So Close, and Yet… Back on the range a few days later, and I think I’ve got this sussed out. If I can do String 1 in four seconds and change, String 2 in five seconds and change, and String 3 in nine seconds and change, and shoot it clean, I can post an Expert score. Get to the range, put up my targets, again it’s raining, but this time lightly, and off and on instead of constant. Let’s get this show on the road! String 1: 4.12, down-0. Sweet! String 2: 5.68, down-0. Oh, you got this. I’m getting callouses patting myself on the back. String 3: I draw, three shots on the 5-yard target, tran- sition, three shots on the 7-yard target, I read the sights, I know I’ve just shot six down-0s. The slide locks back. I go for the spare magazine under my vest… Only to discover that, when I pulled out the magazine in the first slot in my
down-0 circle on the 5-yard target, track the sights, three good shots, hold it together, you’ve almost got this, three shots on the 7-yard target. And I’m down the road. 9.19 seconds, down-0. Final score for the entire drill: 19.03 seconds. “Expert.” Shooting Tips Having put a little bit of time into shooting the BSDP now, I feel like I can offer a few insights on how to crack this particular nut. Now, there may be people in the world who can shoot this drill and be so darn fast it really doesn’t matter how many points they drop. I am not one of those people, and in overwhelming probability, neither are you. The key to doing well on this drill is simply: Aim. Every. Shot. Don’t try to go faster than you can know you’re hitting the down-0 circle with every bullet. At double-IDPA points-down scoring, there is absolutely nothing to be gained by outrunning the speed at which you can post
center hits, and everything to lose. After I shot String 3 on the rep re- counted heretofore, I reviewed my times, and splits (shot-to-shot speeds) for the entire string. Examining my times might be illuminating here. My draw from concealment to first shot speed was 1.96. My splits for the next two shots on the 5-yard target were .32 and .28. My transition time to the 7-yard target was .70. My splits on the 7-yard target were .48 and .46. My slidelock re- load to the first shot on the 5-yard target was 2.70. Splits on the 5-yard target were .33 and .28, then a .74 transition to the 7-yard target (at this point I’m slowing down, taking a few extra hundredths to stabilize the gun as it comes to rest in the center of the 8” circle, because I know if I can keep posting down-0s I’ve got this), I fire the first shot and the gun twists weird in my hands, okay, don’t freak out, take whatever time you need to get the gun re- aligned, my split to the second shot is .73 (egad!), for my final shot I’ve got the gun tracking right again but I’m still taking my time, .46. Okay, obviously I wasn’t burning
double mag pouch to reload the gun after my first few strings, I didn’t move the rear magazine forward. My hand goes where the spare mag should be and closes on empty air. Damn it! I move my hand back, grab my second spare mag, get the gun reloaded, fire another six down-0s. I estimate that screw-up cost me somewhere between one to 1.5 sec- onds. At the finish line, I shot it clean but my time for String 3 was 10.51 seconds (ick!), my final score was 20.31 seconds. So close, and yet so far. Fire for Effect! Okay, it’s getting dark again, I really need to start getting out to the range earlier in the day, and the rain is picking up. Joy. Let’s see what happens if we try this “shoot it clean” thing again, AFTER completing the recto-cranial extraction process. String 1: 4.18 seconds, down-0. Good. Now remember, you’re shooting an 11-shot gun, reload it, and this time move the rear magazine forward after you do that.
Strangely, Thomas’ overall group size on the 7-yard target was consistently better than on the 5-yard target, probably because he was slowing down a bit for the longer shots.
String 2: 5.66 seconds, down-0. Okay, you’ve got five rounds left in the gun, pop the mag, add one more round, back into the gun. Holster up. Hit the timer, here we go… Beeep! I draw the gun, I’m seeing the sights, I watch them bounce up and down in the center of the down-0 circle on the 5-yard target, I transition over to the 7-yard target, do the same thing but geared back on the trigger speed a little. The slide locks to the rear. I go for the spare mag under my vest, my hand hits it. Hey, there’s a spare magazine right where it should be! I get the gun reloaded. The Chen “Shooter Installed” Magwell really helps ( chen- custom.com ). Get the gun back up into the center of the
speed there. As those of you who’ve read my articles over the years know, I can do all this stuff much faster. But this is my “performance on demand, any shot outside the down-0 circle counts as a failure” speed. And – in my opinion – that’s the mindset you need to adopt to do well on the BSDP. Shoot it clean. Take whatever amount of time is required to do that. With a scoring system abso- lutely brutalizing you for less-than-center hits, you cannot afford to be dropping shots and dropping points. Bill Wilson’s Basic Self-Defense Proficiency Drill is an accuracy test disguised as a speed drill.
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31 Blue Press
WARNING: The products offered for sale in this catalog can expose you to chemicals, including Lead, which are known to the State of California to cause cancer, birth defects or other reproductive harm. For more information, go to www.P65Warnings.ca.gov . ^ !
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