Tactical shooting has been a topic of much debate and considerable argument. There are many different schools of thought, training methodologies, and best practices depending on your point of view. What is lacking, in all of these various approaches, is a rigorous application of training principles, more specifically, periodization. Periodization is a systematic training plan for physical performance that is broken down into large training cycles, mid sized, all the way down to daily workouts. This article will transpose this successful method from the sporting arena and show you how to use it to improve your shooting skills.
Traditionally, shooters have relied on practicing their specific shooting tests, verbatim, to increase their performance. This is not a bad method of training, and there is some merit to this idea when you reach a certain level of expertise, but for most shooters simply repeating a qualification course of fire, or a specific stage in a competition will not yield the results that periodization will. By this logic, you might increase your bench press by simply performing a 1 rep max every day. Sure, this could work for a while, but is it efficient? I think not.
Periodization is generally broken down into macrocycles, mesocycles, and microcycles. Macrocycles are the whole training period leading up to your planned event, generally several months or more. Mesocycles range from weeks to months, with microcycles being your day to day plan.
For tactical shooting performance, your goal might be a shooting competition, hunting trip, or a combat deployment. This goal will help drive what the smaller cycles look like because, ultimately, periodization is a concrete measurable training plan. For the purposes of this article, we will use a practical pistol shooting competition.
For pistol shooting one needs a high level of mastery at only a few skills. If we really break them down to the simplest components, they are as follows:
Drawing
Pointing
Aiming
Triggering
Controlling
If these are the skills we must master or increase our proficiency in, we must first determine our current skill level in them. The following are pistol shooting drills that expose our current level of skill:
Drawing: 1 Shot from the holster at 7 yards.
Goal times: 2, 1.5, 1sec
Pointing: 1 Shot from the ready at 7 yards
Goal times: 1.5, 1.0, .75sec
Aiming: 4 shots, slow fire at 25 yards offhand
Goal group size: 12in, 8in, 6in
Triggering: Bill Drill, 6 shots as fast as possible 7 yards
Goal times: 4, 3, 2sec
Controlling: 2 shots, emergency reload, 2 shots at 7 yards
Goal times: 6, 4, 3sec
To shoot these drills, you will need a shot timer or you can download a free shot timer app and save $120. Run these drills and compare your scores to the times. If you happen to be a speed demon on the trigger, but can’t hit the target, you need to work on aiming. Likewise, if you’re very good from the ready, but slow from the holster, it’s your draw that needs work. Remember, these are diagnostic tools and not part of the training plan itself.
Most training, for this type of shooting, will be done using dry fire for a variety of reasons. One, its free and two, you can practice the mechanics of good shooting without worrying about recoil. I recommend a laserlyte training round for dry fire sessions. I like it because it shows you exactly where you are hitting and it keeps you from chambering a live round because it blocks the chamber. Laserlyte does sell a computer system that helps track where you hit, but I have never used it as it seems redundant when you can see the laser strike a hanging target.
It goes without saying, that all dry fire session are done with a completely unloaded gun. Your training session should use the same exact equipment you will use in competition, holster, belt, mags, gun. Remember, these sessions will be structured like a workout.
Drawing
For drawing we will work on establishing our master grip, as high on the backstrap of the gun as possible, and drawing the pistol high enough to clear the holster and presenting the pistol to the target smoothly. Notice, I did not say quickly. Quick is a function of controlled smoothness. The drill we will work on for this will require us to start from the buzzer on your shot timer, establish your grip and present the gun on target, picking up the sights as soon as possible. This should be done with no extraneous body movement. You move the gun not your body. Below is an example of a drawing set:
1 set, 10 reps at 50% speed, no trigger pull
Pointing
These drills will work from the high ready, generally the gun will be at chest level, muzzle forward. From there, you will present the gun to the target, picking up the front sight as soon as possible, ending the presentation with no front sight wobble. Example set:
1 set 15 reps at 70% speed
An alternate drill for pointing would include transitioning between multiple targets. Here you would present the pistol, pull the trigger, ID the next target with your eyes and then drive the gun to the target.
Aiming
These drills are aimed at controlling the trigger, while staring a whole through the front sight. For accurate shots, you must disturb the pistol as little as possible throughout the pull of the trigger. For drills, we will work on tempo trigger pulls. The goal on the tempo pull is to have the shot break exactly on the last count. Example set:
1 set 5 trigger pulls 5 second squeeze.
Triggering
This is best done with actual live fire. Here we will focus on finding the reset point for the trigger. You will fire a round, and immediately reset the trigger, without lifting your finger off the trigger, taking all the slack out. This is key for fast shooting. If you lift your finger off the trigger after each shot, you cannot possibly fire quickly. Example set:
1 set 8 rounds fired without lifting off the trigger.
Controlling
This is probably one of the hardest skills to master. A quick and efficient reload is a true sign of a good shooter. For this, we must work on dropping the old mag, while locating the gun in the same position in space, every time. It does not matter whether the gun is close in or far as long as you can drop the mag and insert the new one easily. When grasping the new mag from your mag holder, insure that you keep your finger along the front of the mag as a pointer. Example set:
1 set of 20 mag drop reload 60% speed
Microcycle Design
Now that we understand where our skill level lies and what drills we will use, let’s discuss what a dry fire session might look like.
Drawing: 5×10 at 50%, 60%,70%, 80%,90% speed
Pointing: 4×8 at 70%, two sets with trigger pull, two without
Aiming: 6×5 trigger pulls at 6,5,4,3,2,1 sec tempo trigger pull
Triggering: Done at the range
Controlling: 30 mag drop reloads at 60% speed
This workout should be done using a realistic target during your dry fire practice. Take breaks when you need between sets and drills. Overall this should probably last no more than 15-20 min.
Mesocycle
I would recommend using the above microcycle to structure the other’s. However, it would get pretty boring if all you did was the same thing day in and out. So just like any good program, it will change and get harder as you progress. After a few sessions at slow controlled speeds, feel free to increase the speed for each drill, but do not spend all your time at 100% speed. Remember, we aren’t trying to do one rep maxes all day. We need to practice these movements in a controlled manner for the vast majority of our reps and then test our progress out using the shooting drills.
I feel that most shooters would see a vast improvement if they simply did one dry fire session a week, but for those that are not satisfied with that, two or three sessions will work better. I recommend reshooting the drills every month or every 6-8 sessions. If you continue to lag in certain areas, you need to increase the amount of those drills in your sessions.
Macrocycle
As you near your competition, I would transition to live fire about three weeks out. Assuming you have good grip and hand strength, you shouldn’t need much practice controlling recoil. These final sessions can mimic your match if you know the stages ahead of time. I would plan my last session about 3 days before the competition so you are mentally fresh and ready to go.
Final Thoughts
There is nothing magic in this training plan. It works on basic training principles that apply to the acquisition of all skills. The real difference here is the disciplined approach to each fundamental aspect of shooting. You need good realistic rehearsal sessions of increasing volume and intensity to improve your shooting. This is exactly how good physical fitness plans are developed. You would never think you could get in good shape by doing one or two exercises a few times a month so why do we shoot this way? Give this method a shot, keep track of your times, and try not to make your friends feel bad at the range.
