Several months ago I wrote an article entitled Handgun Training for Worst Case Scenario. In that article I addressed my take on the seemingly inevitable large-scale, coordinated, terror attack that we are due for thanks to years of an unsecured border and immigration system. I anticipate such an attack will be similar to the Mumbai or Paris terror attacks. As such, I offered two handgun drills to work on which would be more geared towards the kind of shooting needed to address such threats at, likely, greater-than-typical self-defense distances.
I have done both of those drills since on a number of occasions and I think these truly develop the specific skillset that is in order for dealing with this scenario. The key to neutralizing rifle-armed, possibly armored, active killers with a pistol is accurate hits made quickly. Such a threat would call for the epitome of the speed/accuracy balance we speak of so much in this craft.
At this point I am fed up with the nay-sayers proclaiming that going up against rifle wielding opponents with only a pistol is impossible. In 2023 I wrote an article for USA Carry documenting ten incidents in which pistol-armed self-defenders defeated long-gun armed active killers. Since that time, I know of four more such incidents. This can be done, it has been done many times, and in all fourteen cases that I know of, the pistol-armed defender won the fight. Only one out of those fourteen referenced defenders died, and that single incident was because the good guy made the mistake of picking up the rifle that the bad guy had dropped, thus getting shot himself by responding police officers. Exceptional success rate.
In several of these incidents, significantly longer-than-usual shots were made, effectively, with a pistol. During these encounters, enhanced accuracy was needed, but the shooting was done quickly, not slowly, despite the enhanced accuracy necessary. In some of these incidents the distances were not that great, but accuracy was leveraged to quickly neutralize the threat through headshots. All of this to say, I think the two drills I offered for consideration hold fast for constructive and beneficial training to address this problem.
Primary Handgun Drills
The first drill I suggested was what I call, for lack of a better name, Ten-Clean-at-Ten. This drill consists of a single round fired at a B8 target from 10 yards, from the concealed holster, done 10 individual times. Some have mentioned that this is similar to Chuck Pressburg’s No Fail Pistol drill. In a sense it is similar as it has ten individual timed shots taken, but the Pressburg drill makes these shots at a B8 at 25 yards, thus really focusing in on fine accuracy, yet under time constraint. It is an excellent drill, though there are few that can do it without a red dot. This proposed Ten-Clean-at-Ten is imminently doable with irons or a dot, and it really focuses on making closer-range, but accurate, shots quickly, thus instilling the confidence for a fast head shot within that common distance out to 10 yards. Doing this exercise 10 times in a row seems excessive, but by doing so we foster true consistency.
I timed myself for the Ten-Clean-at-Ten just this past week and I averaged between 1.21 and 1.30 seconds for each shot, all clean in the black. I’ll take that. The 5.5 inch B8 black at 10 yards is a MUCH more precise target than is the typical 8 inch down-zero circle at 7 yards, which the cool kids try for at sub-second. I initially suggested working towards 2.0 seconds for this shot, but as you can see, it can be done closer to one second with work. Still, if you can do it in 2 seconds or less, you are ahead of 99.9 percent of concealed carriers.
Being able to hit the black of a B8, out to 10 yards, under 2.0 seconds, is an advantageous skillset as it applies to the threat of active killers. An adversary who may likely be armored and is relatively close to you calls for a fast head shot, and spending some time on this drill works that skill. While the time element is crucial, the B8 pushes a realistic accuracy standard compared to down-zero or A zone centers of competition targets.
The second drill I referenced before was my Three-at-a-Quarter drill, which involves drawing from concealment and delivering 3 rounds to the down-zero eight-inch circle of an IDPA or similar target (or the 8 ring of a B8 target) at 25 yards. I think this proves significantly more realistic than making finely accurate shots for bullseye points. If a guy is 25 yards away and actively killing people, getting rounds on target, fast, is in order. I proposed an initial goal of 6 seconds for this drill, and top guys can do it in 3 seconds. I shot this drill once at my last range trip, my time was 3.02 seconds, but I dropped one of the three rounds just outside of the eight-inch circle, which seems common for me doing this drill (fast time but dropping one). Obviously, I need to slow down somewhat to get the consistent third shot in the down-zero, but I accept this speed/accuracy balance considering I am using iron sights. Try it.
A Drill for the Backup Gun
While most armed citizens rarely carry a backup pistol on person, as we face the looming possibilities, now is a better time than ever. As such, I have been considering a single drill that can foster relevant skills with your backup gun for this scenario as well. For anyone carrying concealed, the primary carry gun is most often a compact pistol, so a secondary gun is likely smaller still. Small 380 pocket guns or J Frame size revolvers are most often used as a second gun among the comparatively few concealed carriers that do carry a BUG, at least sometimes. With this in mind, I propose the following as a single drill to try with your backup gun, which may need to be used with enhanced precision against the terror threat:
I have heard well-known firearms trainer Ed Monk, who specializes in the active shooter problem, recommend carrying at least a gun that you can consistently make headshots with at ten yards. So, applying this principle to even the backup gun, try what we shall call the BUG-Five-Ten drill. With a B8 target at 10 yards, start from a low-ready position with your backup gun and fire three rounds into the black within 5 seconds. Since the carry position varies greatly from person to person for a BUG, I offer a drill that starts from a ready position. However, consider where you carry your backup gun; if you carry on the ankle, for example, the draw is slower than anything from the waistband, and practice is warranted. This time and accuracy standard is not terribly demanding, but it requires competent shooting skill with a snub or pocket gun. I can consistently do this with my Ruger LCR 38 Special.
Regardless of your favorite shooting drills and standards, I think adding these three simple-to-do drills will go a long way towards enhancing your shooting skills for dealing with this possible threat. While the prospect of facing rifle carrying, armored, adversaries with only your pistol is daunting, it has been done many times, and developing relevant skill is sound.
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