Intermediate
Pistol
Draw to Sight Picture
Source: Common dry-fire training standard
0.7s
Par Time
5 yd
Distance
15
Reps
This drill isolates the draw and nothing else. At the start signal, you draw from the holster, drive the pistol to the target, and stop with a clean sight picture and a complete grip. You do not pull the trigger. The clock measures one thing — how fast you can index the gun on the target with a grip you would actually shoot from.
A par time of 0.7 seconds is a strong benchmark for a competition holster, and 0.6 is the line for a true speed setup. The reason you do not pull the trigger is that adding the trigger encourages racing the timer — a click against a beep — which corrupts the mechanics you are trying to build. The point is the draw itself. Sights up, grip locked, ready to break a shot if the situation called for it.
Two micro drills make this much faster to fix when something is wrong. Drill One: start with a firing grip already on the holstered gun and your support hand traveling — 0.4 seconds to a complete two-handed grip in front of your chest. Drill Two: start with both hands on the gun, gun still holstered, and draw to a sight picture — 0.5 seconds. Together they let you find which phase of the draw is costing you time.
Range Setup
Setup
One target at 5 yards. Pistol confirmed unloaded, holstered. Hands relaxed at sides. Shot timer set to par 0.7 seconds (0.6 with a speed holster).
Scoring
At the second beep, the gun must be on target with sights aligned for a body-zone hit and your support hand fully on the gun. No trigger press. Beep beats you = failed rep.
Tips
The sights should settle into the center of the target, not crash down from above. Bring the gun up to the eyes, not over and then down.
Progression
Add the head box as the target (+0.2 s). Start facing uprange (+0.2 s). Start with wrists above shoulders (+0.1 s). Run the two micro drills (grip setup at 0.4 s, draw from full grip at 0.5 s) when your full draw stalls.