Skills and Drills:For the Practical Pistol Shooter

Foreword

From the perspective of the apprentice…

Having served in the military, and after a couple of years of being a law enforcement officer, I thought I was a pretty good shooter, but little did I know.

Wanting to improve as a shooter, I had several long conversations with my office’s Principal Firearms Instructor (PFI), we developed a plan to first build a foundation by learning the fundamentals of marksmanship, as they relate to precision pistol shooting, and then be able to execute those fundamentals under pressure on demand. I soon found myself competing in bullseye, also known as conventional pistol, and Olympic pistol events such as Air Pistol and Free Pistol.

Competitive shooting is a means to challenge myself and test my skills. However, I was not prepared for the results of my first United States Practical Shooting Association (USPSA) competitions. I simply could not understand how I could be, in my mind, such a good shooter, and then be in the bottom half of the results of a local match, and then two months later only obtain a D classification as a result of my performance in a classifier match. It was confusing and confounding. Human nature has it that one would rather do something they are good at than not, so I promptly went back to shooting precision pistol. I was convinced that I would be better at USPSA if my fundamentals improved.

A year later, I was a much better precision pistol shooter, and assumed I would be a much better USPSA shooter as well. Assured the performance would be better, I asked a friend to video the match. My shooting felt smooth and was more accurate than most other competitors. Based on previous training, I was taught that slow is smooth, and smooth is fast; therefore, that smooth feeling obviously meant my times would be fast. I couldn’t wait to see myself on video. However, reality kicked me in the face when the results posted and I was in the bottom half of the results again. At this point, I was seriously confused. I couldn’t understand how it could be possible for me to be any faster or more accurate. So, I watched the video; expecting to see greatness, what I saw was embarrassing. I wish I could go back in time and erase from my brain what I saw in that video. I may have been accurate, but it would have been very difficult to be any slower.

Following another less than stellar performance, it was back to shooting precision pistol, because honestly, I was too embarrassed to shoot USPSA. I was embarrassed to be a law enforcement officer and not be able to perform at the level I expected of myself. Again, I was convinced that in order to improve, my focus had to be on the fundamentals of marksmanship.

After another year of focused training and shooting precision pistol competitions, I returned to the National Pistol Championships in Camp Perry, Ohio, with the same PFI that introduced me to competitive pistol shooting. During the previous several years, we trained and competed together; he shared his knowledge, guided me, and prepared me for precision pistol competition. While he was a world class precision pistol shooter, and had won numerous national titles and set numerous national records, I was still seeking what I considered to be a notable shooting accomplishment. In 2012, I accomplished the goal of winning the American Indian Trophy, awarded to the highest scoring police service pistol team. I am honored to have earned the opportunity to compete as a member of the team and win with my friend, Keith. This was the last time Keith and I shot together in competition.

In January 2013, I made the decision to face my demons head on, and focus my training on practical shooting. Professionally, I was no longer comfortable with my skill level, and personally, I am not willing to settle. Having not competed in a USPSA competition since April 2011, I sent Ben Stoeger an email providing my background and experience, and expressed an interest in taking a class with him. Ben responded to my email within 24 hours. We exchanged emails and discussed my goals and what I hoped to get out of taking a course with him. I respected Ben as a competitor, and appreciated his open and honest dialogue as he thoroughly documented his journey to becoming a multiple time National Champion. To my knowledge, there are no other top shooters that have documented their journey and exposed themselves to the world the way Ben has, and he has been doing it since 2008.

Even as abrasively honest as Ben can be at times, and while he may be a little rough around the edges, which I believe is purely for entertainment, he truly loves the art of shooting and competition. His recent contributions to the development of the sport of competitive shooting are second to none. Ben could easily hide in the shadows and focus only on his own training and performance, but fortunately for the rest of us, he continues to provide us with the knowledge and resources for us to improve as shooters.

I began my journey as a self-proclaimed apprentice of the Ben Stoeger philosophy of practical pistol training in January 2013 after taking a class with him. I have dedicated myself to his dry-fire program and I have had the luxury to train and shoot with Ben multiple times throughout the season. Since that class in January when he watched me shoot for the first time, and then laughed while asking if I was serious about my goals. I have gone from finishing in the bottom half of the results at my local match to finishing third overall, I’ve won my class in major matches, I finished the 2013 season with a third place finish in C class at the USPSA Production National Championships and I earned a bump to B class for match performance. I realize that these accomplishments are not impressive, but they are the result of hard work and dedication. And I also realize that it will take a lot more hard work and dedication to continue to accomplish my goals.

The most important thing that I have learned from Ben over the past year is how to train properly. If you are in search of a magic technique or drill, don’t look here. If you think you are only one trick away from greatness, don’t look here. If you are a student of practical shooting and you are willing to work hard and dedicate yourself to improving as a shooter, look no further.

Someone once told me that if you want to be a champion, emulate the champions. In this book, Ben shares his training methods and provides you with the knowledge to continuously diagnose your own shooting, develop an individualized training plan, and tailor that training plan to meet your specific needs as you continue to improve as a shooter. Skills and Drills for the Practical Pistol Shooter is the proper way to train.

Brandon Edwards

Background

I am a shooter. For my entire adult life I have spent much of my recreational time shooting. Most of my shooting is training for United States Practical Shooting Association (USPSA) matches. Over the years, I have found myself spending less and less time on the range during each training session. Until recently, I had not thought much of this phenomenon. My initial thought was that I was getting lazy. As it turns out, that isn’t the case.

One of my friends (Matt Hopkins) has spent some time on the range practicing with me. He calls my practice methods Controlled Chaos. Hopkins, quite astutely, pointed out that practicing is a skill all its own, and it is something that people learn and refine over time. This is something that I overlooked until he pointed it out to me, and I realize now that he is right.

Learning how to practice properly is one of the most important things a shooter can do to improve their performance. I have taken a close look at my own practice methods. I spend less time on the range and shoot far fewer rounds than almost every single super squadder that I compete against. Like most regular people, I simply don’t have access to 50,000 rounds a year of practice ammunition. The vast majority of shooters have to make do with maybe 10,000 rounds of ammo a year. That is just the reality of the situation.

I think it is fair to say that if you take someone with some talent and motivation and park them on a shooting range with a bottomless bucket of ammo for eight hours a day, they will eventually figure things out. That probably isn’t an option for you. You probably aren’t a professional shooter, and you most likely have to pay for your ammo; therefore, you need to be calculated in how you approach your training.

I decided to write this book and share the methods that have made me successful because of this reality. If you are a shooter that has limited resources and you want to get better, I believe this book is the solution. There aren’t any gimmicks, gadgets, or magic pills in this book. What I have included in this book is basically every practice method, important drill, and training tip that has contributed to my success. Hopefully, you will find these methods, drills, and tips to be logical, natural, and helpful.

The ideas in here are not mine, not all of them anyway. A lot of this material builds on the training materials developed by other shooters. High level guys like Brian Enos, Saul Kirsch, Mike Plaxco, and Rob Leatham have all contributed in some way to my own practice regime. This book builds on the knowledge that came before it, and they deserve credit.

Like I pointed out before, this isn’t some snake oil sale. If you want to compete at the highest level of our sport, you are going to need to invest a small fortune in ammunition, the balance of your free time, and a good dose of your soul. If you are willing to go at it that hard, anything is possible. Although, even if you aren’t chasing a national title, I truly believe you can still benefit from this book. You could maybe move up a class or two in USPSA. You could start beating that A class guy at your local club that you can’t seem to touch. You could become competitive at your section match. If you are willing to put in the effort, then I am willing to show you how.

There is one important disclaimer that I want to put forward early on. This information was all developed for Production guns. I believe that the drills and the information will work for any division, but just understand where it is coming from. Any iron sighted shooter should get a lot out of this. If you use an Open gun, I have included information to assist you, but understand that the goal times are going to be a bit too slow.

My Journey

I think it would be beneficial for me to lay out my approach to training; past, present, and future, to help people understand my journey and the mentality that has led to the creation of this book. I want you to have as much information as possible to assist you in formulating your own plan. I don’t generally like to talk about my own training. Despite my Internet persona, I am not terribly self-absorbed. Pay special attention to concepts such as goal setting, analysis, and hard work; you will find that these are common themes throughout the book.

Getting Classified

I got started in practical shooting in 2005. I saw competitive shooting on the Internet and I knew it was for me. I was aware the International Defense Pistol Association (IDPA) and USPSA were both practical shooting organizations. At the time, it seemed like IDPA lined up better with what I wanted to do. I wanted to be able to shoot my Beretta 92F, and I didn’t want to have to purchase a lot of extra gear. I saw some match footage online and it seemed to me that USPSA was a hosefest and IDPA would be a more balanced test of shooting. (For the record, I no longer think this way, it was just what I thought before I knew what I know now.)

Because it was winter, and I lived in Wisconsin, I knew I had a couple of months to practice before the start of the shooting season. I had a handful of magazines and a pistol that I could shoot a respectable group with, and that was it. I purchased a holster, some mag pouches and a timer, and started doing dry-fire. At that point in my life, I had only fired about a thousand rounds of ammo, and I had never really shot fast, but I was anxious to do it.

I did a fair bit of research and determined what was needed to become an IDPA Master. It turned out the first IDPA match of the year was a classifier match, so I started training for it. For me, it was a simple matter of dissecting the IDPA Classifier match. If you don’t know, IDPA uses a classifier that is a three stage, 13 string, 90 round event. The required scores for the respective classifications are all published on the IDPA website (www.IDPA.com). With a little bit of googlefu, I determined how fast I needed to draw, how fast my splits needed to be at any given distance, and how many points I could drop. It was relatively easy to get a really good idea of what was needed to obtain a Master classification.

Since I knew I would be eventually competing in USPSA as well, I also took a look at the classification system for that sport too. It is vastly more complex than IDPA, but at the same time there are some patterns in it. If you sample the USPSA Classification System you will see that many of the classifiers are set at 7 or 10 yards. You will see they tend to be straight forward setups. Although things have changed since 2005, I still think it is fair to say that the USPSA El Presidente classifier is reflective of the sorts of skills you need to master to be competitive in USPSA. Interestingly, a version of the El Presidente is also included in the IDPA Classifier.

I liked the essence of the classification system for both sports, and I wanted to figure out how to compete at the highest level of each sport. I didn’t see the point to being anything other than an IDPA Master (at that time, Master was the highest IDPA classification; Distinguished Master did not exist), and if I was going to shoot USPSA, I didn’t see any reason to be anything other than a USPSA Grand Master (GM).

Now, I realize in retrospect how unusual that sort of thinking was and still is today. I meet a lot of shooters, and have a lot of students that just want to move up a class or two. I understand that I am a little bit nuts, but I just figured that if I practiced properly, I would obtain the highest classifications in each sport. However, I didn’t just want to get a GM card; I wanted to be a GM. There is definitely a difference between simply obtaining a GM classification and being a GM capable of winning a major match. My ultimate goal was not to simply obtain a classification; my goal was and still is to win.

After studying the classification systems for each sport, I dug a little deeper. On various Internet forums and in books I found that there were certain levels of skill that were widely considered to be good. It seemed to me that about a one second draw at seven yards was the standard. I learned about the Bill Drill. I learned about lingo like transitions and splits. I learned approximately how fast people needed to be at respective distances to be considered fast. I also got an idea of how accurate someone needed to be, to be considered accurate. This research was the beginning of what I refer to as the Standard Practice Setup in the Core USPSA Skills section of this book. I didn’t invent any of those drills. That information was out there, and it was easy for me to figure out the goal times at 7 or 10 yards. Many people have posted that information online and for the most part I found it credible. Getting appropriate goal times for drills shot at farther distances is extremely challenging, even to this day.

For example, the following times are what I came up with for my Standard Practice Setup found in the Core USPSA Skills section:

Distance: 7 yards

1 second draw

2 second Bill Drill

2 second Blake Drill

0.2 second splits

0.2 second target transitions (with one yard between each target)

Distance: 10 yards

5 second El Presidente

I want to make it clear that my Standard Practice Setup was the exact plan that I used for my initial training program. I did not use any intermediate goal times. I focused on dry-fire to help me achieve these goal times. To reach my goals, I developed a simple dry-fire plan, but simple does not mean it was easy. I did endless hours of dedicated dry-fire practice before going to the range to fire a single shot. I exhaustively researched shooting techniques from every available resource to make sure I was doing things as best I could.

As soon as the weather got warmer, I started my live-fire training. Because of dry-fire, I was able to consistently execute a one second draw the first day. The two second Bill Drill took longer. I chased that time over the course of a few practice sessions before finally being able to do it consistently.

Again, I want to point out that at no time did it enter into my mind that any skill level other than a two second Bill Drill at seven yards was an option. I thought of this strictly as pass/fail. If I got all As in two seconds or less, I passed; if not, I failed. I shot a few strings that were literally completely out of control. Conventional instruction would have been that I should slow down and get my hits. I didn’t think in those terms. In my mind, slowing down was detrimental to my progression. After a lot of hard work, I was nailing the Bill Drill in under two seconds with all As. So, I kept working. I worked at the Blake Drill. I worked at the El Presidente. While still being safe, I shot at speeds where I felt just a little bit out of control on each of these drills. After a few weeks of biweekly live-fire, I focused on my first match, the IDPA Classifier.

I shot the IDPA Classifier in practice a couple of times, and I made sure to familiarize myself with all the strings. I was able to shoot Master scores consistently in practice, so I figured that I should be able to do that in a match situation. I continued to work the IDPA Classifier in dry-fire to make