IMG_9256Here are a few pistol drills that can be done on the RE Factor IQ target. Some of these drills have par times, others are a “beat yourself” drill – establish a par time at your shooting level, then push yourself to constantly decrease your par time while maintaining accuracy.  Also keep in mind that even though the square, circle, and triangle all technically measure 3″, the square offers the most “shootable area,” followed by the circle, then the triangle.

Dot Torture

(credited to David Blinder)

Drill: Shooter will begin holstered at the 3-yard line. You will use 10 dots.  There is no time limit, this is a marksmanship fundamentals drill.  The strings are shot as follows:

Dot 1 – Draw and fire one string of 5 rounds for the best group. One hole if possible, total of 5 rounds.
Dot 2 – Draw and fire 1 shot, holster and repeat X4, total 5 rounds.
Dots 3 & 4 – Draw and fire 1 shot on #3, then 1 shot on #4, holster and repeat X3, total 8 rounds.
Dot 5 – Draw and fire string of 5 rounds, strong hand only, total 5 rounds.
Dots 6 & 7 – Draw and fire 2 shots on #6, then 2 on #7, holster, repeat X4, total 16 rounds.
Dot 8 – From ready or retention, fire five shots, weak hand only, total 5 rounds.
Dots 9 & 10 – Draw and fire 1 shot on #9, reload, fire 1 shot on #10, holster and repeat X3, total 6 rounds.

Grading criteria: Begin slow enough that all rounds remain inside the circles/squares/triangles.  Once you can shoot the entire course clean, add distance, and repeat.

Skills:
Draw stroke
Sight picture acquisition
Trigger manipulation
Target transitions
Strong hand only marksmanship
Weak hand only marksmanship
Reloads

Dot Drill 2

(designed by Frank Garcia)

Drill: Shooter will begin holstered at the 7-yard line. You will use 6 dots.  Set your timer par time to 5 seconds. On the buzzer, shooter will engage the target with 6 rounds.  Conduct the drill 6 times in total.

Grading criteria: Track the number of hits achieved within the 5 second par time.  Once you can shoot 6×6 in the par time, decrease par time, and push yourself.

Skills:
Draw stroke
Sight picture acquisition
Trigger manipulation
Recoil management
Balancing speed and accuracy

iHack

(taken from pistol-training.com)

Drill: Shooter will begin in the ready position at the 5-yard line.  You will utilize 3 dots.  Set your par time to 3 seconds.

String 1: On the buzzer, engage 3 dots with 1 shot each from left to right.
String 2: On the buzzer, engage 3 dots with 1 shot each from right to left.
String 3: On the buzzer, engage 3 dots with 1 shot each.  Engage the middle dot first, then the outside dots in any order.

Grading criteria: 7 out of 9 shots on is “passing.”  Once you can shoot it clean, try from the holster, then concealment.

Skills:
Presentation
Sight picture acquisition
Trigger manipulation
Target transitions
Draw stroke

Command/”IQ” drills

Command drills are designed to work the “thinking” part of gun handling, a part often neglected, especially in flat range scenarios, but every bit as important as the physical manipulation of the gun.  While they certainly won’t replace well-designed scenario training, they can drill rapid target identification and engagement.

The IQ target has three shapes, three numbers, three letters, and five colors randomly dispersed across the target. Drills start simple – your partner may call a single attribute, and you must engage all the targets with that attribute.  For example, your partner calls “blue” or “two,” and you must engage all the blue targets or number two targets.  As your proficiency builds, you can up the difficulty.  You could try the numbers game (video preview below), or you can call multiple attributes – “red numbers,” “triangle letters,” etc.  There is no set par time for these drills because the number of targets engaged will vary by attribute combination.  Push yourself.  Fire as rapidly as you accurately can.

Give these a try and post up your times to the comments!

About the author

Joel is an 11 year veteran of the US Coast Guard, where he has served at various units including the International Training Division and Maritime Security Response Team. He has held qualifications including Deployable Team Leader/Instructor, Direct Action Section Team Leader, and Precision Marksman – Observer. He has deployed/instructed on five continents and served in quick reaction force roles for multiple National Special Security Events in the US. He is the owner of Hybrid Defensive Strategies, LLC in Chesapeake, VA, and can be contacted on Facebook and Instagram. Any opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the US Coast Guard or the US Government.