You note that police hit only at around 23 percent accuracy in gun fights. Of course, there are so many variables here, so that percentage is questionable. They could be chasing someone down the street and firing (I’ve heard of that). Yet police are supposed to qualify every year with their firearms. If so, that practice doesn’t help a helluva lot, does it? Not that they shouldn’t practice; I’m not arguing that.
I also am certainly not arguing that it’s not a good idea for anyone to practice. I certainly do on my private range (I live in a very rural area) and I, too, use 10 yards as my measuring distance since I know that most gunfights occur within that distance.
I also keep a Remington 870 loaded with buckshot by my bed for serious protection. I don’t practice with it since I have to defend a space of 5 feet from the door to my end of my bed.
What I am trying to say is that it’s not obligatory for Harry and Harriet Homeowner to spend time—well, a little bit of time won’t hurt—out there on the gun range if their sole purpose of gun ownership is to defend themselves.
So, I guess we don’t disagree all that much.
That's what I expected. I wasn't saying that a homeowner needs an hour a day on the range to be safe owning a pistol. My point was that they need to shoot often enough that they know where the safety is even in the dark, how to load the silly thing and chamber a round without referring to the owner's manual, and preferably to have recent experience on what the weapon feels like when it is aimed in the right direction.