Skills

What ever skills you have , you need to practice, practice,practice. You cannot become proficient just by thinking you are. I practice with my pistols daily. Lots of times it is simply shooting wax bullets or the speer plastic bullets. Most gun fights are close range 7- 21 feet.
I practice shooting into a wooden box with baffles in it, with a 10 inch circle. Just remember a pistol is a last ditch weapon. Its a defense weapon as per your rifle is an offensive weapon. Also if you have a carry permit - then carry everyday. My great grandfather was a real pistolero back in Texas. He shot everyday at a 25 yard target which was a 4 inch circle with all 5 of his shots from his S&W Woodsman 38/44 in that circle. Then he cleaned his gun and reloaded it. He also was quite good with his pre 64 model 70 winchester 30-06 with 150 gr Sierra bullets. He would aslo shoot his pistol into a 55 gal barrel filled with sand and then sift thru the sand retreive his cast bullets, melt them down and recast them.