Malfunction Clearing
Outside of a dirty gun, magazines are the main cause of malfunctions, which are more than just annoying. In a dire situation, they’re life-threatening.
- To practice clearing malfunctions, drop the magazine out.
- Rack the slide to empty the chamber.
- Then re-insert a new mag and chamber a new round.
Don’t use live ammo in a malfunction cleaning drill. Instead, invest in some snap caps. These inert tools feel like live ammo, but don’t contain a bullet or powder. This makes them safe for running many different types of drills — we’ll be talking about them more later.
2. Dry Fire
Dry firing involves aiming your unloaded gun and pulling the trigger without any ammunition in it. Since you don’t need to spend money on live ammo, dry firing is one of the best ways to cheaply improve your shooting habits.
Practicing dry firing helps improve your accuracy and train out any flinching. Just rack the gun without any ammo in it to reset the trigger. Then, aim at a point at the wall (or a designated target) and shoot. Focus on consistent trigger manipulation (remember to press through the trigger). With revolvers or rimfire guns, use snap caps to prevent firing pin damage.
You can also use snap caps when training with semi-auto guns. Try shooting one with a snap cap in it. You’ll notice immediately if you’re flinching to anticipate recoil.
3. Failure to Stop (Mozambique Drill)
This drill focuses on close-range engagements. According to legendary firearms theorist and instructor Jeff Cooper, the Failure to Stop originated when Rhodesian soldier of fortune Mike Rousseau incapacitated an enemy combatant during the Mozambique Civil War (hence its name). It got the moniker “Failure to Stop” because if two to the chest doesn’t stop your attacker, the final shot to the head will. Cooper turned Rousseau’s experience into a teachable moment.
The Failure to Stop is designed to quickly and efficiently incapacitate a target at close range. Here’s how to practice it:
- Use a silhouette target (more on them later).
- Fire two shots into the silhouette’s center mass.
- Then fire one into its head.
- Use a shot timer to improve your speed.
To learn more about the Mozambique Drill, check out competitive shooter Bob Vogel in this video.
4. Box Drill
The Box Drill is similar to the Failure to Stop, but with more complexity. Instead of just shooting at a single target, you’ll add a second one. This drill will not only improve your shot speed, but also the speed at which you engage multiple targets. Here’s how it works:
- Set up two silhouette targets.
- Fire two shots into the first silhouette’s center mass.
- Engage the second target and fire two shots into its center mass.
- Re-engage the first target and fire once into its head.
- Re-acquire the second silhouette, and fire a sixth shot into its head.
- Use a shot timer to improve your speed.
5. Bill Drill
The Bill Drill involves drawing and engaging a target at close range. It focuses on drawing speed, and once you try it out, you’ll know why. As you practice the Bill Drill, you’ll find that drawing takes up the most time of the “draw-aim-shoot” action. As a result, practicing a quick draw can mean the difference between life and death.
Here’s how to practice the Bill Drill:
- Stand either 3, 5, or 7 yards from your target.
- Next, draw from a holster, aim at the target, and fire 6 shots.
- Start slow for a tight, controlled group.
- Speed up as you get better.
While the main variable in this drill is the draw, it practices other fundamentals like presentation, sight acquisition, trigger control, and recoil management.
Need to see the Bill Drill in action? Team Glock captain Shane Coley breaks it down here.
6. Shoot Two – Load Two Drill
This drill is pretty simple, but effective. If your gun is empty, it’s nothing more than a paperweight. So it’s important to practice fast and efficient reloading.
Here’s how to perform the Shoot Two – Load Two drill:
- Shoot two rounds.
- Change mags.
- Shoot another two rounds.
- Repeat.
That’s it!
The Shoot Two – Load Two drill makes your reloads nice and smooth. Remember the old Navy SEAL axiom: “slow is smooth, smooth is fast.” Practice this drill as slowly as necessary in order to achieve perfect, smooth technique. As you repeat this movement, you’ll be able to perform it faster and faster.
7. El Presidente Drill
Here’s another drill that comes to us courtesy of Jeff Cooper. He developed the drill when training security for a South American president — but it can work for the average citizen, too. This helps you practice many different aspects of shooting, including movement, taking multiple shots, engaging multiple targets, and reloading.
Here’s how to practice El Presidente:
- Stand with your back to three targets, gun holstered, hands in the surrender position.
- Then turn around, draw, and shoot each target twice (a “controlled pair”).
- Reload.
- Shoot each of the targets again with a controlled pair.
You can run the drill from 7 or 10 yards. To see how the pros run El Presidente, check out Sig Sauer Academy instructor Justin Christopher’s breakdown here.
8. Shooting and Moving Multidirectional Live Fire Drill
These drills incorporate both shooting and moving in multiple directions. It’s the kind of drilling that soldiers and some LEOs practice. These drills are designed to help advanced shooters synthesize many different skill sets and simulate a real gunfight.
This is a big step up from our previous drills, and you won’t be able to run them at home or your local shooting range. Instead, you’ll need a specialized range — one where you can shoot in any direction. You usually find these at high-end shooting schools like the Sig Sauer Academy.
To get an idea of what we’re talking about, check out this video of Keanu Reeves training for the John Wick movies.
Dot Torture Drill
Some drills work on and evaluate specific skills, and others like the Dot Torture cover a host of skills. This is one of the reasons the Dot Torture Drill is not just one of my favorite drills to run, but many use it even as a warmup.
how to run the Dot Torture Drill.
You’ll need 50 rounds of ammo, and the target you printed out.
You can start out at 3 yards, and work your way back as you become more technically proficient. There is no time limit, but adding a time standard adds a layer of difficulty.
Your hit zones are 10 different, 2″ circles on the target. For each circle, you’re tasked with a different skill and different number of rounds.
The drill progresses through the 10 circles, each time challenging you in a different way.
This can be a tough drill to run clean, but once you do, consider increasing distance, or reducing the par time slightly. Adjusting either one will change the drill in a unique way.
