Sometimes there is a drill out there that becomes your nemesis. It haunts you, it laughs in your face, and inspires you to work harder and dive deeper. A drill called the “300”, or Bullseye 3-Way, came to my attention several years ago from the late Todd Green, who ran pistol-training.com.
To give an example of what it looks like, at the top is an unedited video from start to finish of me shooting the drill with an S&W 66-1. Pro tip, make sure you have enough staples in the staple gun before starting to video a drill. Enjoy.
The drill is actually an abbreviated version of another drill that is called “The Humbler”, or the 700 Point Aggregate. The word on the street is that the 700 Point Aggregate was designed for and used by U.S. Special Forces and that Larry Vickers is likely the one who popularized the drill. Of course, that is all at least fourth or fifth hand information, so take it with a grain of salt. I don’t know that the origin of the drill really matters, because it will stand or not on its own merit. To the best of my knowledge though, that is where the full version of this drill originated.
The “300”, as I prefer to call it, consist of three strings of fire of 10 rounds each, from 25 yards, shot on a B-8 repair center target, or its printable counterpart that is available here, from a standing position. The first string of fire is 10 rounds freestyle. The trick with this drill is to know the point of aim and point of impact, use good ammo and make sure to take your time. It is not a quick drill — I often shoot each 10 round string as 10 separate one round strings. If I try to shoot all 10 rounds as a single string, or even two or three rounds without taking a break, I invariably shoot a lower score.
The second string is 10 rounds strong hand only, also from 25 yards and on the same type of target. Often times, a two-handed grip might mask some flaws in the trigger press. When shooting one handed, the application of fundamentals becomes even more critical to a good score. I shoot this string the same way I do the freestyle string, one round at a time. I do adjust my stance slightly to get more of myself behind the gun, but don’t blade completely.
The third string is 10 rounds weak hand only, or support hand only, whatever terminology you prefer. This is generally my worse string, which I suppose is to be expected. All the same rules apply as the first and second strings of fire; it is just harder to pull off with the support hand.
Each string of fire is shot on its own target to simplify the scoring. I suppose this could all be shot on a single target in a pinch, but accurate scoring would be difficult and the diagnostic value of the drill would be lessened unless hits were pasted between each string of fire. Rounds are scored according to actual point value, so a hit in the 10 ring is 10 points; the 8 ring is 8 points, etc. I usually give line breaks to the higher scoring ring, but if someone wanted to be really tight on the scoring, they could go the other way with it.
This really is a splendid drill. Logistically easy to shoot, but immensely challenging, it pushes the fundamental aspects of shooting very hard, and can be shot on pretty much any 25-yard range. It is a great drill for tracking performance over time, which I believe may have been the original intent of the drill, but it is also great for actual skill building.
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