Developed in the 1970s, “El Presidente” is one of the classic combat pistol drills. It still has a lot of relevance today, too. Watch me shoot a few runs, and discuss some of the particulars of this outstanding pistol drill.
El Presidente
I shot three runs of this drill, beginning with a completely cold run with my 1911. Next, I shot a run with a S&W 686 revolver, and one with the Wilson Combat SFX9. Watch here to see how the drill is conducted, how I did, and some thoughts on getting maximum training value out of this oldie.
This drill tests multiple skills. The pivot is key, and something that, perhaps, we should practice more. Multiple target engagements, balancing speed and accuracy, and reloads are tested, as well. Although this is a mere 12-round drill, it tests a lot of skills.
The Course of Fire
The COF for El Presidente is fairly simple compared to a lot of the multi-stage drills and qualifications I shoot here. First, you need three IDPA or USPSA targets. Place targets at 10-yards, space 1 yard apart, shoulder to shoulder. The clean scoring zone is the -0 zone (IDPA) or A zone (USPSA). You will need a total of 12 rounds
Begin facing uprange with hands in the “surrender” position. On the buzzer pivot and fire two rounds at each target. Perform a speed reload, and fire two more rounds at each target. Scoring is pretty simple. The standard for acing this drill is to shooting it clean (no misses) within ten seconds. That was certainly easier said than done in my case.
