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DRILLS FOR HANDGUN SELECTION
above: This student did good work
with the Smith and Wesson .40
caliber pistol.
below: This young woman had a good
day during her first day on the range.
She fired her course with the Taurus
.22 caliber revolver.
The Drill
1. Seven yards, five shots, one hand.
Repeat.
2. Ten yards, five shots, one-hand
shoulder point. Repeat.
3. Ten yards, two hands, any style,
five shots. Repeat.
4. Fifteen yards, two hands, any
style, five shots. Repeat.
5. Fifteen yards, barricade or cover,
five shots. Repeat.
first few drills, but fall apart at longer
range as recoil becomes tiring. That
is why it is important to fire the short
range drills first. If the student does
fine at short range and then a problem
becomes apparent at fifteen yards,
we have accomplished our goal. We
are not firing to beat the qualification
course, we are firing to learn–and that
is a substantial difference.
Variations
This course is useful not only in
checking the student’s ability to use
and control a certain handgun well,
but also in checking a new technique.
As an example, the one-hand shoulder
point is used in the basic course.
If the student is indoctrinated in the
Stressfire technique they will wish to
rerun the course using only the front
sight as a reference at the close ranges.
A variation may involve firing from
cover that does not include the barricade,
but using a popular range construct.
Variations are allowable as long
as the course is consistent and the results
may be compared at a later date.
As an example, if you run the course
with the your Glock 19, keep the course
consistent if you wish to compare
against results with the Glock 26 sub
compact at a later date. In this manner,
you will be able to choose the handgun
that serves you best.
This is a student’s results the first time
on the range with a full power .38
Special load in a snubnose .38. Not bad
at all.
Scoring and Conclusions
The highest score is 500 with fifty in
the X-ring. If you are able to achieve
this standard with a full size service
pistol, some thought should be put
into the concealed carry handgun. It is
not unusual for a skilled shooter to be
able to fire the same score with a Colt
1911 and a Colt Commander or a Glock
17 and a Glock 19. But when we move
to the sub compacts, such as the Colt
Defender or the Glock 26, the score inevitably
falls.
If you are running at about seventy
five percent with the sub compacts,
you are still in good shape. But consider
the drop in score when you deploy a
Kel Tec PF 9 or the Glock Model 27 in
.40 caliber. Can you really control them
well in all situations? How about that
Ultra Light .38? Are you well armed or
do you have a false sense of security?
This is a simple drill that does not
lie and tells a lot about the shooter’s
ability. H
R K Campbell is an author with over
40 years shooting experience and
more than 30 years police and security
experience. He is the author of three
books and hundreds of magazine
articles. He devotes his time to learning
more about personal defense and the
human situation.
MAY/JUNE 2011 n CONCEALED CARRY MAGAZINE n USCONCEALEDCARRY.COM
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