Consistency

This is part of a 3x5 index card that was being shot at by my buddy Brian while we were practicing at the range tonight. While it appears to be one 9mm round (right) and one .45 round (left), it is actually one 9mm round (right) and 3 more 9mm rounds (left). The fact that he was practicing "press outs" and firing at a fast pace makes his deadly, consistent accuracy seem scary-good.

Actually, this is somewhat of a fluke. I took a photo because I thought it was funny to have so many rounds so close together. His gun is "notorious" for doing this. I put 2 rounds through the same hole with his gun a few weeks before this, and it seemed incredible as I only fired 2 or 3 rounds and the first was double action only and the second was single action.

I can guarantee that the longer you train, the more "flukes" you will have. You will accumulate numerous funny stories about which gun magically puts rounds through the same hole, etc...

True consistency comes when you are willing to train hard and often; push yourself to your limits and have an understanding of what you can and can't do with your firearm. This target doesn't show Brian's next 3 "failboat" misses. He pushed himself to make critical shots much faster than he possibly could and sacrificed too much of his accuracy in exchange for speed (which was ridiculously way-too-fast). While it is good to constantly push your limits, it is even better to have an idea of what those limits are. How much speed should I sacrifice to get hits? How much faster can I go and still be on target?

Pushing your limits may be shooting faster than normal in order to learn the limits of your speed, but it may also be a time when you slow down to a point where you can learn the limits of your accuracy. Slowing down and practicing extreme accuracy may be necessary from time to time, yet, it is not necessary ALL of the time. A good defensive student mixes speeds, round counts, drills, distances, targets, etc... An even better defensive student mixes those things while keeping them in the context of realistic defensive scenarios.

While 3 bullets in the same hole at full speed seems like an incredible feat, it can either be a fun, puzzling moment to laugh at, or it can be a ludicrous goal (at "full speed") that is INCONSISTENT with realistic defensive training. (Because you could be shooting faster!!!)