Best Drills For When You’re Low On Ammo

Ammo is expensive, so knowing the best drills when you’re low on ammo will give you both the practice you need and save you some money in the end. Unfortunately, this is where we’re at with the cost of ammo these days. 

We will talk about pistol and rifle drills so everyone can get their repetitions in. Not to worry. 

All of these drills will be geared toward ‘operator readiness.’ By that, I mean your concealed carry drills and things of that nature. Mindlessly blasting ammo during this crisis is not the wisest thing to do. 

These are very basic drills designed to focus on the fundamentals instead of slamming ammo downrange like a BAER standard drill that you see our favorite YouTubers doing. But not all of us get free ammo. Or else we wouldn’t be sitting here.

Remember to make sure you always follow safety rules. Some of these drills will require you to have your firearm out in the comfort of your home. And I highly doubt you want to be dry firing and ND into your kid’s room. So, make sure you always know the condition of your firearm. 

 

First Drill: Dry Firing

Dry firing is to the shooter what shadow boxing is to the boxer. More important than shooting the firearm itself is getting that muscle memory down pact so it becomes effortless for when the time comes. Hopefully, it doesn’t.

This will likely be done from the comfort of your home, so this drill is priceless and should be done more often than any other drill. Some may think they don’t have to dry fire anymore because they’ve done it repeatedly. 

But it always helps to stay sharp. 

 

How To Do It

Get dressed. Make sure you have a quality belt and holster for this. Check that your firearm is empty, and holster it. Put your arms at your sides as you would when you’re out and about at the local grocery store. 

Look at a specific point. I like to have a target on my wall, or I’ll use the dart board. Put your shooting foot back from there while clearing your shirt and drawing your pistol. Bring the gun up and put the sights on the previous predetermined target. 

And pull the trigger. This is where you find out if you will ND into the wall. Hopefully, it was clear. 

Then, reset. Make sure to reset the trigger (just rack the slide) so you can brush up on how quickly you get a round on target from the draw. 

 

Second Drill: Mozambique 

Mozambique drills are perfect for following your dry firing drills. The Mozambique drill is a classic self-defense drill that got its name in 1974 when Mike Russo was serving in Mozambique and was aggressed by an attacker. 

Mr. Russo took the attacker down with two to the chest and one to the head with his Browning Hi-Power.

Now, it’s an excellent method to practice in case you ever find yourself in a similar situation. 

Anyway, just because it was originally done with a pistol does not mean it can’t work in rifle applications. Let’s go over how you can implement it on a pistol or rifle. 

How To Do It

With a pistol, present it the same way you would when dry firing. From the holster, place the iron sights or dot over the A-Zone of a target, which is the center mass. Fire two shots, then shift your sights to the head and fire. 

With a rifle, from whichever ready position you want (low or high), present the rifle with the sight over the A-Zone or center mass. Fire two shots, shift your sights to the head of the target, and fire one more round. 

 

Third Drill: Cold Start Drill

This drill is strikingly similar to the Mozambique drill, but instead of pushing the third shot to the head, you’re keeping it right in the center of the target. One does not want to aim for the head in a self-defense scenario. 

The head is small and moving fast. The chest, on the other hand, is larger and easier to aim at. And if you haven’t been aiming all day, it’s best not to try any funny business. Hence the name ‘Cold Start’.

It’s like those who think it’s easy to aim for the legs. Like, what? 

How To Do It

Again, this drill is similar to the Mozambique drill minus shooting at the head. 

With a pistol, draw from the concealed and aim your sights at the center mass of the target. Fire three shots. Back on safety, in the holster. Don’t be a silly goose and shoot yourself in the cheddar bob. 

With a rifle, draw from whichever ready position you wish (low or high) and present the firearm. Aiming at the center mass of the target, take three shots, and back on safety. 

 

Conclusion

What’s more important than focusing on any of these drills is making sure that you have the fundamentals down beforehand. A strong foundation is key to any shooter’s success, and your foundation will either be the reason why you make it home, or you don’t.

So, make sure your base is strong. Make sure your feet are where they are supposed to be. Dry fire until you get calluses on your finger from playing all day. No matter what you do, just ensure you get the fundamentals down. 

And when you get that down, then you can move on. But there’s always room for improvement. 

Be good and take care.