I often shoot pistols. Normally, I run a series of 5-circle drills, CSAT standards, USMC and FBI qualification courses. They keep me up to speed, but after years of shooting the same thing, I have been looking to step out of my comfort zone.
Larry Vickers is well known to most shooters. A former tier 1 operator in Army Special Forces, Larry is a respected shooter, instructor and gunsmith. One night on YouTube, I came across his “The Test” drill.
The drill is shot on a B-8 target, at ten yards. Ten rounds are fired from the ready in 10 seconds. The goal is to have all ten rounds hit the black. (there are a few other variations, and noted instructor Ken Hackathorn runs the drill with a passing score of 90). Sounds simple- but like most things, it ain’t so easy.
It looked like a challenge so I headed to the range with my Glock 19 and gave it a shot.
During the first few attempts, my hits were fairly good, however, my times ran 1-2 seconds over. Scoring 90 wasn’t an issue, mostly I shot in the 95-96 range. Keeping all ten rounds in the black proved a little more challenging, often landing 9 in and one just out.
On my last trip to the range, I finally cleaned it on my fourth attempt.
I used one target (above) for all my runs. I dropped rounds on the first two relays due to an ammunition related malfunction, on the third I only loaded 8 rounds, and passed on my fourth try in 9.77 seconds.
I was using this Hornady steel match ammo in my Glock. It doesn’t allow the last round to feed out of any of the five magazines I tried it in. I would stay away from it of you shoot a Glock. I guess Hornady feels the same way, the website no longer lists the 124 grain load and shows the 115 grain load as “suspended”.
I really like shooting “The Test”. It is challenging and requires a tremendous of amount of trigger control and discipline. My feeling is it encourages great habits and it will become a regular component of my pistol shooting.
You can watch Larry shoot “The Test” in the video below (the drill is explained at 2:47).
If you want to give “The Test” a try, buy some B-8 targets, 10 rounds and a timer.
You must be logged in to post a comment.