The second installment of my Shooting Illustrated series about organizing your shooting practice is now online.

https://www.shootingillustrated.com/content/shooting-practice-for-a-criminal-encounter

I always include more photos with my article submissions than can be used. After this paragraph in the article, I included what is possibly my favorite shooting photo of all time.

Shooters often blast an entire box of ammunition at the target without checking and then marking it consistently. This is one of the worst mistakes that can be made when practicing for marksmanship development and self-defense.

Sadly, along with several others, it was cut for space reasons. The photo is of a target that was left up at my gun club years ago. Every time I look at it, I literally Laugh Out Loud. I call it the ‘goober target.’

That is not the way to learn how to shoot to hit anything. Another photo that was cut shows how to mark your target with masking tape every few shots.

As mentioned in the article, checking and marking your target regularly will help you improve your marksmanship. Blasting away and creating a goober target will not.

Here is the Pump target. No one can say you’re practicing to shoot unarmed people if you have a representation of a gun on your target.

It’s getting to be a wild world out there; be ready.