El Presidente / El Prez

Turn and draw, clear array, reload, clear array.

What is the El Presidente / El Prez Drill?

El Presidente (El Prez) is a classic practical pistol drill, great for live fire or dry fire. If you’re active in the firearms training community, you’ve certainly heard of this drill and have likely shot it. The established standards act as a nice guide to determine how you stack up against the rest of the community.

El Prez works a nice range of handgun skills including the turn and draw, vision speed, recoil control, transitions, and the reload. All of which are fairly foundational skills for any practical pistol shooter – be it competition or self defense.

There are many variations of this drill that have popped up over the years, but they all involve a turn and draw, three targets with two shots, reload, and same three targets with two shots. The variations generally revolve around distances and accuracy standards.

Tim Herron demoing El Presidente

Tim Herron

Tim Herron is a multi division USPSA Grandmaster with many titles and top level placements in the world of USPSA. He travels the US teaching practical pistol classes.

Tim Herron’s Website »
How to Setup

Drill Setup

  • 3 Targets at 10 yards with 1 yard between targets
  • Start position: Facing directly away from the targets with wrists above shoulders
  • 12 shots required
How to Dry Fire

Drill Steps

  1. At the beep, turn around and draw
  2. Engage all three targets with two rounds each
  3. Reload
  4. Engage all three targets again with two rounds each
How to Mod

Drill Modifications

  • Simplify the drill by removing the turn and draw – simply face the targets and draw.
  • To push speed, redefine the area of acceptable accuracy to anywhere on target.

Drill Tips

The turn and draw often slows people down. However, it is very possible for the turn and draw to be just a few tenths of a second behind a normal draw. The key to a fast turn and draw is to turn the head as fast as possible ahead of the body looking for the target. The sooner the eyes lock onto the target, the sooner the gun will follow.

Want to improve your transitions for El Prez? Try running the Blake Drill.


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Drill Diagnostics

Strive to see the first target quickly. Do you have to hunt around to find the target? Or do your eyes lock on quickly to the center aiming point? Strive to get those eyes locked on target quickly – and not only locked on target, but locked on a small specific point on target.


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Drill Author

Jeff Cooper


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Drill Environment

More Drill Modifications

Modifications to focus on: Conceal Carry

Modifications to focus on: General Modifications

Modifications to focus on: Movement

Modifications to focus on: Push Speed

  • Broaden what is considered “acceptable accuracy” - More info »
  • Decrease the distance laterally between targets - More info »
  • Increase the distance laterally between targets - More info »
  • Move targets closer - More info »
  • Put a black dot on the main point of aim on the target - More info »

Modifications to focus on: Tighten Accuracy

Modifications to focus on: Transitions

  • Decrease the distance laterally between targets - More info »
  • Don’t pull the trigger during transitions - More info »
  • Increase the distance laterally between targets - More info »
  • Transition from outside targets of an array and work inwards - More info »

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