In self-defense, simplicity and repetition matter. In this video, 10-time world champion Lena Miculek shares a focused 100-round pistol training course built for everyday carry (EDC) users.
Designed around real-world principles—efficiency, precision, and mindset—these drills help shooters of all levels build solid fundamentals and perform under pressure. Watch Lena guide you through each step in the full video below⬇⬇⬇.
This course consists of nine EDC Drills for Self-defense, all designed for everyday carry pistol training. Each drill is carefully organized and already uploaded to the Drills app, making it easy for you to follow along.
“It is nine drills, and all of those drills have been uploaded to my timer, which you’ll have complete access to underneath your Drills.” Using the Drills app on your phone, you’ll see exactly how many sets and rounds to shoot. Each drill includes a detailed description and a video demonstration from Lena herself:
“You can see on the app on our phone: it tells us how many sets and rounds, along with all the rest of what we’re going to do today. And when you click on them, they’ll have a description along with a video of me executing that drill for your reference.”
Lena also emphasizes the importance of tracking your progress:
“We’re going to make sure that we’re inputting our accuracy here through the timer or the app to ensure that, by the end of this practice session, we have an extremely well-documented progression — from the first shot to the last — that we’ll be able to compare further on down the road.”
Drill #1: Slow Fire Accuracy (5 Rounds)
Our very first drill that I have selected is slow fire accuracy. So, for five rounds, our only focus is going to be shooting as small of a group as possible with repeatable trigger pulls and acceptable sights.
But let’s find our stance first. For me, that’s nice and wide — front to back, side to side. Take a deep breath, and let’s go for it: five rounds, slow fire.
Drill #2: Draw and Fire (5 Rounds)
“For Draw and Fire — when it comes to concealed carry — it’s about working out of whichever method you want to focus on,” says Lena Miculek.
In this drill, Lena emphasizes training with your preferred carry method — whether it’s appendix, small of the back, or even a fanny pack, which she uses in this session.
The drill involves drawing from concealment and firing one round, repeated five times. She adds a layer of difficulty by starting from a casual, unprepared stance:
“So that I also have to establish my stance while I do so, and not in the prepared stance like I would be at a competition.”
The target is set at six yards, a distance based on FBI self-defense stats:
“Over 90% of those uses happen between the five and seven-yard line.”
“We achieved five alphas with somewhat good consistency in our draw time,” she concludes.
Drill #3: The Bill Drill (6 Rounds)
“Now it’s time to move on to drill three — which will be my favorite: The Bill Drill.”
This drill is six fast shots, testing recoil control and decision-making. Lena explains:
“It’s up to you — do you want to push speed and accept Charlies and Deltas, or stay controlled for better accuracy?”
She runs it from compressed ready to focus purely on shooting.
“I was trying to go fast. I’ve got three Alphas, and three Charlies.”
A great test to find your balance between speed and precision.
Drill #4: Controlled Pairs (12 Rounds)
“We’re looking for two shots in a row… I really want to push that second shot.”
Lena runs this drill six times for a total of 12 rounds, focusing on refining her follow-up shot speed while maintaining accuracy.
“I got two Charlies, and the rest Alphas… I told you I was going to push speed, and I definitely did.”
She notes this drill is perfect for analyzing your split times and improving visual pickup:
“If I were to continue… I’d do it through dry fire a few times, because I wasn’t picking up my dot quite as fast as I’d like.”
An excellent exercise for building speed and rhythm without sacrificing first-round accuracy.
Drill #5: Transition Drill (12 Rounds)
Lena engages two targets set one yard apart, firing two rounds on each. The focus is on using recoil momentum to transition smoothly from one target to the next.
“We don’t want the gun to return to target — use that recoil to carry over.”
She emphasizes being target-focused and shifting your gaze to the exact impact point on the next target.
“Transition your eyes to the exact spot you want your bullets to go.”
Drill #6: Failure Drill (15 Rounds)
“Two to the body, one to the head — repeated five times.”
Lena runs this classic Failure Drill from compressed ready. The focus is on a tight, precise transition from the center mass to the head box, which is a smaller and more demanding target.
“Be visually aware of the head box the whole time — don’t tunnel vision the body.”
Drill #7: One-Handed Shooting (15 Rounds)
“Fire 8 rounds with the dominant hand and 7 rounds with the non-dominant hand.”
This drill challenges your ability to control the gun when shooting with only one hand. After the first eight shots (strong hand), the timer provides a pause for reloading and switching to your support hand.
“It’s easy to throw shots off target. You can push for speed, but the main goal is acceptable accuracy.”
Lena starts with her strong hand and then transitions to her support hand — leading with whichever hand is shooting.
Drill #8: Reload Drill (20 Rounds)
“One shot — reload — one shot. Repeat 10 times.”
After completing strong and weak hand shooting, Lena shifts focus to reload mechanics. The goal is speed with consistency and awareness.
Key tips:
- Keep the gun at eye level during the reload — don’t drop it low.
- Maintain peripheral vision to simulate real-world defensive awareness.
- Accuracy matters: “I only got two Charlies out of 20 rounds — the rest were alphas.”
“You really have to stay in the moment — one bobble is fine, it’s training. We’re here to find weaknesses.”
Drill #9: Slow Fire (10 Rounds)
To wrap up the training session, the final drill consisted of 10 slow-fire rounds, completed in two-shot increments. As Lena explains, “We’re going at 60 to 70% of our speed, really trying to walk away from this whole practice session with the last thing in our mind being complete control of all of our actions.” Alternating between starting positions—compressed ready and holster—she emphasized calm, deliberate execution.
After completing the last EDC Drill for Self-defense, she notes: “All hits were alphas, as they should be, because I’m going controlled, mechanical, deliberate.” With all rounds logged and saved in the app, the focus shifts to reflection and progress tracking.
Key Notes
- Time Management: Keep the session within 60-90 minutes.
- Safety First: Focus on consistent, deliberate actions, especially during reloads.
- Evaluation: Take notes on performance and areas for improvement after the session.
- Target Options: Use paper targets for precision and steel for immediate feedback.
Lena finishes with an important reminder: “The range is the gun gym.” She draws a comparison to physical training—showing up without a plan or structure won’t bring results. That’s why she values having preloaded drills in the SG Timer and using the app to document both speed and accuracy: “It takes out the ‘what am I going to do at the range?’ question.”
By logging each session’s outcomes, shooters can use the app’s stats section to monitor improvement over time. As Lena puts it, “All of our training sessions will add up to a better us.”
Lena tracks her performance using the SG Timer and Drills App — this setup allows her to record video, capture shot data, and track progress over time. Perfect for improving both at the range and in dry fire practice. Download the Drills App and get these 9 drills preloaded in your app today. Learn more about SG Timer capabilities here.
Tags: Drills app, dry fire, Lena Miculek, sg timer, SG Timer 2, Shooters global, shooting timer, shot timer,
