“Don’t turn money into noise.” I don’t recall where I heard that expression for the first time, but I stand by it. I like knowing I’m getting training value out of the ammunition I use.
A few years back, I developed a 50-round training routine for handguns. My late friend, Joe Preston, from The Powder Room in Panama Beach City, FL, liked it so much he printed out the details of it and handed it to some of his customers.
When I developed the 50-round drill, ammo prices were climbing. Since then, ammo prices have stabilized, but the logic and reasoning behind the drills and round count remain the same. If you only have a single box of ammunition, you can get great training out of it.
Here are the drills and what you can learn from them.
1. Ten Rounds: Two Hands, 25 Yard Bullseye and Cold Bore
I love the challenge of 25-yard bullseye shooting. Shooting up close can mask deficiencies in your grip and sight picture, but those are amplified at 25 yards.
To start the 50-round drill, 10 rounds are fired at a B8-sized target and scored with each round in the “X” and 10 ring as “10,” and subsequent rings are minus one per round, with a total of 100 points possible. I also like the idea of tracking where my first shot hits, in a similar way to emphasizing the importance of a cold-bore shot in precision rifle shooting.
If you struggle at this distance, you can work up to it by shooting bullseyes at 10 yards and then 15 and 20 and focus on the fundamentals. The distance is likely in your head. Even though statistics are available to suggest that most gunfights occur at shorter distances, are you that lucky?
I recommend dedicating 10 rounds of your box of ammo to training at distances that help you become better than the average.
2. Five Rounds: Strong-hand only, 7 yards Diagnostic (15 rounds running total)
The next five rounds are shot strong-hand only from 7 yards. This is a diagnostic drill that shouldn’t be terribly difficult to accomplish. The goal is keeping all 5 rounds in the 10 ring.
One-hand shooting usually results in shots pulled to the left for right-hand shooters and right for left-hand shooters. If there is recoil anticipation, these shots will not only be off center but also low.
With only 5 rounds shot, this drill doesn’t beat up recoil-sensitive shooters all that much. If you are interested in improving your one-hand game, read this.
3. Ten Rounds: One-Reload-One (25 rounds running total)
Working from the holster and practicing reloads can be trained at home. Adding in live fire needs to be done at a range. The shoot one, reload, shoot one allows the handgun student to recognize a slide lock, swap magazines, reacquire a sight picture, and fire a second round. The training points in this drill are identifying the most efficient location of a spare magazine, making sure the first and second shots in each repetition have consistent placement, and if a shot timer is used, it can be used to track splits. Certain drills should be practiced at home when a range is not necessary. Working from the holster, clearing garments and drawing from concealment, and dry fire are all prime examples of this.
4. Ten Rounds: Controlled Pairs (35 rounds running total)
In defensive shooting courses, the instruction is to shoot to stop a threat. The idea of a “one-hit stoppage” is not widely accepted even with the most potent handgun rounds.
Rather than shooting a single shot, a controlled pair is often the prescription for the given malady. A controlled pair is not a “double tap.” For a true controlled pair, three good sight pictures are needed. A controlled pair is controlled and aimed properly to achieve good accuracy results.
For beginners, a spoken tempo or cadence of “one and two” can be the standard. More experienced shooters can use “one n’ two,” and more advanced shooters can count “one, two” or “one two”. The distance for this drill is up to the shooter and based on their competence level.
5. Five Rounds: Other Strong Hand Only, 7 yards (40 rounds running total)
Shooting with the other strong hand only is something I don’t see very often. We like to train what we do well, and other strong hand only shooting is something that can be uncomfortable and frustrating.
If you are wondering where “other strong hand” wording comes from, look to Sayoc Tactical Group. There is no such thing as a weak hand unless you say it and believe it.
If you practice with your “other strong hand,” you may find that slowing down and focusing on fundamentals may actually lead to better results than with your strong hand only shooting.
This was often the case during the Sayoc Tactical Group pistol courses I’ve taken in the past where a walk-back drill was performed. Students had a chance to shoot a target with two hands, then strong-hand only, and then other strong-hand only before being eliminated.
Many times, other-strong-hand only kept shooters in the competition. If you shoot low and to the left with your right hand, you may find you will mirror those impacts with your other strong hand only.
6. Ten Rounds: Ready Up Drills (50 Rounds running Total
The last 10 rounds of the 50 round drill are reserved for shooting based on a prompt. This can be done with a partner who calls out “fire” or “threat”. If a shooting partner is not available, this drill can be done with a shot timer.
The stimulus is meant to induce stress in the shooter and potentially reveal any issues with taking a shot that is not untimed.
The shooter can work from low ready, high ready, or any position. For the best results, the time and the accuracy achieved should be documented. You can decide if you want to run a true 45-degree low ready at the base of the target or a low ready where the sights are just below the base of the target.
The Value of this 50 Round Drill
The beauty of this drill is that it can be scaled up if you have access to even more ammunition. It can be done with 100 rounds to double the number of rounds and repetitions. Also, if you are only allotted a certain amount of ammunition per year in law enforcement, it gives you a baseline to follow.
A similar concept of setting aside a certain number of rounds per box of ammunition can be applied for hunting rifles with boxes of 20 rounds and shotguns with boxes of 25 shells. I believe it’s important to get the most out of your training, especially when you may be limited on ammunition.
I also think it is important to have some fun and maybe shoot excessive amounts of ammunition when the opportunities present themselves. Either way, get out there and train.
