The ATS Benchmark
Dry-Fire · At Home
Verified clear, no ammunition in the room. Ten wall-drill presses with no movement in the sights, then five draws (or ready-ups) to a verified sight picture, filmed on your phone. Save the clip so you have it to compare next month.
Live-Fire · At the Range
The standard is the same every month: ten rounds slow fire at 10 yards on the Bull, scored; one five-round group at 5 yards, measured; five draws or ready-ups to a first hit at 7 yards. Log all three numbers in your dashboard.
Service Pistol
Run it with your duty rig. Use the same rig every benchmark or the numbers will not mean anything.
Concealed Carry
Run it from the concealment you actually wear. Same garment, same holster, every month.
Carbine
Carbine version: ten rounds at 50 yards from a supported position, scored, plus a ready-up to a first hit at 25 yards.
AUX (when ready): there is no passing score here. The only comparison that matters is your score against your own last one.
Your first benchmark is your day one, whenever you joined. Everything after it is a trend.
Your Daily Callout — By Archetype
You want the numbers to jump this month. They will move a little at a time, and that is what progress actually looks like.
Compare the film and the figures rather than how the session felt. The camera is more honest than your memory.
Improvement you can prove is confidence you can carry.
Three numbers, one table, every month. Keep the record clean and the trend will tell you what to work on.
Recurring monthly standard, identical every time by design.
- Treat every firearm as if it is loaded — always, no matter what you think you know.
- Never let the muzzle cover anything you are not willing to destroy.
- Keep your finger off the trigger until your sights are on target and you have decided to fire.
- Be sure of your target — and everything beyond it.
Dry-fire: no ammunition in the room. Verify the firearm is clear — twice. Use a safe backstop. When you finish, say it out loud: “Dry fire is over.”
The Four Universal Safety Rules
Non-negotiable. Every drill, every rep, every time. This applies to live fire and dry fire.
- Treat every firearm as if it is loaded — always, no matter what you think you know.
- Never let the muzzle cover anything you are not willing to destroy.
- Keep your finger off the trigger until your sights are on target and you have decided to fire.
- Be sure of your target — and everything beyond it.