There are a number of fantastic drills we can use to improve our handgun skills. Many of these can be found on different websites by doing a quick online search. The problem is, how do you know if the drills are worth the time, effort and ammunition? There are some fantastic online drill videos you can watch before setting them up on the range that will give you a good idea whether the drills are worthy of your time and effort.

But if you don’t want to do the research, or if you simply want to add some more options to your research results, these drills will help you work on a wide range of skills. From your draw and presentation to reloads, target transitions and dynamic movement, these drills will help improve many important handgun skills. Here are a few of my favorite drills.

Cross-Eyed Madness

For this drill, you’ll need two targets with realistic scoring zones and a shot timer. Here is how this drill is run:

• From the seven-yard line, make ready with a full magazine.
• On the start command, draw and fire three rounds to the center mass zone of T1.
• Transition to the head zone of T2 and fire two rounds to the head zone, then three rounds to the center mass zone of T2.
• Transition to the head zone of T1 and fire two rounds to the head zone.

BFM Drill

The BFM — which stands for “Bill Drill, F.A.S.T. Drill, Mozambique Drill” — is one of my all-time favorites. This drill covers a lot of different skills and can be modified to be run with cover, movement and even as a rifle-to-handgun transition drill. This drill was originally conceived by Ken Hackathorn and is a great way to measure your improvement over time.

For this drill, you’ll need three targets with realistic scoring zones and a shot timer. Here’s how you set it up:

• Make ready with a magazine of eight rounds, with at least one full magazine to use for your reload.
• On the start signal from the shot timer, draw and engage the middle target with six rounds to the body (Bill Drill).
• Transition to the target on the left and fire two rounds to the head, perform an empty reload and fire four rounds to the body (F.A.S.T. Drill).
• Transition to the target on the far right and fire two rounds to the body and one round to the head (Mozambique Drill).
• Time stops on the last shot fired, and targets are scored as follows.
• Total time + penalties:
  • Any rounds outside scoring area = +1 second
  • Any rounds outside qualification zones = no-go/DQ
  • A = < 11 seconds
  • B = 11–14 seconds
  • C = 14–17 seconds
  • D = 17–20 seconds 

X-Box Drill

This drill is a variation of the standard Box Drill. To set up this drill, you’ll need four barrels or cones to form the box, a shot timer and a target. An A/C zone steel target works best for this drill, but you can also use a paper target of your choice. Here’s how it works:

• Start with a fully loaded firearm at the rear left or right cone.
• On the shot timer, make three hits on target every time you move diagonally from one position to another.
• Move around the cone and run straight back to the rear cones, round the cone and repeat another diagonal engagement.
• You must complete the X formation three times (three diagonal engagements to the right and three diagonal engagements to the left).
• Clock ends on the last shot fired — 18 rounds fired total.

To score this drill using paper, any hit outside the large scoring ring is +2 seconds added to the raw time. Any hits off the silhouette is an automatic disqualifier (DQ) or a no-go. Try to get the fastest “clean” run you can. Cones should be placed about 10 yards apart, but the distance to the target can vary if you’re using paper. If you use a steel target, make sure the forward-most shooting position is at least 10 yards from the target.

Chrystal’s Cross

This is a great drill that stresses dynamic movement, accurate hits on target and pushing yourself to test your limits. This works best using a steel target like an A/C zone or 8-inch plate, but it also works well using paper targets to track accuracy more easily.

• This drill starts and ends from the center of the cross. Start with a handgun loaded with seven rounds, a second magazine of seven rounds and a third magazine that is fully loaded.
• On the shot timer, draw and make two hits from the center position.
• Move to any other shooting position and make two hits, then move back to the center to make two hits.
• Move to a new shooting position and make two hits, then move back to the center to make two hits.
• Move to a new shooting position and make two hits, then move back to the center to make two hits.
• Move to the remaining shooting position and make two hits, then move back to the center to make two hits.
• The shooting position on the far left is shot left-handed only.
• The shooting position on the far right is shot right-handed only.

These drills work on a wide variety of skills including draw and presentation, shooting after dynamic movement, reloads, target transitions, multiple shots on target, changing speeds, shooting under time duress and much more. If you want to improve your shooting, these drills are a good way to start your way down the road to being a high-performance shooter. If you are serious about improving, give these a try. They won’t overwhelm new shooters, but they will challenge even the best of shooters.