Run Your CCW Through a Rifle Drill? The 2X2X2

By GunSpot

There are several popular drills when it comes to training on the range, like Failure To Stop, Dot Torture, and The El Presidente drill. But there is another excellent carbine drill developed by Kyle Lamb from Viking Tactics named the 2x2x2 drill.

Sergeant Major (retired) Kyle Lamb spent more than 20 years in the United States Army, with over 15 years of his service in the 1st SFOD-D Delta Force. Lamb is the founder and president of Viking Tactics, a tactical training and tactical gear business. He participated in several conflicts, including Iraq, Bosnia, Desert Storm and the battle of Mogadishu, depicted in Ridley Scott’s Black Hawk Down movie.

The Drill

Lamb developed the 2x2x2 drill to mimic a specific scenario. The scenario is you encounter three bad guys at a close range and must deal with them quickly using your carbine. To neutralize each target, you must place two rounds into each target’s vitals. Your shots must be controlled in pairs. This means you don’t simply draw, point and fire panicked rounds at the target, but must have a sight picture for each shot.

The way to shoot fast is to slow down a bit. Remember the old adage, slow is smooth, and smooth is fast? When you are pushing it too crazy, especially without training, you will end up with bad groups that might indicate you should have just left your gun at home.

In this drill, you will fire two rounds on the three targets, transitioning quickly between targets. We positioned ourselves about 10 feet from the target stands and each target a few feet apart. In this drill, it’s a good idea to use a shot timer to train yourself to be faster and faster. But remember, you must still be safe and have seen your sights on target before you break each shot.

The Twist

We decided to run a modified version of this drill that might fit more into an everyday carry context to get some training time on our Hellcat Pro. That means we practiced this drill in street clothes and with the Hellcat Pro in a concealment holster. To run the 2x2x2 in this way is a bit different. Instead, we would wait for the sound of the shot timer beep, draw from concealment and then proceeding to fire.

By running the drill in this manner, you can touch on various valuable skills. First, you get some practice reps using your everyday carry pistol that is on you most of the time. Second of all, you get practice drawing the gun from concealment, which encompasses a lot of skills itself.

This includes things like: clearing the garment, achieving a good grip and correctly using your support hand. The third skill this drill will work is presentation onto the target, helping you acquire your sight picture as the gun is being driven out. The fourth skill will be trigger control, being able to shoot accurately. From there, the skills being worked go on and on, such as firing controlled pairs and good recoil management. But perhaps the biggest skill being worked out on this drill is target transitions.

Some Choices

Target transitions can be pretty challenging, and maintaining a sight picture as you do it is more difficult. Anybody can just wave a gun from target to target, but to do it in a controlled enough way that you can keep your sights on target is another thing. To do this, you must transition the right way, using your body to achieve proper alignment.

When you transition from target to target, you need to start your movement in your hips. If you can’t dance or don’t dance, this might feel foreign to you. Your whole torso must shift from target to target. If you don’t pivot at the hips and you just wave the gun but try to keep your head in line with the sights, you will notice how near impossible it is.

As you try to transition through, you will see your head coming out of alignment. However, if you transition at the hips and move your whole upper body, the process becomes much more manageable. A common mistake can be moving the arms and following with the hips. Avoid that mistake to improve your transitions.

Shooting targets at this close of a range can lead to some safety issues if you are not careful. For example, you cannot perform this drill with steel targets so close.

Conclusion

Get out and try this simple yet feature-packed drill. Time yourself against your buddies and let competition drive you to be better. Also, mix it up with some carbine and pistol work, and get some reps with your EDC pistol. This is a great drill to hammer on some defensive shooting fundamentals.

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