Most of the drills people practice involve a predetermined number of rounds fired on the target. This is usually a double tap, two shots fired in quick succession. In fact, many law enforcement agencies teach “two to the body” as what is called the standard response, and shooters often get into a habit of firing those two shots and then stopping. The problem is that you can’t know in advance how many shots it will take to get the hits you need. Even in competition, people who have an ingrained habit of firing two shots at a time will stumble on things like the Bill Drill, firing three sets of pairs instead of six fast rhythmic shots.
Retired police officer and IALEFI Board of Directors member Rich Verdi developed a simple and effective alternative to the standard response fixation years ago, which we’ll call the Non-Standard Response drill.
Almost any target will do for this drill, whether you want to use a paper plate, IPSC/IDPA target, or your favorite law enforcement qualification target. Choose a distance that will allow you to work on your speed (5yd), your marksmanship (10yd), or a balance of the two (7yd).
Work from the holster to practice your draw as part of this drill (see Drill of the Week: The Draw from January’08). On each start signal, draw and engage the target with anywhere from two to five rounds. Each time you draw and engage the target, fire a different number of rounds than the time before. The goal is to vary the number of rounds you’re firing, to break yourself of any standard response habit.
At a more advanced level, you can adjust the number of rounds you fire depending on whether you’re getting center hits on the target. As you’re shooting the drill, if you feel like you’re getting excellent hits, you can fire fewer shots (2-3). If your sights are telling you that you’re not getting great hits, or if you lose track of your sights fire more shots (4-5). Don’t stop halfway through and look at the target! Keep your eyes on your sights and let them tell you whether you’re getting good hits. (see Tracking Your Sights and Tracking Your Sights II)
Next week, we’ll work on a more comprehensive version of the Non-Standard Response Drill with a partner.
Training with firearms is an inherently dangerous activity. Be sure to follow all safety protocols when using firearms or practicing these drills. These drills are provided for information purposes only. Use at your own risk.
Todd,
Excellent drill. I see too many guys in the shoothouse fire 2 and move on. Target checks later indicate non critical hits and even misses. Would another variation be the “2 second” drill on a facing target?
Rich — using a timed target is definitely another excellent way to achieve a very similar goal. And, you can achieve a very similar effect even if you don’t have access to a turning/timed target system. More on that this weekend …
A good addition would be to add the suprise reload drill to this one. Fill all your magazine with 2 to 5 rounds place them in a bag. Pick one out for your pistol and however many magazine carriers you have and shoot the pistol dry, do a slide-lock reload, and reholster.
Two good drills put into one.