The "Bill Drill"

[Haycreek]

How many of you have taken several of you favorite handguns to the range and compared one handgun against the other, using the "Bill Drill"?
ie- fire six shots from seven yards, in TWO seconds, at a target for score, while someone times you. This may be an eye opener that could change the present carry handgun,to one that has been a safe queen.

 

[wally]

I redo A-B comparisons all the time, but I take at least 50, usually 100 rounds thru each at a variety of speeds and distances to make a choice. Six shots on three targets (double tap each) spread out is a better test for "point" shooting.

--wally.

 

[Ankeny]

I have. A better question would be how many of you can do a two second Bill Dill, draw from surrender, six shots to the down zero zone (IDPA) or six to the A box (IPSC) for it to count?

 

[socaldan]

Deleted

 

[M203Sniper]

Sounds like the way the Magazines do it.


I take any gun with two full magazines.

Stand 15 feet away.

Shoot center mast to empty reload and empty magazine number two.

With my Glock 23 I can make a big hole in the middle of the target. Same with the Beretta I carry at work.

Haven't beat that with much else.

 

[Mad Magyar]

fire six shots from seven yards, in TWO seconds, at a target for score, while someone times you.

Only once....Try doing this with a .45 1911, using factory hardball ammo....Not as "purty" as T. Jarrett using his "softball" .38 Super...
To be honest, I always thought that the drill was a waste of ammo & time...

 

[poker88]

With my Glock 23 I can make a big hole in the middle of the target. Same with the Beretta I carry at work.

That sounds like very good shooting.

But in a self defense situation would it be better for the shot spread to be farther apart? I had heard that if shots hit close together then the body treats them as one wound instead of two.

 

[rbernie]

This may be an eye opener that could change the present carry handgun,to one that has been a safe queen

Why? What is the expected result, other than determining the ability to place a lot of holes in paper really really fast?

 

[BigG]

I just wonder what that is supposed to prove? I think a solid hit is worth 20 misses. JMTC

 

[M2 Carbine]

Haycreek
How many of you have taken several of you favorite handguns to the range and compared one handgun against the other, using the "Bill Drill"?
ie- fire six shots from seven yards, in TWO seconds, at a target for score, while someone times you.

6 shots in 2 seconds AND consistantly hit center of COM?
Nope I can't do it with a defense gun. I can do 10 shots from a Ruger 22/45 in 3 or 4 seconds but not with a stout recoiling defense gun.

I like using a timer. A timer and paper shows exactly what you are doing, not what you think you are doing.

Anyhow, about the best I do with acceptable accuracy is such as,

5 yards, in under 5 seconds, inside of 5 inches (I use 3 3/4 inches) drill.


Mostly when I try to break 5 seconds the accuracy suffers.






I'm definately going to try the "Bill Drill" next shooting session though.

 

[burningsquirrels]

http://www.student.gsu.edu/~ggingco1/post/5-28-08-gpslcompweb.wmv

i did a bill drill at the end of the video. this was the day i tried out my new 'flat' style grips i fab'd for the 40b.

 

[Ankeny]

The Bill Drill does have some uses. I used to shoot a lot of Bill Drills when I was fighting trigger freeze. The drill can help one to develop a neutral grip, refine the recoil transmission capabilities of the stance, get in tune with the timing of the gun, and train the vision to continously track the sights while calling the shots.

I suppose outside of IDPA/IPSC circles, a person's time and money could be better spent unless they are into the "fast and accurate" gig. FWIW, there is only a fraction of a difference (for me) between a Bill Drill out of a 1911 with 170 PF IPSC loads and ball ammo. Here is a lower tier USPSA Grand Master doing a Bill Drill with a Les Baer PII and 179 pf ammo in about 1 3/4 seconds. http://www.rtconnect.net/~rankeny/bill drill.WMV

 

[RobMoore]

Only once....Try doing this with a .45 1911, using factory hardball ammo....Not as "purty" as T. Jarrett using his "softball" .38 Super...
To be honest, I always thought that the drill was a waste of ammo & time...

If you only tried it once, then it was a waste of ammo. Its a very good technique for working on your GRIP (something Todd Jarret HAS in spades, whether he is using minor or major power factor ammo), trigger control, and sight picture at speed (in other words, making small corrections as needed while pressing the trigger as fast as you can go, instead of waiting for the sights to steady then deciding to press)

Learing to control recoil has its advantages, not just in IDPA/IPSC, but for bullseye shooting and any other shooting that requires hit under a time constraint...that would also include defensive uses.

 

[AndyC]

I've never tried this - 6 shots from the draw in under 2 secs? At what distance is this typically shot?

Edit: Doh - I just re-read - 7 yards it is.

 

[RobMoore]

I don't think its meant to be done from the draw in 2 seconds (edit: Its do-able, but too much going on to use as a practice drill. That is more of a goal to work toward, to test what you need to work on). I normally do it from the standard ready (my definition being held 5-6 inches away from the upper chest area). The point isn't to work on the draw. You only need to do one or two shots per draw to work on that. More than that and you're not working on just the draw anymore. Same for the bill drill, use it to work on the actual shooting, take the draw out of the equation.

EDIT: Because I hadn't done the billdrill on a pro-timer in a while, I pulled it out today to see where I was.

21 ft, 6 shots starting from the ready (not aimed in), 1.69 seconds, P226 9mm 115g +P, all down zeros on IDPA target. The one time I tried it from the draw was 2.30, with 2 -1s and a -3