Most Useful Handgun Drills and Tests

[luzyfuerza]

There are lots of handgun drills and tests out there.

Some try to be comprehensive evaluations of handgun skills, while others focus on a subset of essential skills.

Some are dry, and others live fire. Some focus on speed, and others on accuracy. Others focus on trigger control, sight alignment, target transitions, decision-making, reaction to target responses, moving targets, shooting while moving or behind cover/concealment, shooting from unusual positions, and so on. Some have performance standards, and some don't. Some focus on skills specific to revolvers, BUGS, or bottom-feeders.

My question: what drills and tests have been most useful to you as you've worked to improve your handgun shooting skills?

Please describe the skills that each drill has helped you develop. How often do you shoot it? What performance standards do YOU consider acceptable? Also describe any special targets or tools that you use to conduct the drill.

 

[luzyfuerza]

Here are just a few of the resources already here in THR and elsewhere that describe a few pistol drills and tests.

A THR sticky that includes several comprehensive tests: https://www.thehighroad.org/index.php?threads/practice-drills.282024/

A thread about shooting faster: https://www.thehighroad.org/index.php?threads/speed-drills-how-to-get-faster.864866/#post-11418775

Controlling a finch: https://www.thehighroad.org/index.php?threads/flinching-drills.864546/

Trigger control: https://www.thehighroad.org/index.php?threads/trigger-control.834737/

Another resource is Lucky Gunners "Start Shooting Better" series: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLYqiOqBy2WM8FNCocZnQCXwUuUMuqqyTE

Claude Werner (AKA the Tactical Professor) has a series of posts: https://tacticalprofessor.wordpress.com/category/practice/

As does Greg Ellifritz: https://www.activeresponsetraining.net/?s=drills

And the late Todd Green: https://pistol-training.com/drills


But which have been most useful to YOU?

 

[WrongHanded]

But which have been most useful to YOU?

The second link is one to a thread I started. I can say that from my experience, shooting quickly and accurately is proving to be a perishable skill for me. If I slack off, I lose it.

It's also been somewhat the same with the Bill Drill. But that one is (except for the controlled pair at 30') easy to practice at home with dry fire and a shot timer.

Both have been useful, but neither have long lasting effects without constant skill maintenance. So I've come to the conclusion that if I can practice the Bill Drill with both dry and live fire on a regular basis, and then spend extra time working on the final stage with the controlled pair, that will keep me in decent shape for SD purposes. In addition, I like to add single shots on an 8" target at 25 yards from a low ready in 2.5s (standard time for Bill Drill stages).

All that covers enough bases to give me confidence I can put shots on a single stationary target quickly and accurately at varying distances. Multiple targets will have to be dealt with one at a time, and moving targets will add a significant complication. But the above it what I can easily work at on a regular basis. Is it enough? I hope to never find out.

I'm sure others with much more experience will provide greater insight into what works and what doesn't.

 

[CopperFouling]

I picked the FBI qualification test as the one that I most frequently shoot to measure performance.

https://civiliangunfighter.wordpres...he-new-2019-version-fbi-pistol-qualification/

Some benefits:

• The shots are timed, which adds a little stress to shooting
  
• The shots are taken from a variety of distances
• There are shots with both the strong hand and weak hand only
  
• There is some manipulation of the handgun
  
• The total amount fired is a box of ammunition (50 rounds)
• There is a decent benchmark (90 percent passing for instructors and 80 percent passing for agents)

The main drawback for me is that you need access to a range that will allow you to shoot it, which is definitely not going to happen at a staffed public range (probably not an unstaffed one, either) around me.

The bottom line for me is that shooting any reasonably challenging drill under timed conditions is infinitely better than slow fire at a single target in terms of telling you where your skills are.

I also like the Five-Yard Roundup (https://www.luckygunner.com/lounge/start-shooting-better-episode-8-five-yard-roundup/) and the FAST test (http://pistol-training.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/09/fast-target.pdf).

 

[Zerodefect]

20 yards. 5-6 steel targets. Shot timer.

Draw. Shoot each target.
Reload. Shoot back reverse order, left handed only.
Reload. Reverse direction again, right handed only.
Reholster.

Tape over your sights and run the drill again.

 

[luzyfuerza]

20 yards. 5-6 steel targets. Shot timer.

What size and shape are your steel targets?

 

[bratch]

FAST and Dot Torture would be my picks.

FAST covers most defensive skills in 7 rounds.

Dot Torture covers almost everything but is a full 50 rds.

 

[9mmepiphany]

For me the F.A.S.T. replaced the Vice Presidente as a quick test of gun handling competence as it requires the same distance (7 yards) and fewer shots (6 vs 12)...the El Presidente is traditionally shot at 10 yards.

Both drills test presentation from the holster, skill at reloading, target transition, and the ability to match speed between shots with the size of the target being engaged.

I use the Bill Drill when comparing platforms or modifications to platforms

 

[Zerodefect]

What size and shape are your steel targets?

Paper plate sized, body armor plate sized, a gong with a center 4" plate, the gong, gongs, the plate pings, and two little 4" plates.

 

[FL-NC]

First, use a pro-timer. This and the results on target are the most quantifiable means of judging performance and improvement. Second, presentation drills- with the gun you carry, from the holster you carry, in the way that you carry- concealed, open, etc.. since this represents what will be going on if you are "surprised". Third- consistency in all things, such as the gun used, the holster used, and so on. OCD is a good thing when it comes to firearms use. I shoot weekly. Ideally, I want to draw and place 2 rounds in the kill zone at 1.5 seconds. Sometimes I am faster, sometimes slower. I build on this by increasing my heart rate with sprints or pushups, using 2 targets (2.5 second par time), increasing distance, mozambique drills, shooting from compromised positions (laying on my back, for example), some weak hand shooting, and occasionally shooting from the inside of my vehicle. I almost exclusively use steel targets. The last thing I would suggest is to take the time to get at least a little bit of outside help from a professional trainer. Remember to make your journey to proficiency incrementally with "baby steps". Remember that advanced proficiency is almost always a matter of being really good at the basic level tasks.

 

[Good Ol' Boy]

My regular live fire "drills" at home are Bill, Presidente' and the IDPA 5x5, all on a timer. I finally got some Dot Torture targets and will be adding that to the rotation. I do other things that I've made up myself but those are the well known drills that I practice.

Dry fire drills consist of all kinds of different things none of which are "standard drills" of any sort.

 

[.38 Special]

I try to make things as realistic as possible. Force-on-force with airsoft has been the most valuable training I've experienced.

For those who don't have access to that sort of thing, second best for me has been wax bullets, like the quick-draw folks use. I set up in my garage, with multiple backstops, and then scenarios like a table and chairs, or inside my car. So I might seat myself at a table, perhaps with my back to a target. Or maybe I will start from the driver's seat with a target right outside my window, or multiple targets from behind, or whatever. All of it is done with my normal carry method and concealment garments.

Lots and lots of square range time and competition has gotten me to the point where I'm reasonably fast and accurate, even if I go a few weeks without pulling a trigger. But adding in complications like seat belts or multiple, widely spaced attackers can make for laughably bad performances - and I'm at the point where when I can find something that makes me screw up, I pursue it as far as I can.