Drill of the Month - February 2020

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The drill for the moth of February will be the Baer Solutions Standards. For the purpose of this DOTM, I recommend shooting the drill at 5 yards to get a baseline of where you are at. In the video I have linked the shooter runs the drill from an open carry/outside the waistband rig. Keep in mind this is a skills test, not a scenario, so run it however you would like. Open carry, concealed, whatever you happen to be comfortable with, as long as you are training to get better that is all that matters at this point. On a side note, yes this is supposed to be shot cold, meaning it should be the first live fire you do when you hit the range, but do not discount shooting the drill multiple times during a practice session to get reps in on all of the skills needed to successfully complete the drill. You can still get quite a bit out of that.

Above and beyond that, have fun with it!

Here is a description of the drill:

BAER SOLUTIONS STANDARDS TARGET, AKA "BAER" TARGET
The standards target was created to gauge your performance first thing in your training and at the end. We don't get to warm up in real life so this is shot cold, meaning no warm up. Suggested distance is 5 meters. As with anything, once you have gotten good at it go ahead and move back to 7 or even 10 if you can. If you miss, you fail, so be accountable for your rounds. 9 seconds or faster is passing. Ensure progress in your training. Getting complacent or comfortable keeps us stagnant, always strive to get better.

  1. From the holstered position, hands off of gun at sides, on signal draw and engage left or right 6" x 3.5" rectangle with 5 rounds.
  2. Transition to other rectangle and engage with 5 rounds.
  3. Perform slide lock reload and engage center circle with 3 rds.
  • Perform drill with 10 round magazine first, 3 round magazine second, and have a full mag prepared to get gun back up after drill.
Download and print the target from here:
https://static1.squarespace.com/sta...ca5ee966c4cd/1482552772309/BAER+Standards.pdf

Here is a video overview of
 
Just might need to buy more paper. Fun drill but not as easy as I thought :mad:. I started playing around with the Scorpion & pistol and the AR & pistol combos like what was in the end of the video. Already need to make a couple changes to the scorpion sling set up to make it closer to how I run my AR. Man blowing this rust off is more work than I thought but enjoying it. Im glad I can shoot at home, makes squeezing in a quick session much easier.
 
No doubt. I actually hadn’t thought of shooting this one with a rifle until I saw the variations the guy did in the posted video.

I will likely end up shooting with both platforms when I get the opportunity to know this one out.
 
This one looks interesting. I have a match this weekend but will give it a try the following weekend. Just sent this PDF to my work e mail and will get some targets printed off tomorrow.. Thanks for posting this..
 

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#HeWhoMustNotBeNamed #BaileyBoat #beetlejuicebeetlejuicebeetlejuice
 
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Thanks for posting the DOTM's. Hoping everyone takes advantage.
I'm ashamed to admit I never got around to working on the January drill.
Ashamed that I didn't fire a single live round last month and none so far this month. Shooter my tail...
It's been dry fire practice only. And I've already learned there must be a balance of both. Must do better this month.
 
Thanks for posting the DOTM's. Hoping everyone takes advantage.
I'm ashamed to admit I never got around to working on the January drill.
Ashamed that I didn't fire a single live round last month and none so far this month. Shooter my tail...
It's been dry fire practice only. And I've already learned there must be a balance of both. Must do better this month.

It’s all good. Keep in mind, you can still shoot the drills and post results in that particular thread.

I encourage you to continue working things in dry fire. While live fire is the best method of validation, dry fire is hard to beat when it comes to pure skill building.

Stay Safe, Gil
 
Had steel set up at range today. realized my pistol rack set up is essentially the 'Baer' target, hehe. Consider this a 'steel' rendition. Since the scale is a bit larger (7x6" rectangles and 4" circle) I did the drill at ~12 yards.

Firearm is G17 frame w/ advantage arms 22lr slide (9mm slams these light weight plates, precluding 4 subsequent follow up shots). A bit slow as I'm just getting back into things after few month hiatus since relocating. time was an unimpressive 15 seconds, but did include 2 FTF. will try t improve my time to sub 9sec over the month.

 
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I'm ashamed to admit I never got around to working on the January drill.
You should be...…………...
Ashamed that I didn't fire a single live round last month and none so far this month.
You should be...…………………………..
t's been dry fire practice only. And I've already learned there must be a balance of both.
All is forgiven....Cooper said "Live fire is for verification"....Dry fire away......Go And Sin No More...…………….
 
So this one is tough. With the reload in the middle it gives you every opportunity to screw the pooch. I ran it twice today. The first run was a true cold run with my Wilson EDC-X9 and the second was with a Browning Hi Power. I failed both times. I shot it at 5 yards. For me the reload is the issue. I am slowwwwwwwwww and if I do not concentrate I will fumble it. So I have to be slower and more deliberate which costs me time. Also that center circle is smaller than you think it is.

The first run was with the EDC -X9 the time was 9.73 and I dropped a shot to the middle. It went to about 10 o'clock. I knew I was late and was rushing to put those 3 in the middle circle is tough when you know you are behind. The miss was shot #3 and I am assuming I took it before the sights were on target. If I had to guess I had no sight picture and was trying to muscle it in there.
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Next was the Browning Hi Power and I fumbled the reload. I messed up getting the mag out of my pouch. It stuck and I double clutched a bit. I also dropped a shot. The drop was almost identical to the first run in that it was the last shot #3 to the center and was high but this time at 12 o-clock. Time was 10.79. My first string on this run was left and I barely managed to keep on of the shot in.

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This is a great drill. Lots of skills in play and if you are not on the 9 second par time is hard to beat. I only had two of these targets but I did shoot it again with a 1911 and it was slower and missed 2 into the center. Time was 11.68. No pic because I reused a target.

I spent the rest of the session from the low ready on the beep to the target at 15 yards. I also shot the "test" at 15 yards. Finished it up by shooting out the center of my B7 with my 1911. Great drill I think I will keep running this one. Hopefully get out a few more times this month.

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Really going to be a beast with a revolver. Even with speed loaders I don't know yet if I can do this in under 10 or 12 seconds.

THAT is challenging yourself right there!

If you can get it on video, that will negate the need for the timer. Since you can count it off by replaying the video to get your overall time.

Will be a revolver friendly DOTM?

Absolutely, I think the next one is going to be a super low round count.
 
So this one is tough. With the reload in the middle it gives you every opportunity to screw the pooch. I ran it twice today. The first run was a true cold run with my Wilson EDC-X9 and the second was with a Browning Hi Power. I failed both times. I shot it at 5 yards. For me the reload is the issue. I am slowwwwwwwwww and if I do not concentrate I will fumble it. So I have to be slower and more deliberate which costs me time. Also that center circle is smaller than you think it is.

Great breakdown of your runs! And this highlights what I love about this one. It is all encompassing. Must like the F.A.S.T. drill, you don't have to be exceptional at anything, but you DO have to be clean with all of your techniques, from the draw to the reload to the visual patience needed to make the shots, particularly the 3 at the end. Your times are RIGHT on the bubble for a passing score, which is really good considering you knocked it out completely cold. Polish things up with the reload and the follow through as I outline below and you'll be making the time easily!

While I can't really give any feedback on how to improve the reload without any video, I can tell you this about that last shot based on your description of your runs. When it comes to the final shot in a drill like this (which already has a lot of moving parts to it) it becomes very easy for us to "check out" at the end of the drill, because we know it is coming to an end. This results in not having proper follow through, rushing the last shot just to get the drill over with and firing that round without having the gun on target.

If you make it a habit of forcing that follow through at the end by telling yourself that you are going to have a 4th sight picture after that 3rd round, even though you know you don't actually intend on firing a 4th round, you will be far more likely to make that last shot if you think of it in those terms. In any case, nice work on this one. Hope that helps!

On another note........great choice in a training target with the B8. Hands down one of my favorite targets for a variety of reasons! We will be doing some drills specifically on those in the near future.
 
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One thing I thought I would add to this and other drills. I always like to run them different ways. The straight up way seen in the video is a pure speed run. In order for most people to make the 9 second par time you have to be running kydex with a mag pouch setup for speed not necessarily carry. As @Chihuahua Floyd pointed out this drill is very different with a revolver. It was different with a 1911 with a 7 or 8 round mag. If you run it with your carry rig from conceal and your reload comes out of your jeans pocket the drill is fundamentally different. Maybe you don't carry a second mag but instead go NY reload ala @BatteryOaksBilly.

I suggest running the drill as seen in the video to see if you can meet the pure speed version and then I recommend running it with your carry gear and method of carry from conceal. Adjust the par time accordingly. Drills are good for practice and building instinctive muscle memory. You have to approach drills with the end objective in mind. If you are training for gun games there is one approach. If you are training for self defense there is another. You need to build the muscle memory and the skill set needed to accomplish the task you are training for. Shooting this drill all day long with range only gear is not going to tell you how well you are going to do with your carry gun from conceal with a reload in your pocket. Also shoot it with the gun you carry not the gun you are the fastest with. You will get more out of it IMHO.
 
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Alrighty, without malfunctions im at 9 seconds now (and also from a bit further @ 15 yards this time).

Ran it with both AR and pistol on the steel setup. I definitely need to speed up my AR. I think the transition is okay @ 2 seconds, but not familiar with what a 'good speed' is there. I'm sure plenty of folks can do sub 1s, ill eventually train myself to speed that up as well.

Next time out I will do the paper drill with 223/9mm.

 
Went to the range today for the first time this year.
First I tried the wizard drill and failed at 5 yds shooting a 3.5" m&p 40c. Time was 1.97 IIRC.
Next I swapped to my 4.25 m&p 9mm and shot this drill at 5yds. Can't shoot both drills cold but with only 2 rounds fired on previous drill, I consider myself still cold
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Target looks good but no time. My CE timer apparently decided it is done. Wonderful.
However, it's just before the 2 year warranty window expires so will get to experience their CS on Monday.
I realize this target proves nothing without time, just thought I'd post it up as proof that I really did fire a weapon. The run felt okay, I shot it as fast as I could see it, don't remember anything wonky with the reload.
If I had just remembered the tripod for my phone that would've been better than nothing.
I'm usually exhausted by the end of the week just cause I don't sleep much and when I do I don't get rested. Had slept maybe 5 hours this am. Didn't have my crap together at all.
Excuses excuses. :rolleyes:
 
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Run #2 at this one. I need to get a mini tripod for my phone so I can video my shooting. This time I tried to focus on accuracy vs speed. I wanted to shoot clean targets and have a clean reload. I feel I was able to do that but clearly my times suffered. I only shot it twice today. Once with a GI No Name 9mm 1911 and then a Colt Govt 1911. It was run at 5 yards from the draw. It was JMB day at the range for me.

This is the cold run. GI 9mm. This was a clean run and I am very happy with the accuracy on target. The time was not great. 10.75 Still pretty happy with this target. When I concentrated on each shot not the timer my accuracy was much better. My follow through was better and it shows on the paper. Now to just do the same thing faster. This is about a full second slower than the last time but I did not drop any shots and the groups were better.

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Next up was the Colt 1911 in 45 ACP. The results were very similar. I shot it clean with much tighter groups than the last time but the time was slow. I knew this one was going to be a slower run I do not handle the push recoil of the 45 as well as I think I do. The timer does not lie. This one was shot in 11.59 seconds. Not even close to passing but I knew I was not going to make the time. This is also with full power GI 230 grain loads not softball loads.

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Overall I am pretty happy with these runs. I will take the better targets with a little more time. I don't think I am going to make the par time on this one no matter how many times I shoot it.
 
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I printed the target.
May get it done this weekend.
Will probably shoot my DA/SA production gun that I haven't touched in a year or so.
 
Got this one knocked out a bit late, but here it is.

Came in just above the par time on this one, but all of the hits where in. Shooting the duty gun (M&P .40) out of a Safariland SLS/ALS retention holster. So, I’m not upset with this run at all. Should be able to get well under par time with a little work on the draw and transitions, everything else looked really good.

 
Got this one knocked out a bit late, but here it is.

Came in just above the par time on this one, but all of the hits where in. Shooting the duty gun (M&P .40) out of a Safariland SLS/ALS retention holster. So, I’m not upset with this run at all. Should be able to get well under par time with a little work on the draw and transitions, everything else looked really good.


Wow!
 
Got this done Wednesday as well, first rounds fired, 4.25"M&P out of a Daranich Tactical holster and 125gr Blazer.
No video, ain't goin to explain again, so refer to 1st paragraph in post #88 in January DOTM thread if interested.
Here's a pic of the target and my take on it and honest result.
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Time 14.83
Wow, how could I be this slow?
Again, striving for accuracy and not speed. Everything I said in Jan DOTM thread applies here as well.
Steve Anderson says I'm shooting in bullseye mode.
Add in the reload and I get 14+ seconds.
It ain't nothing to brag about but it is where I'm at and so....whatever.
 
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Time 14.83
Wow, how could I be this slow?
Again, striving for accuracy and not speed.
Steve Anderson says I'm shooting in bullseye mode.

1st) This run is NOTHING to be ashamed of. Remember, this drill of the month thing isn't a competition, it's a mechanism to get feedback. Those hits are solid in my book.

2nd) You are listening to Steve Anderson, that in and of itself tells me you are serious about getting better and choosing him as a resource, you are on the right path to do just that.

3rd) You are correct in your assessment. You are indeed in bullseye mode, BUT that may be what you need right now, so don't reject it completely. In order to develop the "visual patience" we need to make a shot at speed, we need to know what that looks like. Sometimes that means dialing things down a bit.

4th) Working with a timer is critical, not for flexing purposes, but to give you the data to let you know what you need to work on and where you might be able to get the most gains. I would recommend putting your future runs on a timer to see if the reload is truly where you are losing the most time. Feeling like something is the issue is one thing, KNOWING that for sure because of the quantifiable data available from the time is another thing.

5th) Looking at what we have in front of us, and going solely off the photo, I believe that the grip you established AFTER the reload may have been an issue, due to the low/left shots for the center circle target. This is because the other 10 hit previous shot were nicely centered in the rectangles. Which tells me that for those shots, you had a solid grip, leading those round to strike and track center of the target area.

Without a video or the element of being able to break down the data from a shot timer, that is pretty much all I can offer at this point. Hope it helps and you continue to strive to improve! After all, no matter where you are with your skills set, that should be the goal. There is always going to be something we can improve on.
 
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