Written by: Greg Ellifritz I like shooting drills that are timed and scored. Shooting drills that have standards allow shooters to track performance over time. A structured training program with performance tracking is the difference between training and “plinking.” I generally start out each of my handgun range sessions with a standard drill. That […]
Written by Greg Ellifritz “Changing gears” is a concept I often employ in my practice shooting drills. Altering shot cadences between fast imprecise shooting on large, close targets and slow precise shooting on smaller targets is an important skill to train. It’s important to learn what you “need to see” to make a shot. […]
Written by: Greg Ellifritz Viking Tactics owner Kyle Lamb has a very fast paced rifle/handgun transition drill you should be trying if you have a range that allows for forward movement towards the target. The drill covers strong and weak shoulder rifle shooting, sling transitions, and pistol transitions in a very short time frame. You’ll […]
I know the title of this article sounds a bit like “click bait,” but it really isn’t. Would you believe me if I told you that I could significantly improve your shooting performance in less than 15 minutes while firing 30 total rounds? Read more about my methodology and give these training drills a […]
Written by: Greg Ellifritz Jared Reston is a sheriff’s deputy and firearms trainer from Florida. I’ve never personally trained with him or his crew, but they have a very good reputation in the training community. Reston himself is famous for winning a remarkable gunfight where the criminal shot him seven times. Read a short […]
Written by: Greg Ellifritz I originally posted this article in the height of the Covid-19 pandemic last year. I had received an email from a reader who suggested that I put together a list of shooting drills that don’t involve firing too many rounds. I thought it was an excellent suggestion and wrote the […]
Written by: Greg Ellifritz I first shot this drill in a speed shooting class I took with Rob Leatham. Rob thought it was a fun drill and a very good test of trigger control. I agree. It’s one of my favorite drills to shoot, being both fun and frustrating at the same time. Master […]
Written by: Greg Ellifritz I got this one from the Rangemaster Instructor Course I attended last year. It is also described as the “drill of the month” in Rangemaster’s December 2020 Newsletter (opens to PDF). Here are the specifics: Rangemaster Baseline Skills Assessment Drill Use a B-8 repair center, FBI-IP-1 bullseye, […]
Written by: Greg Ellifritz I got the idea for this drill from Rich Grassi’s article in The Tactical Wire. In the article, Rich suggests that for a more challenging training exercise, police firearms instructors should shoot their state’s qualification course with TWICE the number of required targets in the same time limits as […]
I got today’s practice drill from The Shooting Wire. It’s called quite simply “The Challenge.” Read about it at the link below. The “Challenge” with Trainers “The objective of “Rastoff’s Challenge is to place all hits into the 2”x3” oval X-ring over the course of fire, shot with no time limit.” 3 yards: […]
Written by: Greg Ellifritz I got this challenging drill my friends at Justified Defensive Concepts. They had been working on a new drill and announced it on their Facebook page. Here is the drill description directly from their page: “The Justified Defensive Concepts B8 Bonanza: Target: B8 bullseye Distance: All shots fired at […]
I found this drill in the “Skills and Drills” section of The Firearms Rack Website. John Johnston from Citizens Defense Research came up with the drill. It requires either a Langdon LTT-1 Target, or two B8 Targets separated by two more one inch square targets. According to the link above, the drill is run as […]
Written by: Greg Ellifritz The Casino Drill was devised by Rangemaster’s Tom Givens as an exercise designed to evaluate/train multiple skill sets in the context of defensive handgun shooting. Tom provides a description of this drill in his September 2017 Rangemaster news letter (opens to PDF). If you are a video person, watch […]
Written by: Greg Ellifritz Have you ever trained to draw and fire your pistol from any position other than standing? Most recreational shooters haven’t. Fights are messy. Sometimes the unexpected happens. Take a look at this story. A man was fleeing armed robbers and slipped on the ice, causing him to fall. […]
Written by: Greg Ellifritz I got this drill from Ballistic Radio’s Facebook page. Dot Assessment Madness AKA D.A.M. Is a 55-round assessment fired on the excellent Langdon Tactical, Inc. target. John Johnston describes the drill as follows: “At 3 yards Start with no more than 15 rounds in the gun or […]
Written by Greg Ellifritz This shooting drill is one of the hardest I’ve ever attempted. I got it from Kyle Defoor’s page. It is a 70 shot drill with 700 possible aggregate points. Allegedly, no one has ever shot a perfect score. I certainly haven’t ever even come close. I’m happy if I […]
Written by: Greg Ellifritz My friend Claude Werner recently published a book titled “Shooting Your Black Rifle.” A large part of the book contains shooting drills and qualification courses for the AR-15 rifle. One of the drills Claude developed is one that he calls the “Punto Banco.” It is a rifle adaptation of Tom […]
Written by: Greg Ellifritz I got this drill from Recoil Magazine’s article titled Skills and Drills: Breakdown Drill. You can download and print out the targets you will need HERE. And notice that I said “targets” in the plural. You’ll screw this one up the first time and will want to try it again. […]
Written by: Greg Ellifritz I found this pistol shooting drill in a recent Justin Dyal article in SWAT magazine called STANDOFF HANDGUN DRILLS: Accuracy at Situational Speed. From the article: The purpose of the Par 5 drill is for the shooter to gain an appreciation of the linkage between sight alignment and trigger break […]
Written by: Greg Ellifritz Different sized targets require a differing level of precision with regards to sight alignment. This issue is often described by instructors as “seeing what you need to see to make the shot.” When shooting at a human torso at five feet, no sights are even necessary. When shooting at a […]
