TheBigDog65
Amateur
The Revolver Renaissance of the past few years has brought a lot of younger shooters into what had become an old man's playing field. Revolvers aren't at all like shooting a polymer framed service pistol, but if you can master the double action revolver you will likely find that your capabilities on other firearm types will improve. For shooters who are used to working on pistols the learning curve may be shorter.... or it may actually be longer. While the fundamentals of marksmanship remain the same, grip and trigger press are a different ball game than what they may be used to.
When I am working with new revolver shooters, after initial familiarization, I like to start them with the Five Plus One drill. If the gun of choice is a five shooter then make it Four plus One. Stepping back to five yards and using an 8.5 x 11 sheet of colored printer paper or a white 8 inch paper plate, the shooter loads five dummy cartridges and one live round, setting the gun up so the live round is the last to fire. On S&W and Ruger the live round will be at the 11 o'clock position. On Colts it will be at 1 o’clock.
When ready to fire, raise the gun with a good two hand grip and fire six shots at their own pace focusing on making a single smooth press of the trigger each time. This drill will helps the student learn to roll the trigger smoothly while maintaining a good sight picture on a target that helps them be successful without adding the pressure of scoring rings. After a few reps they should begin to have a feel for the trigger and deficiencies in grip and sight alignment that are identified will have been coached. At that point I'll have them close the cylinder without looking so that they don't know when the live round is coming. This bit of uncertainty should make them focus more on the fundamentals.
Usually I will have them do ten reps as aside from the experience it gives me the opportunity to assess their skill level and applying coaching if needed. For ten live rounds fired they get 60 (or 50 for a five shooter) trigger presses at their own pace and with little pressure. If they are starting to group their shots we'll move on to the next lesson.
If you're new to the revolver give the Five Plus One a try on your next range trip.
When I am working with new revolver shooters, after initial familiarization, I like to start them with the Five Plus One drill. If the gun of choice is a five shooter then make it Four plus One. Stepping back to five yards and using an 8.5 x 11 sheet of colored printer paper or a white 8 inch paper plate, the shooter loads five dummy cartridges and one live round, setting the gun up so the live round is the last to fire. On S&W and Ruger the live round will be at the 11 o'clock position. On Colts it will be at 1 o’clock.
When ready to fire, raise the gun with a good two hand grip and fire six shots at their own pace focusing on making a single smooth press of the trigger each time. This drill will helps the student learn to roll the trigger smoothly while maintaining a good sight picture on a target that helps them be successful without adding the pressure of scoring rings. After a few reps they should begin to have a feel for the trigger and deficiencies in grip and sight alignment that are identified will have been coached. At that point I'll have them close the cylinder without looking so that they don't know when the live round is coming. This bit of uncertainty should make them focus more on the fundamentals.
Usually I will have them do ten reps as aside from the experience it gives me the opportunity to assess their skill level and applying coaching if needed. For ten live rounds fired they get 60 (or 50 for a five shooter) trigger presses at their own pace and with little pressure. If they are starting to group their shots we'll move on to the next lesson.
If you're new to the revolver give the Five Plus One a try on your next range trip.
