Nathan Towsley shooting the 2X2X2 drill using a red dot optic mounted at a 45 degree angle on the gun.
This is a Viking Tactics rifle (or carbine) drill developed by Kyle Lamb. The 2X2X2 is a simple drill designed to build speed and accuracy when engaging multiple targets. The concept is that you suddenly encounter three bad guys at close range and must deal with them quickly with your AR-15.
Each target requires two shots to neutralize. But you must be fast and accurate. Don’t just throw three erratic and panicked double-taps. The key to speed is to do it smoothly and that’s what this drill will teach you. Remember smooth is fast and this drill’s focus is to build the skills that enable you to shoot and drive the gun with fluid timing.
Brendan Burns shooting the Viking Tactics 2X2X2 drill on a snowy winter day.
It’s important that you practice no matter what the weather.
The 2X2X2 drill is to fire two “controlled pairs” at each target. A controlled pair is where each shot is aimed and the shooter must see the sights on the target before breaking the next shot. The shooter must also drive the gun fast from target to target, but stop the sights on target to break the shots, do not try to shoot as the gun swings past the target. The cadence should be so that the splits between the shots will be just about equal to the splits between targets. The result is six evenly spaced shots which can be checked by looking at the split times on the timer. The splits between the targets should not vary from the splits between shots by more than a few hundreds of a second.
My best time ever on this drill was 1.3 seconds using my JP15 3-gun competition rifle. My normal times when I am on a hot streak is 1.5 to 1.7 seconds.
Only center hits count. Any shots outside of the “C” zone on an USPSA or the -1 zone of a IDPA target will not count. As you become better at this drill, tighten up the scoring requirements to the “A” zone on a USPSA target and the -0 zone on an IDPA target. Remember the goals are accuracy and speed, in that order.Three USPSA targets are evenly spaced, side by side and placed five yards in front of the shooter. The shooter starts with the rifle butt on his shoulder and the muzzle down. Shooting stance, weight forward, on the balls of the feet. Head up and looking at the first target.
At the buzzer, engage each target in order, with two shots each. Right to left or left to right is shooter’s choice, but most right handed shooters will be faster left to right. Most who have some shooting experience will shoot the drill in about 2.0 to 2.5 seconds the first time through. With practice, 1.5 seconds is a viable goal. When you can keep all the shots on the “A” zone in a USPSA target and do it in 1.5 seconds or less, you have mastered the drill. But there is always room for improvement. Kyle Lamb does it in less than 1.3 seconds. Learn to beat that time and then you can strut.
View the video on this drill and watch Kyle shoot it in 1.26 seconds.
