Standard Pistol Match Exercises

Slow Fire Firing Procedure

Task	Description
STD1	Load and fire two 5-shot strings without regard to time.
STD2	Load and fire two 5-shot strings under match conditions and commands.

Timed Fire Firing Procedure

In timed fire matches, the shooter must adopt a meticulous routine. Magazines must be checked and carefully positioned. Sights must be verified, and stance, position and grip carefully adopted. During slow fire, the shooter has time to correct the above points between shots. However in timed and rapid fire matches, there is only time to concentrate on the delivery of five well-placed shots.

Task	Description
STD3	A one shot exercise: deliver one shot within three seconds and then return to the ready position. Repeat for 10 shots.
STD4	Fire two five-shot strings at a blank target under timed fire conditions.
STD5	Fire two five-shot strings under match conditions and commands.
20 sec Timing Exercise	Download and practice with this MP3: 20sec_timed Right click and “Save Target As…” Set up your equipment to DRYFIRE beside your computer or download this to an MP3 player and take it down to the range. Here’s what you do: You receive the “attention” command, followed by 7 seconds of silence. At the beginning of the first tone, raise your pistol and settle into your sight picture. Make sure that your sights are aligned perfectly within your area of aim. Use all of the time to do this. At the beginning of each 5 subsequent tones, fire your pistol while maintaining perfect sight alignment. Your shots should be all fired before the beginning of the final tone. Each tone is equally spaced, allowing you to learn even pacing for your shots. This is similar to how a novice pianist uses a metronome. Practice will enable you to shoot without rushing or running out of time. Note: use all of the time between tones before you fire. During this period of silence you would be recovering from recoil, and it wouldn’t be realistic to fire then. Putting this into practice: I put my 5-shot dryfire trigger in my Walther GSP and get set up. Similarly, I could use my Morini 162EI air pistol, which has multishot dryfire capability. I then load the file into Winamp and set it to repeat the file. This way, I can do a 5-shot series, and then repeat without getting out of stance. After repeating the series 10 times, I’m ready to call it quits. Do this everyday for a week, and your timing should improve dramatically.

Rapid Fire Firing Procedure

The beginner will have a mental block when faced with the ideal of delivering five shots within 10 seconds. As such, overcoming this barrier is vital. Review the importance of grip, position and sight alignment, as these are the main factors that help the shooter move from the ready position to an accurate aiming position with a minimum loss of time and motion. Establish a strict rhythm for aiming and firing, in order to incorporate allowable malfunctions without completing their string in six seconds or less.

Task	Description
STD6	Fire a two-shot strings in three seconds at a blank target. Repeat this exercise five times.
STD7	Fire two five-shot strings within the period allowed to demonstrate an understanding of rhythm.
STD8	Fire two five-shot strings under match conditions and commands.
10 sec Timing Exercise	Download and practice with this MP3: 10sec_rapid Right click and “Save Target As…” Set up your equipment to DRYFIRE beside your computer or download this to an MP3 player and take it down to the range. Here’s what you do: You receive the “attention” command, followed by 7 seconds of silence. At the beginning of the first tone, raise your pistol and settle into your sight picture. Make sure that your sights are aligned perfectly within your area of aim. Use all of the time to do this. At the beginning of each 5 subsequent tones, fire your pistol while maintaining perfect sight alignment. Your shots should be all fired before the beginning of the final tone. Each tone is equally spaced, allowing you to learn even pacing for your shots. This is similar to how a novice pianist uses a metronome. Practice will enable you to shoot without rushing or running out of time. Note: use all of the time between tones before you fire. During this period of silence you would be recovering from recoil, and it wouldn’t be realistic to fire then. Putting this into practice: I put my 5-shot dryfire trigger in my Walther GSP and get set up. Similarly, I could use my Morini 162EI air pistol, which has multishot dryfire capability. I then load the file into Winamp and set it to repeat the file. This way, I can do a 5-shot series, and then repeat without getting out of stance. After repeating the series 10 times, I’m ready to call it quits. Do this everyday for a week, and your timing should improve dramatically.