I recently had the opportunity to attend KR Training‘s Top 10 Drills class yet again.

This particular class remains one of my favorites that I intend to take when it is offered. Why? Well, it’s a fun couple of hours at the range that includes a little bit of coaching. Additionally, shooting the ten drills covered in the class provides an objective measurement of one’s skill against established standards. Furthermore, when taken multiple times, it allows one to track their skill development progress by comparing current to prior performance recorded on the provided scoresheets.

The format of this class was identical to the last time I took it and included the exact same drills. There were a few tweaks to par times on some drills that were adjusted to match the skill range of the students who attended the class. However, the differences were so minor that it doesn’t warrant detailing out the class flow and individual drills since the previous after action report post already does that. As such, this after action report will be brief – limited to my observations and takeaways from this time around.

Before we get into that, let’s cover the gear I used in this class since some one will inevitably ask about it. I don’t know if it’s worth noting, but the gear was a good bit different this time around. However, it is the same year I have used in the course work I’ve done over the past twelve months and what I use for daily defensive carry. Here is what I used:

• Gun: Staccato C2 with a Holosun 507COMP
• Holster: JM Custom Kydex IWB 3 holster on my strong side
• Mag pouches: Concealment Solutions Venom Single Magazine Carrier x2
• Belt: Nexbelt Titan EDC Belt
• Ammo: Blazer Brass 9mm 147gr FMJ

With gear out of the way, let’s get into observations.

The first observation was that I have improved since the last time that I took the class which was a month shy of a year ago. While this was expected given regular dry fire practice and participation in shooting activities has been consistent and regular, the improvements were notably smaller than the improvements that were seen last time around. Smaller improvements weren’t entirely unexpected, but it appears that I am further into the land of diminishing returns than I had previously thought.

All this means is that skill gains are getting smaller and require increasing effort to achieve, which was a topic that Karl Rehn mentioned earlier in the day. In that discussion, Karl pointed out that is a point in individual development that can be incredibly frustrating since it follows a period where improvement happens by leaps and bounds. Truth be told, I believe I’m feeling some of that frustration. Thankfully, I find shooting activities to be incredibly enjoyable. That includes the associated practice, but maybe to a slightly lesser extent. At any rate, I doubt I’ll be putting down the pistols any time soon.

How much, or rather how little, did I improve? The following table compares drill scores over time.

Drill	April 2023	April 2024	March 2025
NRA Basic Pistol Qualification	100 – Clean	100 – Clean (?X)	100 – Clean (9X)
1-2-3-4-5	N/A	150 – Clean (9X)	150 – Clean (12X)
The Test (10-10-10)	95	96 (?X)	98 (3X)
The Wizard Jr.	N/A	6 Head, 3 Body	6 Head, 4 Body – Clean
Split Bill Drill	N/A	4 Head, 8 Body – Clean	3 Head, 8 Body
Four Aces	N/A	Clean	Clean
F.A.S.T.	4 Head, 7 Body	4 Head, 8 Body – Clean	4 Head, 8 Body – Clean
Wisconsin LEO Malfunction Combo	N/A	Clean	Clean
Row by Row	N/A	8 Top, 6 Middle, 7 Bottom	8 Top, 6 Middle, 10 Bottom – Clean
KR 16x16x16	18.29 seconds (17.29 seconds – 1)	12.3 seconds – Clean	12.07 seconds (11.07 seconds -1)

It’s worth noting that the drills were significantly different when I attended took the Top 10 Drills course. As such, it muddies the water when comparing the first and the second times I took the class. However, all of the overlapping drills showed higher scores the second time around. Most notably was the improvement on the KR 16x16x16 which was the most complex drill of all.

Even though the drills were identical the second and third times I took the class, the improvements are more subtle. The first two drills scored the same, but the most recent results included a higher concentration of hits in the X ring of the B-8 target that was used. I almost shot The Test (10-10-10) clean with the two hits in the 9 ring being barely outside of the 10 ring. I traded clean runs between The Wizard Jr and the Split Bill Drill. The next two drills scored the same. The Row by Row drill saw improvement with zero dropped hits in the bottom string which was shot support-hand-only (SHO). Finally, I shaved off about a second in my raw time off the KR 16x16x16 which was awfully close to being clean with the dropped shot just outside the A triangle following the reload.

Another interesting observation was that I was able to see my mistakes as they happened this time around. From what I recall from the previous time, I was unaware of the majority of the mistakes until it was time to score the targets. This suggests that my ability to call my shots has improved since last year and my awareness while shooting has increased. Unfortunately, I’m unaware of any way to quantify and measure this improvement.

My key takeaway from this class, which I shared during the closing debrief, was experiencing the hindrance of conscious thought while shooting, especially when it’s irrelevant to the shooting problem at hand. For example, consciously slowing down in an attempt to maintain a shooting cadence that uses up the entirety of the available par time increased my shooting error rate and decreased my precision. That’s not to say I didn’t make errors when I was not burdened with conscious thought, but I found the shooting to be easier and the hits printed on the target were made in tighter clusters. This isn’t a new revelation either – it’s the essence of process focus which is a key principle for practical marksmanship.

If the Top 10 Drills course sounds like fun and something you are interested in attending, then I urge you to take a look at KR Training’s class schedule periodically to find the next scheduled offering. And if you happen to read this post on the day that it was published (or sometime thereabouts), then head over to the class schedule right now because the class is on the calendar for next month and there are seats available. Who knows? I might snag another seat and shoot the drills again then.