Developing as a shooter takes more than accumulating repetitions. It requires clear goals, sound fundamentals, useful feedback, and a practice process that turns instruction into dependable performance.
In Primary & Secondary ModCast 160, host Matt Landfair is joined by Phil Axelrod, Steve Fisher, Mike Green, Ash Hess, Mike Lewis, and Chuck Pressburg for a practical discussion about how shooters improve—and how instructors, coaches, and training partners can help that development.
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Discussion overview
The panel examines the difference between attending training and building skill. Formal instruction can introduce concepts and diagnose problems, but lasting improvement depends on deliberate practice, honest measurement, and the willingness to correct errors instead of simply reinforcing familiar habits.
Host and panel
- Host: Matt Landfair
- Panel: Phil Axelrod, Steve Fisher, Mike Green, Ash Hess, Mike Lewis, and Chuck Pressburg
Key areas explored
- Defining realistic performance goals and standards
- Building reliable fundamentals before adding speed or complexity
- Separating instruction, training, and individual practice
- Using coaching, observation, and feedback to identify weak points
- Measuring progress instead of relying on impressions
- Balancing dry practice, live fire, and scenario-based work
- Recognizing and correcting repetitions that reinforce mistakes
- The responsibilities of both instructors and students
Why this conversation still matters
Equipment changes, but the process of developing a durable skill remains remarkably consistent: understand the task, perform it correctly, measure the result, and adjust. This episode provides a useful framework for shooters who want their limited training time to produce meaningful improvement.
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Related concepts: firearms training, deliberate practice, shooting fundamentals, performance standards, coaching, instructor development, dry fire, live-fire practice, skill assessment, corrective feedback, and shooter development.
Related Primary & Secondary resources
This episode was originally released in September 2018. Names, affiliations, products, and training practices may have changed since the original recording.