Performance Training

I routinely meet and talk to people who want to be better shooters, but just don’t know how to get there. Some have limited time, some have limited ammunition, and almost all want to know what drills to do to get better. I don’t look at training that way, so let’s start by examining the basic concept of training for performance.

Training for shooting performance encompasses several things we simply have to have or do. We need the correct technique. We need accuracy. We need speed or gunhandling. You can train for all of those things at once, but it can be helpful if you are able to focus on one at a time, at least initially. Right now, we are only concerned with live fire, though dry fire is an extremely important part of training.

There are many ways to shoot correctly. I happen to be partial to my mechanics (techniques), but there are other ways to go as well. You really just need to know enough to get going, and then you can refine your technique as you improve.

Likewise, accuracy can be improved upon along the way, but it helps if you start with a baseline. Let’s say 5″ at 25 yards. Once you have enough technique to hold the gun correctly, accuracy is of paramount importance. You simply have to be able to hit what you are aiming at. This is best worked on by shooting groups, but it can also be developed in other very useful ways.

Once you have some technique and some accuracy, it is time to work our gunhandling at speed. The king of gunhandling is the draw. Even though you will likely use the draw very little compared to other movements, It is a power move that cannot be replaced with anything else. Reloads only really matter in some competition formats, but you’re going to reload your gun a lot while training so you might as well get good at it.

If you lift, you may recognize some of the above language and structure. Shooting is really no different than building strength, so if you want to learn to shoot, go read Mark Rippetoe’s Starting Strength. If you are over 40, maybe start with Barbell Prescription. That may seem confusing to some, but it is accurate. Learn the fundamentals (accuracy, grip, draw, reloads), practice them regularly, progressively overload your ability and you will drive adaptation.

As far as drills go, I really don’t do them. Being friends with Justin Dyal means that I am often shown new drills to try and I do look forward to trying the drills that Justin comes up with. I just don’t usually train on them to improve my shooting. Instead, I work on the fundamentals by isolating them to some extent and then combining them in various ways that matter to me. What that might look like varies a bit, but since we are talking about fundamentals, here is a basic outline.

I will start my training session with Cold Heat. After recording my first cold run, I run it again for a magazine or two. Depending on what I see from those magazines, I might next work on my pressouts. I can use the pressout to focus on my grip and drive my recoil in the direction I want it to go. If grip wasn’t an issue, I might use it for timing or for accuracy. After a few mags of pressouts, I might switch to group shooting to improve my accuracy. That could be groups at 25 yards, or it could be groups at 5 yards. And everything in between.

If my recoil control needs more work, I might shoot some mags of doubles, then progress to some Bill Drills, often with some accuracy in the middle, but certainly not always. If my first shot speed on Cold Heat or on the Bill Drill was not what I wanted, I might focus on one-shot draws for a bit, then bump it to two shots while trying to keep my first shot draw times the same.

There is certainly much more to training than what I have laid out here, and though these are some of my staples, a training session needs to be driven by my performance (or lack thereof), not a pre-ordained set of rote drills that you think might help. My use of the word training is not accidental either. Training implies a plan, progressing over time towards a goal. If you want to get better, don’t go shoot. Train.