Cold Start / First Shot

Overview

The Cold Start drill (also called the First Shot drill) measures your real-world readiness — can you draw from concealment and land a single hit on demand? This is the most honest test of your everyday-carry draw stroke because there is no warm-up.

Setup

• Target: 8-inch circle (or an 8-inch paper plate)
• Distance: 7 yards
• Round count: 1 round
• Start position: Gun concealed, hands natural at sides

Course of Fire

1. On the buzzer, draw from concealment and fire 1 round at the 8-inch circle.
2. Record your time and whether the round hit inside the circle.

Scoring

Time is your primary score — lower is better. The round must hit inside the 8-inch circle for the run to count. A miss is a failed attempt. Benchmark: under 2.0 seconds from concealment is solid; under 1.5 seconds is advanced. Run this drill cold — first thing at the range, no warm-up shots.