Handgun Drill Archives
This is the same awesome list of drills that you will find on Todd Green's 'Pistol Training' website.
Steve Burnetts Live Fire Drill Cards training book is an incredible resource to use in conjunction with this list.
Steve Burnetts Live Fire Drill Cards training book is an incredible resource to use in conjunction with this list.
1-2-R-3
designed by JodyH Range: 5yd Target: special DOWNLOAD TARGET HERE Start position: holstered with three rounds in the pistol Rounds fired: 6 Shooter begins the drill with three rounds in the gun. Using a shot timer, give yourself a seven second PAR time. On the buzzer, draw and fire six rounds as follows:
1-RELOAD-2
Range: 5yd Target: torso zone (IPSC A-zone, IDPA zero-down, 8″ plate, 8.5×11 paper) Start position: gun aimed in on target Rounds fired: 3 This is a close-range drill that should allow you to practice your reload and re-acquisition of the target as quickly as possible. Remember, don’t go so fast that you miss the target regularly. The drill begins with the shooter aiming at the target, finger on the trigger. On the start signal, fire a single round at the target. Then perform a reload and fire two more rounds at the target. This is an improvement over the traditional 1-reload-1 drill because by requiring two shots after the reload, the shooter is forced to get a good grip and visual awareness of the pistol after the reload in order to control the gun and get two accurate and fast hits. Depending on how you perform the drill, your reload can be a slidelock (aka emergency) reload, a speed (aka in-battery) reload, or a retention (aka tactical) reload. 10 ROUND ASSAULT COURSE
(designed by Ethan Johns of SWAT Magazine)
Range: 25yd, 15yd, 7yd, & closing Target: NRA B8 replacement center Start position: holstered Rounds fired: 10 Target is a standard NRA B8 bullseye replacement center. Scoring is for actual points so a 10-ring hit is worth a lot more than peripherals. Start from the holster at 25yd.
Using a B8 target center instead of the big zone of an IPSC/IDPA target is what makes this such an interesting drill. Being able to turn in precision at speed (especially at the 25 and 15yd lines) is very representative of the performance standards Ethan and his military colleagues expect in their real world day jobs. This and Ethan’s other new test appeared in the January 2014 edition of SWAT Magazine. 10-8 PISTOL TEST
designed by Hilton Yam Range: 7yd Target: IDPA target Start position: varies (see below) Rounds fired: 65 This test is to be conducted using either:
26662 DRILL
designed by Todd Green Range: 3yd – 7yd Target: special (see below) Start position: holstered Rounds fired: 5 This is a more advanced variation on the Changing Gears drill. It uses a target with two 2″ circles and one 6″ circle. DOWNLOAD TARGET HERE Range can be anywhere from three to seven yards depending on shooter skill level. Draw and fire one round at the top 2″ circle, three rounds at the 6″ circle, and then one round at the bottom 2″ circle. Shoot the circles in that specific sequence. Record your time and establish a good par time for yourself. Then start to chip tenths of a second off the par to improve your speed. Once you are consistently getting all of your hits within 3-4 seconds, try putting the target out another yard or two and starting again. To keep the drill from getting stale and to keep you from getting too familiar with the specific movement from circle to circle, rotate the target to a different orientation each range session. So sometimes the little dots will be on the right, sometimes of the left, sometimes on top, and sometimes on bottom. The 26662 drill will help you develop a good, precise draw and the ability to change between high accuracy shots and high speed shots seamlessly. 3-TWO-1
designed by Todd Green Range: 3yd – 7yd Target: special (see below) Start position: holstered Rounds fired: 30 3-Two-1 is a close range drill focusing on speed and precision as well as the ability to change gears seamlessly. It uses a 3×5″ rectangle, a 2″ circle, and 1″ square. For simplicity’s sake, we have created a target specifically for this drill. DOWNLOAD TARGET HERE Using a shot timer, give yourself a four second PAR time. On the buzzer, draw and fire six rounds as follows:
Range can be anywhere from three to seven yards depending on shooter skill level. Start at a distance where you can hit all three of the targets when there is no time limit, and then push yourself to meet the PAR time. Record your results for each target (rectangle, circle, square) and work until you are getting good hits within the PAR time. Then increase the distance. 3BY3
Range: 5yd or 7yd Target: 8″ circle, 3×5 card, and 2″ dot Start position: concealed Rounds fired: 9 This is a type of changing gears drill. There are three strings of fire. A shot timer is used for the first two, while the third is shot with no time limit.
3X5 CARD DRILL
Range: 3yd, 5yd, 7yd, 10yd, & 15yd Target: 3×5 card Start position: any Rounds fired: 6 at each distance Shooter fires six rounds at the target at his own pace for maximum accuracy. For traditional double action guns, three shots should be double action and three shots should be single action in alternating sequence (double, single, double, single, double, single). At three yards, the goal is to have all six bullet holes touching. After that, all shots need to hit the card. If all six shots hit the card, increase to the next distance. For added challenge, use three cards and perform the drill freestyle, strong-hand only, and weak-hand only at each distance. 4567 DRILL
designed by Chris Edwards & Todd Green Range: 7yd Target: 6″ circle DOWNLOAD TARGET HERE Start position: varies, see below Rounds fired: 20 rounds The 4567 was inspired by Gila Hayes’s “5×4” drill and the various iterations thereof. The drill is run four times, five rounds each, on a six inch circle, at seven yards. A shot timer is used to begin each string of fire. The four strings of fire are:
4X20 TRANSITION DRILL
designed by Scott Warren Range: 10yd Target: four steel chest plates (or similar) Start position: holstered Rounds fired: 20 This drill is best run with four steel plates, but you can also use paper plates, sheets of paper, etc. Targets are placed at least two feet apart edge to edge at a range of ten yards. You will need a shot timer. On the buzzer, draw and engage one shot per target back and forth for 20 rounds. Note that you do not “double” the targets on the end, you shoot them once and then reverse direction. So the sequence is: T1-T2-T3-T4-T3-T2-T1-T2, etc. There are no makeup shots. If you miss a shot, it’s a miss … move on to the next target. The goal is to get all twenty hits in under 10 seconds. Special thanks to pistol-training.com reader Hsoi for naming the drill. 5X5 SKILL TEST
designed by Bill Wilson Range: 10yd Target: standard IDPA target Start position: Hands at your sides facing target. No concealment garment necessary. Rounds fired: 25 Another quick and easy to set up/score shooting test by Bill Wilson of Wilson Combat. It is intended for a service pistol of 9mm caliber or larger, concealed carry suitable holster and ammunition with a power factor (bullet weight x velocity) of 125,000 or more. Scoring is standard Vickers with a half second penalty per point down. There are four strings of fire, each for time:
Grand Master: 15 seconds or less Master: 20 seconds or less Expert: 25 seconds or less Sharpshooter: 32 seconds or less Marksman: 41 seconds or less Novice: 50 seconds or less Not proficient enough to carry a handgun: Over 50 seconds 99 DRILL
designed by JodyH Range: 7-15yd Target: 4×6 card (advanced: 3×5 card) Start position: holstered concealed, hands relaxed at sides Rounds fired: 99 This was developed as a way to practice fundamentals (marksmanship at speed, draws, and reloads) with limited time and ammunition. Individual drills are shot multiple times to provide actual training benefit rather than just serving as a test of current skill level.
ACCELERATION
This drill was the pistol-training.com Drill of the Week for 6-July-08. designed by Todd Louis Green Range: varies (start at 7yd) Target: 8″ paper plate, 8.5×11 sheet of paper, or similar Start position: mid draw Rounds fired: varies The purpose of this drill is to improve speed and in particular speed during the press-out segment of the draw stroke. The drill requires a shot timer. Shooter begins seven yards from the target. Start position is the point where you normally make contact with your support hand during a draw. The gun will be relatively close in to your body, pointed at the target, both hands on the gun. Set the PAR time on your shot timer to 1.0 seconds. On the buzzer, press the gun out and press the trigger, working on your sight alignment and timing so the shot breaks at the moment you reach full extension of your arms. If you finish with plenty of time left, slow yourself down and work on breaking a more accurate shot without going over the PAR time. Go through one or two magazines depending on whether you have a double- or single-stack mag. Next, put up a new target. Without changing the par time, do the same drill except fire two shots per iteration. This might be easy for you, or it might require you to push yourself to break that first shot a little faster. Again, the goal is to get the most accurate shots you can without going over PAR. Fire the same number of drills (so you’ll fire two times as many shots). If you were getting two shots in the 1.0 seconds, next try three, then four, and keep going until you can no longer get all your hits within the PAR time. You’ll have to speed up a little more each time. This drill should take you from smooth accurate single shots to pushing yourself to the very limit of your speed & accuracy. BALL & DUMMY DRILL
Range: 3yd Target: small (3×5 card, 3″ dot) Start position: any Rounds fired: varies This drill has been used for decades to help shooters overcome problems anticipating recoil and jerking the trigger. It’s a staple of every instructor’s diagnostic toolbox. You will need some snap caps or dummy rounds to do this drill. Have a shooting partner load your pistol magazine or revolver cylinder with about two-thirds live ammunition and one-third dummies, randomly mixed. (alternatively, revolver shooters can just leave 1-3 chambers empty) Using a small but close target as outlined above, aim and shoot. You should have no idea whether you’re pulling the trigger on a live round or a dummy, so treat every trigger press as if it were going to fire. When you get to a dummy round, the pistol should stay perfectly still as you press the trigger. If you jerk the trigger or anticipate recoil, you’ll immediately see it because the gun will move off target. If you do jerk the gun on a dummy, stop and fire ten perfect, deliberate dry-fire shots without jerking the trigger or anticipating any recoil. Then do the Ball & Dummy Drill again. This drill is only valid when you are shooting slowly and deliberately, working 100% on accuracy and zero on speed. As you start to shoot faster, it’s easy to mistake proper recoil management for “anticipation” and make you believe you are doing something wrong when you’re not. BILL DRILL
designed by Bill Wilson (sometimes erroneously credited to Bill Jordan, Bill Rogers) Range: 7yd Target: standard IPSC target Start position: gun in holster, hands at surrender position Rounds fired: 6 The Bill Drill is intended to improve speed without sacrificing accuracy. The details listed above are the traditional version, but any 6-shot drill done at speed on a single target can achieve the same basic goal. Six shots are fired as quickly as the shooter can achieve six hits on the target. The drill teaches sight tracking, proper visual reference, recoil management, and trigger manipulation. One important aspect of the Bill Drill is learning to follow your sights during recoil so that you can fire your next shot as soon as you have an adequate sight picture. Usually, this means pulling the trigger as soon as the front sight comes back down onto the scoring zone without waiting for precise alignment or for the sight to stop movement in the middle of the target. At full speed, the front sight is constantly moving, never coming to rest until the drill is over. BILL DRILL 2
designed by Bill Wilson Range: 7yd Target: standard IDPA target 8″ -0 zone Start position: gun in holster, hands at sides Rounds fired: 15 This is a new version of the classic Bill Drill developed by Bill Wilson with a goal toward working the draw and different numbers of shots on target. Scoring is standard Vickers with a half second penalty per point down. There are five strings of fire, each for time:
BULLSEYE 1000
designed by Tom Jones Range: 25yd Target: NRA B-16 and NRA B-8 Start position: freestyle Rounds fired: 100 The Bullseye 1000 (aka BE1000) was developed by Tom Jones as a comprehensive marksmanship evaluation to track progress during his 365 Days of Training. NRA B-16 targets are used for Slow Fire segments; alternatively, the shooter may choose to use B-6 targets at a range of 50yd. NRA B-8 targets are used for the Timed Fire and Rapid Fire segments.
CATCH 22
designed by Dave Sevigny Range: 15yd Target: MGM Auto-Popper or 8″ plate Start position: varies (see below) Rounds fired: varies (see below) Dave Sevigny developed this drill to test draw speed and trigger control. It’s quite challenging. All you need is a steel target and a shot timer.
The target needs to be put up against the berm to prevent rounds skipping out of the range on a bad draw. The target needs to be steel because you continue engaging it until you score a hit. If you used a paper target and realized after the fact that you missed a shot, you have no way to score your time for that run. Dave considers anything under 23 seconds to be a Grand Master level score. His personal best is 20.71! If you are drawing from concealment, the “GM standard” is 26 seconds. (For a more “tactical” drill, you can do a standard weak hand only draw but keep in mind that this will be significantly slower for most people than the strong-to-weak transfer. Unless you have specific professional training in the safe execution of a weak hand only drawstroke, do not attempt it with a live gun.) CHANGING GEARS
Range: 7yd Targets: 3×5 card, 8″ plate Start position: holstered Rounds fired: 4+ This drill is intended to help shooters learn to change speeds as the situation requires. It uses two different size targets, a small (3×5 card) and a large (8″ plate). A shot timer is used set to a par time that pushes the shooter to shoot as quickly as possible while still getting hits. 3-4 seconds is a good start; once the shooter is getting a total of 5-6 hits per run, reduce the par time for a greater challenge. There are two variants of the drill. Both should be practiced: Slow-to-Fast Draw, fire two rounds at the small target, then as many hits on the large target as possible before the par time runs out. This emphasizes a very precise draw and first shot, which is especially important on Traditional Double Action (DA/SA) guns. After hitting the smalltarget twice, the shooter must speed up to get as many hits on the large target as possible within the par time. Fast-to-Slow Draw, fire two rounds at the large target, then as many hits on the small target as possible before the par time runs out. This emphasizes control, because the first two shots should be very fast and then the shooter should slow down to get his hits on the smaller target. Alternative targets: other targets can be used to get the same effect (for example, the head box of an IDPA/IPSC target and the torso zone of the same) or two identical targets can be placed at different distances (e.g., 5 yards and 15 yards). A more advanced version of this drill is the X-Drill. CIRCLE DRILL
attributed to George Harris, SIGARMS Academy Range: 7yd Target: 8″ plate Start position: any Rounds fired: 36 The Circle Drill is intended to teach students the relationship between speed and accuracy, and how time affects marksmanship fundamentals. The drill begins by firing six rounds at the plate at a slow pace (1 shot per second). Repeat. This is fundamental marksmanship with little or no time pressure. Next, pick up the pace. Fire six rounds at a moderate pace (2 shots per second). Repeat. This speed is the “comfort zone” for most shooters, they should still get reasonably good hits. Finally, maximize speed by firing six rounds at a pace of about 4 shots per second (or as fast as possible if 4/second is faster than the gun can be kept under control). Repeat. This pace should push a shooter outside of his comfort zone and force him to work harder at recoil management and sight tracking. Accuracy will suffer but the goal is to keep 90%+ hits on the plate. For added challenge, also perform the drill one-handed both strong- and weak-hand. Note that the times, especially the “fast” time, may need to be adjusted for one-handed shooting. The goal remains the same. First speed is slow marksmanship, second speed is a steady comfortable cadence, and finally maximum speed without losing control of the gun. DOT TORTURE
This is a great marksmanship drill that came from David Blinder at personaldefensetraining.com. Start at 3 yards. You have to get all 50 hits to pass. Once you can shoot the whole drill without a single miss, either increase the distance or add time pressure. For instance, try to finish the entire drill in under 5 minutes while maintaining 100% accuracy. DOWNLOAD TARGET HERE
DOWNLOAD TARGETHERE
EL PRESIDENTE
attributed to Jeff Cooper Range: 10yd Target: three IPSC targets spaced 1yd from each other shoulder to shoulder Start position: back to targets, hands above shoulders (“surrender position”), pistol concealed Rounds fired: 12 At the start signal, turn, then draw and fire two rounds at each of the three targets. Perform a reload, then fire two rounds at each target again. There should be four hits on each target for a total of twelve. The classic standard was to perform the drill in under ten seconds with all A-zone hits. Any run with less than 12 A-zone hits was a failure. There have been many variations of this drill, including the “Vice-Presidente” which begins with the shooter facing the targets and which is usually performed at 7yd instead of 10yd distance. (thanks to DPB of Red Zone Solutions for correcting our earlier mistake about the proper distance for the El Presidente) EXTEND PREP & PRESS/ALTERNATING TARGET AREA
designed by Michael Seeklander Range: 5yd – 10yd Target: body zone (IPSC A-zone, IDPA -0 zone, 8″ circle, etc.) and head zone (IPSC A-zone, 3×5 card, etc.) Start position: high ready (where hands meet after draw) Rounds fired: 40 This is a Changing Gears type drill designed to get you focused on making proper choices in terms of your visual control of the pistol as you alternate between high- and low-percentage targets. It comes from Michael Seeklander’s Your Defensive Handgun Training Program.
f.a.s.t. (fundamentals,accuracy & speed test)
designed by Todd Green
Range: 7 yards Target: 3×5 card (head), 8″ plate (body) Start position: weapon concealed or in duty condition with all holster retention devices active; shooter facing downrange in relaxed stance with arms down at sides Rounds fired: 6 Shooter loads gun with a total of two rounds. On start signal, shooter draws and fires two rounds at the head target; performs a slidelock reload; and fires four rounds at the body target. You can see the progress of the test from precise head shots, to slidelock reload, to fast body shots very well in this clip by Ernest Langdon: Ranking:
The F.A.S.T. Wall of Fame, listing every pistol-training.com student who received a rank of Advanced or higher on the drill during a class. The FASTest page, listing the current official world record for the drill as well as the top student from each pistol-training.com class. frank garcia's dot torture
designed by Frank Garcia Range: 7yd Target: six 2″ dots (.pdf target downloadable here) Start position: varies (see below) Rounds fired: 36 This drill combines a high degree of marksmanship with enough speed to put pressure on almost any shooter. Set your shot timer for a 5 second PAR time. On the buzzer, draw and fire six shots at the first 2″ dot on the target. Record the number of hits you achieved within the PAR time. Shots fired after the 5s PAR count as misses. Repeat the drill with the same 5s PAR on each of the remaining dots. You will fire a total of 36 rounds with six separate start signals. Make sure you have at least six rounds loaded in your gun before starting each dot. If your range does not allow you to draw from a holster, begin the drill from your preferred ready position. hackathorn 3-second head shot standards
designed by Ken Hackathorn This was the Drill of the Week for 26-Oct-08. Range: 5yd Target: three IDPA or IPSC targets Start position: varies (see below) Rounds fired: 9 Targets are placed at least two feet apart shoulder to shoulder at a range of five yards. PAR time is set to three seconds for each string. There are three strings of fire.
Hackathorn considers a passing score to be seven hits, minimum. Try the drill first from a standard ready position. If you can get all your hits, try it from a holster. If you can get your hits from the holster within the PAR time, try it from concealment. hackathorn standards
designed by Ken Hackathorn
Range: varies (see below) Target: three IPSC (or IDPA) targets spaced 1yd apart at heights (from left to right) of 5′, 6′, 4′. Start position: varies Rounds fired: 60 The Hackathorn Standards have become a mainstay of practical pistol performance evaluation. Designed by Ken Hackathorn in 1993, the “Hack Standards” formed the blueprint from which the IDPA Classifier was developed. Scoring of the targets:
There is no concealment requirement. Strings of fire are shot from the holster unless specified otherwise. No extra (“make up”) shots are allowed. There are thirteen strings of fire: 2H = two hands, freestyle SHO = strong hand only WHO = weak hand only A score of 250 or more is considered Excellent. From 200-249 is Acceptable. Below 200 is Needs Improvement. half & half
designed by VTAC Range: 5-20yd Target: IPSC A-zone or IDPA -0 zone Start position: (see below) Rounds fired: 30 The Half & Half is an easy to administer assessment of speed and marksmanship. There are three strings of fire. With each subsequent string, you reduce the distance and the par time by half. The “official” version of the drill is dumbed down from the original carbine drill and is shot from the ready position:
For a significantly better challenge, the “pistol-training.com version” of the Half & Half is run using the original carbine times, and also fired from either concealment or a retention holster:
humbler (700 point aggregate)
designed for SFOD-Delta popularized by Larry Vickers Range: 25yd Target: NRA B-8 Start position: varies Rounds fired: 70 The Humbler is the nickname for what is otherwise known as the 700 Point Aggregate. As of this writing, no one has ever claimed a perfect 700 on the drill. The drill uses NRA B-8 bullseye targets at a range of 25 yards. A fresh target is used for each string to minimize scoring errors. Rounds impacting outside the marked scoring zones are zero points.
Ihack
adapted from the Hackathorn 3-second Headshot Standards Range: 5yd Target: three 2″ circles DOWNLOAD TARGET HERE Start position: varies (see below) Rounds fired: 9 The iHack is an indoor range friendly version of the famous Hackathorn 3-Second Headshot Standards. The targets are much closer together but also significantly smaller than the regular version of the drill. Most shooters find this variation harder than the original so don’t be discouraged if your score is less than you expect the first time you try it. PAR time is set to three seconds for each string. There are three strings of fire.
Try the drill first from a standard ready position. If you can get all your hits, try it from a holster. If you can get your hits from the holster within the PAR time, try it from concealment. langdon 3.5 second standards
designed by Ernest Langdon Range: varies (see below) Target: three IDPA targets Start position: from concealment Rounds fired: 80 For this drill, you will need three IDPA targets placed at shoulder height with at least two feet of separation between each target. You will also need a shot timer, set to a 3.5-second PAR time. Each string has a 3.5-second PAR time. You must get all “-0” hits within the PAR time for each run. Dropping any points or going past the PAR time is considered a failure. T1 is the left target; T2 is the center target, T3 is the right target.
langdon 9 second standards
Range: varies (see below) Target: three IDPA targets Start position: from concealment Rounds fired: 60 For this drill, you will need three IDPA targets placed at shoulder height with at least two feet of separation between each target. You will also need a shot timer, set to a 9-second PAR time. Each string has a 9-second PAR time. You must get all “-0” hits within the PAR time for each run. Dropping any points or going past the PAR time is considered a failure.
press six
designed by Todd Green Range: 3yd – 7yd Target: special (see below) Start position: holstered Rounds fired: 62 Press Six is a multi-string drill that will help you improve both your press-out skills and your ability to hit low probability targets at speed. It utilizes six 2″ circles: DOWNLOAD TARGET HERE Range can be anywhere from three to seven yards depending on shooter skill level. The six strings of fire are:
PYRAMID
This drill was the pistol-training.com Drill of the Week contest winner for July-08 and was the Drill of the Week for 13-July-08. designed by “mlazarus” Range: 5yd, 10yd, 15yd, 20yd, and 25yd Target: 8″ paper plate or similar Start position: holstered Rounds fired: 10 Target is a standard 8″ paper plate. At the five yard line draw and fire two rounds into the plate as fast as you can make the hits. Move back to the 10 yard line and repeat this. Again from the 15, 20 and 25 yard line. This can also be run in reverse, starting at the 25 yard line and moving closer. The purpose of the drill is twofold. One, develop the same draw speed for targets at all ranges and two, develop a sense of the sighting needs and front sight focus from various distances. RELOAD DRILL
Reload DrillRange: 7yd Target: torso (8″ plate, sheet of paper, IPSC or IDPA target, etc.) Start position: from the holster or ready position Rounds fired: 4 At the start signal, present the weapon to the target, fire two rounds, reload, and fire two additional rounds. (a common variation of this drill fires 1, reload, then 1 round; however, firing a second shot each time guarantees that the student is aiming and exercising proper shooting technique rather than rushing too fast) To practice slidelock reloads, it is easiest to load your magazines with four rounds each, except for the first magazine in the gun which should obviously hold only two rounds. This way you can perform the drill and you’ll have two rounds left in the magazine at the end, allowing you to repeat the drill immediately. SWITCH HITTING
This drill was the pistol-training.com Drill of the Week for 25-May-08 and 1-Jun-08. designed by Todd Louis Green Range: varies (start at 3yd) Target: two 3×5 cards (slow version) or two 8″ plates (fast version) Start position: ready position, strong hand only Rounds fired: varies (safety notice: as with any drill involving transfer from one hand to the other, please remember to be careful. If you should drop the gun during the drill, let it fall to the ground and do not try to catch it in midair. If you try to catch it, the odds are very good that you’ll snatch the trigger and discharge the gun accidentally) The purpose of this drill is to improve both accuracy and speed when shooting one-handed. There are two versions of the drill, a slow version which is focused primarily on accuracy and a fast version which balances accuracy and speed. Both drills require the shooter to use a shot timer with a PAR time of 10 seconds. Slow version: Place two 3×5 cards at least one foot apart at a range of three yards. Starting position is normal ready position for strong hand only (SHO) shooting. On the buzzer, engage the right card slowly until you get one hit. Then carefully transition the pistol to the weak hand only (WHO) and engage the left card until you get one hit. Keep transitioning back and forth from SHO to WHO until the PAR time runs out. Practice until you are getting at least two hits on each card in the PAR time. Then, increase the distance to 5 yards and start again. Keeping adding distance until you can no longer get the necessary hits in the allowed PAR time. Fast version: Similar to the above except you will use two larger targets, such as 8″ plates or 8.5×11 sheets of paper. On the buzzer, engage the right target with two hits shooting SHO. Once you get your two hits, carefully transition to the WHO and engage the left target until you get two hits. Transition back and forth as many times as you can until the PAR time runs out. Practice until you are getting at least four hits per card at 3yd within the 10 second PAR, then increase the distance to 5yd. Keeping adding distance until you can no longer get the required number of hits within the PAR time. TRI 10
This drill was the pistol-training.com Drill of the Week contest winner for August-08 and was the Drill of the Week for 24-Aug-08. designed by “Gunslinger” Range: 10yd Target: Tran Star-II similar Start position: holstered Rounds fired: 10 (safety notice: as with any drill involving transfer from one hand to the other, please remember to be careful. If you should drop the gun during the drill, let it fall to the ground and do not try to catch it in midair. If you try to catch it, the odds are very good that you’ll snatch the trigger and discharge the gun accidentally) Set your shot timer to a PAR time of 10 seconds. On the buzzer, draw and engage the target as follows:
TRIPLE NICKEL
This drill was the pistol-training.com Drill of the Week for 3-Aug-08. designed by a Dept of Homeland Security agency’s firearms training unit Range: 5yd Target: five Tran Star-II or QIT targets. SHOP FOR TRAN STAR II HERE SHOP FOR QIT TARGET HERE Start position: holstered & concealed Rounds fired: 10 Five targets are placed five yards from the shooter with at least 1.5 feet between each target. Shooter begins with weapon concealed. On the buzzer, shooter must draw and engage each target with two shots. After the first target is engaged but before the last target is engaged, the shooter must perform a reload. For a shot to count as a hit, it must be completely within the 4/5 scoring zones of a Tran Star-II target or within the bottle of a QIT target. Hits touching the line or outside the scoring zone are considered a miss. The drill is called the Triple Nickel because the agency uses a five second standard to complete the drill. Shooters who can successfully perform the drill in under five seconds three times in a row with 100% hits are awarded a special commemorative coin. That is a draw from concealment, a reload, and ten hits on a total of five targets in under five seconds! TRIPLE SIX
This drill was the pistol-training.com Drill of the Week contest winner for June-08 and was the Drill of the Week for 8-Jun-08. designed by Max Michel, jr of the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit Range: 7yd, 15yd, and 25yd Target: standard IPSC target Start position: holstered Rounds fired: 18 Set up 3 targets [USPSA targets prefered]. There are three strings of fire.
For each hit in the D zone add .50 seconds. For any misses add 1.0 seconds. Add the three raw times plus any scoring zone penalties. A good goal to shoot for on this drill with a stock type production/SSP gun would beunder 9.0 seconds after all penalties are added. (editor’s note: Max Michel’s personal best is reported to be 5.5 seconds total!) TYPEWRITER
drill designed by “CCT125US” Range: 5yd Target: six 2″ dots (download free 8.5×11 target PDF) Start position: holstered Rounds fired: 24 On the beep, draw and fire one round at each of the six 2″ circles in order from #1 to #6 and then immediately repeat from #1 to #6 again for a total of twelve rounds fired. Record your time. Then starting from the holster again, on the beep draw and fire one round at each of the six 2″ circles in reverse order from #6 to #1 then immediately repeat from #6 to #1 again. Record your time. You must shoot the targets in proper order each time. Your score is the number of hits you made (out of 24) divided by your total time for the two strings of fire. So for example if you get 23 hits and shoot it in 25.55 seconds your score is: 23 ÷ 25.55 = 0.80 This drill is not capacity-neutral. If your handgun holds less than 12 rounds, you will need to reload during the drill. If your pistol holds less than 6 rounds, you will need to reload more than once. The time for the reload counts toward your score. WALL DRILL
developed by George Harris, SIGARMS Academy Range: 0yd Target: blank wall Start position: any Rounds fired: 0 (dry fire) This is a dry-fire drill; all weapons must be completely unloaded and double-checked before the start of this drill. Shooter stands with muzzle at eye level less than one inch from a blank wall. There should be no aiming points (targets, holes, light switches, etc.) to distract the shooter. Shooter practices proper sight alignment, front sight focus, and trigger manipulation without the distraction of a target. Two-handed, strong-hand, and weak-hand shooting should be practiced. For TDA (traditional double action) pistols, both the double- and single-action trigger pulls should be practiced. The goal is to maintain focus on the front sight, pulling the trigger without upsetting sight alignment. The Wall Drill was the Drill of the Week and you can read that entry for further discussion WARREN ADVANCED 3 SECOND STANDARDS
designed by Scott Warren based on the Ken Hackathorn 3-Second Standards Range: varies (see below) Target: three IPSC or IDPA targets spaced at least two feet apart shoulder to shoulder Start position: holstered Rounds fired: 63 A shot timer with PAR time set to three seconds is used for each string. There are three strings of fire for each stage of the drill:
A score of 49 or above (averaging at least 7 hits per stage) is a real accomplishment. X DRILL
Range: 7yd
Targets: two targets each with a head (3×5 card) and torso (8″ plate) scoring zone Start position: holstered or ready Rounds fired: 32 This is another variant of the Changing Gears drill. The purpose of this drill is to build realistic multiple target shooting skills, and to further develop a shooter’s ability to regulate the balance between accuracy and speed necessary to get hits against different size and distance targets. You’ll create two targets, A and B. Each target will have a 3×5 card as a head zone, and an 8″ plate as a body zone. It should look like this: Shooter draws and fires two rounds at each target zone in an “X” pattern. Drill is repeated four times, starting with a different zone each time. 1. A-head, B-body, A-body, B-head 2. B-head, A-body, B-body, A-head 3. B-body, A-head, B-head, A-body 4. A-body, B-head, A-head, B-body A key point in teaching and evaluating the X-Drill is that pairs fired at large body zones should be faster than pairs fired at small head zones. Shooters should learn to adjust their cadence to get off shots as fast as they can appropriate to the range and size of the target. If your head shots are just as fast as your body shots and you’re getting all hits, you need to be taking the body shots faster. Shoot at the speed the target allo Cadence drill
Designed by: This drill has been tweaked in many ways by many instructors over time. This specific target belongs to Chris Cerino of The Cerenio Consulting and Training Group Range: 10ft,20ft,30ft Targets: Three vertical rectangle boxes Start position: Ready Rounds fired: 12 Read each box starting from left to right and use that cadence to fire the 4 rounds into that zone. Start at 30' for the box on the left. Move to 20' and use the second box. Finish at 10' with the box on the right. Download target here |
This Training Log has everything you need to track your improvement if you are just learning to shoot or have developed advanced skills. Includes all 60 fun and popular drills. The soft, half size leatherette binder is comfortable to use and easily fits into most range bags.
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