The Bill Drill was designed to build speed without sacrificing accuracy. Typically done on an IPSC silhouette target at 7 yards, six shots are fired as quickly as the shooter can achieve hits on the center scoring zone of the target. The drill teaches sight tracking, recoil management, and trigger manipulation. To get the most out of The Bill Drill, the shooter should press for speed, while only going as fast as they can make accurate shots. The object is not to simply spray the target with 6 rounds as quickly as possible, but to accurately place 6 rounds on target as quickly as possible. Starting slow and gradually increasing speed will yield the best results.

The most important aspect of the Bill Drill is learning to follow your sights during recoil so that you can fire your next shot as soon as you have an adequate sight picture. If done correctly, this means pressing the trigger as soon as the front sight comes back down onto the scoring zone without waiting for precise alignment, or for the sight to stop movement in the middle of the target. When done correctly at full speed, the front sight is constantly moving, never coming to rest until the drill is over.

Learning to track your sights while they’re moving will take time on the trigger, but there’s a very simple way to train for it every time you shoot. After every shot you take, acquire a good sight picture. This means re-acquiring your sights BEFORE you search your target for a perfect shot, set the gun down, reload, etc. So if you put 5 rounds on target, you’ll acquire 6 sight pictures before you set the gun down. Initially, this will take deliberate and conscious effort, but it will eventually become a part of your natural follow-through. Once you’re at the point that you naturally find that sight picture after every shot, you’re tracking your sights. This makes the transition to speed much easier, as you’re already accustomed to following your sights as the gun recoils and returns to your point of aim.

Come try it out, and let us know what you think!