“Mad Minute” CCW Pistol Target Drill

Improve Your CCW Skills With the “Mad Minute” Target

There are many schools of thought when it comes to speed and accuracy in shooting, but one thing we all agree on is that knowing time is running out increases the pucker factor. This is a fun drill to do by yourself or with a range buddy running the clock. The key is shooting as fast and accurately as you can for the given distance and within your ability to keep the rounds on target. Use this drill as a warm-up when you start your range session, and make sure you have some extra ammo so you can shoot it again because this is a fun one.

Mad Minute Drill

This drill is very simple and can be shot on virtually any range with nothing more than the provided target, a stopwatch, pistol, 50 rounds of ammunition, and proper protective equipment.

The concept is simple: put 50 rounds in an 8-inch circle in under a minute at distances ranging from 3 to 15 yards.

Don’t worry, changing distances doesn’t happen on the clock. Neither does reloading if you top off between stages. Set your stopwatch to a one-minute countdown and get ready to have some slightly introspective fun.

If you can draw from a holster on your range, we recommend doing so. If not, just start the drill holding the pistol with one hand at the high-ready position. Once you start the clock, all you have to do is establish your firing grip and go to town.

Move the target out to whatever distance you choose to start. We chose to start at 3 yards and work our way out, but you can start the drill at 15 and work your way in. When you’re ready, start the timer and shoot 10 rounds. After 10 rounds, stop the timer, reload, and move the target to the next distance. Rinse and repeat till you’ve shot 10 rounds at each distance.

The more time you take on each stage the less time you’ll have remaining to complete the stage at other distances. So, trying to shoot a little bitty group at 3 or 5 yards might cost you a lot of time — time that you’ll probably need when you get out to 10 and 15 yards.

Download and print this drill HERE.

Time Limit: 1 minute (total shooting time)

3 yards – 10 rounds
5 yards – 10 rounds
7 yards – 10 rounds
10 yards – 10 rounds
15 yards – 10 rounds

Scoring

60 seconds – time remaining + 1 second per miss (anything outside the circle)

For instance, if I had 14 seconds remaining on the clock with four misses after shooting all the stages that would be: 60 – 14 + 4 = 50.

The lower the overall score the better. You’re also more than welcome to score the target much like a classic B-8 replacement center with a possible 500 points.

Shooting this drill in under a minute shouldn’t be an issue, even with starting and stopping the stopwatch or working from a holster, if your range allows that. If you want to spice things up a bit, reload on the clock or start taking away seconds in increments of five or 10 until you can no longer complete the drill.

The first time we shot this drill the score was 53 (seven seconds left on the clock and no misses). The second go around we got 47 (14 seconds left on the clock and one miss). Definitely look into adding this one into the rotation.

Good luck, train safe and remember to post your results on social media and let us know how you liked the drill.

NEXT STEP: Download Your Free Target Pack from RECOIL

For years, RECOIL magazine has treated its readers to a full-size (sometimes full color!) shooting target tucked into each big issue. Now we've compiled over 50 of our most popular targets into this one digital PDF download. From handgun drills to AR-15 practice, these 50+ targets have you covered. Print off as many as you like (ammo not included).

Get your pack of 50 Print-at-Home targets when you subscribe to the RECOIL email newsletter. We'll send you weekly updates on guns, gear, industry news, and special offers from leading manufacturers - your guide to the firearms lifestyle.

You want this. Trust Us.