Drills to Improve Your Shooting by: Chris Rhodes
Everyone starts somewhere as a shooter and we all need to improve our skills. It takes time, practice, and determination to become proficient with a firearm. We all need more range time, hopefully this can guide you on your journey.
Accuracy Matters
I coined the shop slogan behind Precision Shooting Supply of “Accuracy Matters”. Accuracy is always final and is of utmost importance. If we are talking handgun hunting; shooting a game animal in a non-vital zone doesn’t do you much good. In competition accuracy impacts scores. Most importantly, a miss on the streets can equal killing or hurting someone you didn’t intend to.
Accuracy may not be the most exciting thing to show in some Instagram reel. Heck, hardly any of them show the targets after their blazing fast run. An old saying in the shooting sports rings loud here, “You can’t miss fast enough to win”.
If you build a solid foundation with accuracy, speed will follow in due time. So lets stop worrying about that sub-one second draw until we develop the skills to accurately hit a reasonable sized target.
Reasonable Targets
What is a reasonable sized target? Well it’s not some three foot by two foot man target. Hitting just that is hardly ever reasonable in competition, hunting, or self defense.
An eight inch circle, -0 zone on an IDPA, or an A zone on a USPSA target is reasonable when we are talking accuracy. I know the USPSA shooter is screaming in the back that if they are faster they can take C zone hits. Yes, maybe that will work out in competition. Your practice likely has low stress and no competition pressure to deal with. Train to hit A zones and let the C happen under the extreme pressure in competition. For self defense, obviously the stress will be a factor, train for the small target to give yourself more margin of error.
Buck fever; if you haven’t been there hunting, it’s an eye opener for what a little adrenaline can do.
Instruction
Now, none of what I am about to go over is intended to replace actual instructor lead training. My two cents on instructors and classes. Always look for your instructor’s resume and verify that they have a diverse background. A simple certification stating they are an instructor is probably not enough.
An instructor that actively competes, has some other form of marksmanship background, or other professional duties all combined on their resume will more likely than not be able to put on a fruitful class.
Training classes alone are not going to make you a better shooter. It’s what you do after that class that will improve you. Taking those drills and lessons home with you and practicing is paramount for your marksmanship growth.
Drills
I have a couple drills I like to run shooters through to gauge their ability. These drills are basic in nature, require a small amount of ammo, and can be built upon to ramp up difficulty.
9 Round Drill
With the notion that accuracy is final, I like to bring this drill forward first. This drill requires the shooter to focus on the basics. Trigger pull, sight alignment, follow through, and your other fundamentals will show up here.
All you need is nine rounds, your firearm of choice, a safe range, and an 8 inch target. I like to use the Action Pistol repair centers as they have a well defined 8 inch circle and a 4 inch black x ring to help the shooter focus. But you could make a similar target with a paper plate and a magic marker.
I would recommend starting out at about seven yards. With an unlimited time limit place three shots free style (two hand grip) on the target. Focus on the fundamentals and strive to get them all in the middle.
Next, fire three rounds, strong hand only. Continue to focus on the fundamentals and make the shots as perfect as you can.
Lastly, fire three rounds, weak hand only. Everyone struggles with this one. Don’t get discouraged.
This drill can be modified as you improve. You can add distance, par times using a shot timer, and even add movement. Focusing on the fundamentals will help you grow as a shooter.
2x2x2 Drill
Now this drill is a little more instagram worthy. You will need three targets. The simple paper plates will work, or you can use a USPSA or IDPA target. But only the center zones count or somewhere around an 8 inch circle. We want to focus on accuracy and not just speed here.
Place the three targets in a horizontal line just a few inches apart and all at about seven yards. You can utilize a holster if you like to work in the draw. You will draw or shoot from the low ready and engage each target with two rounds.
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Now that sounds simple right? Well after you feel comfortable with the drill and are capable of completing it safely add a shot timer. A shot timer detects the shots and will record the time of each shot. This is the only real way to gauge and measure your speed and look for improvement.
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The right gear to run drills.[/caption]
As a new shooter I would start out with a goal of about 7 seconds from the draw. With time and practice, under 3 seconds is more than achievable.
This drill can also be modified as you improve skill. Increase the distance, shorten the par time, add in reloads, and whatever else you can imagine.
The 2x2x2 drill or something similar to it is also used to measure competitors skills in multiple shooting competitions. There is a lot of potential with this drill to expand on your skills.
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Kimber KD9SC with Trijicon RMR is the authors daily CCW.[/caption]
Practice
We all need more practice. From casual shooters, to competitors, to professionals. Get out there on the range and push yourself. Accuracy is always final as it is impossible to miss fast enough to win. The most important factor besides safety is accuracy, and Accuracy Matters.