Our customers asked and our experts answered. Read the latest Q&A from our Ask the Expert panel.

What are the best drills to shoot on a weekly basis to enhance abilities of shooting with a Glock 19?

Before we talk about drills to make you a better shooter with a Glock 19, let’s highlight what makes the Glock different from most pistols. Let’s assume we are only talking about striker polymer framed pistols like the G19. The most noticeable difference is going to be the grip angle, and depending on the generation, you’ll have finger grooves as well. That grip angle is about 22 degrees. If you are not used to a Glock grip angle, then your natural grip may have you pointing the pistol high. This requires the shooter to “break the wrist” and point the pistol down further. This is extremely pronounced when adding a red dot sight (RDS) to the weapon system. Now that we’ve highlighted the difference in grip angle, we can talk about a couple of drills that will help you gain proficiency.

Before running drills, it’s important to note that being able to operate the firearm safely at a basic level is more important than trying to get faster or more accurate. While running any drill, you should be focusing on the basics like your grip, draw, sight alignment, trigger squeeze and so on.

One drill I like to practice is the box method. For this drill, you will put 2 in the chest of the first target, transition to the second target and put 2 in the chest of that one followed by 1 round in the head of the same second target, then transition back to the first target for that final headshot. This drill will not only allow you to focus on the basics like draw, grip and trigger squeeze, but will allow you to work on your transitions, target acquisition and tracking your sights through recoil. If you want an added level of difficulty, throw in a reload or some dummy rounds to induce a malfunction and how to clear it.

Another great drill is setting up 3 to 5 targets, shooting 2 rounds per target freestyle and performing a mandatory reload, then shoot 2 rounds per target with your strong hand, reload and shoot all targets once more with 2 rounds per target with your weak hand. For an added level of difficulty, add the dummy rounds and clear all malfunctions and complete the reloads with only one hand.

To see if you’re improving, use a shooting timer when you practice. If you really want to take your skills to the next level, seek out training as often as possible with a professional trainer.

The main takeaways:

• The Glock 19 has a different grip angle that might require additional training to break through the learning curve to become proficient.
• Constantly work on the basics even with harder drills.
• Drills should always be based on your level of competency while always pushing yourself to become a better shooter.
• Seek out professional training to improve your skills.

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What are the advantages vs disadvantages of the AR15 platform when compared to an AR10. Such as common use and POU situations?

While the AR15 and AR10 look similar, the applications vary widely. Without diving deeply into projectile grain weight, the typical maximum effective range of the AR15 with a 16-inch barrel, a 1/8 twist rate and just regular 55 grain FMJ ammo is roughly 600 yards, while the AR10, chambered in 308 with a 20-inch barrel and decent ammo like a 168 gr projectile can be effective to 1,000 plus yards. Of course, each scenario depends heavily on the barrel, gas tube length, materials used and so on.

The AR15 has many different variants from 7.5 inch barrels to 24 inch barrels, giving you the choice for a platform ideal for the intended use. Those uses are typically a CQB role, a GP role or even a DMR role. The AR10 adequately fulfills the DMR or Battle Rifle role, allowing you to make more precise shots at greater distances and delivering more energy upon impact than that of the AR15 chambered in .223 or 5.56×45 NATO.

The AR15 is known as “America’s rifle,” being the most popular modern rifle sold, owned and operated in the U.S. It is used for self-defense, shooting competitions, police, hunting medium game and so on. The AR10 is not generally used for home defense due to the weight and length of the weapon system, not to mention you probably have a scope of some sort making closer shots much more difficult. However, it is used for various competition shooting and makes for a great hunting rifle. So, the moral of the story is, the AR15 and AR10 have very different roles but can fill roles that the others may not for one reason or another.

Timothy Bies
Army Combat Veteran
Professional Competitive Shooter (Expert Level, IDPA; A Class USPSA)