For me, “Drill Practice” is isolating an individual part of a skill and focusing intently on improving or mastering it. The goal with good drill practice is to maximize overall improvement while minimizing overall effort. Success equals consistency over time.

When I start my beginner-pistol classes, it is difficult to know the skill level of all students. It’s important to address a few issues such as basic marksmanship skills. To that effect, I use a simple beginner-pistol test. While I can scale different drills to accommodate different skill levels, this is one drill where I try not to scale. The distance can strain the skills of most new shooters. The work is worth the effort in this case, plus it is easy to administer and assess quickly.

What we are looking for is beginner-level marksmanship skills. If you can score 80 percent or higher, chances are you have the requisite knowledge and application of skills, which allows you to take on additional knowledge in the class. Scores less than 80 percent usually point to common shooting errors that can be addressed quickly with the correct instruction. The goal is to work on areas that need improvement.

Start as prescribed, but if you can score 80 percent (80 points) or better, consider scaling up by increasing the distance to 15 yards or by doubling the round count while keeping the same par time. The 5-second par time is more than enough to allow the shooter to properly apply the fundamentals. However, any shot fired outside of the par time is an automatic disqualification. Distance will be the 10-yard line for the prescribed. Use an NRA B8 or a similar target. Maximum score is 100 points. Load one magazine of 10 rounds or two magazines of five rounds. The total number of rounds fired is 10 rounds.

Here’s the drill:

The task will be to fire one round aimed in on the target, four rounds from the ready, three rounds from the ready (strong-hand only) and two rounds from the holster. The condition will be at the 10-yard line. The standard will be a 5-second par time with a score of 80 percent or greater.

• Aim in on the target, on the signal fire one round within 5 seconds.

• From a low ready, on the signal fire four rounds within 5 seconds.

• From the low ready, on the signal fire three rounds with your strong hand only, within 5 seconds.

• From the holster, on the signal draw and fire two rounds within 5 seconds (if the draw stroke is not allowed, use the low ready)

Total: 10 rounds

The objective is to evaluate the beginner-level skills and how well the student understands the fundamentals of basic marksmanship. Pay attention to the sight system and trigger control. There is plenty of time to apply the fundamentals if you stay focused on them. My best advice is to be consistent with all your actions: same sight picture, same trigger control and same follow-through.

Article by JEFF GONZALES

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