Train The World - Adapting Drills to Dry Fire Practice

If you are into training, taken training classes or follow trainers on social media, many trainers have devised drills to help with specific skills.  Some of these drills have been around for decades, while others are pretty recent to the scene.  It’s easy to replicate drills within the Mantis suite of products and get a diverse way to look at how you are doing.  And if you don’t own any Mantis products, we will also share how you can execute these real life drills in your dry practice.

The drill we will focus on here is one of my favorite drills to run in live fire because it shows competency in various skills through its courses of fire and is a low round count drill.  Let’s break down the Active Self Protection 10 Round Skill Check drill and how you can run it in your dry fire practice.

Active Self Protection 10 Round Skill Check

Target

The drill has four distinct courses of fire and is typically shot at any target that has an A zone and a two zone headbox like a USPSA or IPSC target at 5 yards.  Targets with a B8 or 8 inch circle, like an IDPA target, can also be used, albeit not what the drill was designed with.  Don’t have any of those targets?  You can download and print scaled down versions of the IDPA and IPSC targets on MantisX.com.  

The targets are scored 5 points for a hit to the A zone or B8 chest as well as the inner head box.  Shots in the outer head box or in the C zone, which is the zone immediately outside of the A zone are counted as 3 points.  Shots in the D zone, which is the target area outside of the C zone are scored as 1 point, and anything outside of the silhouette completely is 0 points.

Course of Fire

String 1: Draw and fire 1 shot to the A zone or B8 target.  Record time and score.
String 2: Repeat string 1.  Record time and score.
String 3: Draw and fire 2 shots to the headbox.  Record time and score.
String 4: Draw and fire 6 shots to the A zone or B8 target.  Record time and score.

Strings 1 and 2 focus on the draw to first shot (DTFS) and mainly is scored based upon how fast your holster draw is.

String 3 requires a draw to a much smaller target and a follow up shot reinforcing the need for recoil management.

String 4 is better known as a “Bill Drill” and requires multiple quick follow up shots from the draw to a larger target and emphasizes even more on the need for recoil management.

Scoring

1. Add up total points from each string. (50 points are possible)
2. Add total time on all four strings.
3. Divide total points by total time.
4. Multiply score by 12.5 to normalize to a 100 point system.

Scoring Standards As Defined By Active Self Protection

Beginner (learning pistol craft): 25-49.9 
Intermediate (competent CCW carrier): 50-74.99
Advanced (very competent professional firearms carrier): 75-99.99
Master (highly developed skill set): 100+

The Draw To First Shot

All strings of this drill require a solid draw to first shot, or even better - draw to first hit.  With a MantisX unit or a TitanX it’s very easy to capture and analyze the draw using Holster Draw Analysis.  It breaks down the draw into five phases and helps you see where inefficiencies lie.  

If you don’t have a Mantis device, you can still get a good idea of your draw to first shot time by using any number of free shot timer apps.  Just get one that allows for a random start and a set end par time.  Start the draw with the start beep, and be honest with yourself regarding whether you pressed the trigger within the par time or before the 2nd beep.  I’d highly recommend videoing yourself to look for any inefficiencies in terms of unnecessary movement.

Unless you are using a TitanX or a laser cartridge in your own pistol, you will also need to be honest with yourself whether you made the hit or not.  This is done by understanding what your sights or red dot told you.  Where did your front sight or your dot move from with the trigger press.  Pairing a TitanX or laser cartridge with a Laser Academy target will visibly show the hit, or even better, use Laser Academy with the Holster Draw drill or the lite integration of Laser Academy in the MantisX app when running the Holster Draw Analysis drill with a Laser Academy target to know exactly where the shot went and have it plotted on the target in the app.

Practicing Multiple Shots

Strings 3 and 4 both require multiple shots after the draw, which may seem impossible if you are using your own pistol without a trigger resetting device or a double action trigger but it’s not!  Many competitive shooters have been hammering a “squishy” trigger for years practicing multiple shots.  What is important to understand is that it’s up to you to tell how well your sights remained on target when pressing the trigger without the click.  As mentioned before, being honest with yourself and what your sights tell you are key to understanding if your shots are hitting the target zone.

As stated above, you can also run each string to a par time using a free app on your phone or any number of shot timers available on the market today.  Just set the par time to what you feel like would be good goals for you for each string.  Active Self Protection has videos that can explain what par times you might expect for each string depending on what percentage level you are striving for with the drill.  You can also download a drill information sheet and a score sheet for you to use in your dry fire and live fire.

Even with a MantisX unit, there will have to be some reading of your sights because it will only register one shot within the app.  You can choose which shot you want registered by fully pressing the trigger for that shot in the sequence. This video shows you a reference of how to press on the first shot versus last shot.  Sometimes choosing the first shot will give a clear picture of the draw to first hit, but choosing the final shot of the string will give you an idea how long it takes to complete all shots.  And a bonus if you choose to press fully on the final shot, you must know the wall of your trigger and ensure you don’t crash through it until the last shot, so it forces you to learn your trigger well.

With a MantisX unit you may choose to use Holster Draw Analysis, but if you choose the final shot, you will show more time in the final target segment under the Phase Times screen.  You might also consider using Shot Timer, setting the drill for one shot, Ready Position from the holster, and I’d recommend turning off Score Floor, which is going to show you the good, bad and ugly scores that you might have with going fast.  If Score Floor is on, your shots may not show because Score Floor will throw out scores below zero if it is on.

The most ideal situation to replicate drills is to have a TitanX, which will open up additional drills due to the capability of having the realistic, resetting trigger and the dynamic motion the TitanX captures.  You can run any of the multi-shot strings in Holster Draw Analysis - Multiple shot, or use Shot Timer, but set the drill settings to the respective number of shots needed for the string.  You can also choose to use the Bill Drill for the final string or Dynamic Training for the other strings and be able to analyze your efficiency of motion between shots.

How to Execute Strings With MantisX or TitanX

Drills in Test - 4 Strings of Fire:

Draw and fire 1 to the A zone (HCC - high center chest)

• Holster Draw Analysis (X10/TitanX Only) Drill Settings: Repeat = 1

Draw and fire 1 to the A zone

• Holster Draw Analysis (X10/TitanX Only) Drill Settings: Repeat = 1

Draw and fire 2 to the head box (Immediate Incapacitation)

• Holster Draw Analysis Multiple Shots (TitanX only) Drill Settings: Shot Count = 2, Repeat = 1

–OR–

• Open Training Drill Settings: Ready Position = Holster, Shot Count = 2, Repeat = 1

–OR–

• Dynamic Training (TitanX only) Drill Settings: Ready Position = Holster, Shot Count = 2, Repeat = 1

Draw and fire 6 to the A zone (Bill Drill)

• Holster Draw Analysis Multiple Shots (TitanX only) Drill Settings: Shot Count = 6, Repeat = 1

–OR–

• Open Training Drill Settings: Ready Position = Holster, Shot Count = 6, Repeat = 1

• Bill Drill under Dynamic Drills (TitanX only) Drill Settings: Ready Position = Holster, Shot Count = 6, Repeat = 1

Practice Dry, Validate Live, See the Results!

Set up a routine to dry practice the four separate strings of fire, focusing most on the draw to first hit.  Then include practice with multiple shots, however you choose to add multiple trigger presses.  Once you feel comfortable with the strings and have a good understanding of your times in dry fire, then head to the range and try the drill in live fire!  

Here’s a link to a helpful drill information sheet and a score sheet for your practice.  Share your progress!  We’d love to see your videos and photos on Facebook under MantisX Enthusiasts or MantisX Owners groups!