I understand it’s still winter for the rest of the world, and winter tends to push people indoors. Indoor ranges tend to be poor training grounds.
Rarely will you find an indoor range where you can draw, move, and do dynamic training. With that in mind, you can still build skill at an indoor range without breaking their rules.
I have five drills for you to take to the indoor range and train.
Training with firearms can be inherently dangerous. Always use ear and eye protection, and obey the four firearm safety rules. (Also, none of my pictures are indoors because, well, I shoot outdoors.)
Ready, Go
If you’re at an indoor gun range that doesn’t allow you to draw you can still practice parts of your draw. It’s not all about getting your gun out of the holster; you must also get it on target.
The Ready Go drill starts with your weapon in a high compressed position located in front of your chest, pulled close to your chest, under your head. This replicates the part of your draw where your hands meet after initially drawing the gun.
You’ll need your handgun of choice and target of choice. I’d use something small, like a B8 or USPSA A Zone. You need 15 rounds of ammo per run. A shot timer can be implemented to track your time, but par time is not required. The end goal is to get a little faster every time.
At the beep of your shot timer, or whatever mental go signal you have, you extend to a full firing position and fire one shot.
You should aim to present, acquire your sights, and fire quickly. Next, you’ll repeat the drill, but this time, you’ll fire two rounds. Repeat, firing three, four, and five rounds for a total of 15 rounds.
The Ready Go is an indoor drill that allows you to practice an important part of your draw: presentation. A good presentation is crucial for acquiring your sights and firing that fast first shot.
As you increase the round count, you work on your recoil control, accuracy, and ability to get another shot on target. It’s simple and a great way to warm up for your training session.
iHack
The iHack adapts the Ken Hackathorn headshot standard designed for an indoor range. The iHack drill requires a series of two-inch dots as targets, and you can use a Dot Torture target. This drill puts the targets close together but makes them relatively small.
You’ll need a target of three 2-inch dots and nine rounds per run. Shooters will also need a shot timer to judge their time. A phone-based app can work but won’t deliver the same precise times a shot timer can.
The target stands five yards from the shooter. Shooters can pick their starting position; a standard ready, low ready, high ready, or compressed ready is acceptable. There are three strings of fire, and you have a par time of three seconds per string. The strings are as follows.
1 – Aim and fire one shot at each dot from left to right.
2 – Aim and fire one shot at each dot from right to left.
3 – Aim and fire one shot at the middle target; the shooter can choose which order to engage the other two dots.
A passing score is seven out of nine hits. Anything less is a failure. The drill is surprisingly challenging due to the tight accuracy required to hit the targets. You must exercise reasonable recoil control to regain the sights on the tiny target.
Shooters must be precise with their transitions to ensure quick hits on target. This drill should comply with the strictest ranges.
Failure To Stop – Indoor Edition
The famed failure-to-stop drill has been adapted numerous times, and this is just one more adaptation. The failure-to-stop, or Mozambique drill, is the classic two-to-the-chest and one-to-the-head drill. It’s simple but practical and effective. For indoor use, we barely have to make any modifications.
The indoor edition doesn’t use a large target. Instead, you’ll use a B8 or Paper plate as the body and a 3×5 index card as the head. Each run requires three rounds of ammo. A shot timer isn’t needed, but it is nice to track your time and see where you can improve.
Most indoor ranges have a small table in front of you. Start with your weapon on the table to replicate something like a nightstand.
If you cannot do this, I’d start at the compressed ready. Set the target at least seven yards away from you. At the beep, retrieve your gun, aim, and fire two shots to the plate/B8 and one to the index card.
This drill stresses proper shot placement, and switching to a smaller target exaggerates the need for accuracy. The end goal is to make you shoot fast but accurately. The black of a B8 replicated the heart better than an amorphous silhouette, and the 3×5 card better represents the brain.
The two targets work with your ability to transition as well. Retrieving the gun from the bench or table replicates retrieving the firearm from your nightstand works a slightly different presentation.
FEF Game (Modified)
The Feel, Eyes, Finger drill isn’t what we are doing, but it’s what Haley Strategic calls the target. The Feel, Eyes Finger drill is one element of training you can accomplish with this target. We are doing the second training event, the FEF Game. You’ll need this target, which is free to download and print online.
We’ve established that we need the FEF Target, which is 25 1-inch dots. The FEF Game calls for 75 rounds, but that’s a bit much. Instead, we’ll use 25 rounds to shoot the drill.
We will try to shoot the 25 dots as fast as possible, so a shot timer is necessary to judge your time. You’ll likely need two magazines for this indoor drill.
The range you’ll shoot is up to you as a shooter. I’d advise you to start at 3 or 5 yards and extend the range if you find it too easy to shoot. You’ll aim and fire one round per target at the start signal, reloading as necessary.
A 1-inch dot is relatively small and hard to hit. While we aim to go as fast as possible, the small targets force you to shoot slowly. You’re doing well if you can hit every dot without a miss in under a minute.
This drill requires accuracy. Accuracy is final, and hitting a small dot as quickly as you can is tough. If you want to keep getting faster, you’ll work on your grip, stance, and overall recoil control to shave those fractions of a second off your time.
Speed is relative, and even at the strictest ranges, shooting this drill with more than one round a second is tough. Even though it’s relatively slow, it’s stressful, and we want a little stress.
Switch Hitting
The late and great Todd Louis Green designed the Switch-Hitting drill. It’s a one-handed shooting drill that focuses on both your left and right hand. It’s challenging and has both a slow and fast version. Since we are focused on the indoor range, we’ll stick to the slow version.
Ammo-wise, use a full magazine. You might not shoot the entire magazine or cylinder, but you want to try to. The slow version of this drill uses two 3×5 cards for targets. One on the left, one on the right. A shot timer or phone app with a par time is necessary. You’ll shoot this drill at three yards to start.
Set one target on the right and one on the left. Set a par time for ten seconds. Start with the weapon in your dominant hand. At the beep, you’ll aim and fire carefully until you hit the 3 x 5 card once.
After hitting the target, transition the pistol from your dominant hand to your support hand. Make sure you transition the gun from hand to hand slowly and carefully. Aim and fire at the left target until you score a hit. Once you land a hit, switch hands again. Repeat this process until the ten-second par time is met.
There isn’t a passing goal, but every time you try this drill, you’ll try to score one more hit and one more transition. It’s challenging but indoor range friendly.
We are building those single-hand skills. Most of us suck with one hand, especially with our support hand, so it’s good to get that practice in. You also never get a chance to be comfortable. Every transition takes things to the next level and gives you an excellent training experience.
Training Indoors
Indoor ranges can limit your training, but they can’t eliminate it. If you’re willing to be creative and work within the limitations, you can get a lot of quality training. Be smart, be willing to adapt and improvise, and you won’t have any excuses not to train.
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