Why would we want to differentiate between the two and what would this do for our shooting?  Quite often we tend to practice shooting matches or leagues when training would be a better use of our time.  Most of us have a limited amount of time that we can spend on our shooting.  Maximizing the training achieved during that time can really improve our scores at the leagues and matches.

Let me wander off on a side track here for a bit.  Many shooters fall into a category that is quite comfortable showing up to matches and leagues and shooting for the plain fun of being at these events.  This is perfectly OK.  If you are comfortable shooting at the level you're at and would like to improve, but it's all right if you don't, that's perfectly fine.  If on the other hand, you truly want to improve and strive for the higher scores, the wins and the placement at the top, you need to confirm this and work toward it.  This may mean that you leave behind a good friend who is in the comfortable group.  

Now let's cover some of the training routines to consider.  First, my favorite, let's describe Blank Wall Dry Fire.  For this you need a gun devoid of rounds and a blank area safe to point the gun at.  Again, make sure there is no ammo around and the gun is not loaded before you start this training.  What is the real purpose in using the blank wall?  It allows you to focus on what's happening at the gun.  This is done by watching what the sighting system does when you manipulate the trigger.  What you work for here is to be able to bring the trigger back without disturbing whatever your sights look like.  This could be the relationship of the front to rear for open or the movement of the dot or crosshairs for scopes.

Remember that when the hammer falls, the dynamic action of the sights should continue undisturbed.  But what if that activity is too much to put up with?  This is where holding exercises can be added into your training program.  A holding exercise can be performed by placing a vertical line on the wall and while holding the sights a couple of inches away, work with how small you can make the horizontal movement.  Then replace the vertical line with a horizontal one and work on the vertical movement.  You can also practice just holding still against a bull.  If you like, you can add some weight to the gun so that when you're shooting, it will seem lighter, but don't hang any kind of weight that can swing back and forth because then you'll be fighting to keep something still that won't be a factor when you are actually shooting.

After you've done some "homework" you can head for the range and do some similar training.  One type is Blank Target shooting.  Here you do the same drill as you did at home with the Blank Wall, only now you're going to add live fire.  The concept for this drill is rather involved and I hope I can do the explanation justice.  When you shoot the "perfect" shot you do so from everything being in balance and all changing pressures being parallel to the bore.  In fact, the only changing pressure should be between the trigger finger and the rearmost grip area (as its counter to the increasing trigger pressure).  To fire the Blank Target drill you need to remove as much target reference as you can.  Many shooters try to "cheat" the drill by referencing themselves to the target frame in some manner.  This defeats the purpose of the drill.  The purpose is the same as before; work with the sights and the trigger without letting the target interfere.  So how do you reference where to shoot?  After all, aren't we trying to get a group in the middle of the paper?  Well, yes and no.  We are looking for the result as a group, but what we're really trying to do is to perform each shot the same as the ones before, by paying attention to the sights and manipulating the trigger in a specific fashion.  Instead of trying to fire at a specific place downrange we need to just place the sights against the blank target area and proceed with the shot without trying to reference any part of the target or frame.  This can be really difficult to fully understand, but if we stand a particular way, bring the gun up in a particular way, place it naturally toward the target and fire a shot while paying attention to the sights, the shot will fall on the paper in a particular place.  If we perform subsequent shots in the same manner, they will also fall into the same area.  This area may or may not be in the middle of the paper.  That part doesn't matter.  We have adjustable sights for just that situation.

OK, hopefully I explained the above drill sufficiently.  Let's now bring up another type of training; the one-shot drill.  In the previous topic I mentioned working with a single shot until it is perfect (you'll have to use your own definition of perfect).  In the one-shot drill, you train to make the first shot perfect.  Two issues are foremost here: (1) If you can get the first shot to break at the target turn, you will have the full time left for the remaining shots, and (2) the first shot will normally set the "tone" for the following shots.  IOW, if the first shot went off perfectly, the next ones will probably follow right in line.  However, if you have trouble with the first shot, you will quite often carry that trouble into the rest of the string.  So training for the first shot can improve your delivery of the entire string.  What is the one-shot drill specifically?  You set a turning system to face for around two seconds only and work on firing a clean shot at the turn.  Train this way until you always get a perfect shot and come back for another before the target edges, and then practice it until it becomes natural and happens all the time.

Once you've perfected the first shot, you can move to a two-shot drill.  This builds from the first one as mentioned in Advanced Topic 1.  Your two-shot drill should be performed using a three second face time.  You will need to get your first shot off as in the one-shot drill, and then follow it with another shot.  Train this way until both shots are within your definition of perfect.

There are other forms of training but at this point I'm going to move over to several areas of practice.  First, how do you practice the good shots in slow fire?  Only shoot the ones that settle correctly.  If you truly have the capability to call your shots, start looking for clues about a shot before you fire and abort it if it isn't perfect.  Learn to call what a shot is going to be and if your call isn't perfect, don't fire it.  Watch the way a good shot settles and when you settle differently, abort it.

Leagues and matches are good venues, but maybe not for the reasons most think.  Leagues and matches are not training and practice times.  They are evaluation times.  You've done your homework and studied your material, now it's time to test your routines.  But remember that to really test yourself you need to stick with your program through the course and evaluate the results after.  Look for those areas that work well and practice them.  Look for those areas that need work and train in that area.

Matches lend pressure to our shooting that can be difficult to duplicate, but there are ways to put more pressure on ourselves during our training times.  Of course one of the best ways is to train with a friend and add some competition into the process.  Another can be to find a reward for yourself for when you achieve a goal.   Be sure to realize the reward when you do meet the goal.

In short, make training work for you by discovering what gives you perfect shots and then practice those perfect shots to make them the most natural thing you could do.  Embed the perfect process into your subconscious through repetition.  Remember, only perfect practice makes perfect.  Otherwise you learn very well how to do it less than perfect.