If you’re carrying a gun for self-defense, it’s incumbent on you to practice with it and maintain a certain level of skill.
With ammunition costs skyrocketing (and likely to get worse thanks to inevitable gun control proposals), your practice needs to be worth the time and money.
Never go to the range without a plan! Right now we really can’t afford to be shooting for the sake of shooting. Ammo prices have almost tripled at this point, and it’s probably not going to get any better soon.
If you want to keep your skills up without burning a lot of ammo, here’s a series of five drills that will cost you just 50 rounds.
All drills are run from 7 yards. Your focus should be on accuracy over speed. Missed shots are wasted shots.
Recommended target size for this is a 9″ bullseye. If you want to use something more fight-focused, the A-Zone of an IPSC target or the DTI midline target are good options.
- 10 rounds fired two-handed.
2. 10 rounds fired strong-hand only.
3. 10 rounds fired support-hand only.
4. Draw and fire two rounds; scan and re-holster. Repeat five times for a total of 10 rounds.
5. Load 3 magazines with 3 rounds each. Draw and fire 2 rounds, scan and re-holster. Repeat and reload as necessary.
For the drills from the holster, it’s important to really do your scan properly. Don’t be in a hurry to get the gun re-holstered.
After your second shot, look at the target to see where your hits are. Look around, see who’s around you and what they are doing.
If the range you’re practicing on won’t allow holster work, you can start in a ready position instead.
Want to make this more challenging? Try a smaller target, increase the range, or run against a timer on each stage.
