The Rise and Shine Shooting Drill

The Rise and Shine Shooting Drill is a simple but highly effective exercise for building accuracy, speed, and consistency with your firearm. It’s often referred to as a “foundational drill” because it reinforces core shooting skills that carry over to both defensive practice and competition shooting. Whether you’re training at the range or running a dry fire session at home, this drill is an excellent way to test your fundamentals while gradually improving your confidence.

How to Run the Drill

The drill is designed around a numbered target and broken down into two “strings” of fire:

• String 1: From the holster or low ready, draw and fire one shot at targets 1–5 in ascending order.

• String 2: From the holster or low ready, draw and fire one shot at targets 5–1 in descending order.

The simplicity of the instructions makes the drill accessible to shooters of all skill levels. It challenges you to balance speed and precision — forcing you to break a clean shot before moving your eyes and sights to the next number. Over time, you’ll notice smoother transitions and a faster overall pace.

Print the official Rise and Shine target to get the most out of the drill. Get the target here.

Safety First: Preparing for Training

Before you begin, always start with safety. If you’re performing the drill in a dry fire session at home, ensure that your gun is completely unloaded, magazines are empty, and no ammunition is anywhere in the room. Double-check the chamber before beginning.

When running the drill at a live range, bring along essential eye and ear protection to keep yourself safe. A sturdy holster is also critical, especially since this drill begins from the holster or low ready position.

Why This Drill Works

The Rise and Shine drill teaches several key skills:

• Target transitions: Moving from one numbered circle to the next builds smooth sight acquisition.

• Controlled pace: Because you’re shooting only one round per target, the emphasis is on clean trigger presses and accuracy.

• Draw consistency: Starting from the holster forces you to refine your draw stroke, one of the most important components of defensive shooting.

It’s also a scalable drill. New shooters can focus on accuracy at closer distances, while advanced shooters can increase the challenge by adding time constraints, stepping back to longer ranges, or using smaller targets.

Adding Dry Fire Practice

One of the best ways to maximize this drill is by incorporating dry fire training at home. Dry fire lets you rehearse your draw, sight picture, and trigger control without expending ammo. Using simple training accessories like snap caps or dummy rounds can make the experience even more effective.

Dry fire is also a great opportunity to practice reloads. Pair this drill with extra magazine pouches on your belt so that reloading becomes second nature.

Building Confidence Over Time

The Rise and Shine Shooting Drill isn’t about perfection on your first attempt. Instead, it’s a tool for measuring your progress. Track your hits, time yourself as you improve, and celebrate small milestones. Over time, you’ll notice more efficient movements, faster splits, and greater accuracy.

This drill also builds confidence — something every shooter benefits from. The combination of a safe draw, controlled shots, and smooth transitions translates directly into better performance at the range, in competitions, or even in defensive training scenarios.