My Simple Drills

[Bronco89]

I'm putting this under SD because after all, that is the purpose of drills for me anyway. There are lots of drills out there that you can find, but I make up my own. I like them to be fun, but still hone my skills for my lifestyle. I like mine simple. My favorite:

• My son yells start, and I draw my EDC from my EDC holster. (9mm-Shield DeSantis IWB)

• Practice Finger / trigger controll
• Fire 5 Change mags and 5 more
• Stop clock at last shot. leave slide open.
• Goal: Inside the 8 ring/ improving time/safety

I do this drill with an 11x18 target, @ 25 feet. Sometimes I use two targets.

What are your favorite simple SD drills?

 

[BAM-BAM]

simplest is to load one or two empty cases in a revolver .... spin cylinder w/out looking.... close and proceed .......it allows one to check on good trigger control when you DA on a empty casing.

Another I've done with a couple of Sheriff deputies......they know how to shoot........ and shoot fast ....... now you make them react and think.....

I'll load their AR and pistol mags.........they don't know how many rounds they have in either gun..........reaction/transition drill when their long gun goes dry......reload when their pistol goes dry.......... against 3 to 10 steel plates or reactive targets...... sometimes we "number" the steel and someone calls out which plate/steel to engage.

 

[white cloud]

Bronco, that sounds like a useful drill to me but I am no expert. Looks like your getting practice while being stressed a bit and practicing what is important. I need to get my revolver reloading up to snuff.

 

[fredj338]

IF you are doing any self defense shooting drills, you need to be putting movement into the drill. Every drill I do for self defense shooting has movement in it. Contact to 25y. Shoot, move, shoot, move, reload, move. Contact to 10y, shoot while moving, always off the X, diagonally during any retreat. Go left then right.

 

[Wise_A]

Wow! Only took three posts!

 

[bronco45]

I have to work on the draw. I've gotten lazy since retiring and shoot too much bullseye. Carry both autos and revolvers and need to brush up by doing some basic drills.

 

[Bronco89]

I have to work on the draw. I've gotten lazy since retiring and shoot too much bullseye. Carry both autos and revolvers and need to brush up by doing some basic drills.

Exactly. Me too. That's why I started thinking up "simplified drills". I still keep mine kid of lazy. I have no interest in running around. I don't even walk the golf course anymore.

Love your Call tag Bronco.

 

[Old Arkansawyer]

I try to practice point shooting, as most self defense is up close and
point shooting seems to lend itself well in this situation.

 

[dr. mordo]

I drill very similarly to the OP.

I also draw and fire one or two rapid shots, and sometimes I draw and fire rapid shots into two or three different targets to simulate multiple attackers. This can be pretty fun when I rent steel plate targets.

I do incorporate movement a bit, but I see a "stand my ground" confrontation as far more likely than a gunfight.

I also practice a bit with my weak hand (same drills) and a bit of point shooting but I should practice that more.

 

[riverrat38]

Quadruple Nickle drill.
Goal is 5 rounds in a 5 inch circle at 5 yards in under 5 seconds.
I am still working on it!
And, no, I am not moving; I would get kicked out of the range for that. They have enough of a problem keeping the "shooters" sending their bullets more or less down range when they are standing still. And, I am about two years from using a walker. That would make for an interesting moving drill! With bad knees, sore hips and stiff muscles, I walk like I've got a pantful, even when I don't!

Best,
Rick

 

[Whitwabit]

My drill is Self Awareness .. go anywhere where there are a lot of people and find the ones that are carrying .. when you can do that as an automatic reflex that you do to everyone you see including women .. Use to play the game with my grand daughters and they are 1/2 again faster then I was .. they could decide in 2 or 3 seconds where I observed longer before committing ..

Entering a building I immediately look for other exist then the one I entered .. Know the arrangement of the stores
you frequent so a move to safety will not have to be thought out in a moment of terror ..

You will be surprise how observant you can become in a fraction of the time you took before ..

 

[fredj338]

I drill very similarly to the OP.

I also draw and fire one or two rapid shots, and sometimes I draw and fire rapid shots into two or three different targets to simulate multiple attackers. This can be pretty fun when I rent steel plate targets.

I do incorporate movement a bit, but I see a "stand my ground" confrontation as far more likely than a gunfight.

I also practice a bit with my weak hand (same drills) and a bit of point shooting but I should practice that more.

Not sure what a stand your ground confrontation is but I never want to be flat footed in any attack/defense. Always be moving off the X.

 

[fredj338]

My drill is Self Awareness .. go anywhere where there are a lot of people and find the ones that are carrying .. when you can do that as an automatic reflex that you do to everyone you see including women .. Use to play the game with my grand daughters and they are 1/2 again faster then I was .. they could decide in 2 or 3 seconds where I observed longer before committing ..

Entering a building I immediately look for other exist then the one I entered .. Know the arrangement of the stores
you frequent so a move to safety will not have to be thought out in a moment of terror ..

You will be surprise how observant you can become in a fraction of the time you took before ..

All good but if you can not shoot, you are only half way there.

 

[Whitwabit]

All good but if you can not shoot, you are only half way there.

You wouldn't want me to shoot at you is all I will say !!! I've been shooting for over 60 years !!

 

[Bronco89]

You wouldn't want me to shoot at you is all I will say !!! I've been shooting for over 60 years !!

Ha! I was thinking to my self, this man could be an amazing shot. A friend of mine was at the range with my wife and me. We were shooting 357's and 44 mags, and they were beating him up pretty good. He was all over the place. He commented to my wife, (GF at the time), that the only reason she was shooting clovers is because she was shooting a .22LR. My wife never responded. She picked up the 6" 357, and dropped in 6 158gr SJHP rounds and shot a clover leave at 20 feet. We were not married at the time. We are now.

Oh P.S. my 49 yo, 5'1" 110lb wife did it again with my 44 mag (240gr - LSWC) two weeks ago. Her favorite gun is a S&W60. Lady Smith She doesn't own one yet. She will soon. (29 years next month)

 

[Sgt 45]

Having gone to revolvers from autos due to wrist reasons, getting my reloads down has been my emphasis for the last bit. Goal is to fire two, reload and fire two more on target at 5 yards in 4 seconds.

 

[fredj338]

You wouldn't want me to shoot at you is all I will say !!! I've been shooting for over 60 years !!

Well I don't want anyone shooting at me, whether they are good at it or bad. No disrespect, but just because someone does something for 50y doesn't mean they are any good at it. I know guys shooting just 2y that are better than most people on the planet. Just sayin.
There is also a huge diff between flat range, slow fire & getting a pistol into a fight & getting hits quickly. I know a lot of people that do fine in slow fire, but make them shoot fast & in maybe move just a little & the wheels fall off.

 

[sotexas]

IF you are doing any self defense shooting drills, you need to be putting movement into the drill. Every drill I do for self defense shooting has movement in it. Contact to 25y. Shoot, move, shoot, move, reload, move. Contact to 10y, shoot while moving, always off the X, diagonally during any retreat. Go left then right.

While I understand your point I would be concerned my local LE and DA might question why I didn't leave once I reached 25 yards. I feel a distance of 5 yards max would be my defensive encounters 99% of the time.

 

[Ziggy2525]

When I go to the range, I usually start by shooting isolation drills like dots and draw to single shot/draw to two shots.

At the end of the range session I try to pull it all together with a drill using the target in the attached image (couldn't figure out how to get the image to rotate 90 degrees).

The drill is a compilation of drills I learned in different training classes. It's on the back of a regular target. A 3"x3" Post-It note head height with 2 - 3"x5" index cards on either side at sternum height.

Load one mag with 6 rounds plus a snap cap placed at random. That's the first mag fired. Load a second mag with 3 rounds that goes in the mag holder. Draw from concealment. Shoot three rounds at one of the 3x5 cards, then transition and shoot three rounds at the second 3x5 card (alternate which card you start with to get left and right transitions). Now you're at slide lock. Reload and shoot 3 head shots at the Post-It note.

You get a draw, two sets of simulated COM shots on the 3x5 cards with a horizontal transition, a malfunction clearance (from the snap cap), an emergency reload with a vertical transition to the head shots on the Post-It note. If there's room on the range, you can work movement into the transition, malfunction clearance, and reload.

It gives me a way to work on a set of skills in a single drill. It's more complicated to describe than it is to shoot. I usually shoot it with a timer at 7 yards. You can pick your distance and set your time goals for what works for you.

 

[LPD256]

I usually finish my drills by trying to put a smiley face on my target at 10 yards shooting once per second. The attached target shows a frown is just a smile tuned upside down......

I can’t move and shoot at my indoor facility. But the system can be programmed to make the target spin, and jump around and change distances.

 

[zogger]

My drills when I am at the outdoor range and can setup targets are the following. All using a timer and my 5 shot J frame.

1) While "cold" (not practice or warmup) and using a timer, draw and fire 2 rounds from 5 yards at a 6" target. Goal is to get two hits in the black in under 2.5 sec. Do this 3 times.

I like to do this cold drill to get an idea of how I would do if confronted for real w/o any time have practiced.

2) Also from 5 yards, draw and fire 5 rounds as fast as possible at 6" target. Goal is 5 hits in the black in under 3.5 sec. This gives me practice on trigger and recoill control.

3) Setup 2 targets, 5 feet apart. From 5 yards, draw and fire 2 shots at each. Again 6" target and put all shots in the black. Goal is 4 hits in under 5 seconds. I like to work on having my eyes move to the 2nd target and have the gun follow me. It seems to work better for me than moving both at once.

4) Setup 3 targets six feet apart. Starting to the right of the right most target, on the buzzer move constantly to the left shooting at each target. Put 2 shots on the 1st and 2nd target, one of the last. Goal is all 5 shots hitting the 6" circle in under 7 seconds. Repeat but start of left side and move to the rights.

5) Practice one hand by raising and firing with both strong hand and weak hand. At 5 yards at a 6" target.

6) Finish with "warm" drill using a timer, draw and fire 2 rounds from 5 yards at a 6" target. Goal is to get two hits in the black in under 2.5 sec. Do this 3 times.

While I practice reloads during dry fire, I rarely practice reloads at the range. I probably should practice reloading my revolver more, but if I need to reload during a fight I am probably screwed anyway and should have gotten away from the situation.

 

[ISCS Yoda]

Well, since I generally don't get to play on ranges where I can move around or draw and shoot (I do miss Cowboy Action Shootingtm!!!) I do like to simply take the Texas concealed handgun test. 3 yards/7 yards/15 yards, timed, etc. As long as I can consistently pass that test I'm good to go.

BUT!

I do like to do what someone else posted, which is load a revolver with less than a full cylinder and have to deal with the surprise and load a pistol with blanks and have to tap and rack, etc. However you say that.........

AND!

I like to practice point shooting, including at low light, close in targets and at some distance, because THAT is the most likely self defense scenario I expect to be in.

Shooting to point of aim quickly is important. Shooting quickly without aiming is equally important.

"Fast is fine, but accuracy is everything. In a gunfight you need to take your time....in a hurry."

Wyatt Earp - 1880s.