Why do we do shooting drills? Other than for fun we do them to be better at something specific in firearms. This can be USPSA, IDPA, IPSC, or defense/tactical. In order to be better, we have to practice with our equipment. Nobody becomes better or more proficient in what they do simply by owning the equipment.  It takes 6-10 years or 10,000 hours to become great at something. So keep that in mind when you go out shooting and the guy next to you is shooting amazing groups, has great recoil management, and can handle his firearm with great ease. He/she has been practicing for longer than you know.

There are many many drills out there that can help in different ways. The best thing is to find the ones that work best for you from reputable people. You don’t want unsafe drills from Joe Bob because he said so. Most gun ranges offer different classes as well. So, if you learn better in a classroom or self-taught, make sure the information is good.

The most basic place to start is becoming comfortable with your firearm. Just getting out to the range and shooting at targets and trying to get tighter more consistent groups. Just doing this has many factors to improve on with sight picture, grip, and recoil management.  It would be a great idea to have someone more experienced with you to watch you shoot and see where you can improve and break off bad habits and develop good habits.

The next simple drill to work on is drawing your weapon. Not draw it like your French girls but unholstering your weapon and presenting it. Now this will largely be due to what your intention is with it. Shooting competitions or defense/tactical? With competitive shooting drawing your gun will be about safety and speed. Find out restrictions with the discipline you decide on competing in and doing dry fires in the setup you plan on running. If you want to work on drawing for defense purposes make sure the holster and gun you’re practicing with is the firearm you plan on running. Practicing this over and over will save you the time you might have to defend yourself.

Dry-fire and live-fire drills are where it can get confusing. There are many different drills out there to choose from and some of them are really good and some may just be snake oil. The basics you can focus on reload, malfunctions, and transitions. You can do these drills with dryfire setups and when you have the time and money practice with live fire. Good practice will be doing dry fire and live fire so you can always be practicing and becoming very proficient in your draw and presentation. 

The key takeaway from this is to stay vigilant and proficient in the equipment we own. With great power comes great responsibility.