My Quest for C Class
I've learned enough in this world to know that it's all been done before. I'm not going to invent anything new on my road to shooting improvement. The best I can hope for is to take what has already been revealed by the best, and make it my own.
So I started my quest with some research on the interwebz by looking at what the best shooters were doing to improve. Naturally, Caleb Giddings' Quest for Master Class drew my attention. Caleb pointed me to a great post by ToddG at pistol-training.com, where Todd builds a month-long training routine around the venerable Wall Drill.
The Wall Drill takes the simple dry firing act and isolates the firing action itself, by removing all focus except the front sight and the trigger. Quoting ToddG:
Holding your unloaded pistol in a normal shooting grip and stance, press the muzzle to the wall until it just barely makes contact, then back off about an inch. Because you are using a blank wall as your backstop, you effectively have no target. There is nothing for you to focus on except your front sight.
From this position, practice your trigger manipulation. The goal is to press the trigger straight back with consistent pressure until the “shot” breaks without disturbing your sight alignment throughout the process. Remember, that is the key to accuracy — a proper trigger press that doesn’t mess up your sight picture.
He then builds several training routines around this drill - with both hands, strong hand, weak hand, from retention, from the holster, with movement, and while clearing jams and malfunctions. Taking about 10 minutes to perform, these drills don't take up much time, and most importantly, they're too short for me to get bored.
So, I started from the beginning, and I've completed Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. I practice in a paneled office, so I taped a sheet of plain paper to the wall to take away any point of focus.
The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step, said the Master. I've take three.