Written by Greg Ellifritz Lots of shooters are familiar with the original Dot Torture shooting drill. This challenging, one box pistol workout was originally designed by trainer David Blinder and has been popularized on several well known shooting forums. My friend and super-genius John Hearne created a new version of this popular drill. […]
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 My friend Dave Spaulding recently wrote an article about the standard drills he uses to evaluate his students at the beginning of a training class. The drills themselves serve as a great practice session if you work them for multiple repetitions. Check out the article at the link below: […]
Written by Greg Ellifritz Being able to switch hands while shooting a pistol is a critical skill to acquire. Not only is it useful to switch hands to maximize use of cover, it is critically important to be able to switch hands if your shooting arm becomes injured in the gunfight. It’s a […]
Written by Greg Ellifritz In this article, well known firearms instructor Larry Vickers describes a shooting drill that he likes to use with his students. It’s a pretty common drill and it has been ascribed to many people, most commonly Ken Hackathorn. Larry’s version of the drill is easiest. He uses a […]
Written by: Greg Ellifritz Hardwire Tactical recently posted a new shooting drill on their Facebook page. It is a drill that is indoor range friendly (no drawing from a holster), quick to shoot and easy to remember. It should serve as a great option for those of you looking to track baseline […]
Written by: Greg Ellifritz I got this drill from Wayne Dobbs and Darryl Bolke at the Hardwired Tactical Facebook page. Wayne and Darryl are both experienced retired police officers and firearms instructors. They put out top-notch information. This is the drill they developed for testing one’s competency with a snubnose revolver. Here […]
Written by: Greg Ellifritz Cap City Outfitters is a local high end gun shop and gear store in central Ohio. The folks who run the store also publish weekly training and equipment articles on the store’s website. One of the recent updates was about a shooting drill they created. I really like the […]
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 […]
Over the past few years, I’ve posted a few articles from Henry, “The Old Man from Tennessee.” Henry is 91 years old and lives by himself up on a mountain in rural Tennessee. Henry has been a lifelong shooter and has a unique perspective on the defensive use of a firearm. Henry sent me […]
Written by Greg Ellifritz I use the target pictured above (RE Factor Essentials) in a lot of my personal training and in the lower level handgun classes I teach. The company that makes the target also has a range drill particularly designed around it. They call the drill the RE Factor Tactical Shooter Standard. It […]
Written by: Greg Ellifritz My friend Dave Spaulding introduced me to the 15 in 10 drill in a recent article he wrote for Handguns Magazine. According to the article, the drill was originally developed by Mike Pannone of CTT Solutions. It’s a great drill for developing rapid shooting skills at (relatively) small […]
Written by: Greg Ellifritz The Tactical Professor describes a great shooting drill you can use to establish baseline competency and track improvement over time. I like drills like this that provide a measurable standard that you can track over time. The drill requires 50 rounds (five sequences of 10 shots each) and is […]
One of the shooting drills I like to use to hone my trigger control is called “Dot Torture”. It’s relatively well known among the competitive shooting community, but many recreational or defensive shooters may have never seen it. The drill was originally developed by David Blinder at Personal Defense Training. It involves […]
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 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 […]
Written by: Greg Ellifritz My friend Marcus Wynne sent me a practice shooting course a couple weeks ago. He asked me to give it a try, noting that when he used it with some students he noticed some dramatic improvement in fluidity while changing hands with a pistol. I shot the course and […]
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 Special operations trainer Pat McNamara developed this drill and wrote about it in a recent Gunfighter Moment on Soldier Systems’ website. He calls it his “Five Second Standards.” The drills are shot on an IPSC target and only the “A-Zone” is used. The “A-Zone” is roughly 6″ x 11″. […]
Written by: Greg Ellifritz To the amazement of my armed citizen friends, most police qualification courses are little more than a joke. With a full day’s worth of pistol training, I can get almost everyone to the point where they can pass their state’s police qualification course. In Ohio, our course is so easy […]
