A lot of us dry fire with the pistols to work on draw, target to target, and transitions. I’m willing to bet that most of us line their dry fire targets up and that they are pretty evenly spaced.
The Problem
Shooting targets that are lined up and evenly spaced will teach you to shoot on a rhythm. In other words, you pull the trigger when you think your gun has moved to the next target. Not when your sights are lined up. So you end up shooting the rhythm of moving your gun across a row of targets.
I had gotten pretty good at this recently, shooting 10 shot strings in the 4.6’s. The problem was that I would end up missing at matches when the targets were not spaced the same as how I practiced.
I couldn’t figure out what was wrong and was getting pretty frustrated. Recently I went up to shoot with the High Plains Drifters in Fernley, NV. Quick Cal invited me up the day before for a practice session and some advice.
The Solution
After we did some warming up, Cal got us (there were a few others there) shooting his 50-shot drill (described in Chapter 8 in my book “Breaking the Shot.”
- Set up 5 steel plates of various sizes, shapes and heights. Mix up targets and heights every time, so you don’t get used to shooting the same target array all the time. Paint them various colors, since being prepared for any match is one of the goals of this exercise. A great aspect of this drill is that it can be completed fairly quickly and you can run it 2 or 3 times in a practice session.
- The drill itself consists of 10 shots at 5 positions. The first position is at 6 yards and then move back 2 yards each time. The goal is to clean the 50 shots at competitive shooting times. Use various hand starting positions and use different shot patterns for each distance. With a proper timer you can record your first shots, between shot times, transition between pistols, and 10 shot total time.
- Here is an example: Start at 6 Yards, hands at sides, 2 sweeps left to right; 8 Yards, hands above shoulders, Nevada Sweep Left to right on target 1,2, 3, 2, and 1, then Nevada Sweep Right to left on targets 5, 4, 3, 4 and 5; 10 Yards, hands on knees, alternate target 1 & 5 with 5 shots left to right, then fire 5 shots on target 3. 12 Yards, hands clasped in front, Nevada Sweep 1, 3, 5, 3 and 1, then alternate 5 shots on 3 and 4. 14 Yards, hands at sides, first sweep left to right and second sweep right to left.
- Once you’ve learned all these patterns you can work on others until they all become 2nd nature and you can do them all in about the same time. When you can perform the 10 shot drill at 6 yards in the 7-second range you are becoming competitive, most Top Guns can perform that drill in the 5-second range. Sub 5’s are possible but not at a consistent match speed. The more important aspect of this drill is to learn to shoot it at the right speed so that you can clean it on demand, that’s what really counts.
This drill has helped tremendously!
Since I started practicing this drill, I’ve rearranged the dry fire targets in my living room to different heights and spacing. I move them around every 2 days so that I don’t get used to the same patterns. I dry fire this drill twice a day. My misses are dropping and my concentration level on the front sight is significantly better.
Give it a try, starting now, and you’ll be quite pleased at the results. |
