Speed and accuracy

I had the opportunity to get some practice time in this weekend using while testing Fiocchi’s 158 grain 9mm load (review coming on Tuesday), and for fun near the end of my practice session (and also because someone bet me I couldn’t do it) I decided to see if I could fire a 100 round group in less than 10 minutes at 10 yards and keep every single round in the 4 inch x-ring of a Bianchi Cup target.

Sorry for the crappy image quality, all I had on me at the time was my iPhone camera.  I actually had a lot of fun doing this drill, and I’ve decided I’m going to make it a regular occurrence here on Gun Nuts.  I’ll call it the 100/10/10 Drill for lack of a creative name, and here are the test parameters:

Set up a Bianchi Cup target at 10 yards (or 25 feet depending on your range) start from the holster.  On the buzzer, draw and fire 100 rounds with all reloads on the clock at the Bianchi Cup target.  All shots must be inside the 4 inch x-ring for the run to count.  My time just running it cold was 8 minutes, 15.23 seconds.  I had to do 8 magazine changes, and it was all fired with the Ruger SR9c.

What’s the point of this drill?  Patience, mostly.  There were a couple of times I had to back off from taking a shot I knew I was going to throw outside of the x-ring, but also knowing that I had a limited amount of time to get my shots off was constantly in the back of my mind.  Make no mistake, this an accuracy drill first and foremost.  Speed isn’t nearly as much a factor here as it is in other drills, but accuracy and endurance are very important here.  When I started the drill I was feeling pretty good, but by the time I fired the 100th round, I was glad to be done.  Near round 65-75 I really wanted to just start cranking the trigger and getting the rounds downrange, which had I given in to that temptation would have caused me to fail the drill.

Once again, I continue to be impressed with the SR9c.  This is an incredibly easy to shoot gun, and being able to hold that kind of accuracy with sub-compact gun really speaks to the shootability of this pistol.

So if you’ve got a timer and some free time, give the 100/10/10 a try.  I have no doubt that someone out there in Gun Nuts land can beat my time, and I’d love to see the pictures and the gun when you do.

21 Comments

  1. It really was; once I was in the mid 80s I started to really worry about jerking the trigger and pushing a shot. Plus, you don’t realize it but you end up getting really tired by the end of it; you want it to be over and to put the stupid gun down. I wouldn’t try this with a wheelgun yet.

  2. Did you start with a stack of loaded magazines, or did you reload magazines under the clock as well?

    1. I had a stack of loaded magazines. I have 9 magazines for the Ruger SR9c, I had 7 of them loaded to 10 rounds and the other 2 loaded to 15 rounds for a total of 100 rounds.

      1. The first thought in my mind on reading was, in fact, I need to buy even more mags. I’m a lot closer to having enough for my 1911 than with my G26. The sad part is that I actually do have enough moonclips for my 625.

  3. Dear lord, you would need 16 speedloaders/reloads to do this with a revolver. That is absolutely ridiculous, not to mention over $200 in gear! You’d be damn good at the speed reload by the end of it, though.

    1. If I took leave of my senses long enough to try this with a revolver, it would certainly be with a moonclip gun.

      1. Yes, yes, you and your fancy moon clips 🙂

        I still can’t get over how ridiculous the moon clip revolver rigs are for USPSA. Guys jingle like they’re wearing sleigh bells.

        1. You should see me when I shoot USPSA with a 625, I have moonclips all across my belt like I’m going off to war and I’m still only carrying 48 rounds.

  4. What insane person would think of a grueling drill such as this?!? Oh, that’s right…

  5. Must. Try.

    I’ll need ten mags loaded, though.

    Presumably any 4″ circle will do? All shots must be COMPLETELY inside the circle, or do edge hits count?

    1. Any 4 inch circle will do; edge hits and shots touching the scoring ring do count. Let me know how it goes or any possible tweaks to the drill. I will say that at the end of the drill my desire to just start blasting the target was STRONG.

          1. At 10yd: 100/100 in 7:59. I got through the first 40 rounds in less than two minutes, by which time my hands were on the verge of cramping. Most of the next six minutes was spent with the gun on the table, flexing my fingers and wrists. By the end, I was so beat up that I had to stop shooting and take an hour break.

            100 rounds of full power .45 in eight minutes isn’t really so rough in and of itself, but maintaining a full grip on the gun for so long was brutal.

          2. Thanks for the update Todd. I had a similar problem trying to hold on to the SR9c. I paced myself a lot differently though, so I’d fire 5 rounds in a string, relax and shake out my weak hand or strong hand, then get back to it. After 8 minutes though my arms were killing me. Now that I’ve heard your report, I think I’m going to pass on shooting this with a 625 for a while.

  6. An interesting challenge. Would I need an official Bianchi Cup target, or just a 4″ Shoot n’ See?

    I suppose also, having the shoot properly witnessed and documented is necessary?

    I may have the chance to tie this one on, come Friday.

    Jim
    Sunk New Dawn
    Galveston, TX

    1. Any 4 inch circle will do, so the 4 inch shoot n see is fine. Just make sure when scoring the target that the actual bullet hole cuts the scoring edges.

  7. Very interesting drill. I stopped shooting local IPSC when my club went to full “Run ‘n’ Gun” with 40+ round stages; shooting a 625 for 6 stages of that isn’t shooting, it’s noisy reloading drills. I’ll take ICORE, thanks.

    But that does raise another point: burning through high round count matches and/or drills raises the question of strength and stamina, each of which has two components: mental and physical.

    Caleb, you mentioned that at about 65 you just wanted to press the trigger enough to get through the drill. How much of that was fatigue from mental stress, and how much was physical fatigue from maintaining control and manipulating the controls?

    Mental fatigue is a very individual thing, and countering it must be developed at the individual level; physical fatigue can be countered with an exercise program, diet and sleep. I’ve experienced that physical fatigue can generate mental fatigue, and, while I’ve not seen the reverse it’s probably true as well. What exercise program do you follow to counter physical fatigue?

Comments are closed.