Half Dollar - 50 round drill for 8" steel

I let myself run out of staples and tape nearly simultaneously, and being so near the end of my live fire season before real winter starts, I decided I would just set up some steel. While random arrays are great, I wanted a drill so I could track over time. A lot of the drills I come up with take components of other good drills and alter or combine them to suit my needs, as is the case with the Half Dollar. I wanted something to give me reps, that would push me a bit, and that I could do with a single 50 round box of ammo if needed. Many of my sessions are only 100 rounds or so and I like to have a warmup and cool down so that leaves me with 50 for those things. Being a big fan of Jody's 99 drill, I decided to take the times and strings for that but half the reps and further the distances since I would be shooting 8" steel. This is what I came up with and I really enjoyed it.

Target - 8" steel
Strings of fire -

15 yards - draw 3 to 8" steel with 2.5 second par x5 = 15 rounds/points

15 yards - draw 1 reload fire 2 to 8" steel with 5 second par x5 =15 rounds/points

20 yards - draw 3 to 8" steel with 3.5 second par x5 = 15 rounds/points

25 yards - draw 1 to 8" steel with 2 second par x5 = 5 points

Total points possible = 50

This makes a nice trackable drill you can run over time. I think the target/distances are roughly compared to the 4x6 version as far as skill level is concerned. Like the 99 drill, it is actually drilling with multiple reps as opposed to being a test used as a drill. 8" steel seems to be very common. I like shooting steel in winter because I can setup and shoot quickly without much fuckery and get out of the cold.


Elite shooter version for those who find this one too easy should half the par times.

Gun - 5" m&p 2.0
Holster - HolsterCo Stealth and universal pouch
Concealment (if any) - under a sweater

String 1 - draw 3 at 15 with 2.5 par

1. 2.41 - 3 points
2. 2.55 - 2 points (clean but 1 over time)
3. 2.48 - 1 point
4. 2.55 - 2 points (clean but 1 over time)
5. 2.48 - 2 points

Total - 10 points

String 2 - draw 1r2 at 15 with 5 par

1. 4.76 - 0 points
2. 4.69 - 3 points
3. 4.50 - 3 points (cool breakdown - 1.50 draw, 2.50 reload, .5 split - robotic!)
4. 4.35 - 2 points
5. 4.43 - 2 points

Total - 10 points

String 3 - draw 3 at 20 with 3.5 par

1. 3.05 - 2 points
2. 2.95 - 2 points
3. 2.84 - 2 points
4. 2.87 - 2 points
5. 2.67 - 2 points

Total - 10 points

String 4 - draw 1 at 25 with 2 par

1. 1.82 - 1 point
2. 1.63 - 1 point
3. 1.54 - 0 points (miss)
4. 1.54 - 1 point
5. 2.09 - 0 points (1 hit overtime, fumbled hand placement on draw, fixed it and got the hit)

Total - 3 points

Overall Total - 33 points


I really liked running this and will probably be part of my standard for winter or general steel shooting. You don't need quite the amount of consistency as in Jody's 99 drill but it still pushes you to a decent enough level for someone like me who isn't shooting as much as I want and am simply trying to keep an edge rather than working on general skill building at the moment.

Here are the best draw at 25(1.54 hit) and the worst (2.09 hit).

https://youtu.be/MzAt62GDmKA
1.54 hit on 8" at 25

https://youtu.be/4ri4M_wEegA
2.09 fumbled draw hit on 8" at 25

I like it. The standard 4x6 has an area of 24 inch, the 8" steel is just over 50 inches. By doubling the distance, it works out nicely.

S4, D1, @ 25yds, <1, is sporty.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by CCT125US

I like it. The standard 4x6 has an area of 24 inch, the 8" steel is just over 50 inches. By doubling the distance, it works out nicely.

S4, D1, @ 25yds, <1, is sporty.

---

Absolutely. I ain't no elite shooter so I'll work on the regular version for a bit