Range Warm-Up Routine: Building Speed and Precision the Smart Way

When people picture a day at the range, they often imagine walking up to the firing line, loading up, and blasting away. But that’s not how I (John Lovell) approach training. In fact, if you watch me during the first 15–20 minutes at the range, you might be surprised. I barely fire any rounds at all.

Why? Because I’m not there just to make noise. I’m there to sharpen skills that could make the difference in a real fight.

Why Warm-Ups Matter

Just like you wouldn’t walk into the gym and immediately try to set a new bench press record, you shouldn’t step onto the range and start at full throttle. Shooting—especially defensive shooting—is a perishable skill. It demands discipline, fundamentals, and structured practice.

A warm-up routine helps me:

• Re-establish fundamentals (sight picture, trigger control, presentation).
• Reinforce safe, smooth gun handling.
• Build speed and movement gradually, instead of rushing into bad habits.

Step 1: Smooth, Perfect Presentations

I start with an empty gun, moving slowly and deliberately. Each presentation is painfully slow by design. I’m focused on one thing: a perfect sight picture.

If my draw stroke has a wobble, if my sights don’t line up exactly where I want them, I catch it here, not later when speed could make those errors permanent.

Step 2: Adding Movement

Once I’ve got clean, consistent presentations, I layer in movement:

• Side steps.
• Small angles.
• Turns that simulate real scenarios.

Even while moving, I’m watching my trigger prep and ensuring my upper body stays a stable, controlled platform while my legs do the moving. My sights should glide across targets, not bounce.

A drill I particularly like: pick a small object, lock my sights on it, and move my body around without letting the sight picture drift. This forces discipline in keeping the gun stable even during fast footwork.

Step 3: Retention and Close-Quarters Work

Next, I practice draws and firing positions from retention—the kind of up-close encounters where distance and time are limited. Again, slow at first, then gradually faster.

I’ll step offline, change angles, and run through short bursts of retention shooting to keep those defensive responses sharp.

Step 4: Fundamentals and Accuracy

Finally, I don’t neglect the basics. At the end of my warm-up, I’ll set a target at seven yards and focus purely on accuracy—punching tight groups, aiming to stack round after round through the same hole. This keeps my trigger discipline sharp and ensures I’m not losing ground on fundamentals while focusing on dynamic drills.

Wrapping Up

This routine may not look flashy, but it’s what keeps me fast, accurate, and safe. Gunfighting skills are perishable, and you can’t afford to let them slip. A deliberate warm-up routine helps me balance speed with fundamentals so I can perform when it matters most.

Train hard. Train smart, and be deliberate at the range.