VTAC 1-5 Drill: A 15-Round Rifle Drill That Tests Speed, Accuracy & Recoil Control

This article first appeared on AmmoLand News on May 13th, 2025 and appears here now with fresh updates.

The VTAC 1-5 drill is one of those rifle drills that looks simple right up until the shot timer starts screaming. Three targets, 15 rounds, five transitions, and a goal of finishing clean in under five seconds. That is the whole test.

Designed by Viking Tactics founder Kyle Lamb, the drill forces a shooter to drive the rifle between targets, manage recoil through longer strings of fire, and keep rounds inside the scoring zone instead of just making noise. For this run, I used the PSA JAKL to see how well it handled a fast, close-range rifle drill built around speed and accountability.

VTAC 1-5 Drill Setup: Place three targets about one yard apart at five yards. Start from low ready. At the beep, fire 1 round on target 1, 2 on target 2, 3 on target 3, 4 back on target 2, and 5 back on target 1. The drill uses 15 rounds total. A strong goal is all hits in the scoring zone in under five seconds.

Gear, Ammo, and More

For each run of this drill, we’ll need fifteen rounds. With a standard-capacity magazine, you can shoot the drill twice before needing to reload. You’ll need three targets, preferably USPSA or VTAC’s own targets. I used the FBI Q targets since I had them on hand.

You want to use the USPSA or VTAC targets because they have a dedicated chest box that demands more accuracy than most. You can also replicate the 5.9 x 11-inch rectangle of the A-zone onto any target with a Sharpie and a ruler.

Next, you’ll need your weapon, magazine, and basic PPE. For my run, I used the JAKL with a SIG Romeo-MSR red dot. We’ll also need a shot timer or, at the very least, a half-decent app on your phone to provide you with a par time. That’s it. The drill doesn’t take much.

Range Setup

The range setup isn’t too difficult. We’ll need to set up three targets approximately one yard apart in a line. The shooter will be five yards from the target. Ensure you have an adequate backstop behind the targets.

Shooting the Drill

You’ll engage the targets from left to right. Your leftmost target is Target 1, the middle is Target 2, and the right-most target is Target 3. Start in your chosen ready position. At the beep, aim and fire one round onto target 1, two rounds onto target 2, and three rounds onto target 3. Now you’ll transition back to target 2 and fire four more rounds into it, and finalize the drill by transitioning to the first target and delivering unto it your last five rounds.

Here is what it looks like to make it a little easier to understand.

• T1 – 1 Round
• T2 – 2 Rounds
• T3 – 3 Rounds
• T2 – 4 Rounds
• T1 – 5 Rounds

You aim to fire those fifteen rounds between three targets with five transitions in less than five seconds. You want your rounds to land in the USPSA A-Zone or into the square on the VTACS target.

I did it in 5.25 seconds on my first cold run, effectively failing the drill. My goal is always performance on demand, and I wanted to pass on my cold run, but now I know that I need a little more practice to hit that cold run demand. The next run was a 4.8, and my times trickled down until my ammo stash was 90 rounds short of 5.56.

Like any intermediate caliber 5.56 rifle, the JAKL handles it with ease. The long-stroke gas piston system chugs along gently and delivers a fairly soft recoil impulse with a bit of forward movement as it settles into the forward position. It’s super easy to control, making running the VTAC 1-5 quick and easy.

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	PSA JAKL 5.56 Pistol w/o Brace, Black	Palmetto State Armory	$ 999.99

Benefits of the VTAC 1-5

This short and sweet drill delivers less than five seconds of training, but somehow, in those five seconds, the VTAC 1-5 shoves a ton of training potential in. If you’re a fan of efficiency, then the VTAC 1-5 drill is for you.

First, the most obvious training benefit comes down to target transitions. You have to make five target target transitions. At first glance, the targets are seemingly large, but aiming at an internal square or rectangle is a bit tougher than hitting a full man-sized target. Your accuracy under a timer is also tested.

That timer gives us a sense of urgency and makes us try to shoot faster. The faster you shoot, the more recoil control you’ll have to execute, and that’s another benefit of running the VTAC 1-5.

You also get used to firing longer strings of fire. We often fall into the habit of firing one or two rounds and then clicking the safety back on. This gets you more used to firing and controlling longer strings of fire. It also gets you faster at firing longer strings of fire, which means you’re practicing jamming on that trigger quickly.

The VTAC 1-5 packs a lot of training into a short, light-on-ammo course of fire that’s a good bit of fun.

Going Fast

If you’re looking for a good way to turn 15 rounds of rifle ammo into a bit of noise, you could do much worse than the VTAC 1-5. This drill pushes you to be accurate, fast, and capable of letting loose an ever-increasing string of fire. Not only will you get a solid bit of training, but you’ll have a good bit of fun doing it. Give it a try, and let us know what you think.

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About Travis Pike

Travis Pike is a former Marine Machine Gunner, a lifelong firearms enthusiast, and now a regular guy who likes to shoot, write, and find ways to combine the two. He holds an NRA certification as a Basic Pistol Instructor and is the world’s Okayest firearm’s instructor.