In the Tuesday Tactical Wire, I tried out Rangemaster’s Drill of the Month for June. A thirty-round course, it’s an extension of “The Test,” a simple bullseye course from Ken Hackathorn. Like The Test, the Super Test, requires ten-round strings.

That’s fine, but what if you want to evaluate your skill with a short revolver that’s limited in capacity to five- or six-rounds? 

You use another skills evaluation, one designed for guns like that. 

Now, a part of evaluating a small gun has amounted to doing handling tests better suited to larger guns. We can see that it’s impossible to do across the board.  But there is a test meant more for small guns than service pistols. 

The Snub “Super” Test from Hardwired Tactical Shooting is also taken from Hackathorn’s original - “The Test” - but expanded to cover more skills with less ammo. 

To test snub competency, try this:

From 10 yards, low ready (muzzle directed down at 45°):  fire five rounds in 8 seconds.

From 5 yards, low ready, it’s five rounds in five seconds. 

At 3 yards, from low ready, put five hits on target in three seconds fired dominant hand only.

The Snub Super Test also uses the B-8 target. Scoring the target as marked, 150 points are ‘possible.’ Back when I got the Ruger LCRx 357, I elected to shoot this course to see “where I was.” I loaded with Hornady Critical Defense .38 Special 110 grain FTX +P. I only carry .38 Special ammo in this gun and other fly-weight Magnums that I’ve carried over the years. 

While I have fired .357 Magnums out of this hand-howitzer, the split times could be appropriately measured via sundial. The Critical Defense +P hits close to point of aim in this gun: in running this course of fire, having point of aim-point of impact figured out in advance is critical, just like it is on the street. 

I scored the target and recorded the time for each string. The course was fired cold – first exercise out of the gate on arriving at the range. 

At ten yards, I scored 45/50, fired in 5.7 seconds. I had one “8” high left and one “8” just outside the 9-ring at 8 o’clock. From five yards, I shot a 47 in 3.6 seconds. At three yards, firing right-hand unsupported, I got in a hurry – 2.5 seconds – and had a disastrous low hit that just cut the “7” ring. The good news for me is that there were 2 – “Xs” and 2 “10s.” I ended with 139/150. 

I’m not sure I could do that now; perhaps it’s time to break out the short guns again.

Like the Super Test, this isn’t something I shoot over-and-over, trying to get better scores and shorter times. I find out where I’m lacking – in this case, my timing on the short-range string – and work on it. Likewise, pulling those “8-“ring hits at ten yards was more-or-less timing. Practice there would be productive. 

I can be gratified with a score, but if I’m not trying to improve, I’m wasting ammo. 

If you have a snub, give this one a try. 

— Rich Grassi