Intermediate
Pistol
Target Transitions
Source: Common dry-fire training standard
3s
Par Time
5 yd
Distance
10
Reps
Target Transitions teaches you to move the gun at the speed of your eyes. You set up three or more targets at varied spacings and difficulties, then at the signal you draw and snap a clean sight picture on each one in sequence. The instant the sights look acceptable for the target, your eyes go to the next one and the gun follows. You do not pull the trigger.
The reason there is no trigger press here is that the trigger creates a checkpoint. You wait for the sights, then break the shot, then move. That is the wrong pattern for transitions. The pattern you want is: see, move, see, move — with the gun arriving at each target an instant after your vision does. By removing the trigger you remove the false dwell and start to feel how immediate the transition can be.
Set your own par time and work it down. As the gun gets to each target the sights should settle, not bounce or fly past. If you see the sights swing past the target and have to come back, you are over-driving the gun. If the gun stops short, you are too tight in the shoulders or arms. The whole upper body needs to be quiet — only your hands and your eyes are working.
Range Setup
Setup
3 or more targets at varied spacing and difficulty. Pistol confirmed unloaded, holstered. Hands relaxed at sides facing downrange. Shot timer with adjustable par.
Scoring
At the par beep, your eyes (and the gun) must have arrived at the last target with an acceptable sight picture. Sight pictures should be appropriate to each target — a head shot needs a tighter picture than an open A-zone. No trigger press.
Tips
Lead with the eyes, not the gun. The gun is following information your eyes already gathered.
Progression
Start with a comfortable par, then chop 0.1 seconds at a time. Vary target spacing every few reps. Move some targets up, down, and at angles. Once smooth, work backward (right-to-left) and from low-ready to remove the draw variable.