Iâm with @David38. You, should be MOBG with the gun you carry, loaded with the ammunition you use for self defense. You have to se what distance that is. Iâm a center of mass believer. Next to that, aim for the crotch.
I have heard it said and I agree:
If you are shooting 1" groups practicing for self defense. You are shooting too slow!
NathanâŠif you plan on engaging a bad guy 25 yards away I strongly suggest your best tactical option may be be using cover and running like hell. Most defensive engagements happen within a 15 yd circumference, which makes putting a full mag within the 8 ring very doable.
Not much cover in the middle of a big storeâs shopping aisle. Stuff happens, so for me, personally, I require the ability to hit a reasonable target size (like 8 ring of a B8) at 25 yards from my carry gun. Running like hell may be the better option, or it may not be, canât know for sure ahead of time (or I wouldnât be that at all of course lol)
Most defensive engagements occur inside of 7 yards, as we have been discussing, so most defensive training should probably take place inside of 7 yards. But, for me, I still want my defensive handgun to be accurate enough (in my hands) to hit at 25y. âJust in caseâ
Absolutely true.
This is the quote I love, in that context
âAccurate enough, always fasterâ
How accurate is accurate enough will vary with circumstance, so practice and drills and training should have different target sizes at different distances (within reason), but, once the target size is identified, âalways fasterâ
The target and shot timer are your two best friends at the range. For defensive training, they should be used togetherâŠonly one without the other wonât tell you the whole story
Why train at 15yd when the actual mode case is within baseball bat range? Because the bat is hard to conceal, slow to draw, accuracy limited beyond two yards, and â most importantly â because each of us lives or dies on a sequence of individual instances, not statistical norms.
Without going deep into personal circumstance, my greatest perceived risk case is rifle vs handgun with limited concealment and about no cover â hunter trespass by ambush or confrontation. Sure, 3-5yd is my shopping day likely case to make shot or reach cover, but that is an exposure of about 400hr/year for me. I need to consider the other exposures for the rest of my life.
Same as anyone in an empty parking lot, wide boulevard, large yard, or dog park. Facing the long gun with a short gun is a bad choice â but it is a plausible do or die choice. However, this is still about shooter competence, not firearm accuracy.
For your own knowledge, carefully shooting two handed from a sandbag rest at 50â ought to tell you how accurate your edc handgun is.
If your pistol has an adjustable rear sight this is also a good time to âdialâ in your edc ammo of choice for best results
However this is no indication of how accurate you are going to be in any other scenario.
Iâm going to steal and adapt the picture from @George98 to make a slightly different point.
If my gun and I are able to perform at one level on range day, I believe it is reasonable to think that I might perform at a different level on a once-in-a-lifetime game day.
If I cannot produce precision and speed on range day, I would not predict adequate Minute-of-Bad-Guy performance on game day. So, I practice to achieve the highest standard I can achieve with the resources I am able to devote to the task. If the gun as a machine cannot perform at a high level, then my own human ability cannot be evaluated.
FWIW, I cannot produce good handgun results from sandbags â I think because I donât shoot much from a rest and am not reproducing a consistent sight picture. I make better groups standing free, and better yet from some braced positions. YMMV.
I discovered when I put a red dot on for the first time, and tried to rest the pistol to zero it when I had never done so with iron sights in the past, similar to youâŠI couldnât shoot that thing for &*@$ off the restâŠprobably because I had never done it before (amazing how that works, isnât it? lol)
ANd then when I did zero it on the rest, and went to freehand shooting, the zero was off.
So that was my one and done experience with resting a pistol
Nothing less than judicial marksmanship. You are carrying a judge, jury, and executioner. Good enough is not, good enough. Practice, I know the prices. You need to hit. Dry, laser, and simulation is not a substitute for live fire, merely a false enhancement.
Sorry, my two cents.
P.S. I agree with you. 
Ainât scared most here canât tie it. Lol. Iâm ready, thanks
Edit=change my mind.
Thanks for the support, Bruce.
Wait, youâre saying dry fire is a âfalse enhancementâ?
When guys like Ben Stoeger espouse the benefits of dry fire, I listen. Many an expert/professional/champion have spoken to the value of dry fire. There is definitely something to that. A great deal of marksmanship can be trained without live ammo. A good trigger press is a good trigger press, after all. And drawing, reloads, other manipulations
Edit
Some relevant discussion
You still (and maybe especially) donât want to miss and hit the wrong target.
Iâd call that âCONSISTENTLY ACCURATEâ.
Your EDC needs to be accurate as if you need to use it you only want to hit the Bad guy.
I am not going to dispute the benefit of practice, but in reality in a life or death situation the whole process may be over within two seconds and if it isnât I would continue to shoot until the threat is stopped. In my mind that is why I am thankful for a magazine or a revolver with extra insurance. If all we had was one shot pistols I might change my point of view.