Making a basic skill checklist

[RM]

I am putting together a list of basic drills to help me with IDPA. I would appreciate any additions or changes that might be helpful to a beginner.

Draws
Draw with and without cover garment
Draw with cover garment from reverse surrender position
Draw and shoot with weak hand
Draw and shoot while backing up

Reloads
slide lock reload
reload with retention
tactical reload

Misc.
threat assessment scan
press check of pistol

Thanks very much for any thoughts or suggestions.

[Jim Watson]

Whatthehell is a "reverse surrender position"?

It is sometimes required to start from facing uprange or 90 deg to the line of fire. As I always remind shooters, FIRST turn, THEN draw.

Shooting with weak hand is needed (also strong hand only) but weak hand draws are not done, nor are one handed reloads, etc. Those are too dangerous for group competition use.

Definitely know how to shoot on the retreat, advance, and moving laterally to threat targets.

Reloads, si. It seems to me that Tac Loads and Retention Reloads are being merged into one requirement, but the rules haven't been officially changed. You can be required to make a Tac Load with Retention Reload not allowed, but if a Retention Reload is specified, a Tac Load is always acceptable.

Threat assessment scans are not part of IDPA Courses of Fire but some tacticians do a version for the practice. If you want the habit be sure not to let your gun barrel track with your scan past the muzzle safe markers or 180 deg plane.

A press check is your option at the Load and Make Ready, not a CoF requirement.

There are other things you can practice dryfire, like cover positions, standing and kneeling, left and right of cover, keeping 50+% of your vitals behind cover - and both feet, for convenience of the S.O.

[RM]

Thanks, Jim, for your reply.
By "reverse surrender position," what I am referring to is: starting with your back to the targets with hands up. Then at the buzzer, you are required to turn 180 degrees, draw, and then fire on the target(s). I don't know the correct name for this exercise.
By "weak hand draw" what I meant was: draw with your strong hand, transfer it to your weak hand, and then shoot with the weak hand.

[Jim Watson]

About what I thought you meant for reverse surrender. IDPA doesn't start with hands up nearly as much as IPSC.

Weak hand draws are not done. You will occasionally draw with strong hand and transfer to the weak hand. Most weak hand shooting starts with gun at ready in the weak hand.

Something else to practice dryfire; recovery of the pistol from off-the-body ready positions, from a table or out of The Box.

[OF]

Some thoughts on specific skills:

- get familiar with shooting from a barricade,
- shooting while moving in all directions,
- reloading both while standing still and while in motion,
- drawing to a kneeling position
- practice target transitions (shooting two on one target and then shooting two on another)
- doing all of the above weak- and strong-hand-only
- malfunction clearances (I see people all the time with a gun that won't run just stare at it. Tap/Rack that thing like you mean it and you have no time for that crap!)

I've found there is little that will help your IDPA as much as getting out and shooting USPSA matches alongside your IDPA.

Learn what you need to see from your sight picture to make your hits at various distances.

Have a smooth fumble-free reload you can call on at will.

Have a smooth draw - a fast draw is really not all that big a deal, a smooth draw that gets you into your shooting stance quickly with a solid grip on the gun is what you need.

Be able to move quickly and cleanly from one shooting position to another, leaving the old position at the moment you are done shooting and arriving at the new position ready to shoot as soon as possible.

Learn to see better. Drive the gun with your eyes.

That's it for now...HTH.

- Gabe

PS: Get Steve Anderson's DryFire book (www.andersonshooting.com) and start a serious dryfire regimen. I mean it.

[CZ52GUY]

Setup Classifier Target configuration and props.

Distance - Total Rounds - Drill Description

7yds - 12 - From behind Bianchi, 2ea, RWR, 2ea (w/Harries)
7yds - 12 - From behind Bianchi, 2ea, RWR, 2ea (w/Rogers)
7yds - 6 - Bill Drill - T2
7yds - 3 - Mozambique - T1
7yds - 3 - Mozambique - T2
7yds - 3 - Mozambique - T3
7yds - 6 - 2ea - HS
7yds - 3 - 1ea - LH Only
7yds - 6 - 2ea - LH Only
7yds - 6 - 1ea - SLR - 1ea
7yds - 6 - 2ea - RH Only
10yds - 6 - From Left - 2ea - while moving right
10yds - 6 - From Right - 2ea - while moving left
10-5yds - 6 - 2ea - while moving forward
5-10yds - 6 - 2ea - while moving backward
10yds - 12 - 2ea - SLR - 2ea
10yds - 6 - 2ea - RH Only
10yds - 12 - From behind Bianchi, 2ea - RWR - 2ea
20yds - 12 - From behind Bianchi, 2ea - RWR - 2ea
20-15yds - 12 - From behind Bianchi, 2ea - RWR - advance to barrel @ 15yds and Kneel, 2ea
15yds - 6 - Draw + Kneel , 2ea

All strings are draw from concealment except the non-dominant hand strings which are timed from 45 degree angle downrange.

I'm RH dominant so if you're a lefty, you would substitute single hand only strings according to intent of string.

I have a "poor man's Bianchi" I use that's very portable and easy to incorporate with my H-stands. A trash can often substitutes for 15-yd barrel. After going through the drills (which I record), I identify several that require "remedial attention" and run a few strings to try to correct the defect.

I also intermingle some "stage work" when there is an open bay which allows for this.

I try to run through this set with my primary comp' piece at least weekly. All results are recorded against "proportional Pars" to measure progress and to identify areas of improvement or others which may require extra attention.

The incorporation of a Shot Timer into your practice is a tremendous benefit.

Safe Shooting,

CZ52'

p.s. Decoder depending on level of familiarity

- Mozambique = 2 to body, 1 to head
- RWR = Reload with Retention (eject, stow, retrieve, insert)
- SLR = Slide Lock Reload (eject to ground, retrieve, insert)
- Poor Man's Bianchi - 2'x2' "Face Guard" on 2'x4' vertical H-piece
- Harries, Shooting hand wrist over support hand wrist with support hand operating flashlight (generally support hand thumb used to operate light). Elbows down increases wrist to wrist pressure to allow firm up of grip, better shots, and stable light on target. Elbows out gives you unsupported dominant hand shot with fairly erratic light movement during firing common.
- Rogers, support hand parallel to piece with 3-finger support as close to normal shooting grip as possible. Light is operated by support hand "heel" pressure.

[Chris Rhines]

One last thing to add - target transitions.

For dryfire, get some reduced IDPA or IPSC targets. Hang three of them at chest level, two feet or so apart. I don't dryfire during transition practice, I just get an acceptable sight picture on the A-zone of each target and move on to the next one. Use a timer to record your par times.

Don't follow the sights from target to target - snap your eyes to the next target, then transition to your front sight and call your shot.

Lots of good advice here.

- Chris

[RM]

Thanks guys for your thoughtful replies. I will definitely try many of your drill suggestions. Careful attention to Matt Burkett's video (vol 1-3) has also been helping me alot.

[OF]

The incorporation of a Shot Timer into your practice is a tremendous benefit.This is a must-have.

- Gabe

[Island Beretta]

I have bought Steve's book and schools still out on it. I think it lacks the drills to make you more rounded as a basic shooter so you may have to supplement it with other materials. Saul Kirsch's book strikes me as more complete.

For advance shooting however I think Steve's book can take you to the next physical level, and I will practice the drills. Put it with Enos' book and you are on your way to being a devastating shooter.

[waktasz]

Try to think about what reloads are faster for what you need to do. Reloads with retention or faster, but if you tac reload you are allowed to start running to the next position before you get the old mag back in your pocket.

[Skunkabilly]

Sight alignment/sight picture
Front sight
Press
Followthrough

:)

[faustulus]

Steel, steel, steel, steel, steel and steel. Steel until you are sick of steel. Then more steel. Set em up and knock em down. Transition from one steel target to the next. Draw and shoot.

[CZ52GUY]

Steel, steel, steel, steel, steel and steel. Steel until you are sick of steel. Then more steel. Set em up and knock em down. Transition from one steel target to the next. Draw and shoot.

The bane of my existence...that substance with a forcefield around it which causes rounds to make "s-turns" around it ;).

We were shooting in the rain last Saturday and just about every shooter I know was nearly doubling their normal times on the dreaded plate rack. We had fun and nobody got hurt thankfully, but many wounded ego's and "choice words" for "the rack".

We were shooting 4 strings of "unlimited" and I think everyone had to reload at least once.

Safe shooting,

CZ52'

[faustulus]

The bane of my existence...

I am convinced it hates me :(

[CZ52GUY]

...I've found that one of the critical success factors in shooting (repeatable technique/consistency) is the most likely contributor to hair pulling, cursing, and cap throwing at the steel plate rack.

The shooter misses, is CONVINCED that sight alignment is good, grip is fine, and trigger control is solid...so they do the same thing again and again and again...and keep missing.

During our recent regional I had a guy in my squad who was only moderately accurate by very fast. Some of the fastest splits I've ever heard in person.

I knew he was in trouble at the plate rack because for whatever reason, strict "consecutive sequence" was mandated. Translated, shooter had option of starting on right side of rack OR left side, but once engaged, no moving on and picking up missed plates later (I think our Match Director was in a bad mood when he wrote up that stage ;)). Anyhow, even with a 30 second limit, this guy's scores were incredibly inflated because of this one stage and his inability to correct whatever defect in technique he was wrestling with.

With moderate success, I've found that if I "scan off the sight picture on the offending plate" and reacquire, I often "fix the problem" and am able to move on down the rack. Otherwise, it's 4 or 5 consecutive misses because of the "repeatable error" that I can't seem to diagnose.


Safe shooting,

CZ52'

[faustulus]

I find my biggest problem with steel is not aiming. On paper I tend to take a sight picture pull the trigger and already be looking for the next target. On steel that little pull hurts. It is enought to turn a sure hit into a miss. I have to make a mental note to look at the steel and don't look away until I know it is going down. It is a good plan. but like most plans when the buzzer goes off ... :D

[dukeofurl]

Damn.

For me steel is easy. Front sight, trigger press. Wait for the ding, move on.

I guess thats because I've had enough thousand round days shooting nothing but steel....

Its really not that hard - think of the plate rack at 10 yards as an A ring paper hit at the same distance. Thats exactly what it is.

[atek3]

http://www.burkettvideo.com/dryfire.html
dryfire drills.