Favorite Drills

[Robb Jensen]

Amen.

Folks, there's no prize for being the first guy back in the holster.

Exactly!

In training and competition I HATE seeing guys reholstering fast, there's just no need, nothing good comes of it. Reholster when you're certain you've shot everything that was supposed to be shot. I believe this comes from bad repetitive practice at the range. They reholster fast while practicing draws etc. You have all day to reholster, do it safely. I also HATE seeing guys, clearing their chamber at full speed pulling the slide open making the round pop up way in the air and catching the round.........not a wise move.

[KevinB]

I also HATE seeing guys, clearing their chamber at full speed pulling the slide open making the round pop up way in the air and catching the round.........not a wise move.

I used to do that at clearing barrels going onto some FOB's I called it my Dnzel Washington move. But yeah other than impress medic chicks at the gate with my cat like reflexes (or outter cloddery as I dropped it and went rooting for the round) it was pretty pointless.

[John_Wayne777]

Reholster when you're certain you've shot everything that was supposed to be shot. I believe this comes from bad repetitive practice at the range.

Yes...and a failure of mindset.

Ultimately if we are carrying weapons for serious social purposes the majority of our practice is aimed at enabling us to respond effectively to someone who is trying to kill us.

A lot of what happens on the range isn't geared to that. That's one reason why I liked the LL class with Ken and Larry, because both of them made a point to constantly remind students of the fact that they are preparing for an actual fight.

[Harv]

Ooooh.. Good Topic Kev...

and spot on...

My take.. it's attention to detail (or lack there of) that separates the men from the boys. I have heard it.. I have preached it.. I have been burned by it thru my entire Military career.. It's what gets everyone.....WHY?? cause it's so easy to overlook.

Guys should not be tac loading just for the sake of it.. they should be doing it cause having a fully loaded gun is a good thing.. it's a TTP that works.

Press checks are a good thing...
I see it on the line all the time.. a guys shoots the drill.... tries to go as fast as he can.. and then hurries up and let's his guard down so he can hurry up ..close his dust cover and then relax and BS with the guy next to him.

Most shooters lack focus which is part of mindset which needs to be ingrained into you. Needs to be Hardwired.. I like the grass eater to meat eater analogy.

One thing I notice a lot during a drill when I'm on a line with a dozen other shooters..... I'm the last one to finish every drill.. Why?? cause I'm not in a hurry to drop my guard and hurry up and tac reload and then hurry up and close my dust cover...

I'm looking for someone else to fight... I look at my tgt... I look at the one to the left of mine... I look at the tgt to the right of mine.... I look around me..... then I roll my gun to port and give it a quick visual and then as I slowly bring it down to indoor ready I sub consciously use my trigger finger to close my dust cover. All the while thinking..."Any second.. another target will show up and I need to be ready"

At that point am I done??

No.. cause there is ammo management to be done... Is my "Go to" Mag pouch empty? Then I need to back fill it from my least accessible pouch. and fill up my more readily accessible pouches from the hardest to reach ones..

Is my Pistol topped off?? if not.. now is the time.

You've all heard the "slow is smooth,smooth is fast" mantra... It's absolutely true.

I watch more shooters fumble**** a mag reload cause there going at lightning speed trying to do it fast.

I have to consciously tell my self... "slow down dumb ass....breath and do what you know you need to do...by the numbers"

and when I do.. I'm smoother.. faster and have much better economy of motion.

No Magic.. just working on consistently repeating the basic fundamentals that Guys like Pat and Larry teach..

And every time I'm at the range. by myself working on drills... I here this Irish/Brooklyn accent that's behind me... always saying the same thing....." Hey Harvath...Don't **** up"

It's really that simple.....

And Pat's article on Mindset and getting ready is golden.. I read it often as I believe it is the corner stone to a solid grasp of fundamentals.. I think that is what most shooters struggle with..

Like the man say's... None of this shit is hard.. you just need to practice it and ingrain it into your brain housing group.... It's all about a shooters "head space and timing" some shooters can "fire a burst" every time.. and others go "pop" once and then have a stoppage.

[markm]

I run this type of drill sometimes with my carbine. Advancing all the way up the 200 yard range smacking gongs 30-60 yards ahead each move. Then I work my way back to the starting firing line.

It's really good training to shoot when you are breathing hard. By the time I've run up and back and shot all locations, I'm nearly gasping for air.

[Wayne Dobbs]

I believe that Jeff Cooper wrote of a drill long ago in which you had a single Pepper Popper at 200 meters. From prone, you hit the popper (hopefully with one round) and then ran to the popper, reset same, ran back and repeated it for 10 hits. I believe it was called "Rifle 10" and it causes me to start breathing hard just thinking about it. Obviously, it's a one man drill due to safety concerns about who's running up/down range and who's shooting.

[markm]

That drill does not sound fun. It'd be a good way to cut your ammo costs though! Sprinting 400 meters for every shot you fire would sure eliminate wasteful shots!

[Iraq Ninja]

Run to that target, go prone and shoot the next target which is 15 yards away. ,

Can you explain the reason for going prone for a target only 15 yards away?

Your drill sounds like fun, for physical stress shooting, but I tend to prefer such drills that are tactically sound, and thus a bit confused by your drill. Maybe make it a simulation of getting knocked down by a shot to your leg, then kill the threat, treat your wound, and low crawl 100 yards back to cover .

[Mojo58]

While reading the latest SWAT mag, there is a pic where a woman with her AR15 is referred to as shooting the "box drill". What is the "box drill"?

[John_Wayne777]

While reading the latest SWAT mag, there is a pic where a woman with her AR15 is referred to as shooting the "box drill". What is the "box drill"?

Picture a square.

Now imagine a shooter walking around the outside perimeter of that square while shooting....requiring them to move forward, sideways, and backward.

There you have it.