Today’s Pro Tip is all about getting started in the sport of action pistol, the Bianchi Cup. 

And to do it we are going to get started in the action pistol short course, the practical event shot from the 10 and the 15 yard line, to do it we have two targets set about four feet apart and you’ll notice they each have a four inch x-Ring followed by an eight inch 10-ring, then an eight-ring and the rest of the target is worth five points.

Our goal here is to keep everything centered up in that eight ring, even better if we can keep them in the 10 and the best part is it’s easy to set up in your own home range. 

We are starting everything out here at the 10-yard line and to do all of these strings you’ll need a shot timer. 

If you don’t have one you can download one on your smart phone very easily there are a lot of free apps on the internet. you’ll see my two targets here, they are set at 10 yards. 

I am going to shoot one on each of these two targets in just three seconds for my first string. Now you can’t dilly-dally here and if you struggle with the draw, you can definitely start from the low ready. All right that was one on each, 

For string two we are going to introduce controlled pairs, two on each target in four seconds. I’ll set my par time here.

All right for this next string of fire, it’s probably the most challenging in the short course for practical. It involves one handed shooting. We are going to shoot three on each of our targets in eight seconds with the strong hand only. 

In the practical event you would transfer to the weak hand, but we are going to focus on strong hand shooting for this short course event.

Now to do it I am going to blade my body a little bit as a right-handed shooter to set myself up into a good position, and I also want to make sure I grip the gun very hard. That’s going to allow me to produce the best results on target and execute good trigger control. 

We are going to set our par time for eight seconds. 

The short course version keeps the gun in my strong hand, and I really want to make sure I keep that firm grip as the sights lift and settle. 

All right moving back to the 15 yard line, we are going to repeat the sequencing, one on each, two on each and three on each, but we are going to add a second so you’ll have four five and six seconds and the good news is you’ll get to use both hands when you shoot this one. 

For this first string of fire, you do need to have a good smooth draw, but you do have a little bit of extra time so you really want to let the dot or the sights settle on each target. 

Moving on to string two, the controlled pair, the second shot for each of these targets can be easy to pull off.

You may want to not give it the attention that it needs, but just let the sights settle each time. Transition as you recoil and move over. 

For the last string it’s three on each. We are going to repeat the same process and keep them all in the x or 10 ring. 

I shot this run through of the NRA action short course with M&P M 2.0 Core today. It is a great option if you're looking to shoot in the new production optics division. 

But as you can see, it is a great drill to test your speed and accuracy with your favorite handgun, or even your carry gun. So, give it a try and let us know how it goes and until next time be safe and have fun.

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