New to Shooting Competitions

A drill set designed for new competitors to get used to key safety skills for the sport

FREE Drill Set

Competitive shooting is incredibly fun and a great way to get better with firearms in a dynamic shooting environment. In my opinion, it’s one of the best ways to get better with handguns.

This drill set is intended to provide some repetition on some key skills to prep for your first (or fifth, or fifteenth!) shooting competition.

If you’re just trying out sports like USPSA, IDPA, or IPSC – give this free drill set a try.

Key Things to Pay Attention To

  1. Keep your finger off the trigger at all times unless you’re getting it on target to engage. This is a rule of rearms safety and a rule of competitions – moving around or reloading with your finger on the trigger can get you disqualified (DQed).
  2. Pick a wall and designate that wall as down range. Keep your muzzle pointed down towards that wall at all times, particularly when moving and reloading. Don’t break “the 180” as that would also result in a disqualification (DQ).

Setup for the Drill Set

Don’t worry too much about exact distances between targets or between you and the target. Just put up 3 targets roughly next to each other and get in some practice.

If you don’t have any dry fire targets, things like paper plates put up on a wall can be a useful substitute.

Drill Set

Build & Release Tension

Drill Modification

Don’t bother with a par timer on this one. Just hold the gun in two hands near the chest with the finger off the trigger, raise the gun up and put the finger on the trigger, then lower it again taking the finger off the trigger.

The goal is to create a habit of bringing the finger off the trigger whenever not engaging a target.

Drill Steps:

  1. Push the pistol out to full extension, building a firm grip while prepping the trigger and aligning the sights
  2. Pause with the sights lined up and hold the firm grip
  3. Lower the gun to compressed ready, release tension in the muscles, put the finger on the side of the frame

Drill Length in Minutes:

Drill Details

Drill Setup

  • 0 targets needed – just need a single point to look at and aim at. A small point of aim is really good with this drill, but a target works just fine
  • Start position: compressed ready, feet in an athletic “ideal” shooting stance

Drill Steps:

  1. At the beep, draw the gun
  2. While drawing the gun, begin to prep the trigger. The goal is to have the trigger prepped just before the trigger breaks as the sights settle on target
  3. Pause with the sights on target and the trigger prepped

Drill Length in Minutes:

Drill Details

Drill Setup

  • 1 Target at 7 yards
  • Start position: Gun loaded and holstered. If in dry fire, hammer back
  • 0 rounds required

Drill Modifications

  • To push draw speed, move the target closer. 3 yards is a great distance to really push speed, particularly when training for conceal carry.
  • To improve natural point of aim, make the targets smaller, farther, or more difficult.
  • To improve natural point of aim, don’t square up perfectly on target. Rotate your feet and body so you’re facing in random directions off to either side of the target. This will help ensure a solid natural point of aim for practical accuracy since the target is rarely squared up perfectly in front o you.
  • If you are struggling to prep the trigger without breaking the shot, remove the draw stroke. Bring the gun to the compressed ready, then push the handgun out to trigger prep. Bring the gun to compressed, ready, then push the handgun out to trigger prep. Removing the timer and draw stroke allows for fast repeated reps on learning where the trigger breaks.
  • Closing your eyes is a nice addition to this drill. It helps you “feel” the draw stroke and trigger prep without getting distracted by what you see. Closing your eyes during the draw is also an effective test of how good your natural point of aim is. Upon finishing the draw stroke, open your eyes and see how close your sights are to being lined up and how close the sights are to being on target. If your sights are lined up and on target – you have an excellent natural point of aim.
  • LEO should strongly consider running this drill without putting the finger on the trigger as LEOs are more likely to draw the gun without needing to fire the gun.

Drill Steps:

  1. At the beep, draw and engage the target with two shots

Drill Length in Minutes:

Drill Details

Drill Setup

  • 1 Target at 7 yards
  • Start position: Gun loaded and holstered, wrists below belt
  • 2 shots required

Drill Modifications

  • Rotate your body orientation to the target
  • Start with your hands in a variety of positions
  • Change the distance to the target
  • In live fire, use a snap cap for the second shot fired. This saves ammo and removes recoil for the second shot so you can see if you’re jerking the trigger.

Build & Release Tension

Drill Modification

Again, don’t worry too much about exact distances between targets or between you and the target. Just put up some targets in some general spots and get in some practice.

Drill Steps:

  1. Push the pistol out to full extension, building a firm grip while prepping the trigger and aligning the sights
  2. Pause with the sights lined up and hold the firm grip
  3. Lower the gun to compressed ready, release tension in the muscles, put the finger on the side of the frame

Drill Length in Minutes:

Drill Details

Drill Setup

  • 0 targets needed – just need a single point to look at and aim at. A small point of aim is really good with this drill, but a target works just fine
  • Start position: compressed ready, feet in an athletic “ideal” shooting stance

Drill Steps:

  1. At the beep, draw and engage the target with two shots

Drill Length in Minutes:

Drill Details

Drill Setup

  • 1 Target at 7 yards
  • Start position: Gun loaded and holstered, wrists below belt
  • 2 shots required

Drill Modifications

  • Rotate your body orientation to the target
  • Start with your hands in a variety of positions
  • Change the distance to the target
  • In live fire, use a snap cap for the second shot fired. This saves ammo and removes recoil for the second shot so you can see if you’re jerking the trigger.

Drill Steps:

  1. At the beep, move the support hand to grab the mag
  2. While grabbing the mag, push the mag release
  3. Grab the magazine from the belt and go to reload, but stop the magazine just before inserting into the magwell – but not inserted

Drill Length in Minutes:

Drill Details

Drill Setup

  • 0 Targets needed, but starting with sights on target is a bonus
  • Start position: Gun in hand, sights on target
  • 0 shots required

Drill Modifications

  • Instead of using a par timer beep to initiate the reload drill, pull the trigger and initiate the reload the instant the hammer/striker falls

Drill Steps:

  1. At the beep, draw and engage the target with two shots
  2. Reload
  3. Engage same target with two shots

Drill Length in Minutes:

Drill Details

Drill Setup

  • 1 Target at 7 yards
  • Start position: Gun holstered, wrists below belt
  • 4 Shots required

Drill Modifications

  • Use two target instead of one, placed at a very wide angle forcing the shooter to turn the feet and torso to engage the next target.
  • Move from position to position during the reload. A nice drill progression would be to run the drill repeatedly, but increase the distance required to move each time.
  • Use two targets, one close and wide open – one far and difficult. Alternate the order drawing to the open target and reloading to the difficult target, then drawing to the difficult target and reloading to the wide open target.
  • For a pro level modification to this drill, follow world champion Travis Tomasie’s advice. Put masking tape on the edge of the magwell and run this drill. The idea is to not hit the tape and have the magazine go straight into the magwell. This prevents friction and bumping the magazine around – it improves the speed and consistency of the reload.

Drill Steps:

  1. At the beep, draw and engage all three targets with two shots each

Drill Length in Minutes:

Drill Details

Drill Setup

  • 3 Targets at 7 yards with one yard between targets
  • Start position: Gun loaded and holstered,
  • 6 shots required

Drill Modifications

  • If you’re struggling running transitions as quickly as the splits, move the targets closer so they are touching. Then slowly move the targets further apart.
  • Try a mixed target array to increase the difficulty. Have the right target a right covered partial target, middle target open, and left target a left covered partial target.

El Presidente / El Prez

Drill Modification

Skip the turn and draw part. Start facing down range and draw the gun, engage, reload, engage.

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

Drill Length in Minutes:

Drill Details

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

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 Steps:

  1. At the beep, draw the gun and engage the two targets with two shots each
  2. Step over the fault line
  3. Engage the same two targets with two shots each
  4. Reset for the next string, starting where you finished
  5. At the beep, draw the gun and engage the two targets with two shots each
  6. Step over the fault line in the opposite direction of the first string
  7. Engage the same two targets with two shots each

Drill Length in Minutes:

Drill Details

Drill Setup

  • 2 targets at 10 yards with a single fault line next to you
  • Start position: gun loaded and holstered, wrists below belt
  • 16 shots required, 8 shots per string

Drill Modifications

  • If you’re struggling to make the shots sound like continual fire, try moving the targets closer.
  • If it’s easy to maintain the continual fire, try making the targets partial targets or moving them farther.

Quick Step

Drill Modification

Pay attention to the direction of the muzzle and make sure it is pointed towards the back wall at all times.

Drill Steps:

  1. At the beep, draw the gun and engage the two targets with two shots each
  2. Keep the gun up and step into the other shooting box
  3. Engage the same two targets with two shots each
  4. Reset for the next string, starting where you finished
  5. At the beep, draw the gun and engage the two targets with two shots each
  6. Keep the gun up and step into the original shooting box
  7. Engage the same two targets with two shots each

Drill Length in Minutes:

Drill Details

Drill Setup

  • 2 targets at 7 yards with two shooting boxes one yards from each other
  • Start position is handguns loaded and holstered
  • 16 shots required, 8 shots per set

Drill Modifications

  • If you’re struggling to have the gun on target and ready to fire while entering the second position, try moving the targets closer.
  • If having the gun up and ready to shoot is a cinch, try making the targets partial targets or moving them farther.
  • Use a vision barrier that forces you to lean around it to see the targets from either position.

Drill Steps:

  1. At the beep, urgently move laterally to the target (the priority is to start moving immediately)
  2. While moving, draw the gun and engage the target with six rounds

Drill Length in Minutes:

Drill Details

Drill Setup

  • 1 Target at 4 yards
  • Start position: gun loaded and holstered, wrists below belt
  • 6 shots required

Drill Modifications

  • Vary the start position. Have your hands in different positions, feet at different positions, and torso oriented in different directions. In the real world, we likely won’t be perfectly squared up on the target.
  • Start the drill at a slow walk, as if you were walking down the isle at the grocery store. Use a par timer with a randomized start time with a very wide window of a beep, like 3 to 7 seconds. At the beep, run the drill. This will sharpen reaction time and improve the ability to get the gun out into action during a real world situation.
  • At the beep, backpedal instead of move laterally. There are situations in the real world where moving laterally during a DGU isn’t a viable option.
  • If training with a partner, have multiple targets, each with a unique identifier. Be it target type, target color, or some sort of unique marker. Instead of using a shot timer to activate the first shot, have the partner call out a unique identifier on the target. Run the drill while engaging that target. For added difficulty, the partner has the option to call out an additional target while the first one is being engaged.

Bonus Drill: Box to Box

Tips on Setting Up & Running a Drill Set

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 »

Further Training with:

,

Quick Step

Have the gun up and ready to shoot the moment you enter a new position.

Summer Practical Pistol Course

Join me for a three month virtual training program!

Learn More