Need something to practice next time you work on your defensive marksmanship?
Below are some of the targets we use in our classes.
You can print these at home and avoid the cost of buying targets. We even replaced the solid shading with crosshatching to save on printer ink.
We’ve also included a few drills, and we encourage you to try them. As always, follow the firearms safety rules any time you handle any firearm — regardless of whether you’re dry firing or live firing.
Don’t forget to snap a photo of your target and post it on our Facebook page. We’d love to join you in celebrating your progress. Who knows… you might just earn a discount on future training. Have fun!
PRINT TIPS
Just click any of the target images to download and print.
In order to preserve the proper dimensions when printing these targets, be sure to change your printer settings so the files print at 100% scale. The screenshot below shows how to change that setting. Click the image to enlarge it.
Drill Targets
8.5 x 11 with Dot
Defensive marksmanship practice can start with something as simple as an 8.5″ x 11″ sheet of paper. The target area on a human is about the size of a piece of copy paper. Most targets you buy at the range are too large and their aiming areas are in the wrong place. If you buy a large target at the range, place an 8.5″ x 11″ sheet of copy paper in the high center chest and concentrate on getting all your shots on the sheet of paper, starting from the low ready position, at 3, 5, 7 and 10 yards. Once you can do that consistently, fold the sheet of paper in half and shoot it from the 3, 5, 7, and 10 yards. That will get you ready for the next drill below, the 5×5.
We’ve included a target you can print on an 8.5″ x 11″ sheet of paper. It has a two-inch dot in the middle to help you “aim small, miss small.” Aim for the two-inch dot and try to get your hits as close to the dot as possible while staying on the paper. Good luck!
5 X 5
We first learned about the 5×5 drill from Greg Ellifritz. The original drill is attributed to Gila Hayes of the Firearms Academy of Seattle and tweaked by Claude Werner. We’ve also designed a negative version with the light and dark areas reversed.
This drill is really useful for assessing your basic skill level with a handgun. As Greg Ellifritz put it, if you can pass this drill, “consider it like you’ve achieved a high school diploma” in defensive marksmanship. It’s a good balance between shooting accurately, shooting quickly, and shooting consistently.
The 5×5 Drill
From the low ready, fire five shots at one of the five-inch circles, from five yards, in five seconds. To pass the drill, you have to get all five shots within the circle in under 5 seconds. You have to do to it five times for a total of 25 shots. Once you’re consistently getting good hits from the low ready, try running the drill drawing from the holster.
B8 Repair Center
CSA is the home of the International Cult of the B8 and if you’re ever among the CSA crew you’ll often hear it “Vitamin B8,”. The full-size B8 Bullseye target comes in many variations from lots of vendors and the B8 repair center is a smaller version. Its scored rings can be very humbling, but they can also improve your marksmanship as much as vitamins improve your health.
Many love the B8 because there are many drills you can do with a B8 repair center, both live and dry. We use this versatile target in lots of classes. The 8 ring is an 8″ circle or about the size of the thoracic cavity on a human. The dark inner circle is 5.5″ (great for the 5×5 drill) and its inner 10 ring is about the size of the ocular window on a human. We literally slap B8 centers on everything and use them for developing marksmanship with pistols, carbines, and even shotguns.
Click the images to download and print our version of the B8 repair center target. We’ve included one with the traditional black center and a second with a gray center for those who want to save a little printer ink.
You can use the B8 for the 5×5 for a solid marksmanship standard. A level above that would be “The Test”. Another B8 drill that we use for structured practice. For this drill, you can hang the target alone, or you can attach it to a larger target, superimposed over the vital hit zone.
From a distance of 3 yards, starting at the low ready:
- Aiming for the CSA logo in the center, fire 1 round in 5 seconds
- Then fire 2 rounds to the logo in 5 seconds
- 3 rounds in 5 seconds
- 4 rounds, 5 seconds
- 5 rounds, 5 seconds
- Repeat this progression until all hits are within the 8 ring
Once you’re consistently hitting inside the 8 ring, push yourself to keep all shots in the black (gray), then push to keep them all in the 10 ring. After that, try moving back to 5 yards, and then to 7 yards. As your accuracy, speed, and cadence become more consistent with a 5-second par time, try completing the drill while drawing from the holster.
6-4-2 Drill
The 6-4-2 target is perfect for cadence drills. Think of cadence as the tempo of a song you might hear on the radio. Music typically doesn’t speed up and slow down in the middle of a song, right? Likewise, your string of fire on any given target should keep the same tempo throughout the string. In other words, there should be the same amount of time in between each shot – just like there’s the same amount of time in between claps when we clap along with our favorite song.
The 6-4-2 target features three circles of decreasing size (six inches, four inches, and two inches). The 6-4-2 Drill purpose is two-fold. First, we want to practice maintaining a consistent cadence throughout any given string of fire at a single target (circle). For present purposes, it doesn’t matter how quickly or slowly you shoot overall, as long as the amount of time between shots is consistent. Second, that cadence should slow down as you progress from larger targets to smaller targets. That’s because the smaller the target, the more carefully you’ll have to aim (which means you’ll need more time for each shot).
Since this is a cadence drill and not a speed drill, there is no par time at first. On the six-inch bottom circle, you’ll shoot at your version of a moderate to relatively quick tempo. On the four-inch circle in the top right corner, your tempo should decrease just a bit, because your aim point is smaller. On the two-inch circle, the tempo of your shooting “song” will be even slower. Make sense?
At a distance of 3 yards, starting from the low ready:
- Fire 5 shots into the 6-inch circle (moderate cadence)
- Fire 5 shots into the 4-inch circle (slightly more time between each shot)
- Fire 5 shots into the 2-inch circle (even more time between each shot)
Work until you’re getting all hits within each circle, and then increase the distance (try 5 yards, then 7 yards). Once you’re hitting consistently from the low-ready, then try adding the draw and running the same drill from the holster. Good luck!
Dot Torture
This is the (in)famous “Dot Torture” drill, as adapted by Todd Louis Green of Pistol Forum. Renowned trainer Greg Ellifritz offers his take on this drill at ActiveResponseTraining.net. Claude Werner, aka “The Tactical Professor,” explains the drill’s origin and development, tracing it back to World Champion shooter John Shaw.
Instructions for the standard Dot Torture drill are printed on the target. Feel free to try the original drill, or make adjustments to fit your needs, skills, environment, or comfort level. For example, you could increase or decrease the distance, adjust the time limits, or switch between drawing and working from low ready. You could also start out by doing away with the time limits altogether if you’d like to work on accuracy first and add the time pressure later.
NRA Targets
NRA Basic Pistol Target
In the NRA Basics of Pistol Shooting class, the goal is to get five hits inside each of the four circles (20 shots total). Each circle is four inches in diameter. For a Level 1 Qualification (Red), students fire from ten feet away. Level 2 (White) is fired from fifteen feet, and Level 3 (Blue) is fired from twenty feet.
NRA Instructor Qualification Target
For those aspiring to become NRA-certified pistol instructors, this is the qualification target. Instructor candidates will fire twenty shots from 15 yards. At least 16 of the 20 must be inside the circle, and the shots inside the circle must be concentrated in a six-inch group.
Baer Solutions Standards Targets
The standards target was created to gauge your performance first thing in your training and at the end. We don’t get to warm up in real life so this is shot cold, meaning no warm-up. The suggested distance is 5 meters. As with anything, once you have gotten good at it go ahead and move back to 7 or even 10 if you can. If you miss, you fail, so be accountable for your rounds. 9 seconds or faster is passing. Ensure progress in your training. Getting complacent or comfortable keeps us stagnant, always strive to get better.
For this drill, you’ll need the printed target, your pistol, a holster, two magazines, thirteen rounds, and a shot timer. There are no provisions for pistols with capacities lower than ten rounds, so no snubbies allowed! Set your target up at either three, five, or seven yards. Baer Solutions recommends starting at five yards, but vary this based upon your level of skill.
- Load ten rounds into one magazine, and place that in the gun.
- Load the remaining three rounds into your spare magazine, and place it wherever you carry a reload.
From the holstered position, hands off of gun at sides, on the signal draw and engage left or right 6″ x 3.5″ rectangle with 5 rounds.
Transition to another rectangle and engage with 5 rounds.
Perform an emergency reload and engage the center circle with 3 rds.
- Holster the gun. Drill complete.
Baer Solutions Warm Up Target
This target was designed to provide a plan for your warmup drills with 150 rounds for your pistol, but can be used with a rifle too with some modification. This target is a good way to ensure you are hitting as many of the different facets of your training as possible. By doing the drill in order, you will progress from slow aim fire to weapon manipulation to cadence and throttle control.
Target 1 works on training your sight alignment and trigger squeeze through slow aim fire, draws, reloads, recoil management and well-aimed follow-up shots after the reload. All drills are started from the holster with the exception of the first and second. Drill one establishes your correct grip and trigger squeeze, and drill 2 works on your sight acquisition and presentation to progress into your draw stroke. Drills three and beyond are all from the holster working draws and reloads. Remember that each drill builds on the previous one. What you reinforce in one drill should be carried over to the next.
Target 2 trains on the more advanced aspects of shooting such as cadence, recoil management, and throttle control. Drill 5 is to determine the speed that you can accurately hit different sized targets. This is accomplished through the use of your “cadence” which is explained on it. Count them out loud and break each shot as you say the number. Throughout this drill reset your trigger and get your sights back on target quickly. Think about resetting your trigger and sights as the slide moves back forward chambering a round. Drill 6 is a throttle control drill that mimics having a close target and others at different distances which will require more well-aimed shots. Your largest target should be with faster split times and the smaller ones will be potentially slower depending on size.
For use with a rifle, you can modify Drill 1 for dominant and non-dominant-sided shooting by transitioning to each shoulder between dots. Don’t forget to apply proper holdovers for the distance you are shooting at.
The drills provided are a guide, so feel free to use them as needed to accomplish your training goals. Other drills you can do are “Check” Drills or set up several of them to target transitions when you are limited on range space.
Can Fun Target
Your range won’t let you shoot soda cans? Here is a paper version.
Sighting Targets
Baer Solutions Zero Target
This target was designed to save time zeroing your optic and laser at 25 meters. The black box in the middle is your point of aim for a 50/200 zero with the rounds impacting in the circle below. The laser box is for the Insight LA-5/PEQ-15 model visible red and IR lasers to provide a constant offset setup to your line of sight.
Zero main optics at 25 meters
Adjust laser vis laser into the box, while maintaining point of aim.
Confirm optic zero at 50 meters with larger circles on top. Point of impact is the point of aim at this distance.
At night, apply glint tape to the laser square and confirm rounds are still in the circle at 25 meters. Best to be done at dusk for maximum visibility.
1/2 Inch Square Sighting Target
1/2 inch square-based target.