Thanks to BCM and Haley Strategic Partners, RECOIL Issue 18 features a very special target poster. Designed by Haley Strategic, you can use it for a wide variety of drills, for zeroing, to test standards, and with handgun or rifle. Haley Strategic graciously put together a fantastic video explaining the various ways that you can use the target. Here it is — watch it a couple times if you can, as Travis crams a tremendous amount of valuable information into 13 minutes:
Watch as a bug comes out of the hole at 9:52. Travis almost gets it.
You can also download the target as a PDF in all its actual-size gigantic glory — you'll want to print it out in full size for the following drills.
Here are some of the drills and exercises that Travis recommends you try with the target. Take some time to understand the rationale behind them, and feel free to modify or tweak them for your own purposes. Push yourself both to improve and to understand your own capabilities — how fast you can shoot in different circumstances, and what impact it has on your accuracy.
HANDGUN
Acclimation Drill: This drill is designed to help acclimate you to recoil. At close range, extend your handgun and align your sights on the center target. Close your eyes and fire 5 shots. You want to see a nice linear group. If not, repeat until you see improvement. Pay particular attention to your hands, arms, and wrist during recoil, and don't be too tense.
Rhythm Drill: With this drill, shoot 5 shot strings at increasing tempo on the beat in order to make that connection between your brain and your body. Use the four big dots surrounding the center target. Count out loud and press the trigger on each beat, in 5 shot strings. On the top left target, count slowly: “One thousand one, one thousand two, one thousand three, one thousand four, one thousand five.” Make sure that you're firing on command exactly on the beat; repeat if you're not. On the top right target, count a little more quickly: “One and two and three and four and five.” On the bottom left target, increase the tempo again: “One, two, three, four, five.” On the final bottom right target, shoot the fastest string: “One two three four five.” With the fastest string, focus in particular on maintaining contact between the trigger and your finger while resetting the trigger. If you find yourself lifting off the trigger and slapping it, repeat the string.
One Inch Dot Drills: Use the array of one inch dots at the top of the target to do a variety of drills. Mix them up to your taste. You can work on precision by placing several shots in a dot as accurately as possible, working your way across the row of dots. You can work more on speed, shooting across a row as quickly as you can, while still getting your hits.
CET (Combat Effectiveness Test) Drill: Use the large center target for this drill.
Do 5 sets at each distance if you can.
RIFLE
Zeroing: You can use the center target to zero your rifle, and shoot from various distances to check your trajectory. In the video, Travis shows his impacts from 50, 100, and 200 yards, and how your zero can keep your hits within an effective zone at those distances. The bottom of the target has additional information about how to zero your rifle, adjust iron sights and some common optics, and typical hold overs for various distances.
Zero Dot Drills: Using the four big dots, try some of these drills to work on your positional shooting and balancing speed with precision. Set a 90 second par time, and from standing drop to kneeling or prone and fire 5 rounds. Adjust the par time to increase the challenge, perhaps 60 or 30 seconds. Check your groups, and you may note that certain positions tend to push your hits in one direction or another.
One Inch Dot Drills: At 50 yards, shoot one round at each one inch dot, and see how long it takes you to shoot them all. This is a good test of your ability to maintain focus. A one inch dot at 50 yards is not easy to see, so you may need to move in closer.
CET Drill: Use the large center target for this drill.
If your ammo budget allows, shoot 5 sets of 5 rounds at each distance. Note that you can adjust the par time to match your skill level. Stretch it out to 75 or 100 yards too.
You can apply these same types of drills and exercises to other targets, as well as use the target from Issue 18 for other purposes as well. But give these exercises a try; they are very well thought out. Don't waste your time and money at the range — train smart and as often as you can.
For complete BCM rifles, uppers, and other gear as shown in the video, check out Bravo Company USA.
And to train with Haley Strategic, check out their training schedule.
To see more videos from BCM.
To see more videos from Haley Strategic Partners.
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