The El Presidente in 60 seconds (BLUF)

• What it is: Face uprange at 10 yards, turn on the beep, draw, fire two rounds on each of three targets, reload, and fire two more on each — 12 rounds total against the clock.
• Who made it: Jeff Cooper, who built it to gauge pistol proficiency for a South American presidential security detail — hence “El Presidente,” or “El Prez” for short.
• It’s still a live classifier: El Prez is USPSA classifier CM 99-11 — a 12-round, 60-point, Virginia Count course. Shoot it at a match and it moves your classification.
• What’s a good time? The classic benchmark is a clean run in 10 seconds (all 12 in the A-zone). But USPSA scores it on hit factor, and for a clean run the conversion is dead simple: 60 ÷ your hit factor = your time. A 10 hit factor is 6.0 seconds with all twelve in the A-zone — roughly Grandmaster pace in the optics divisions.
• Why it’s the decathlon of drills: One run tests your turn, draw, target transitions, splits, a full reload, and recoil control — no single skill can hide.
• Train it anywhere: The turn, draw, transitions and reload are all pattern skills. Run par-time reps with an airsoft pistol or dry fire on a free Airsoft Shot Timer app between range trips.

Ask a room full of shooters to name one pistol drill and more of them will say “El Presidente” than anything else. It’s been on range programs for fifty years, it shows up in USPSA classifiers, and it’s the first thing a lot of instructors reach for when they want to see whether a new student can actually run a gun rather than just shoot groups off a bench. If the Bill Drill is the honest test of your grip, the El Prez is the honest test of everything else.

The Bill Drill in 60 seconds (BLUF)

• What it is: Draw and fire six rounds into the A-zone of one target at seven yards, as fast as you can keep them all in. That’s the whole drill.
• Why it’s brutal: Six shots leaves nowhere to hide. A bad grip, a slow draw, or flinching all show up instantly in your hits and your times.
• What’s a good time? From an open holster: roughly 4.5s for a new shooter, sub-3s for a solid club shooter, sub-2s for someone who can genuinely shoot. From concealment, add roughly half a second to every one of those — a clean sub-2 from concealment is genuinely rare, not a weekend goal.
• How fast is the record? Around 1.1 seconds for six A-zone hits, with a draw near 0.40s. It’s a legitimate number and a terrible training target — see below for why.
• The two levers: Your draw (first shot) and your splits (time between shots). A shot timer breaks both out for you so you know which one to fix.
• Train it anywhere: You don’t need live fire to build the pattern. An airsoft pistol or a dry-fire rep with a par time on a free Airsoft Shot Timer app trains the exact same draw-and-run mechanics.

If you’ve ever watched someone at the range draw and rip six shots into a single target in about two seconds, you’ve probably seen a Bill Drill without knowing its name. To a bystander it looks like a John Wick impression. To anyone who trains seriously, it’s one of the most revealing tests in shooting — because there is absolutely nothing to it, and that’s exactly why it’s so hard to fake.

🎯 In a hurry? Here’s the one thing to know. PCSL scores you on PPS (Points Per Second) = total points ÷ time — which means half your score is literally the clock. A more expensive pistol won’t raise your PPS, but shaving fractions of a second off your draw, transitions, and reloads will — and the only way to measure that is a shot timer. The most useful one is free: the AirsoftShotTimer app records your splits and par times from your phone, so you can train at home with airsoft or dry fire before you ever spend $130+ on hardware.

🎯 Speedsoft in 60 seconds: Speedsoft is airsoft stripped down to one thing — speed. Rounds last 4-5 minutes, guns run semi-auto only, and you win by moving and shooting faster than the other team. To start: grab a full-face paintball mask, knee pads, and any semi-capable AEG or gas pistol, then find a local SpeedQB or Speedsoft night. The part almost every beginner skips? Actually measuring their speed. “Feeling fast” and being fast are different things — and the only way to know the difference is to put a clock on it. Time your draw-to-first-shot and your reloads with a free shot timer app, and you’ll improve faster than the guy who just buys a more expensive gun. Full breakdown below.

🎯 60-Second Action Air Primer

• What it is: IPSC’s official airsoft division — the same practical-shooting sport with the same Hit Factor scoring, played with GBB pistols. It has its own World Shoot, and Asia is the home field.
• Your score is half time: Hit Factor = points ÷ time. The clock literally decides half your result, which is why serious competitors train with a shot timer from day one.
• The timer is free: You don’t need a US$130–$300 hardware timer to start. The free Airsoft Shot Timer app is tuned to detect the quiet report of GBB and AEG guns and records your draw, splits, and reloads — the exact numbers that move your Hit Factor.
• Start where you are: If you already play airsoft and own a GBB handgun, you can begin training tonight at home and shoot your first match with the gear you already have.

World-Class Competition Without Real Firearms

You’ve probably heard of IPSC—the International Practical Shooting Confederation. What you might not know is that IPSC has an airsoft division called IPSC Action Air, complete with its own World Championship.

🎯 Holster Rules & Best Picks: The 60-Second Answer

The two USPSA rules that decide whether your rig is legal: the heel of the butt of the handgun must be even with or higher than the top of your belt — that’s rule 5.2.7.2, and it applies to every division — and the gun can sit no further from the belt than 2-1/8 inches in Production, Single Stack, Carry Optics and PCC, or 3-3/8 inches in Open, Limited, Limited-10 and Revolver (rule 5.2.5). Thigh straps are out. IDPA is stricter: the butt must sit clearly above the top of the belt (8.5.1.12), an OWB holster may not stick out more than 3 inches (7.62 cm) from your body measured at the top of the belt, and cant is limited to vertical or muzzle-rear by no more than 15 degrees (8.5.1.6). Cross-draw, shoulder, small-of-the-back and pocket holsters are banned outright (8.5.2). Full numbers, division by division, are in the holster rules section below.

Quick Start: Dry Fire Training at Home Tonight

Short on time? Here’s everything you need to start dry fire training at home today, then the full guide below.