Any good handgun drills?

[Jimbee]

Looking to improve my skills with a handgun. I bought a Kel Tec PMR 30 and would like to be able to hit stuff with it. Any good drills or skills I should work on? I'm a big fan of Form's rifle shooting drill and am wondering if there's a good one for handguns. TIA.

 

[OldGrayJB]

I would check the gun ranges in your area and see if they host competitions. My local range has 2 matches each month and it only costs $20 to shoot. The director will set up 3 or 4 stages. There's usually 15-18 shooters. It has been a valuable learning experience for me. I quickly identified some weaknesses that I need to work on. practiscore.com is a good site to find local matches.

 

[Backpack Hunter]

The Dot Torture test is always of good use.

 

[Mtnmilsurp]

2 common drills from the military:

(1) practice dry firing while balancing a quarter on the slide

(2) practice the mechanics of a perfect draw 20-30 times.

These can both be done daily without a trip to the range.

 

[cmahoney]

Try to put all your rounds in a quarter size target at 3-5 yards, slow fire and recognize what happened when you throw them.

Are you shooting with irons?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[justinspicher]

pistol-training.com

for teachers and students of the pistol

pistol-training.com

 

[Jimbee]

Try to put all your rounds in a quarter size target at 3-5 yards, slow fire and recognize what happened when you throw them.

Are you shooting with irons?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Yes

 

[texag10]

Not sure if you should be doing much dry fire with a rimfire gun, which is going to be a big detriment to getting better with a pistol.

I'm a big fan of what Ben Stoeger and Matt Pranka (X-Ray Alpha) are putting out for practical pistol and rifle shooting. Their focus may or may not jive with what you're interested in, but I'd argue most of us have pistols for quickly putting rounds on things that are a threat at the end of the day.

The doubles drill has been my favorite, as you can learn a ton from it. You're simply shooting pairs at varying distances and speeds (splits) between shots It helps to have a shot timer. You can learn how fast you can shoot and still see your sights for the 2nd shot, diagnose issues with your grip, see how distance impacts the speeds you can achieve, and more.

Once I finally got it through my head that pistol shooting is about grip (correct pressure so sights aren't moving when pulling the trigger quickly, but not so hard you tense up your firing hand and CAN'T pull the trigger quickly) and vision (target focused), I Improved rapidly with just a few minutes of dryfire a day and planned 100 rd range sessions.

 

[Desk Jockey]

Once you get your basic mechanics, shot down and get comfortable with your draw, try these:

10-20x draw / present dry fire
10-20x draw present single shot
10-20x draw / preset double tap
10-20x draw preset Mozambique
bill drill
x drill
el presidente (start with the no turn version).

I am a big fan of steel challenge for beginners. Depending on you club, they will shoot 5-6 stages with 5x reps each stage. Lots of repetition. Distances aren’t crazy. Less complexity and gimmicks than a USPSA or IDPA match.

 

[TheM1DoesMyTalking]

Lucky Gunner has a series of blog articles and YouTube videos on handgun drills called Start Shooting Better: https://www.luckygunner.com/lounge/category/start-shooting-better/

Start at the beginning with lots of dry fire, the dot torture drill, Gila Hayes 5x5 drill, and go on from there. Most of the drills have targets that you can print at home. Several drills use NRA B-8 repair center targets that you can either print or buy a stack of them locally or online.

 

[amateurhourhunter]

Snap caps. Draw and present over and over. Do it in front of a mirror. If it’s for CC purposes the. Make sure you are practicing w a variety of clothes you’d be wearing.

 

[TheM1DoesMyTalking]

Not sure if you should be doing much dry fire with a rimfire gun, which is going to be a big detriment to getting better with a pistol.

Good point. Since Jimbee is using a .22 rimfire I'd recommend picking up a box of yellow 4-6-8 x 7/8" drywall anchors to use as snap caps. Most .22 snap caps are for action proving only, not high volume use. I use the anchors in .22 rifles and pistols for dry fire and you get more "click" for your buck with them.

 

[sconnieVLP]

The Dot Torture test is always of good use.

Came here to post this. I start nearly every live fire session with dot torture. Start at 3 yards or so then back the target out once you can do that without throwing any rounds.

I shoot a lot of USPSA, and 95% or more of my training is dry fire. I don’t have easy access to a range where I live, so often my only live fire is on the weekends in a match. 15-20 minutes of dry fire a night works wonders. Ben Stoegers books of drills are good and what I normally work off of. Get yourself a shot timer or at least a shot timer app and put yourself on the clock. Quantitative feedback on your progress is important.

 

[goodorbit]

The Dot Torture test is always of good use.

This is a great drill.

 

[long hunter]

First thing is getting a good holster, belt set up. Then one-shot drills from the five-yard line from the holster, go slow build basics and form. Work on grip, Un-holstering, pistol presentation, and fundamentals GRIP, STANCE, SIGHT ALINGMENT, SIGHT PICTURE, TRIGGER CONTROL, FOLLOW THROUGH, if you can visit a pistol club and ask if anyone is a PPC or BULLS EYE shooter and if they will help you.

 

[Cuahitl]

Trigger press is the most import aspect of pistol shooting IMO. The best drill that I’ve found to master the trigger press is the wall drill. https://pistol-training.com/drill-of-the-week-the-wall-drill/ I’d recommend 10 minute sessions at least 3 times a week for a month. After you get a handle on that drill mix in some other work. Such as draw, reloads or malfunction drills.