10 yd
Distance
4
Rounds
4
Reps
16
Total Rounds
The Lateral Glide teaches the most common type of movement you’ll ever make with a gun in your hands — a short, deliberate side-step while staying in the fight. Two cones mark the walk, a single target sits downrange, and your job is to cover the ground between the cones while keeping rounds in the scoring zone. It’s one of the first shoot-on-the-move drills you should own before graduating to barricades, shoot houses, or dynamic stage work.
Set two cones 5-7 yards (5-7 m) apart and place one target 10 yards (10 m) out from the second cone. Start at the first cone in low ready. On the go signal, walk laterally to the second cone while firing 3-5 rounds into the target. Move in a half-ready stance — knees bent, hips dropped below a normal walking height, upper body quiet. The leg closest to the target can turn out slightly to open up rotational range. No stopping, no lunging, no heel-to-toe bounce.
Judge the rep on two things: were all rounds in the scoring zone, and was the walk smooth enough that the sight picture never collapsed. Run it in both directions — most shooters have a dominant side and the weak side always feels sloppier at first. Once it’s clean at walking pace, push the cadence faster, tighten the scoring zone, or add a second target to force lateral transitions mid-walk.
Range Setup
Setup
2 cones placed 5-7 yd (5-7 m) apart, perpendicular to the target line.
1 target (IPSC, USPSA, or B-8) set 10 yd (10 m) from the second cone.
Pistol holstered or in low ready, magazine loaded.
Start position: standing at the first cone, low ready, facing the target.
Run the drill in both directions — left-to-right and right-to-left.
Scoring
3-5 rounds per rep into the scoring zone.
All rounds in the A zone / 8-ring = clean pass.
Rounds outside the zone = marginal.
Misses = failed rep.
Movement quality counts: any stop, stutter, or shuffle is a fail even if hits are good.
Scoring: Hit Factor (HF) = points ÷ time. USPSA target zones: A = 5, C = 3, D = 1, Miss = −10. Higher HF = better performance.
Tips
Drop your hips below a normal walking height and keep the upper body quiet. The sights should float, not bounce — if the dot is hopping off the target you're walking, not rolling.
Progression
Tighten the scoring standard — all hits in the A zone or B-8 black.
Add a par time based on the cone spacing (roughly 3-4 seconds for 5-7 yd).
Add a second target to force a lateral transition mid-walk.
Increase cone spacing to 8-10 yd for a longer movement window.
Run it from the draw instead of low ready.
Switch to rifle and repeat at the same distance.