Shooting at the most fundamental level is a fairly straight forward proposition; the shooter must orient the muzzle to the degree necessary to achieve an acceptable hit and then pull the trigger without disrupting the orientation enough to cause a miss. As simple as that is, we all know it's not easy, but we must have a starting point.
For 30 years, I've used this simple drill as a basic diagnostic tool to help me and the student understand where deficiencies exist with regards to muzzle orientation and trigger pull.
I prefer to use half-inch dots for targets and we shoot them at 3 yards. I also like to shoot just three rounds because it helps evaluate the element of consistency. If the gun, the ammo and the shooter are performing at a consistent level, the 3 rounds will produce triangulation. I use this same drill with larger dots at greater distances to achieve a proper zero with all sighting systems. The center of the triangle is the effective "zero", or POA.
The first dot (L to R) is shot by the student.
The center dot is shot with the student holding the gun and orienting the muzzle with the sights, but the Instructor is tasked with pulling the trigger. This isolates the students input on trigger pull and confirms correct muzzle orientation/sight use.
The dot on the right is shot in a reverse role, whereby the Instructor becomes the student by holding and sighting the gun with the student tasked with pulling the trigger. This isolates the student's input on muzzle orientation and simply tasked the student with pulling the trigger correctly.
Here are a few recent examples from a LE Academy class we're conducting this week and it's always interesting what the targets reveal. It's worth noting that maximum benefit and consistency is achieved when just one Instructor runs the drill but that wasn't been the case this week.