The Transition Hell Drill, invented by Mike Seeklander and Max Michel, has become my favorite drill for working on fast and accurate transitions with varying target difficulties. I was first introduced to it as a drill in the virtual reality simulator I now use for the bulk of my dry fire training, ACE VR shooting. I’ve used it in my live fire practices as well since discovering it, and have found significant value in incorporating it into my training.

The setup for the drill is two open targets at seven yards and at forty-five degree angles to either side of the shooter, with a plate rack directly in front of the shooter at ten yards. On the beep, the shooter draws and fires two rounds into the left open target, shoots the left-most plate on the plate rack, shoots the right open target twice, shoots the right-most plate on the plate rack, transitions back to the left open target and engages it with two rounds, shoots the next left-most plate on the plate rack, transitions back to the right open target and engages it with two rounds, shoots the next right-most plate on the plate rack, engages the left open target one last time with two rounds before shooting the last of the left plates on the rack, then engages the right open target with a final two rounds and shoots the last plate on the rack.

The relatively small size of the plates at ten yards compared to the A-zone of the seven yard open targets forces the shooter to be disciplined visually when driving their eyes on the transition. This has helped me drastically with visual discipline in my shooting, picking a precise spot on targets to drive the eyes and sights to during fast transitions. The ability to do this at speed is one of the most important skills to develop for a high level of performance in practical shooting.

Put this drill into your dry fire and live fire rotation, and watch your practical shooting skill improve drastically and rapidly. Spend some time doing mindful repetitions on it and you will not be disappointed.