Check for a clear firearm... Turn off notifications... and then...
PUT IN THE WORK
(Don't forget to turn the phone's volume up)
Drill Set Time: 15/30/45 minutes
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
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).
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.
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:
Push the pistol out to full extension, building a firm grip while prepping the trigger and aligning the sights
Pause with the sights lined up and hold the firm grip
Lower the gun to compressed ready, release tension in the muscles, put the finger on the side of the frame
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
Pause with the sights on target and the trigger prepped
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.
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.
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:
Push the pistol out to full extension, building a firm grip while prepping the trigger and aligning the sights
Pause with the sights lined up and hold the firm grip
Lower the gun to compressed ready, release tension in the muscles, put the finger on the side of the frame
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.
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.
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.
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.
