50 Rounds And A Cloud of Dust
I have never been a big fan of all-day practice sessions. I am not a sponsored shooter. I don’t have an ammo contract, and while yes, I could round up some practice ammo from the people I know in the business, I like to keep that sort of thing separate from my personal training and practice. 
However, I want to maintain what I have and maybe improve my shooting skills. I’m on the center-right portion of John Hearne’s Automaticity Chart, and I want to stay there at the very minimum, or ideally, improve a little bit.
I also don’t have a lot of time to devote to such things. I do dry fire for about 10-15 minutes a few days a week, and I need to validate my dry fire routine with some time on a live range. Over the years and years of doing this sort of thing, I’ve created a practice session routine which doesn’t require a lot of time (it takes me an hour or so) and requires just one box of ammo.
The Cold Open
I am a big believer in cold, on-demand performance, as that is what will show up if we are required to use a gun to defend a life. My first shots of the day measure my true skill set, and any slacking-off I’ve done in dry fire will show up here. The drill you chose to use should be short, yet cover as wide a range of essential skills as possible. I use the old Bakersfield PD Pistol Qualification, which is 10 rounds, but other drills you might want to consider are:
Simon Golob’s Cold Heat Drill (1-5 rounds)
Ken Hackathorn’s Wizard Drill (5 rounds)
Justin Dyal’s 5 Yard Roundup (10 rounds)
Meat and Potatoes
Now for the (not) fun stuff: Improving your skills. I believe that for beginners (someone who has yet to cross the middle of Hearne’s chart), nothing improves your skill faster than the Dot Torture Drill. The original is 50 rounds, which would blow through our ammo budget by itself, but Tim Reedy of TDR Training has created a nifty shorter version which hits the high points without emptying your wallet. If you’re looking to change things up a bit, try Karl Rehn’s 3 Seconds or Less Drill.
25 Yard Dot Torture (25 rounds)
“But Kevin,” you say, “I’m beyond that level of skill. What should I practice?” If you’ve mastered the basics of stance, grip sights and trigger, now you’re into the realm of visual and mental performance. A couple of runs through the El Presidente Drill (24 Rounds) or a spin at the Federal Air Marshall Qualification (30 Rounds) will help with this.
Depending on which drills you chose, you’ll now have about 10 or more rounds left in your fifty round box of ammo. I like to leave seven rounds for the last two drills of the day, which leaves a few rounds left over for me to use to work on my weak points, usually by shooting controlled pairs of whatever went wrong.
Wrapping Things Up
Those last two drills are a F.A.S.T Drill, which is a good recap of the essential elements of defensive shooting, and a single headshot taken from concealment at 25 yards, which should be done in under three seconds and is a pass/fail test. Hit it? You passed. Missed? Well, there’s something to work on for your next session.
