Skills Check: Dancing Lesson

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

I run through this drill every chance I get. It is a simple, yet enlightening drill to assess rifle-shooting skills. The par times are designed to be aggressive. As a result, many start from a weak low-ready position. We know the higher the muzzle is to the target, the higher the chances of wrongful identification. Start at a true low ready, which we define as the muzzle being below the belt line, or at a 45-degree angle. Shoot this drill on
a TRICON Mk4 target or similar. Move instantly on the “go” signal to execute the course of fire.

This 10-round drill has four stages, all fired from the 10-yard line. It will test the flash sight picture, trigger control, gun handling and recoil control. I advocate for the rifle’s safety to be on during the reload, but that is for a later conversation.

I suggest loading one magazine with three rounds and the magazine you will use to reload with a total of seven rounds. The goal for this drill is to score 80 percent or greater. For every second exceeding the par time, deduct three points from the
overall score.

Here’s the drill:

First stage: Starting from the low ready, on the “go” signal fire one round to the body in 1 second.

Second stage: On the signal, fire one round to the head in 1.5 seconds.

Third stage: Requires one round chambered with an empty magazine. On the “go” signal, fire one round to the body, reload and fire one round to the head in
5 seconds.

Fourth stage: On the “go” signal fire six rounds to the body in 3 seconds.

Scoring 80 percent or higher signifies solid skills with a rifle. Most of this drill is all about speed. Embrace the flash sight picture, work at gaining trust on firing the instant sights are on target. Run the gun fast and know when to pump the brakes to avoid missing or being over the par time. For head shots, a miss outside the target is an automatic failure. Good luck.