If you are still considering whether to buy a handgun and acquire training in its use, a big consideration could be the amount of time and money you would have to devote to practice. One frequent suggestion is to "dry-fire" your pistol at home but that practice has resulted in some bad habits that have gotten police officers killed in gun fights with perps. I have found a solution to all three concerns, time, cost, and habits but it requires a modest up-front expenditure.

I bought a GL9 (Glock 19) AirSoft pistol from Red Wolf AirSoft for daily drawing/aiming/firing practice at home instead of dry-firing or taking my real 9mm Glock 19 to the range every day. I recently received a propane adapter and light silicone lubricant I bought from airsplat.com so I can save money over the "Green Gas" that's recommended by AirSoft. You just fill a chamber in the pistol magazine from a canister of camp stove propane.

I had never fired a gas-powered AirSoft before and wondered if its plastic BB's would have enough force to penetrate a paper target. I was dubious about simple propane canister pressure having much power as a propellant without being combusted. I also wondered if the BB's would fragment, making ammo recycling impossible. How silly my concerns were!

The plastic BB's easily penetrated two hanging sheets of paper and dented the wood behind them, one even bouncing back through both paper sheets. The BB's remained intact. I figure the pistol could easily blind someone and might well penetrate skin. In a pinch it could probably deter an assailant if hits were rapidly scored on the face. (I don't recommend anyone ever putting themselves in the position to find out. Carry a real sidearm!)

Next step is to build an indoor target range from a cardboard box. The opening will face me and a photocopied paper target will be hung in the opening with soft terry rags hung behind to catch the BB's so I can re-use them. If I shoot daily, I can increase my speed and accuracy for real defensive shooting without expending costly and hard-to-find ammo. The "toy" pistol has realistic weight, slide action, and close-range accuracy but negligible kick and muzzle lift, so less frequent real ammo sessions are still needed to practice sight re-alignment on the target.

I figure it is worth the initial cost to gain long-term savings and avoid the hazardous habits associated with dry-firing practice: No slide cocking between shots, no live ammo ejected onto the ground, uninterrupted trigger squeezes. Plus, there is accuracy feedback from target hits, no daily lead exposure, and an enormous amount of time will be saved -- five minutes versus maybe an hour for the range. Most importantly, the AirSoft capability will support my intention to practice daily whereas having to go to the range every day would be a major deterrent.

By the way, something you should do soon, even before buying a handgun, is apply for a concealed carry permit. In my state of New Hampshire it costs $20 for them to conduct a two week background check. Assuming you are not a felon, have no restraining orders against you, are of age, and have no history of actual mental illness, pistol permits are granted almost automatically here but your state may require passing a training course or other requirements.

When I applied for mine I followed an adviser's suggestion on what to fill in for "Reason for request."
I wrote "for all lawful purposes."

There is a proposal in my state to increase permit fees by 500% for out-of-state applicants that many gun-rights advocates view as a prelude to more restrictive measures for in-state applicants. I am more concerned with sudden crisis conditions sparking extreme clampdown measures. Either way applying at once would be a good move. You don't want to be caught in a crisis with no recourse.

Hi McLarinJ. I am an NRA certified instructor and am also certified for teaching the CHL courses required by the state of Ohio to get an Ohio Concealed hand Gun License. I am not knocking you here, because I believe all practice and training is useful. I just don't agree with using airsoft to do so.

For basic pistol skills, an airsoft pistol is a good training aid. I do not advocate it for use in practicing for your daily carry gun. You need to use a gun that has the same feel and controls as the gun you carry. There are some airsoft guns that look like and have the same controls as some guns, but the weight is different and there are variations in how they fit in your holster.


As I said earlier, the airsoft is good for basic pistol skills, but this statement is not true. The slide action is different. The recoil spring in the airsoft is much lighter and racking the slide does not feel the same. You are correct about the negligible kick and muzzle lift. This is caused by the recoil. There is no substitute for using the real thing for practicing getting back on target during recoil. Practicing without the true recoil also causes problems when shooting the real gun that are caused by limp wristing the gun, which causes the slide to not fully extract the spent round and can also cause the slide to fail to feed the next round from the magazine. This is why I do not allow airsoft pistols for the range portion of my classes.



Most semi auto hand guns have a dual action mode which allows the gun to be fired or dry fired without having to rack the slide to cock the hammer. (None of the glocks have this, which is what I think you based this on. Glocks are a single action only striker fired gun.) I personally will not carry a single action only gun to protect myself and my family. Occasionally all guns can have a light primer strike that will cause a misfire. With a single/double action or double action only you can refire which will get the round down range without having to rack the slide to chamber another round. Here are the other reasons I do not carry single action only handguns. These are my preferences and I do not say it is unsafe for a properly trained person to do so:
1) To carry a single action semi auto like the Colt 1911 ready to fire, you must carry it with the hammer cocked. The hammer is hard to cock with your thumb. I know a lot of people who carry these cocked and locked with no issues and that is fine. I am just not comfortable in doing this myself.
2) Single action revolvers should not be carried with the hammer cocked. There is not an extra safety to keep the hammer from falling like the semi autos have. Many of these also can not be carried with without an empty chamber in the cylinder that is aligned with the firing pin. A bump on the hammer can cause an accidental discharge.

You comment about no live ammo on the ground really concerns me. In no way should anyone be handling a loaded gun unless they are preparing to fire on the range. When I practice my draw, which does include dry firing, I unload my gun in my gun storage/reloading room. I then reholster and head down to my basement. If I screwed up and have an accidental discharge I have 8 inches of concrete backed up by the state of Ohio to keep my mistake from hurting anyone. When I get to the basement, I clear the gun again to verify it is unloaded. I can then practice my draw and fire without any danger of harming anyone. When I have finished, I go back up to where the ammo is, reload, and put the gun in my holster which is where it stays until I go to the range, do my practice as I listed above, or clean the gun. The same precautions are taken when cleaning.

Here is a good way to make sure you are on target when dry firing. If you have a laser sight you already have what you need. If not, you can buy a laser bore sighter, which is cheaper than your set up, and install it in the barrel. When you dry fire the laser will make a dot on your target. If you are dry firing properly the dot will remain in the same place through the whole sequence. If you are having any issues with pulling the gun off target, or have a flinch, the laser will move a lot. There will be some small movement as no one can keep a gun completely still, but you will know if everything is being done correctly.

I know the cost of ammo in recent times makes it hard to be able to afford to shoot. I recommend you still shoot live rounds as often as you can. There is no substitute for the real thing, even when training.



I agree that all law abiding citizens should have a concealed carry license. However, before posting about how to get one, you should know all of the states laws. Some states, such as Ohio, require mandatory training. Other states require registering every hand gun you plan to carry, and a few of those also require range certification on them before you can carry them. There are also states that are "may issue" rather than "shall issue". Ohio and New Hampshire are examples of states that are "shall issue." This means that if you meet the requirements they have to issue the license. In the "may issue" states like California and New York even if you meet the requirements the issuing authorities may deny the license.

For all people looking to get a concealed carry license I recommend that you get the proper training (I can help you find it) even if it is not required in your state. This is not only to make sure you can safely carry a handgun, since common sense goes a long way, but to make sure you know the laws in the state where you live. A good instructor will include an explanation of the laws in his classes. This will keep you out of trouble. Here's an example of a law that is connected with New Hampshire's non resident concealed carry license. If you do not have a license from your home state, the New Hampshire non resident license is not valid in any state including New Hampshire.

Here's another little information for you. Most states have reciprocity with other states where the carry license is valid. You can get non resident licenses from other states that will allow you to carry in states that your home license will not cover. I currently have my Ohio (resident state) along with Pennsylvania and New Hampshire which gives me 38 states I can carry in.

_________________
Hope for the best, but plan for the worst.

NRA Certified Instructor for Basic Handgun and Personal protection in the Home.
V.F.W. Life Member
NRA Member
U.S. Army Veteran

Sorry if I was not clear on this. I agree that ejecting live ammo onto the ground would be worrisome under any circumstance, but especially during a gun fight, which is what I was referring to. The danger is that racking the slide each time (on a Glock anyway) in order to dry-fire will translate into unconsciously doing the same thing during a true defensive use of your handgun. I do not completely agree with your second sentence since it would deny sensible concealed carry. Are you suggesting people should carry their weapons empty and have to load and cock? I have to say I have never heard of anyone doing so.

You do provide a number of other sound tips and I will be careful to balance my Airsoft practice with live ammo practice. My NRA firearms instructor, a police lieutenant, says his department uses Airsoft for force-on-force training.

I am not saying you should not carry an unloaded gun for your daily carry. I do not carry unloaded and do not advocate anyone carrying that way. I was making a point about handling a loaded gun. In a proper holster that fits your gun properly, carrying it locked and loaded is no problem. The gun will not go off by itself. However, whenever handling a gun, it should be unloaded. This is when mistakes are made and negligent discharges happen. This is how people accidentally shoot themselves and others.

If I am taking my gun out of the holster for any reason other than drawing to fire on the range, it is immediately unloaded and cleared. I have extensive firaerms experience both in the Army and in Civilian life. I have witnessed and I study accidental shootings to get new examples that I use in my classes. In all of my years experience I have only ever found one case that was actually an unavoidable unintentional firing. This was caused by a malfunctioning M-16 that would go into full auto while on safe when the mag was inserted and the bolt released to chamber a round. This turned out to be a bad bolt. Fortunately the person firing this gun was observing all of the safety rules and the gun was pointed down range when it went off and no one was in any danger.

Every other negligent discharge was caused by operator error, and could have been avoided if the gun owner had unloaded and cleared the gun as soon as he removed it from the holster, or was done firing. This is why when I practice using dry fire exercises I take it even further and clear my gun in a totally different location from where I am dry firing. It lowers the chances of making a mistake.

I have used airsoft for training also. These were also force on force training scenarios where we were wearing proper safety gear and the training basically were encounters where we had good guys and bad guys playing out scenarios to work on defensive technique. You learn quickly how bad one tactical mistake in a gun fight can be for you.

I hope you did not take any of my previous post as bashing anything you are doing. My instructor side just wanted to make sure you have all of the information you need so the airsoft training does not take away from your skills with a live gun. This can make a big difference as to whether or not you survive an attack.

_________________
Hope for the best, but plan for the worst.

NRA Certified Instructor for Basic Handgun and Personal protection in the Home.
V.F.W. Life Member
NRA Member
U.S. Army Veteran

Thanks, dclaarjr. Excellent safety tips for me to follow.

With the current ammo prices and availability - practice anyway you can. Even if its a toy gun in your normal holster, continued carry will allow you to get used to it. Race car drivers don't drive around the track everyday at 177 mph. A simulator may be your only method but continued practice is better than no practice.

I much appreciate it if there is a video.

Yeah I think that's a good idea.

_______________________
“I'll bet the hardest thing about prize fightin' is pickin' up yer teeth with a sap glove on”

-RudyBrothers-