Whether you’re a beginner or an experienced gun owner, you’ll want to practice shooting regularly to hone your skills. However, it’s important to train in the right way, if you want your hard work to pay off in real-life scenarios.

Knowing which type of training is most effective will help you to create bespoke shooting drills that enhance your skills and build your confidence. Both run and gun practice and target shooting are good methods of improving your marksmanship. If you’re short on time, however, you’ll want to know which is better.

What is Run and Gun Training?

As the name suggests, this type of training involves shooting while you’re on the move. Used to simulate real-life situations, run and gun shooting is an effective training option if you want to hone your defensive skills. If you’re in a position where you need to protect your family and/or your home, for example, it’s likely that both you and the threat will be moving, probably at a fast pace.

By training in similar conditions, with moving targets and while running, you can practice your marksmanship so that you’re prepared if you ever need to ‘run and gun’ in real life. In addition to this, run and gain training can be a great option if you’re preparing for a job role that may involve pursuing and eliminating a threat or where your survival could be at stake.

Furthermore, run and gun shooting can be a fun way to practice your skills and do a little exercise. Many gun clubs host run and gun events, so you can compete against other members, sharpen your skills and test your endurance.

What is Target Shooting?

Target shooting typically involves firing at static targets, which means minimal movement is required from the shooter too. Most people practice this type of shooting at a gun range, although you could train in this way on private land if you’re permitted to do so. Additionally, unloading your gun and using a laser or using a VR simulator can be an effective way to practice target shooting safely.

This is the most common form of firearm training and it’s one that most people are familiar with. With regular target shooting, you can improve your technique, enhance your hand-eye coordination and build muscle memory, so that holding the weapon becomes second nature.

As well as this, shooting at a target can increase your stamina, build core strength and boost your arm strength. This will help to improve your marksmanship in general and can also build your confidence.

Which Type of Training is Better?

As you can see, both run and gun shooting and target shooting offer a wide variety of benefits. Determining which is better largely depends on what your goals are and how experienced you are. If you’re new to shooting, for example, target shooting may be the best way to start, before moving on to run and gun training as you gain more experience.

However, the benefits of target and run and gun practice mean both forms of training should form part of your repertoire. By training in as many ways as possible and varying the types of practice you do, you can develop your skillset, improve your marksmanship and prepare for a variety of real-life scenarios.