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I know we have all seen those awesome YouTube videos where people are "Breaking In" their carry pistols by shooting 500 rounds from a static range. Perhaps they plink at steel from varying distances, test the accuracy with slow fire, or even just casually shoot one round every few seconds to judge the recoil. This is a terrible example of how someone should be testing their new carry pistol in order to run it through its paces.

As a gun owner, I feel that we are obligated to maintain our proficiency in handling, marksmanship, and understanding when we can use it. With all of that, many people think that the most important thing to do is to go to the range and practice hitting a bullseye as accurately as possible. When it comes to that, I think that people are going about it in a way that does not really help prepare you for when you need it.

First thing I want to cover is that marksmanship is something you will spend the least amount of time doing, but what will carry the day is when you use it, and what you do after you have to use it. But, the thing I am going to focus on here is what you should do to practice for defending yourself with a firearm. This is going to most likely fly in the face of most peoples perception on what you should do, so just be careful about that.

First thing I want to say is that it is important to realize that when you are carrying, if you should have to draw your pistol, you wont have the luxury of "warming up" before using it. Therefore, I feel that it would be wise to include this in your training and practice. The way this would look is you use your highest levels of training to put yourself in a scenario that stresses your training. Things like drawing and shooting while moving, communicating, etc. Perhaps even practicing drawing and holding at gunpoint, or engaging an active shooter from cover. Add in different scenarios every time and try to stay away from shot timers. Most of the time you are not going to need to draw in under a second, and if you do, it will most likely be a shot from the hip and at close range.

I understand that there are limitations people may have at the range, but at the least, you should learn to shoot fast with a quick up and shoot scenario. The most you can do is stop the warming up crap and use your carry gun the way you will use it to confirm that you can actually take care of business when you need to. 

The Honor Guard pistols from Honor Defense are one of the most underestimated pistols out there. The pistol is commonly put down as being cheap and just a copy of the S&W Shield. I get that it has similarities, but it functions so much differently and has far more capabilities. Once you shoot the Honor Guard pistol, you will probably understand why I find it to be one of the best single stack pistols, even above the Shield.