Speed vs Accuracy

[CookieTheSwede]

With 2 matches under my belt I am confused on when to Step on the gas and take some C hits and pull it back for those AA scores.

I am coming over from Steel Challenge. so I am comfortable shooting fast. My first match I shot pretty fast with ok accuracy. I would say 65% A,C and 35% A,A. I finished 9th in open.

My next match I slowed down and shot very Accurate (Had 3/5 stages with all A,A hits) But didn't finish as high. The run that got me thinking was a competitor had a "fun run" (went fast as possible). I was at medium speed and got all AA. he had a couple D's and one miss and got a better score on the stage. I Finished 14th.

Also with the Qualifiers I have shot, online calculators put me in B class.

I am having a lot of fun just want to figure the game out.

Thanks in advance.

[Jake Di Vita]

You'll be better served by removing the "vs" in the title. Every stage requires speed AND accuracy. There are no danger stages, there are no speed stages, there are no accuracy stages, there are just stages. Shoot them all the same. Hit the center of the target at a high rate of speed. That will never be a bad strategy.

[IronArcher]

Best advice I have heard was to shoot as fast as you can while still being able to hit the "A"s. That doesn't mean you hit all of them, you just don't shoot so fast you know you can't hit the "A"s

[Hi-Power Jack]

Just make sure the dot is on the A zone when the gun goes off ...

Quickly.

[GunBugBit]

More match experience will show you what happens when you push your speed beyond your skill level, and what happens when you shoot slower than necessary in an attempt to ensure accuracy. Neither approach works, at least not for me.

It's "classifiers" not "qualifiers".

[jebeckjr]

I once heard the saying "You can't miss fast enough". For some reason, I like it and it has stuck with me. Like Jake and the other posters above, I agree it's not an inverse relationship.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[CodyAxon]

It's really hard to learn what the proper speed feels like until you've done enough live fire practice to know what it feels like. The easiest way to explain it is to go as fast as you can while also making honest attempts to hit alphas on every target and going one for one on steel. You're not always going to go one for one on steel and you're not always going to shoot alphas.

[cnote]

All above is good, and it you look at he top shooters in majors, they finish shooting between 90-95 % of all available points, so A/C in major get you he 90, but they actually are closer to the 95

[Dr Mitch]

Work on your grip

[StraightSh00ter]

It seems to me that people around here favor speed, but if you watch the people moving up the score sheet it's the people who are hitting more alphas.

My 'smith is a GM and regularly comments that the guys at the top didn't get there shooting Alpha-Charlies.

I am still learning so take this with a grain of salt: what has occurred to me is that the difference in the time it takes to hit an A vs C is very small, which means that there are likely other places in the stage where you can shave off time more efficiently. If you save 2 seconds with a better stage plan you won't lose any points. If you try to save 2 seconds by pulling the trigger faster, you likely will lose several points. Shaving time off your reloads or learning how to shoot on the move are other ways you can save time without necessarily giving up points.

Like I said, I'm still learning to practice what I'm preaching. It's especially hard (for me) to focus on my hits after I've heard the buzzer, but I do know that every single time I've "slowed down" to make better hits I ended up with higher scores.

When people talk about 'slowing down' I think we have different perceptions of what that is. For me, going 'too fast' means my mind is trying to shoot faster than my body is capable - my eyes are off the front sight too quickly, or I pull as shot before my hands have settled enough, etc. So 'slowing down', to me, means calming my mind enough that my mind is in sync with my body.

[Smitty79]

When I started trying to get an adequate site picture as fast as I could, instead of trying to control my speed, I went from low C to low B in my next 6 classifiers.

[Corey]

Whats the percentage of points you are getting at matches? This should be listed in uspsa.org website match results. A long time ago, I was told if you are getting less than 90% of points, you need to slow down a bit. If you are 95%+ you can afford to pick up the pace a bit and a couple dropped shots (as long as they aren't mikes) wont kill the score.

As Jake said, its not one vs the other. Its both together.

[petrojc]

Shooting major should allow you to speed up and still be ok. C's and even D's are not nearly as detrimental to your placement on a stage as an extra 2 seconds. I would say, step on the gas.

[Jake Di Vita]

Shooting major should allow you to speed up and still be ok. C's and even D's are not nearly as detrimental to your placement on a stage as an extra 2 seconds. I would say, step on the gas.

Gah. This is a great attitude in practice. In matches, this road will lead you to ruin.

[diddomatic]

Practice shooting alphas as fast as you possibly can. If your speeding up an throwing a lot of Cs an Ds then your shooting faster than your seeing your sights. Speed will come over time. It's harder to get accurecy if your so use to slinging two on paper as fast as possible.

[Audioman]

Practice shooting A's with a good sight picture, then speed it up.

[Muldune21]

Basically you need both, no other way around it.

[tanks]

Someone told me to shoot sooner, not faster. On a 32 round stage most of the time is in movement and transitions not on how fast someone pulls the trigger.

[johnbu]

Someone told me to shoot sooner, not faster. On a 32 round stage most of the time is in movement and transitions not on how fast someone pulls the trigger.

4 match newbee here....

Last match scored 93% of points. Only 3 mikes, but 2 in a classifier...zeroing it out.

My time on easy stages is ...ok. but on "complex" stages I bleed time. Just by not KNOWING where to go next and what to do gets me. Then the unexpected pops up and the clock just keeps ticking. For instance, End of stage the slide caught a port hole edge and jam. Drop the mag, rack, clear, reached for a mag.... none. Staring at a paper target w no holes, hearing "if you are done..." gaaaaa! Grabbed the dropped mag, rack bang bang. +25 seconds right there due to panic and uncertainty.

[rowdyb]

Change your thinking to replace the "vs" to "with" and your journey to better results will be shorter.

[Nimitz]

There is no "speed vs accuracy"

Our sport is about "accuracy at speed"

That's the only training focus you should have

[GBertolet]

I remember a quote from Rob Leatham, concerning up and coming shooters. He said that if you are getting all A's you are going too slow. You should speed things up until you average an A and a C on your targets. Then work on your accuracy until you are back at all A's. Repeat if necessiary to get where you want to be.

[Dr Mitch]

Cary Rowton said "speed + accuracy = spaccuracy".

He is the best CRO in Guthrie.

[mlmiller1]

4 match newbee here....

Last match scored 93% of points. Only 3 mikes, but 2 in a classifier...zeroing it out.

My time on easy stages is ...ok. but on "complex" stages I bleed time. Just by not KNOWING where to go next and what to do gets me. Then the unexpected pops up and the clock just keeps ticking. For instance, End of stage the slide caught a port hole edge and jam. Drop the mag, rack, clear, reached for a mag.... none. Staring at a paper target w no holes, hearing "if you are done..." gaaaaa! Grabbed the dropped mag, rack bang bang. +25 seconds right there due to panic and uncertainty.

Johnbu, thats the exact reason you dont get your gun inside a port unless you absolutely have to with no other way to engage the target. Never put your gun thru a port if avoidable.

[johnbu]

4 match newbee here....

Last match scored 93% of points. Only 3 mikes, but 2 in a classifier...zeroing it out.

My time on easy stages is ...ok. but on "complex" stages I bleed time. Just by not KNOWING where to go next and what to do gets me. Then the unexpected pops up and the clock just keeps ticking. For instance, End of stage the slide caught a port hole edge and jam. Drop the mag, rack, clear, reached for a mag.... none. Staring at a paper target w no holes, hearing "if you are done..." gaaaaa! Grabbed the dropped mag, rack bang bang. +25 seconds right there due to panic and uncertainty.

Johnbu, thats the exact reason you dont get your gun inside a port unless you absolutely have to with no other way to engage the target. Never put your gun thru a port if avoidable.

NOW HE TELLS ME!

Lol. Yeah, I know...now. it was a low port, I have trouble getting low, it was hot, I was tired.... and fubar happened. Sigh, they say negative reinforcement is more effective than positive....if so, I'm gonna be awesome! (But somehow, I doubt it)