Practice Time: The Mag Drop Drill!
Here’s a fun drill that is a great way to practice quite a few skills at once. This is an intermediate level drill, mind you, so if this is your first time at the range I wouldn’t try it. You’re going to need a gun holster, at least 2 magazines (or a speed loader, if you use a revolver) and a mag holster to do this. Most of all, you’ll need a shooting range that allows this sort of thing. Make sure you check with your range before you try this.
First off, if your range has those awesome steel targets, then you’re good to go. If it’s an indoor range, you’re going to need to get creative. Get some 6-inch or smaller paper plates and staple as many of them as possible to the cardboard target. Try and get at least 4 but if you can fit more, make sure it’s an even number of plates. You’ll understand why in a moment.
Now, let’s say you have 6 targets available. Load 3 bullets into each magazine (half the number of targets per mag. If you have 4 targets, then do 2 bullets per mag and so on.). Load one magazine into the gun and put the other into your mag holster. Now holster your weapon and get ready.
Here’s what your going to do (again, assuming we’re working with 6 targets here):
- Draw the gun
- Shoot three of the targets
- Drop the magazine
- Load a new one
- Finish off the other three targets
- Do it all as quickly as possible
Some things to watch out for:
- Maintain your trigger discipline. This is a dangerous drill if you don’t have your safety practices down pat.
- Keep the gun pointed in a safe direction.
- Your last three shots aren’t going to go very well for a while. That’s why this is called a “drill”. Keep at it and you’ll get good.
- Practice your magazine changes and gun draws a lot before attempting this. Dry fire practice is your friend.
- Start off slow to get the hang of things then gradually speed it.
Why are we practicing this strange activity? Well, did you know that your magazines can fail? On top of that, go watch some pro shooters. Notice how they’re having to reload on the fly? Often times, you’re not going to only reload when you magazine is empty. There’s a thing called a “tactical reload”, but that’s another article. For right now, the ultimate skill you’re learning is how to not only reload quickly and re-acquire your target but also get used to dropping your magazine on the ground. Remember, in a bad situation you’re going to revert back to your training.
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