Last month, I discussed the Essentials Target from RE Factor Tactical. I purchased these as a multi-purpose target I could use for various training drills, zeroing, and more. Along the way, I discovered a drill attached to the Essentials Target known as the Kill Card Challenge. This particular drill is designed around three of the targets on the Essentials Target. It is a fairly simple drill but also a fairly hard drill with some strict accuracy and time standards.
This year, I’m setting a shooting goal for myself every month. This month’s goal is to clear this drill. If I accomplish this before the month ends, I’ll add concealment, or switch to a smaller pistol, or something else to make it difficult. Let’s dig into the Kill Card Challenge, and hopefully, by the time you read this, I will have conquered it.
RE Factor Tactical Kill Card Challenge
The Essentials Target is required, and you’ll be shooting the Number 1 circle, the Number 7 Rectangle, and the Number 12 rectangle. As you can see, the three targets within the target vary in size and location, which presents us with our first challenge.
This drill is only fired from five yards, but don’t let that fool you. It’s still fairly difficult. You have to fire eight rounds and conduct two reloads in seven seconds to accomplish the drill. You need three magazines. Two magazines are loaded with two rounds, and one magazine is loaded with four rounds. Your course of fire looks like this.
Shooter starts with hands down or up, but off of the gun. At the beep, the shooter draws and fires two rounds into the number 1 target and conducts a reload. You need to reload with the magazine holding four rounds and shoot those rounds in target number 7. Now reload one more time and fire two rounds into target number 12.
Do all that in seven seconds, and you pass the Kill Card Challenge.
My Thoughts
The Kill Card Challenge does stress some core skills. You have to be fast with your reloads with your draw and make sure you’re placing your shots on target. Obviously, remembering the order of operations helps, but if this jar head can do it, so can you. Once you run through the drill a few times, moving quickly between targets isn’t tough, and some dry fire runs probably help a bit.
Going from small to big to small forces you to change gears. Personally, I found it easier to shoot the smaller targets and feel I can cut a lot of the split times down from the four shots fired if I hit the gas a little more when I get to the big target.
I did see my times quickly drop from around ten seconds to the mid-eights very quickly. That’s where things begin to slow down a bit, and scraping fractions of a second off becomes a little more difficult. On my first day, I got to 7.9 and have been working to scrape that 0.9 off. I really want to be able to do this in about five seconds with my current setup.
To do so, I’ve been practicing the individual movements in a dry fire environment. I’ve been stressing faster draws and reloads to drive the time down.
Killing the Card
If you can accomplish the Kill Card challenge with video proof and follow the rules stated on the RE Factor website, they’ll send you an exclusive patch and add your name to the list of those who got it done. I plan to do just that because I can’t resist a free patch! Plus, it falls in line well with my yearly goal.
