I came up with a pistol drill...

[LookingIntently]

Instructors talk about the need, in a gunfight, to assess after shooting, to see the effect of the shots on the first target, see if there are other targets, etc. But, unless I've missed it, I don't know of any drills that incorporate that element. With every drill I've seen, you know exactly what you're going to do before you start. So... though I'm no where near a great shooter, I am a pretty good thinker. I came up with a drill that, 3 times in the drill itself, you have to assess and react to what you see during the drill. It uses shot placement as the basis for assessment.

Here's the drill...

INSTRUCTIONS
* Set 3 targets at 3-10 yards. Vary the distance and angles.
* Start with 9 rounds in your pistol and 3 or more in a spare mag
* On the beep, draw and fire 2 shots at the chest zone of the center target. Then, if the 2nd shot is more to the right, shoot 2 shots at the chest zone of the left target, then 2 shots at the chest zone of the right target. If that 2nd shot was more to the left, shoot the right target first, then the left.
* Move back to the middle and shoot one shot to the head of the center target. Then, if that shot is more to the right, shoot 1 shot at the head zone of the left target, then 1 shot at the head zone of the right target. If that shot was more to the left, shoot the right target first, then the left.
* You should be at slide lock. While you reload, assess all three targets and determine which has the worst shot placement (taking into account the head and the chest zones). Shoot the target with the worst shot placement 2 times to the chest and 1 to the head.
* Add 1 second for each miss

I've found that a good par time for me is 20 seconds.


I've got a video of me running it (not too well!). Here's a link if you're interested.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xmHG_2whhvc

Let me know what you think.

Steve

[Jiva]

Hi, I also have fun coming up with "new" drills for pistol work at the range. I'm not a high level competitor but have enjoyed IDPA and the like for several years now. One thing that I notice about your drill is that the shooter is encouraged (forced) to look where his shots went in order to proceed with the drill. I understand the concept of the drill but have ALWAYS been taught/encouraged to NEVER look for bullet holes while actively engaging targets. If I did this drill I think it would reinforce a behavior that was beaten out of me early on

Anyway, just my two cents, not hating on your drill, but wanted to share that observation from my perspective.

Regards,

Jiva

[baldrage]

Another intermediate (SS-class) IDPA guy chiming in ... interesting drill, and thanks for sharing!

Piling on Jiva's comment:  an interesting tweak might be to try and call your shots passed based on sight picture at the time you pulled the trigger, and follow up accordingly, rather than looking at bullet holes.  So, it would be something like:

* On the beep, draw and fire 2 shots at the chest zone of the center target. Then, if BASED ON YOUR SIGHT PICTURE YOU THINK THE the 2nd shot is more to the right, shoot 2 shots at the chest zone of the left target, then 2 shots at the chest zone of the right target. If, BASED ON YOUR SIGHT PICTURE YOU THINK  that 2nd shot was more to the left, shoot the right target first, then the left.

[1SOW]

What baldrage and jiva said above^^^^^.  I try to see the shot break and instantly look to next point of aim and follow with the pistol. 
FWIW:
I made a cardboard target with three rows of three  5x5" squares colored RED, (A Red NO Shoot..= minus 2 pts), white (1 shot) and Blue (2 shots).   Red, White, Blue targets  =  0, 1, 2 shots.  Use a shot timer to start and monitor time /run.
Rules:  draw and shoot in any order,  ONE  TARGET ,  switch rows and shoot  ONE TARGET,  switch to last row and SHOOT ONE TARGET.  Then repeat  the same procedure to hit the last three targets.  All in any order or starting point,  but you can't shoot more than one target on the same row each run through.
Not complicated at all,  but also not that easy to shoot at best speed.

I painted my cardboard backer BLACK and separated  all 9 colored  targets.  [Black = Armor = a miss]
Taping holes makes this target array good for several range trips
 
 transitions, planning, speed practice and no time to look for hits.

[baldrage]

Inspired by the OP, I gave this a try at my range outing last week.  Shooting at an indoor range, and for my first attempt at this, I set up the target array pictured below at five yards.  Drew and fired one shot at one of the 5" circles, tried to call whether the shot would hit on the left or right half of the circle, then fired two shots at the index card on the opposite side (so if I called the initial shot left, I fired at the index card on the upper right).  Fun little drill, and a great to way to work on shot-calling.  Five yards was probably too close, as it was sometimes difficult to call which half of the circle the initial shot would be on -- next time, out, I'll try this at seven yards and see if that makes calling the shot a little easier. 

07172018_CALLIT by baldrage, on Flickr

Thanks, LookingIntently for posting the original idea!

[LookingIntently]

For some reason, I wasn't getting notified of replies. I like the idea of basing follow ups on calling the shot vs. looking for holes. Thanks for the tweak!