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Handgun Skill Standards

Establish a baseline for key practical pistol shooting skills, which can be used to measure skill progression.

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Handgun Skill Standards Pistol Drill
Table of Contents hide
1. Getting a Skill Baseline
2. Drill Set
2.1. Cold Start CCW Draw
2.2. Transition Isolation
2.3. Criss Cross
2.4. 4 Aces
2.5. One Hand to the Other
2.6. Box to Box
2.7. Walking the Square
3. Tips on Setting Up & Running a Drill Set

Primary Skills:

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This Handgun Skill Standards drill set is intended to provide a baseline on core practical pistol skills.

We want to know our shooting skill baselines so we can measure our progress and figure out which skills should be prioritized.

I wouldn’t recommend running this drill set on a recurring basis to get better, the many other drill sets are better for that. But the Handgun Skill Standards drill set nice to utilize for figuring out skill level as a shooter as well as returning to periodically to measure and recognize skill improvement.

If you want to work on training to improve skills, check out the drill sets list.

Getting a Skill Baseline

A true skill baseline doesn’t involve running a drill 50 times and then picking your best time. That measures your peak “I got lucky” performance, not your true skill baseline. A baseline skill means you can consistently and repeatedly complete the drill within that timeline.

To get a live fire baseline, run each drill three times. Run the drill set in order and don’t do any warmup practice. Your worst time of those three runs is your baseline.

Getting a dry fire baseline is a little trickier. Set a par time you think you can accomplish the drill in and run each drill several times. Work your par time up or down until you get something that feels about right. But since we’ve run the drills a bunch of time, that doesn’t act as an accurate baseline. Wait a day and run the drill set again. Run each drill three times and if you can complete the drills within those par times all three times, then you’ve got your baseline. If par time adjustment is needed, wait another day to re-run the drill set.

https://vimeo.com/796459424
Setting up for a specific drill

It isn’t difficult, nor does it take up much room, to run the vast majority of dry fire drills. A LOT of great work can be done with three targets and a clear space on the floor.

There’s no need to over complicate things for an at home dry fire dojo. While a large setup can be great and allow for a lot of different things, all of the core shooting skills can be worked with a little room and minimal setup.

That’s why this drill set specifically only requires three targets up on the wall.

Drill Set

Cold Start CCW Draw

Drill Steps:

  1. At the beep draw and engage the target with one shot
Drill Details

Drill Setup

  • 1 Target at 7 yards
  • Start position: Gun loaded and holstered, wrists below belt
  • Round count: 1

Transition Isolation

Drill Steps:

  1. At the beep, engage the middle target with two shots.
  2. Then the right target with two shots.
  3. Then the left target with two shots.
  4. Then the right target with two shots.
  5. Then the middle target with two shots.
Drill Details

Drill Setup

  • 3 Targets at 10 yards with 2 yards between targets.
  • Start position: Gun in hand, sights lined up with the bottom of the middle target, eyes closed.
  • 10 shots required

Drill Modifications

  • To further narrow the focus onto transitions only, don’t pull the trigger on each target. Simply move the sights from target to target.
  • To push up transition speed even further, move the targets farther apart.
  • To work on vision speed, move the targets closer together.

Criss Cross

Drill Steps:

  1. At the beep, draw and engage the three targets – shooting body, head, body
  2. Reload
  3. Engage the three targets – shooting head, body, head.

At the end of the drill, each target should have two hits on the body and two hits on the head.

A sporty time is completion within 6 seconds.

Drill Details

Drill Setup

  • 3 Targets at 10 yards, 1 yard between targets
  • Start position: gun loaded and holstered, wrists below belt
  • 12 shots required

Drill Modifications

  • Draw to the headbox and reload to the body.
  • Move the middle target further away to make it similar to the Distance Changeup drill.
  • Add in short movement. Start directly in front of the left or right target and move to the opposite side during the reload.

4 Aces

Drill Steps:

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

One Hand to the Other

Drill Steps:

  1. At the beep, draw and engage the three targets with two shots each, primary hand only
  2. Reload and transition the gun to the support hand
  3. Engage the three targets with two shots each, support hand only
Drill Details

Drill Setup

  • 3 Targets at 7 yards, with one yard between targets
  • Start position: Gun loaded and holstered, wrists below belt
  • 12 Rounds required

Drill Modifications

  • For competitive shooters, add a reload and/or short movement during the transition. Many one handed transitions on a stage have a reload between each hand and regularly include movement during the switch as well.

Box to Box

Drill Steps:

  1. At the beep, draw and engage the three targets with two shots each.
  2. Move to the next position.
  3. Engage the three targets with two shots each.
  4. Reset for the second string, start position is in the shooting position just finished in.
  5. Repeat moving around from box to box in all four directions.

Optional bonus repetitions of the drill is moving diagonally between positions.

Drill Details

Drill Setup

  • 3 Targets at 7 yards from the back boxes, 1 yard between targets. Four shooting positions forming a square with 3 yards between the positions.
  • Start position: standing in one of the positions, gun loaded and holstered, wrists below belt.
  • 48 shots required, with 12 per string.

Drill Modifications

  • Move the boxes farther apart for longer movements with a greater top speed.
  • Move the boxes closer to about one yard.
  • Add a reload during the movement – at any distance.
  • Instead of having one array of targets, have two different arrays of mixed targets in front of either position.

Walking the Square

Drill Steps:

  1. At the beep, draw the gun and move to one of the other cones.
  2. Engage the three targets from right to left and then left to right with two shots each, repeating the pattern.
  3. While engaging the targets, move around all four cones ending at the cone first moved to.
  4. Reset at the cone stopped at.
  5. Repeat the drill starting at the new cone.
Drill Details

Drill Setup

  • 3 Targets, 1 in the middle of the box, 1 in front of the right edge, 1 in front of the left edge.
  • Using markers (like cones) is ideal, but a general shooting area can work. 4 cones 3 yards apart in a square, front cones 5 yards from the targets. Increase the distance if space allows.
  • Alternative, rotate the cones 45 degrees so they’re in a diamond in front of the targets.
  • Start position is at any of the cones, Gun loaded and holstered, wrists below belt.
  • Rounds required: 24 – but it increases based on the skill and speed of the shooter.

Drill Modifications

  • Change up the distance between the cones.
  • Rotate the cones 45 degrees so they’re in a diamond in front of the targets
  • Rotate the cones varying amounts so you can get used to moving in any direction in relation to the target.

Tips on Setting Up & Running a Drill Set

Drill Environment

More Drill Modifications

Conceal Carry General Modifications Movement Push Speed Tighten Accuracy

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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