Failure to Stop x2: Pistol

The Double Failure to Stop Drill with a reload as written is made to push the shooter to get out of their comfort zone, and break past a cadence of bang-bang-pause-bang. Much like my rifle version of this drill, the primary time gain here is to reflexively make the micro-motion to acquire the head shot, and have all three shots per target have the same split time.

Setting Up the Drill: Mark off a shooting line, and advance 21 ft. (7yd.) from its center. Place each USPSA Standard target 7 ft. apart from each other, centered at the starting line.

Drill Instructions: Starting with handgun loaded and holstered (or at low ready for a time penalty). On the audible sound of the buzzer, engage one target with two rounds to the body A-Zone and one to the head A-Zone. Perform a mandatory reload, and repeat on the other target. A-Zone hits (which means the 2×3″ headbox for the headshots) are required to pass.

Scoring, Penalties & Handicaps: Since A-zone hits are required to pass, we will be using time scoring. The penalties will be as follows: 

• Low Ready: Add 1 second to drill time. 
• Open Rig (Level 0 retention holster): No penalty.
• Duty Rig (Level 1 or higher retention holster): Remove .3 seconds from drill time. 
• Concealment (draw and reload done from concealment): Remove .5 seconds from drill time.

Summary: Beyond challenging the shooter to perform a precise micro-motion under stress, the goal is to also pull the shooter out of their conscious mind in thinking about breaking that 3rd shot on each target. The goal is to perform the motions reflexively, without much thought. Let’s eliminate those pauses!

This drill is easy with a rifle, lets see how well you can shoot it with a pistol!