War HOGG Skill Builder: The 25-Meter Bull That Will Humble You - and Make You Dangerous With Fundamentals

Rick Hogg
7 hours ago
6 min read

The 25-Meter Bull is a 30-round pistol skill builder (slow, timed, rapid) that exposes grip, trigger control, and mental discipline. Shoot it cold, score it right, build a dry-fire plan, and retest for measurable improvement. — Results from the 25-Meter Bull pistol skill builder highlight precision and control.

If You Want Better Marksmanship, You Need a Plan - Not Vibes

Having shooting goals and a plan is critical if you actually want to improve your marksmanship. This month’s skill builder does what most shooters avoid: it adds distance and forces you to perform at 25 meters on a bullseye target.

Here’s why this matters. Most people can “look decent” at 5–7 yards. That doesn’t mean their fundamentals are solid. The 25-meter bull will expose what’s real and what’s wishful thinking, especially when the clock gets involved.

And yes, I’m still trying to keep these skill builders indoor-range friendly. The intent at War HOGG Tactical is to supplement your program and help you become more efficient and effective with your firearms.

Equipment You Need (Keep It Simple, Keep It Honest)

Run your normal range gear. Don’t turn this into a science project.

Use a 25m B8 bullseye replacement center (or the War HOGG Tactical Training Target), a live-fire range plus a dry-fire area, a shot timer, a recording device, and a way to track your shooting performance data, The Firearms Training Notebook exists for this exact reason.

One note I’ll add: the timer and the camera are truth serum. Your feelings don’t matter. The data does.

How the War HOGG Skill Builder System Works

At the beginning of the month, you shoot the drill. Then you record your shooting performance data. Then you build a dry-fire plan based on what the target and timer exposed. You work that plan all month. Near the end of the month, you reshoot the drill and measure improvement.

That loop, test, train, retest, is how you get better on purpose.

The 25-Meter Bull Course of Fire (30 Rounds, No Warmup)

This is where shooters start making excuses. Don’t.

Head out to the range and run the full 25-meter bull series with no warmup, just shoot the 30 rounds.

You’ll shoot three variations:

Slow Fire: 10 rounds in 10 minutes.

Timed Fire: 5 rounds in 20 seconds, two strings (10 rounds total).

Rapid Fire: 5 rounds in 10 seconds, two strings (10 rounds total).

Record your scores, the target used, the distance, and your notes in the Firearms Training Notebook. If something went sideways, write it down (example: grip fell apart during rapid).

Scoring the 25-Meter Bull (Do It Right or Don’t Do It)

Scoring matters because it creates accountability.

First, make sure you have all 10 shots for that string, each miss is minus 10 points. This is the one exception where I count line breakers because it’s an international standard.

Then score the rings:

10-ring and X-ring are 10 points (track your X’s in your final score, like 96-2X). 9-ring is 9 points (easy math: minus 1). 8-ring is 8 points (minus 2), and keep counting down the same way.

This drill isn’t about ego. It’s about building a repeatable baseline.

Most shooters don’t have a “25-meter problem.” They have a fundamentals problem that 25 meters makes impossible to hide. — Assessing targets results after a 25 meter bull shoot, recording the shooting performance data in The Firearms Training Notebook, emphasizing that accuracy issues often stem from fundamental skill deficiencies rather than distance-related challenges.

Why Most Shooters “Struggle” at 25 Meters (It’s Usually Mental)

I see most shooters struggle at 25 meters, and I believe a lot of it is the mental idea of being “way out there.”

Here’s the truth: if you can consistently hit a 3-inch dot at 5 or 7 meters, you can hit a 25-meter bull.

The target didn’t become impossible. Your mind just told you it did.

How to Adapt This Skill Builder (So You Actually Improve)

If 25 meters is crushing you, don’t quit, adjust intelligently.

Move closer to build the skill, and once you’re consistently hitting the bull, push the distance back until you’re at 25 meters. You can start from the holster or from the ready depending on your skill level. And if timed and rapid are a mess right now, you can change the time standards, make rapid 30 seconds and timed 15 secondsthen bring the time back down as you improve.

That’s not “lowering the standard.” That’s building the bridge to the standard.

Slow Fire: Precision and Fundamentals (This Is Where You Get Honest)

The 25-meter slow fire is all about precision, sight alignment, and trigger control. It isolates fundamentals.

You have enough time to perfect natural point of aim, break clean trigger presses, call your shots, and reset mentally between rounds.

Here’s the advice that fixes a lot of shooters: don’t chase the wobble. Accept it. Time your press through the natural arc. That skill is built through dry fire.

And because you have the time, you don’t take bad shots “just because.” If the sights aren’t there, don’t shoot.

What do I do? I don’t rush. I’ll take almost the full 10 minutes. After each shot I bring the pistol back to the ready or reholster. I change my focal shift by looking at the ground, take at least two deep breaths to oxygenate my eyes, and then present back out on target.

That’s not drama. That’s discipline.

Timed Fire and Rapid Fire: Consistency Under Pressure (No “Cadence” Worship)

Timed fire teaches repeatability. Fundamentals must be consistent, but you still have enough time to avoid rushing.

Rapid fire is where shooters start lying to themselves. The clock compresses decision-making and your grip gets exposed fast.

I’m not a fan of chasing a cadence. Your sights always give you permission. If your grip is solid and repeatable, you’ll be successful. If it isn’t, rapid fire will show you, immediately.

This is also where you should test your equipment honestly. Ever ask yourself what happens to a red dot on a red target? Test it. Don’t assume.

What the 25-Meter Bull Really Diagnoses

If you want to get better quickly, stop treating your score like a trophy and start treating it like a report card.

Slow fire usually reveals sight management and trigger control. If you’re throwing shots here, you’re not “missing”, you’re pressing the trigger poorly or breaking focus.

Timed fire reveals whether your fundamentals stay consistent when time becomes a factor.

Rapid fire reveals whether your grip is strong enough to keep the gun predictable while your brain is hearing the timer.

Most shooters don’t have a “25-meter problem.” They have a fundamentals problem that 25 meters makes impossible to hide.

Build Your Dry-Fire Plan From Your Notes (Not Your Feelings)

This is where real improvement happens.

After your first range session, use the notes section in your training notebook and write what you learned, example: “poor grip during rapid string.” Then build your dry-fire plan around fixing that specific issue.

If your slow fire score is weak, your dry fire needs more precision reps: clean trigger presses, steady sight picture, calling shots, and resetting your visual focus.

If timed fire falls apart, your dry fire needs repeatable presentations and consistent grip acquisition.

If rapid fire looks like a shotgun pattern, your dry fire needs grip work and sight tracking—learning what “acceptable sight movement” looks like while staying accountable to an aiming point.

And keep it structured. Work the plan throughout the month, then retest.

Check on Your Work (Retest Like an Adult)

Near the end of the month, head back out and reshoot to see where your performance is at.

A few things can throw off your data. If you have a malfunction (failure to fire, extract, etc.), reshoot the drill. If you fumble a magazine change, finish the drill, capture the data, then decide if you want to reshoot, because you still have plenty of usable comparison data.

The goal isn’t perfection. The goal is honest measurement.

Build Your Shooting “CREW” (Accountability Accelerates Growth)

Having like-minded shooters around you will help you get better. Build that tribe—friends, family, coworkers, people who will keep you accountable and help you see what you miss.

They can record you, give feedback, and add a little competition that keeps training fun and consistent.

At War HOGG Tactical, we live by: “Be 1% Better Every Day!” And if you want a broader tribe, you can share your marksmanship growth with our On The Range Patreon “CREW.” Mark Kelley and I do bi-monthly interactive Zoom calls where we break down the skill builder and sometimes review video for immediate feedback.

Conclusion: The 25-Meter Bull Is the Standard - Put in the Work

If you want improvement, you have to put in the work. That means a solid dry-fire training plan and a way to record progress, exactly why the Firearms Training Notebook belongs in your program.

Use the shot timer and video to take your dry fire to the next level, then verify the improvement in live fire.

Train hard, stay safe, and I’ll see you On The Range - Rick

Join our On The Range Podcast Patreon "CREW" for exclusive access, tactical tips, bi-monthly interactive zoom call, and stay tuned for future live recordings.