Bill Drill times ?

[Chris Rhines]

D1 = Draw and fire 1 shot
D6 = Draw and fire 6 shots
D1R2 = Draw and fire 1 shot, reload and fire 2 additional shots
D3R3R3 = Draw and fire 3 shots, reload and fire 3 additional shots, reload again and fire 3 final shots

Funny, I use exactly the same shorthand in my log.

Like Leeroy said, a classic Bill Drill is shot at 7 yards, from a surrender start, draw and fire 6 rounds into a USPSA target. Technically you have to get all six hits in the A-zone for it to count.

Depending on how you approach the Bill Drill, you can use it to practice getting a bunch of different skills. I like to start out by shooting a few (5-10) Bill Drills with the par timer set to 2.2 seconds (or whatever time you *know* you can get six solid Alphas in,) with my focus on getting a perfect rock-solid grip from the drawstroke. The six fairly quick shots help ensure that my awesome grip won't break down under recoil. Next, I shoot a few Bill Drills literally as fast as I can pull the trigger, not worrying about hits overmuch, in order to work on my trigger speed. Finally, I'll set the par timer to a time that I can just barely stretch to meet (for me, around 1.9 seconds) and focus on watching the front sight lift on all six shots.

I also often shoot Bill Drills at 15 and 25 yards. I find that I tend to slow down too much for distant targets. Bill Drills against fairly strict time limits are a good way to fix this tendency.

A good Bill Drill time is 2.0 seconds at 7 yards, from an unconcealed OWB holster. Top shooters should be hitting it in around 1.6-1.7 seconds.

[Sal Picante]

Another good drill that would help with improving the Bill Drill is the Garcia dot drill.

I disagree... part of the charm of the bill drill is that it gets you shooting faster and helping you notice the bump (FS) bouncing out there...

With the Garcia drill, you really have to be focused HARD on the FS.

I'd almost put it in reverse - the Bill Drill will help a person get better at the Garcia drill.

[ToddG]

I'd almost put it in reverse - the Bill Drill will help a person get better at the Garcia drill.

I think it depends on the skill of the shooter in question. If someone has trouble even getting on his sights in a Bill, the Garcia can help to teach him control. If someone has his "Bill skills" pretty well dialed in then Garcia adds a much greater level of refinement.

Also, if the reported scoring for Garcia is correct (edge hits don't count) then I've been scoring it wrong (too generously) all this time.

[Mr_White]

I've only heard details about the Frank Garcia Dot Drill from Ben Stoeger, and he clearly specifies that if you break the line, the shot counts as a hit as per the common custom.

[ToddG]

I've only heard details about the Frank Garcia Dot Drill from Ben Stoeger, and he clearly specifies that if you break the line, the shot counts as a hit as per the common custom.

Far be it for me to disagree with anything Stoeger says...

[Mr_White]

Far be it for me to disagree with anything Stoeger says...

Lol.

I only meant that Ben was my source for the drill, not Frank Garcia. But I would think Ben would know the right way to run it.

[Mr_White]

I note that an 8" circle at 25 yards is pretty close in scale to a 2" circle at 7 yards. I like Bill Drills at 7 yards, but also at 25 yards and I like the FG Dot Drill at 7 yards too. I'm not sure I have a sense of which type of drill helps with the other, but I really like how Bills at 25 yards and the FG Dots at 7 yards force me to tighten way up. The FG Dots are a standout to also force me to be on the sights. With the target that close it's really easy for me to get sucked into target focusing when I really need the precision of sight focused shooting. I like all those drills but I maybe lean a bit toward the FG dots for that reason.

[GJM]

Ref the Garcia dot drill, the dots they use at Universal seem a tad bigger than 2 inches, and are made with black paint on a cardboard target.

Each time I have been to Universal, the morning has started with the dot drill. I think it emphasizes equal amounts front sight, trigger control, grip and patience. It certainly isn't intended as an accuracy drill, like dot torture, but accuracy/speed.

[ToddG]

I only meant that Ben was my source for the drill, not Frank Garcia. But I would think Ben would know the right way to run it.

Understood and agree.

[jetfire]

I've started shooting a lot more Bill Drills at 20+ yards. Talk about nerve wracking.