Intermediate
Rifle
Rifle Bill Drill
Used in: Defensive · Military Qualification
Source: Adaptation of Bill Wilson's Bill Drill for carbine
4s
Par Time
50 yd
Distance
6
Rounds
5
Reps
30
Total Rounds
The Bill Drill is the gold standard for measuring raw split times on a handgun. The rifle version raises the stakes: heavier recoil impulse, longer sight radius through an optic, and a stock that has to stay in the pocket through six rapid shots. If your dot is dancing after round two, this drill will show you exactly where your fundamentals break down.
Set one IPSC target at 50 yards (50 m). Start in low ready — muzzle depressed roughly 45 degrees, safety on, finger indexed. On the beep: mount the rifle, disengage the safety, and fire six rounds into the A zone as fast as you can confirm each sight picture. Par time is 4.0 seconds. Scoring is simple — all six in the A zone under par is a pass. Any hit outside the A zone means you outran your ability to track the dot back to center. Run five reps per session and log each string.
When 4.0 seconds is consistent with clean hits, start shaving tenths off the par. Push to 3.5, then 3.0. If splits plateau, the issue is almost always grip pressure or stock weld — not trigger speed. Once 50 yards feels automatic, move the target to 75 yards (69 m) and reset the par to 5.0 seconds. The drill scales with distance, and the lesson is always the same: you can only shoot as fast as you can see.
Range Setup
Setup
1x IPSC target at 50 yd (50 m). Rifle with loaded magazine, safety on. Start in low ready position (muzzle depressed ~45 degrees). Shot timer required.
Scoring
All 6 rounds in the A zone under 4.0 seconds = pass.
Hits in the C zone = marginal, slow down and confirm the dot.
Any D zone hit or miss = fail the rep.
Log each string time and count hits by zone.
Goal: 5 out of 5 clean passes in a session.
Tips
Watch the dot, not the target. Every split is a conversation between recoil and recovery — if you lose the dot after the second round, your grip pressure is inconsistent. Squeeze the support hand harder, not the trigger hand.
Progression
Push par time from 4.0 toward 3.5, then 3.0 seconds with all A zone hits.
Move the target to 75 yd (69 m) and reset par to 5.0 seconds.
Run the drill from standing unsupported to test stability under recoil.
Add a magazine change after round 3 — three shots, emergency reload, three more.
Shoot from kneeling or barricade to build positional split times.