Last week’s drill was about delivering precise hits strong and weak hand only under stress. Now it’s time to turn up the speed by a notch or two.
Set up two large targets (an 8″ paper plate is ideal) about two feet apart. Range is 3 yards. Put your shot timer on PAR with a setting of ten seconds, just like last time.
Holding the gun at your ready/retention position in your strong hand only, on the beep fire two shots at the target on the right. Then, switch to the left hand and fire two shots at the target on the left. Keep switching back and forth, engaging the appropriate target with two shots each time, until the PAR time runs out.
Don’t get out of control. The goal is to make hits, not just launch lead downrange. If you’re not hitting the target at least 90% of the time, you need to slow down and focus more on your visual reference and your trigger manipulation.
As mentioned last week, remember that switching the gun from hand to hand is not the point of the drill. Make the transfer safely and deliberately, always keeping the muzzle pointed downrange and your fingers completely out of the trigger guard until your grip is secure again. If for some reason you should drop the pistol during the transfer, do not try to grab it as it falls. Just let it fall and pick it up. You’re far too likely to stick something in the trigger guard and discharge the pistol accidentally if you attempt to snatch it out of the air while it’s falling.
Run the drill at three yards until you are comfortably engaging each target twice (four shots at each) and you’re getting at least seven out of eight hits. Then move the targets back to five yards and repeat. Once you’re reaching the goal at five, move it back to seven, and keep moving it back until you can no longer get at least four target engagements (eight shots) with at least seven hits. When you reach that point, put up two 3×5 cards at that range and take ten slow, deliberate shots on each card (right hand only on the right card, left hand only on the left card). Then try the timed drill again at that distance.
If you are struggling with this drill, try shooting some Bill Drills strong and weak hand only to improve your speed. If your accuracy is suffering either due to trigger jerk or anticipation, work on both the dry-fire Wall Drill and the live-fire Accuracy Drill.
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.