Week 323: Hackathorn Head Shot Challenge

[Mr_White]

Week 323: Hackathorn Head Shot Challenge

Results may be posted until July 1st, 2019.

Designed by: Original drill by Ken Hackathorn, challenge variation by Gabe White
Range: Shooter’s Choice
Target: Three USPSA Metric or IDPA targets
Start Position: Shooter’s Choice
Rounds Fired: 9

For this Drill of the Week, let’s try a challenge variation of the classic Hackathorn 3-Second Head Shot Standards. We’re still going to use three targets, placed at least two feet apart shoulder to shoulder.

There are three strings of fire:

1. Fire exactly one shot at the head of each target, going from left to right.
2. Fire exactly one shot at the head of each target, going from right to left.
3. Fire exactly one shot at the head of each target, starting with the middle target, then the left and right targets in any order.

A round anywhere in the whole head (A/B zones) counts as a hit. In total, you'll fire exactly nine rounds. Seven points or better, out of the nine possible, is a passing score.

Traditionally, the drill is done from 5 yards with a 3-second par time (plus a 0.3 second grace period – shots are late and count as misses AFTER 3.3 seconds.) When a shooter passes consistently from a ready position start, then they try it from the holster. When a shooter passes consistently from a holstered start, then they try it from the concealed or duty holster. Those are the standard variations. Here’s the challenge part: see how far you can push the difficulty. You can increase the distance. You could try it strong or support hand only, or using a different par time (whatever par you select, include a 0.3 second grace period at the end.) You could try shooting from a position other than standing, or from behind a barrier. Or use a combination of factors that increase the difficulty if you prefer.

Try it as many times as you want and see what you can do.

Please report the following when you post your results in this thread:

Equipment used (pistol, holster, optional concealment garment if one was used)
Start position (ready, holstered, concealed, other)
Par time
Distance
Any other variation you included (SHO, WHO, positional shooting, barrier, etc.)
Total number of points out of the possible nine
Anything you noticed

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.

[Mr_White]

I tried it four times - all were from the concealed holster, freestyle, at 25 yards - and was 50/50 for passing runs. Would like to do better but frankly I'll take it.

Gen5 G17, concealed under a polo shirt in a Keeper
3 second par (3.3 including grace period)
25 yards

First run: 6/9, fail
Second run: 5/9, fail
Third run: 8/9, pass
Fourth run: 7/9, pass

Anything you noticed: The key for me was to keep the trigger moving, make sure it broke super clean, and allow the gun to fire while it was still in small motion.

[backtrail540]

Gun - 5" m&p 2.0
Holster - JMCK 2.5 w/ dsg dark wing and muzzle pad
Concealment - t-shirt
Par - 3 seconds


I had a lot of fun with this drill today. Since setting this array up at my range is somewhat labor intensive (3 trips from the vehicle instead of 1), I decided to make the most of it and ran several variations. The very first that I ran, nearly cold after one run of the 5 yard roundup, was the Warren 3 second headshot standards. That test alone has 7 variants of this drill(5,7,10,15, sho@5,who@5,moving). I try to run this a few times annually so I took of advantage of the setup. I put down a 38(7,8,3(wtf!?!), 6,4,5,5) but had a lot of room for improvement. I dropped a few on the early strings that I shouldn't have, leaving lots of time on the board but simply didn't apply the correct fundamentals needed. For the runs that counted for this test, I did not allow the .3 grace period. Counting the .3 grace period I would have had a few extra points and I will list them below.

15 yards(same run as during the warren drill but keeping the .3 grace period) - 7/9 = 3,2,2 PASS

SHO from the holster @5 (same run as during warren drill but keeping .3 grace period) - 6/9 = 3,2,1 FAIL

WHO from ready @5 (same run as during warren drill but keeping .3 grace period) - 5/9 = 1,2,2 Fail

Doubles @5 (two per head with 3 second par plus .3 grace period) - 17/18 = 5(2.89), 6(2.96) , 6(2.92) PASS

Moving forward and back (same run as warren but with .3 grace period) - 7/9 = 3,3,1 PASS

Moving laterally @5 - 7/9 = 3,3,1 PASS

Moving laterally @10 - 5/9 = 2,1,2 FAIL

1r2 @ 5 - 3/9 = 0(bad draw and reload),2,1 FAIL


Overall I think this array is very versatile. Your imagination is the limit. Pretty much any shooting task you can think of (static, moving, freestyle, single hand, reloads, multiple shots) can be done here while adding in transitions. Once you complete the task at 5, simply add distance. It is a never ending challenge. One thing I would like to try next time is doubles @5 while moving laterally. I bet there are guys here that can go 3 or 4 per @ 5 while static. Hopefully a lot of us try this and we see some cool variations.

[fwrun]

Equipment used:

G19.5 w/ RM06 (TTI Minus Connector, otherwise stock) from a DSG Orion.
HARD rain on the range today, so I had an unzipped Gore-Tex over top.
AE9FP 147gr

Start position:
Concealed, Hands above shoulders

Par time:
3.0s

Distance:
15y

First run, 3.14 clean.
Second one, 3.15 clean.
Third run, 2.54. Dropped the second shot on the 2-1-3 transition.

Anything you noticed:

I'm having to remind myself that the rain contributed to my slow times and the uncharacteristic dropped shot on this drill. I'm still frustrated though. It's really hard to draw AIWB when your t-shirt is suctioned to your belly from the rain. I feel I have above average grip strength, and I was struggling to maintain a good grip due to the moisture. Way worse than even sweaty 100* summer days. I am now considering stippling the front and back strap, as well as the area around the slide release where the meat of my support hand meets the gun.