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Don’t use the dueling tree, they are expensive and don’t stand up well to rifle fire.
At 25yds with a rifle, even 1/2” AR500 steel takes a beating and can get pitted. Best to use cheap, lower velocity lead core ammo. I try to keep rifle shooting close to 50yds to avoid damaging my targets, or my buds targets at his range.
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50yds with 10", 65yds for 16" with M193 IME.
Even at those, small pitting occurs, I try for 65/75.
To the OP... try tiny targets from the tower, change positions, try a 2" prone, 4" kneeling, 6" standing, etc.
Move to contact. Maybe setup a canvas tarp at 50yds!
Try working your doubles and target transitions. At 25yds you should have no issue stacking rifle hits slow fire, so work on the speed. Get as fast as you can stacking those hits. Get 2, 3, 4, targets and switch between singles and doubles on them.
Setup a barricade to truckbed height, car hood height, under the car, etc.
Black out some of your targets as hard cover, so hits on black are misses.
Switch positions. Move to cover. Transition to pistol.
Don't load your mags, load your buddies'. Put random amounts in there. Put empty brass in there. Make them reload mid-drill, make their gun jam. Be an evil bastard and expect the same from them. Along with the random amounts of ammo and brass, throw them all in a bag mix it up, have him close his eyes and fill his pouches for him so he can't feel the weight or see them.
Make them start a drill standing, and yell at them to move to cover. Make them advance, and retreat. They better keep rounds flying.
I don't like preplanned drills outside of the safety concerns.
E.g. have your buddy start in the tower, sitting. On the "target" command he will engage the 3 targets using the rail of the tower for support. YELL at him to "advance", he will run down the tower and go to the tarp at 50yds, engaging the targets standing, but mid way, make him kneel, or on reload he should use the cover of the 55gal drum, and continue engaging from the kneeling behind the drum (when he finishes the 6 shots, he should have already had to reload or clear a jam). Advance again, and from 25 to 15 he should engage the targets with doubles, taking cover at the 15. Make him switch between leaning left and right, or shooting under the barrel (prop it up on some blocks or some shit). Again his weapon should have gone empty or jammed.
Throw in a pistol transition as necessary.
Run it backwards.
If doing a standing drill, after he gets off 3 rounds, start yelling "kneel!" or "cover!"...
At the start and end of the day, maybe run it with full mags and no surprises, so you can actually feel what it should be like.
IMO, "the more you sweat, the less you bleed". It's amazing how fast the drills feel when not forced to reload or clear 3 jams, or positon changed.
If you don't want to get payback for how stressful and evil the drill was, they didn't try hard enough. As well as pushing yourself to get the rounds off faster than before.