blood on the hands. The police want to be sure that the would-be gun owner knows the law, and they might ... try to trip me up. Try they did. The interviewing officer was courteous, friendly even, but it didn't stop him from asking whether I would be taking my gun to the target range every weekend once I received my premises residence license (with target endorsement). It was a trick. As, fortunately, I remembered, holders of such permits can take their guns to the range only twice a month (unloaded, in a locked box). At the end of the interview, there is little clue as to how you have done. Next, two more officers have to review the case.
Which they did for another three months. Then, finally, the great day arrived, if not the permit. I had been approved, but the permit has to be picked up in person at Police Headquarters in, for variety, Room 152. Neglect to claim the permit within 30 days and it will be canceled, and the applicant is back to square one, Room 110. With the permit comes a handgun-purchase authorization. This entitles the holder to purchase a gun from another licensee, a licensed dealer, a policeman, or, so long as the deceased held a valid license, a corpse. Fail to buy a gun within 30 days, and the authorization is canceled, along with the pistol license that it took eight months to obtain.
Finding somewhere to buy a gun legally in Manhattan is not much less challenging than looking for a liquor store in Saudi Arabia. Early negotiations with a fellow called "Chop" in a Midtown outlet didn't work out, but a trip to New York Ironworks hit, so to speak, the target. It's a store where the NYPD crowd goes to buy weapons, extra equipment, and fashion essentials such as "Frisk 'Em" gloves. It is also just around the corner from Police Headquarters, which matters, because that is where, for the fourth time in this process, the new gun owner has to return. Within 72 hours and packing heat (so long as the heat is unloaded and in a locked box). It's a quick pass through the metal detectors (yes, they do work) and then back to Room 152 (so long as it's Monday to Friday, between the hours of noon and 2 P.M.). The pistol will be poked and prodded, and the bill of sale perused. Survive this and the process is complete. The gun can be kept at home. So there it sits, gripped by its newly mandatory trigger lock, a last line of defense.
For the time being anyway. The pistol license, of course, is issued subject to certain conditions. And the first of these, listed right at the top of the Police Depart- ment's little handbook for licensees? The license "is revocable at any time."
This was precisely the scenario described to me when I thought about getting a permit.
Luckily, I moved to CT a few years later. While not really easy, the CT process was a breeze in comparison, and I now happily have my full CCW license.
Wow, that process sounds about as simple and hassle free as when I bought my co-op.
That just makes me love indiana more and more. Valid gov't issued ID required for purchase with FBI NICS background check.
Can carry on own property without permit.
Permit for concealed or open carry, lifetime permit available.
Top it off with a Castle Doctrine law and the state has some good gun laws going for it. Still need some more good ones though :o)
could do to improve your whole game.
ammo anywhere near you) with snap caps.
Most "firearm" types don't like to work with guns unless they are going
bang.
Demi
Demi, could you elaborate on the exercises that could be done with a red gun.
Good exercises.......
Red Gun -- Hold out at extension, pick a point on the wall, line up the sights and do figure 8s. Start large, moving through an arc of about an inch or so, and then keep cutting the circle down to barely perceptible.......develops fine motor control and nervous system control of small muscles.
ALso....
Get a tennis ball or racquetball and practice squeezing. Dog toy ball might work better.....grip strength and can isolate fingers.