Maintaining our shooting skills is especially important if you own a firearm for personal or home defense. But you don’t have to have an elaborate range set up to maintain those shooting skills. You can do so with a single lane, with one box of ammunition, 50 rounds, to make sure that you're getting the most out of your trigger time so you can hit your target when you need to. 

For the first part of this session, all you’ll need is an eight-and-a-half by eleven inch sheet of office paper. We’re going to set that on a backer and move to the five yard line. 

I am going to be using the M & P nine millimeter Shield EZ and I am going to be working from the low ready position, but if your range allows it, you can certainly incorporate a draw. 

The beginning of this drill is going to involve controlled pairs and we’re going to do five of them into the center portion of our white sheet of paper. Anywhere on that paper is good and it’s important to remember this is going to be quick shooting. You want to be able to rely on quick defensive shooting skills when you need them most, so we’re going to start out with those first. 

For these first ten rounds I am really focusing on the controlled pair. Watching the front sight lift, settle back into place, and breaking the second shot, for each controlled pair. 

Next step in the training session, we are going to address one handed shooting and it’s a skill we often neglect, but it’s one you should focus on in order to maintain those skills. So we are going to repeat the controlled pair but I am going to use my strong hand this time. One-handed shooting is much more difficult so you won’t be able to shoot as quickly. The sights are going to move a lot more. 

That’s okay.  

We are still working on the same premise, watching the front sight lift and seeing it settle in place before breaking the shot. 

Throughout this maintenance session you will need to reload as necessary and the M & P nine-millimeter Shield EZ comes with easy to load magazines with tabs making it even easier. 

Next up we are going to re-engage the same target this time with five controlled pairs from support hand only. Support hand shooting is very challenging for a lot of shooters. Try not to get discouraged; remember to shoot only as fast as you can see the sights lift. And remember to keep your focus on grip, sight picture, and trigger control to break these shots.  

All right as you can see, I have managed to keep them all on the white sheet of paper. That is the goal for this session. 

Now we are going to bring two new targets into play. It’s simply another eight-and-a-half by eleven sheet cut in half, with a little bit of distance between them both. And we are going to shoot some more controlled pairs at two targets.

For the final portion of this maintenance session we are going to incorporate transitions along with those controlled pairs. 

I am going to engage both targets with two rounds each for a total of five strings. 

For strings one two and three I am shooting two shots in the right target and two shots on the left target. 

For strings four and five I am going to shoot left to right, really making sure I drive the gun between the two targets. 

Now remember, this a maintenance session not a skill building session. 

So remember, it’s a fifty round shooting strategy that will help you maintain your shooting skills. 

Go ahead and give it a try and until next time be safe and have fun.