Dirty Doug’s Earn A Yard Drill
I needed a drill to teach myself accuracy and speed, with strict accountability. It started as Frank Garcia’s Dot Drill and I use that target from pistol-training.com - http://pistol-training.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/6x2in-circles.pdf but any 2”dot will do.
The Dot Drill is intended to be 6 shots in or on the dot at 7 yards in 5 seconds from the draw, shot clean 6 times in a row on the same page. That is considered by Ben Stoeger to be Grand Master level skill. I’ve shot that drill hundreds (maybe thousands) of times and have been millimeters away dozens of times, but never perfect.
Dot Drill Practice 6 shots @ 7 yds in <5 seconds. So close, perfect doubles actually do happen with regularity
A common training method is to try it at 3 or 5 yards and work up. As I used this drill to sharpen my skills it evolved into what I trained myself with and now what I teach. By request, my students asked for the drill.
The plus side of my drill is that it is scalable. I can take someone who has never held a firearm before and put the target a foot off the muzzle (if needed) or I can put it out at 15 yards for experts. I have 2 levels, Slow Fire and Rapid Fire.
NRA Instructor Mike Tiefer showing how it is done
Dirty Doug’s Earn A Yard Drill
Level 1- Slow Fire
In Slow Fire, shooters work on fundamentals, especially trigger pull and grip, there is no time limit (though we try to keep in mind that rapid application is the ultimate goal). The idea is, if you cannot do it slow, you will not do it quickly. The start distance is 3 yards, but for shooters who are seriously struggling in dry fire (which we always do before shooting bullets) I would not hesitate to bring it closer. With 6 shots per dot, shooters fire single shots from low ready, any shot not in or on the dot needs to be scrutinized. Questions to answer are;
Did you wobble your sight picture down or was it something else?
If you wobbled, the fire your next shot.
Don’t get negative, let it go.
Did you feel a pre-ignition push/flinch/jump/startle?
This will go away with experience, fire your next shot.
Don’t get negative, let it go.
What did the sight picture look like?
Do you need to adjust where you are holding your sight picture?
If none of the above, where did the shot go?
High/low?
Refer to my grip notes.
Did it go left or right?
Refer to my trigger control notes.
Was it a bit of both?
Likely grip but it could be a compound error involving both grip and trigger.
How far out did it go?
Gross errors (far out) need serious introspection.
Minor errors (barely out) should be noted but not obsessed over.
Once the shooter can get all shots in or on the dot, they “Earn A Yard”. If it was a one hole group go to 5 yards. Keep working out to 7 yards or 4 pages (144 shots). Once shooters can shoot it clean at 7 yards, go to level 2.
*** Advanced application is to keep earning yards out to 15 yards or add in drawing from the holster.
NRA Instructor Marlyn Parelius breaking in a brand new G48
Level 2- Rapid fire
For rapid fire, the goal is to do everything from Level 1 but adding in a new thing, to get the gun to “return” so that follow up shots can be made quickly. Getting the gun to return is a function of improving the shooter’s connection to the gun combined with improving the shooter’s connection to the Earth.
With 6 shots per dot, from low ready, fire at a pace of around .2 or .25 splits. The start distance is 3 yards, but I would not hesitate to bring it closer until the shooter can shoot it clean.
Once the shooter can get all shots in or on the dot, they “Earn A Yard”. 7 yards clean is the goal.
*** Advanced application is working from the holster and/ or going past 7 yards
Senior Instructor/ Mentor- Bill "The Godfather" Long Went to Level 2 first try.
"The Godfather" also had me start issuing certificates for those who make it to Level 2, of course, he earned the first one.
Dirty Doug’s Earn A Yard Drill
