Week 314: Misdirection Draws Dry

Results may be posted until April 29th, 2019.

This is going be a dry practice drill that almost everyone can participate in regardless of range restrictions. You will need your pistol, holster, concealment, a wallet or similar object, target, and a safe direction.

At bare minimum, verify gun is unloaded, have no live ammo anywhere in the dry practice area, and keep muzzle in a safe direction. But there is more you can do to ensure safety in dry practice. Please also read Robust Dry Practice Safety Principles and Procedure following the drill description.

Designed by Gabe White
Target: Any silhouette target
Range: Shooter's choice
Rounds: 0

We are going to practice creating opportunity when facing a time deficit, then rapidly transitioning into moving, drawing, and shooting.

Complete as many cycles of the following drill as you want, until you get physically or mentally tired of it. It is fine to break the drill up over multiple sessions. Instead of doing a certain number of repetitions, just keep track of how much time you spend doing the drill.

One cycle of the drill is:

A. Start with your hands either hanging naturally at sides or in a surrender-type position. Simultaneously take one or two lateral steps and draw. Press a dry shot to either the COM or CNS of your dry fire target. No misdirection, just explosively move-draw-shoot.

B. Start with your hands in a surrender-type position. Beg and plead for your life. After a few seconds of pleading, and at a moment of your choice, explosively take one or two lateral steps and draw. Press a dry shot to either the COM or CNS of your dry fire target.

C. Start with your hands in a surrender-type position. Feign compliance by slowly reaching for your wallet (or other object you have put where you keep your wallet, if you want to use something else.) Once the wallet is in your hand and you have your hand in front of you, simultaneously throw the wallet at the target's face while taking one or two lateral steps and draw. Press a dry shot to either the COM or CNS of your dry fire target. When you throw the wallet, don't telegraph it by winding up or cocking your hand back. Throw it non-telegraphically, a lot like throwing a shot put.

D. Think of a phrase that might cause mental friction in the adversary. This can be a question, it can be something that doesn't make sense - anything to grab part of their mind for a moment. Questions and statements that are plausibly specific to the adversary can work well. A few examples: "I have $2000 in my pocket, is that enough?" "Do you want my car keys too?" "Hey I was at the game with your brother!" "How many times does the shoulder thing go up?" Once you have decided what you are going to say (canned phrases need to be figured out and practiced ahead of time, and improvisation must be practiced in FOF/scenarios with real people), start with your hands either hanging naturally at sides or in a surrender-type position, and make your statement or ask your question. Give just a very brief moment for their mind to start attaching to your words. Explosively step to the side, draw, and press a dry shot to either the COM or CNS of your dry fire target.

E. Start with your hands in a surrender-type position and acting nervous. Feign compliance by reaching for your wallet (or other object you have put where you keep your wallet, if you want to use something else.) Once the wallet is in your hand and you have your hand in front of you, fumble (drop) the wallet onto the ground, and immediately take one or two lateral steps and draw. Press a dry shot to either the COM or CNS of your dry fire target.

F. Start with your hands either hanging naturally at sides or in a surrender-type position. Look past the threat target as if there were someone behind them. Say something to that invisible person. A few examples: "Not now!" "No, don't do it!" "Officer, no!" You might also have wide eyes or shake your head. Convey that you are alarmed about something that is behind the adversary. Give just a very brief moment for their mind to begin attaching to your words or for them to look away from you. Explosively move, draw, and press a dry shot to either the COM or CNS of your dry fire target.

G. Start with an object in one of your hands (practice with both strong and support hands.) Your hands can be hanging at sides (as if car keys), in front of your torso (as if holding a drink), or at some surface (wall, table, wherever - as if manipulating some object.) Simultaneously throw the object at the target's face while taking one or two lateral steps and draw. Press a dry shot to either the COM or CNS of your dry fire target. When you throw the object, don't telegraph it by winding up or cocking your hand back. Throw it non-telegraphically from wherever your hand happens to be.


Considerations:

Be careful with the verbalization if you are practicing in a place where there may be people unaware of what you are doing who might hear the verbalization and call 911 or otherwise intervene. You can probably mitigate this simply by verbalizing fairly quietly, which goes along with the verbalization in this drill.

Two of the most important elements of this drill:

Misdirect/distract first, then move and engage. Make sure you do one, then the other, and not both at the same time.

Reduce the time and friction you have when transitioning from talking or whatever misdirection/distraction you were doing, into explosive action.


Please report: gun, holster, and concealment garment used, amount of time you devoted to the drill, and anything you noticed during the drill.


Training with firearms is an inherently dangerous activity. Be sure to follow all safety protocols when using firearms or practicing these drills. These drills are provided for information purposes only. Use at your own risk.


Robust Dry Practice Safety Principles and Procedure (the closer you follow this, the fewer opportunities you will have to ND)


Principles:

Allow no distractions – focus exclusively on the task at hand

Keep muzzle in a safe direction

Use correct trigger finger discipline

Verify no live ammo in gun, on person, or in the dry practice area

Use dedicated dry practice targets that are put away until you consciously choose to begin dry practice, and taken down when you consciously end dry practice

Use dedicated dry practice magazines and dummy rounds/inert training cartridges that stay in the dry practice area (if you use any magazine or cartridges)


Procedure:

Unload gun in a location other than the dry practice area

Leave live ammo, and magazines with live ammo, completely outside the dry practice area

Enter the dry practice area

Verify gun is unloaded, that any magazines do not contain live ammo, and that any cartridges present are inert/dummy cartridges

Consciously choose to begin dry practice

Put up dry practice targets

Do your dry practice

Take down dry practice targets and put them away

Consciously choose to end dry practice

Exit the dry practice area and do something unrelated for a few minutes

Return gun to location and condition of your choosing