War HOGG Run and Gun: Shooting Under Physical Duress That Builds Real-World Performance

Participants engage in a dynamic War HOGG Run and Gun skill-building session, focusing on integrating functional fitness with live fire and dry fire exercises to enhance various shooting skills under stress.

“Run and Gun” Isn’t a Trend—It’s Reality

Some people call it “Run and Gun.” We call it Shooting Under Physical Duress, or Stress Shoot, because that’s the truth of it. You’re taking the comfort away. You’re spiking your heart rate, forcing your breathing to get ugly, and then demanding clean gun handling and accountable hits anyway.

This month’s skill builder was sparked by feedback from the On The Range Podcast “CREW”, folks who wanted more about the fitness side of firearms training. And they’re right to ask. Because if you carry a firearm, duty, concealed carry, competition, the odds of needing performance when you’re calm and rested are low.

A static range day builds fundamentals. It does not fully prepare you for what happens after you sprint to cover, fight through exhaustion, or try to do fine motor tasks while your pulse is hammering.

That’s what this is about: performance on demand.

Why Fitness and Firearms Must Go Together

I didn’t sit down and “design a program.” The Fitness & Firearms concept hit me like a revelation at the War HOGG Tactical combat training center, mid-workout, when I saw my gun belt, a PACT timer, and a copy of The Firearms Training Notebook sitting there. I remember thinking: Why am I separating these things? Why not stack dry fire between sets and teach my body to work through fatigue?

That became the core idea: spike the heart rate with functional fitness, then demand gun handling while the body is screaming at you to stop. Burpees, sandbag work, sprints, whatever gets the blood pumping, followed by draws, reloads, transitions, target indexing. That’s not “cool guy” stuff. That’s building a nervous system that can still perform when it matters.

And before anyone gets emotional: this isn’t about being reckless. This is about being prepared.

The War HOGG Skill Builder Method: Test, Track, Train, Retest

Here’s how we run monthly skill builders.

At the start of the month, you shoot the skill builder and record your performance data in The Firearms Training Notebook. You build your dry fire plan from what the shooting performance data tells you, not what your ego tells you. Then you work the plan all month. Near the end of the month, you reshoot the skill builder and measure improvement.

This month we add a fitness component, because the goal isn’t just “shoot better.” The goal is shoot better under stress.

Equipment: Keep It Simple and Repeatable

You don’t need a gear explosion. You need a consistent setup you can run anywhere.

Use your normal range gear, a live fire range, a dry fire area, a shot timer (I recommend the PACT Club Timer III), a way to record video, and a way to track results in your training notebook. A training target helps, and a sandbag/kettlebell/dumbbell gives you a simple way to create fatigue on command.

Important safety note: if your range doesn’t allow movement, don’t force movement. If you’re new to physical-duress shooting, get coaching and build this in a controlled environment. And warm up, seriously. I’m not trying to have you pull a hamstring proving a point.

What the War HOGG “Run and Gun” Is Really Testing

The War HOGG Run and Gun is about elevating your heart rate and seeing how you perform. There are plenty of ways to get there, depending on what you have available. I keep GORUCK sandbags in my truck because they work, simple, brutal, effective, whether I’m training myself or running law enforcement courses.

But the real test isn’t “can you breathe hard.” The test is: can you manage breathing, control recoil, track the red dot, and call your shots when your body is under load.

And there’s a bonus most people don’t think about: equipment shakeout. When you sprint to the line, does your setup stay tight, or does it look like a yard sale with gear flying everywhere?

That matters.

Run and Gun Option 1: No-Equipment Stress Shoot

If you have space, start 25 to 50 meters from the firing line. Sprint to the line, run a five-shot drill, reload, and run back to the start/finish line. Do that three times back-to-back.

No distance available? No excuses. Use bodyweight work, pushups, pullups, dips, air squats, burpees, then step to the line and shoot your drill with accountability.

The goal is consistent: elevate heart rate, then perform.

Run and Gun Option 2: Sandbag Work (My Favorite)

This is where the training starts to feel “real,” because the sandbag fights you back.

One example from the skill builder uses a 35-lb sandbag with a C-zone steel target. Start 50 meters from the target, with the firing line at 15 meters. Then you move the sandbag to the line in different ways (lateral throws, forward throws, bear crawl), and after each movement you fire a five-shot string with a specific constraint, two hands, strong hand, support hand, then return to the start/finish line to end the rep.

This isn’t about “winning” the workout. It’s about making the shooting honest while the body is taxed.

Range Execution: Warm Up, Run It, Record Everything

When you get to the range, warm up first. Then run your designed drill.

Record your time. Track your misses. My personal method is simple: I add 10 seconds per miss to the overall time. Then I write down what I learned in the notes section, because those notes become the blueprint for your dry fire plan.

If you’re not recording your shooting performance data, you’re guessing.

The Dry Fire Element: Where the Real Improvement Happens

Most shooters keep fitness and dry fire separate. For me, combining them is the standard. Between workout sets, I already have a dry fire drill planned. I also do standalone dry fire sessions for specific focus areas I want to improve or experiment with.

And this is where people get better fast: small changes that create measurable gains. Something as simple as trigger finger placement can change results. Your notes tell you what worked and what didn’t. The goal is constant improvement, measurable improvement, not motivational quotes.

The Skills This Builds (And Why They Matter)

The skill builder calls out the primary skills developed as:

Breathing control. Recoil management. Red dot tracking. Calling your shot.

Let’s translate that into reality.

Breathing control matters because heavy breathing can turn a clean sight picture into a bouncing mess. Recoil management matters because fatigue makes grip lazy, and lazy grip turns into slow splits and wide misses. Red dot tracking matters because under stress, many shooters “lose the dot” and start fishing, wasting time and throwing shots. Calling your shot matters because you cannot afford to be surprised by your hits; you need awareness and accountability.

That’s the entire point of stress shoots: make the fundamentals show up when you’re not comfortable.

A 4-Week War HOGG Plan You Can Actually Follow

Week 1: Baseline (Keep It Honest)

Pick one drill variant you can repeat (no-equipment sprint or sandbag). Run it exactly as written for your environment. Record time, misses, and notes. Add the 10-second penalty per miss so accuracy stays non-negotiable.

Week 2: Dry Fire Between Sets

During workouts, insert a short dry fire block between sets, focused on the exact weakness you recorded (presentation, reload efficiency, trigger press, dot tracking). This is where you build cleaner mechanics while the heart rate is elevated.

Week 3: Pressure and Consistency

Now start chasing consistency. Same drill. Same scoring. Same accountability. Use video occasionally, because what you feel and what you do are rarely the same thing.

Week 4: Retest and Prove It

Reshoot your baseline drill and compare results. If you did the work, you’ll see it. If you didn’t, the target and timer will tell the truth.

The Mistakes That Keep Shooters Stuck

You don’t need more drills. You need fewer mistakes.

One: treating misses like “part of it.” No. Misses get paid for (time penalty) so you train accuracy under stress, not speed fantasies.

Two: letting your gear flop around. If your belt shifts, mags bounce, holster rides weird, or anything feels unstable, fix it. Stress shoots expose equipment problems fast, which is a gift, if you’re willing to listen.

Three: never writing anything down. If you can’t tell me what improved and why, you’re not training, you’re exercising with gunfire.

Build Your Shooting “CREW” (Accountability Is a Force Multiplier)

Having like-minded shooters around you will push you to get better. Build your "CREW", tribe, friends, family, coworkers, people who will record you, call out what they see, and keep the standard high.

And if you want a bigger tribe, that’s why the On The Range Patreon “CREW” exists. Mark Kelley and I do interactive Zoom calls where we break down skill builders, and we’ve even reviewed members’ videos live and given immediate feedback.

Our motto at War HOGG Tactical is simple: Be 1% Better Every Day. 

Put In the Work—See the Results

If you want improvement, you have to put in the work. That means a solid dry fire and fitness plan throughout the month and a way to track progress (again: the notebook). A shot timer and a phone camera will take your training further than most people realize, because it forces honesty.

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.

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