Speed? How Did You Get It?

[635 PCSO]

I now have the ability to call 90% of my shots. I always notice a bad shot, sometimes if it is a good shot I dont see it as well as a bad one, if that makes sense. I can also close my eyes and draw the pistol and have the sights directly in line of my sight. Since I accomplished the above I decided to dedicate todays range time to speed.

I set up a El prez cof. I stood at approx. 15 yards and started shooting. I averaged 11 seconds out of about 20 runs. I am using a STI edge. Only a few shots were not A's. This is extremely slow compared to the other folks at the local IPSC match. I had read Bill drills were good at developing speed so I ran through some of these. I then shot into the berm to check consistent sight tracking. The sight returns to its original position, but I have to wait on the sight to stabilize. I feel like I am just hanging out and waiting on this.

I spent a few hours at the range and overall I felt like I was just burning ammo on the above mentioned drills. Does anyone have any suggestions? I have only shot one IPSC match so far, so I am not to frustrated with 40 splits, but I was patient with accuracy, vision and index. For some reason I am in a hurry to obtain speed.

I am also having trouble coming out of a type 3 focus into a 2 or 1 on close targets. I always want to focus clearly on the sight and watch it up and down call the shot then move on. Do I need to continue hosing until it comes to me or what? I guess I didnt just burn ammo I did learn that when I speed up accuracy goes down the tube. Double taps are not good at all for me, the first is a A the 2nd could be anywhere I cant call it when I shoot fast enough to be considered a double tap.

[Steve Anderson]

Dry fire taught me how to manipulate the gun at higher speeds. Marry that with calling your shots and you're there.

Make a list of the skills you feel you're slow to accomplish and design dry fire drills around them.

And, don't think about double taps, think about 2 shots on one target as fast as you can call them.

SA

[Matthew_Mink]

And stay relaxed.

[Shooter Grrl]

The sight returns to its original position, but I have to wait on the sight to stabilize. I feel like I am just hanging out and waiting on this.

Quit waiting for the sights to stabilize. Practice SEEING what you NEED to see to get those shots off quicker. I can pretty much guarantee that you don't NEED to see a completely stable, perfect sight pic every time! (I can say this cause this was my biggest problem as a beginning IPSC shooter too

[Bear1142]

635 PCSO

Speed is a by-product of your technique. As your technique improves, you'll become more efficient. The more efficient you become the less movement you'll need to accomplish a task. The less movement you have, the shorter the time it takes to perform it, and wal-la, you're faster.

I think Plaxco gave the best analogy I've heard regarding this subject. Paraphrasing, he said, "Speed and Technique are like a manual shift car. The technique is your gears and the speed is the gas. You can floor the gas (speed), but if you never get out of first gear (technique), you can only go so fast. The higher gears allow you to use the more gas you put into the car to go faster. Without the higher gears, you'll eventually just blow up you engine (Crash & Burn)."

You're on the right path, but you have to walk it like all the rest of us. You can't skip to the end.

Erik

[eric nielsen]

Like Steve said.

If you are seeing where you want to hit, and holding the gun there as the shots go off, then .40second splits are going to be enough to finish ahead of MANY competitors. On the subject of splits, you're good. Have a good shooter look at your grip, esp. the support hand fingers under the trigger guard.

On the 11 second El Presidente...

For a new shooter there's so much going on, and your mind is trying to do things on a conscious level. Like the first time you drove a car. Repetition will program your mind to do them subconciously.

Just do some of the El Prez in drills. And then add on to it. Suggestions --

1. Dryfire draws, starting with hand over the gun. Set par time = 2.5 seconds

When you get down to 1.5 you're on the right track. Check your follow-through.

2. Dryfire hands-at-sides to hand-on-gun. Use a mirror. Par time down to .8sec (for now.) Repeat with hands-above-shoulders.

3. Dryfire mag changes. Click on Benos' icon & search his recent posts. Do what he does. Par time starts at 2.5 and goes down - this includes reaction time. 1.1 is REALLY REALLY good. You should be happy with 1.6.

4. Dryfire looking to the next target, then noticing your sites come to that spot. A timer is not really needed, but you could make up par time drills if you want.

5. Live fire practice - get good hits & don't sweat the timer. You'll be fine.

PS - El Prez is done at TEN yards.

[635 PCSO]

How do you folks see the gun on a El Prez at 10 yards? What type of focus are you using? As I said I am stuck in type 3, simply because I have not practised a type 1 or 2. I thought this was slowing me down, but as Shooter Grrl had said waiting for a stabilized sight picture must be killing time.

On a stage that you have the ability to move will you run closer to shoot a type 2 vs a type 3?

Thanks for the input, I will work on the dry draws, and I will stick with the EL Prez.

[TDean]

"..The sight returns to its original position, but I have to wait on the sight to stabilize..."

Like Kathy was saying, don't get too fussy. There's a sweet spot at every distance where the sight are "good enough" to pull the trigger. The further the distance, the smaller the sweet spot.

Looking back on my first IPSC experience is funny. I wanted to impress everybody with fast shooting, and I missed the target more than I hit it! I think I needed to hit T1 6 times from box A and I actually hit it 2 times. I was all about speed from day 1. I had to learn (still learning) accuracy.

I think a lot of "speed" comes from confidence. For me, dammit, if Robbie can do this in 5 seconds I'm sure as hell going to also!! Finally, I did it in 4.99 with 2 mikes but I knew I was fast enough. I jusy needed to control the gun better (accuracy). Once you KNOW you have the speed then you only have one thing to work on, accuracy. Let's face it, if you're not confidently and aggressively manipulating your firearm (safely), you won't be fast enough.

Are you willing to push the envelope?

Sometimes I push too hard. For the first time I tripped and fell last week in a rainy practice session. I still have wounds on my knee and elbow from gravel. As I laid there on the ground looking at the RO, he said to me "nice muzzle control", then he helped me out of the mud puddle. Safety is PARAMOUNT!! Know your limits, and be happy.

[Flexmoney]

It sounds like you have Brian's book. Re-read the sight focus parts.

You will seldom use Type 1 (Brian doesn't use it much). And, even with the crowd here, you won't see many getting away with a Type 2 focus at 10-15 yards.

There is no easy answer to what you are asking...there are many variables. Heck, you might be shooting a Weaver-stance, for instance.

[Loves2Shoot]

Speed is a by-product how how fast you react to what you see. I find the easiest way to go "fast" is to try to take in as much visual input as you can, then relax and let your body do what needs to be done to hit the target. No more, no less. If you relax and get a lot of visual input you will begin to see where you are wasting movement and losing time. "Trying" is death to speed. Dry fire and learn to watch things that move fast, watch a fan blade spin and stuff like that. The best shooters can see things at an incredible speed.

[635 PCSO]

Thanks for all the information. I will take it all in and hopefully put it to good use. Today I was going through the range session in my mind. One thing that is holding me back is a tense trigger finger. I think if I relax as everyone has suggested I will increase speed and accuracy. I will also quit trying, after my first 6 runs my time started to increase. I was trying harder each time to go faster. Maybe this is why I felt like I was burning ammo. More practice is needed

Yes I have Brians book I have read it about 15 times so far. So far I will read it but I dont know what he is saying until I experiance it. Then I read the book and think okay I know what hes talking about.. I guess I am a trial and error learner... Ever time I read it I pick something up.. or put 2 and 2 together

[John Dunn]

A couple things that helped me.

First, in practice shoot a few runs at warp speed. Just drive the gun as fast as you can, and don't worry about the hits. Once you reach the point like Tdean that you realize that you are unable to shoot any faster, then focus on your vision and shot calling.

Hang out with wild eyed IPSC speed demons, and through their coaching (is that the same as taunting?) you will get better faster.

[Ron Ankeny]

I came into the sport from a precision shooting background and man was I slow. I am getting faster though. For me, I had to stop overaiming and quit obsessing over the sights. It was a matter of seeing what is required to make and call the shot instead of waiting for the classical sight picture. The next time you are at the range, try misaligning the sights on purpose at 7-10 yards and see what happens. Learn what is acceptable, but don't throw hopers.

I also heard that if I shot for accuracy speed would come. I had been shooting for accuracy for 20 years at the pace of a sloth so I recognized that myth as horse manure right away. For me to get faster I had to push my limits and push them hard. Crash and burn, get up, back off and do it again. Maybe it's a personality type thing?

[PaulW]

I believe that speed is a byproduct of two things;

1 - The ability to call your shots

2 - The ability to only see and do what you need to to make the shot.

Nothing more, nothing less.

Like my tag line says, from BE book.

[benos]

Man, what a collection of great suggestions!

I remember, many years ago, me and TGO were shooting El Pres's one afternoon. I was having a particularly good day, but he was struggling. After a bunch of runs he asked, "What are you doing? It looks like you are not even trying." It stuck in my mind because I had to "think about" what I "was doing" before I could answer. (Because I wasn't trying anything.) I realized I was simply watching the sights bounce up and down on each target, which translated to - I wasn't trying to "outshoot" the gun. I was just intently watching the sights, and the shooting was "happening" (shooting A's as quickly as possible) as a result of seeing everything I needed to see at the instant I needed to see it. At that point Rob admitted he had been "trying to go fast." Then he said, "I'm gonna do that." (Stop trying anything; just watch the sights bob up and down.) Well, of course you probably already guessed that his shooting improved dramatically.

On an El Pres, since the targets are close and closely spaced, the trick is to learn to "guide the gun" into the A box of each target with your eyes. Since the upcoming target is big and close, it's easy to overlook this subtlety. And since the "finding" of the next A box happens so quickly, visually, it feels like you can keep track of the sights the entire time. It's tricky to do it just right.

be

[EricW]

3. Dryfire mag changes. ... this includes reaction time. 1.1 is REALLY REALLY good. You should be happy with 1.6.

I'm in the process of starting over. And, you know what. No matter what time I turn in, I hate myself for it anyway. No matter how small the hole I rip out in the center of the target - I could have made it smaller and I threw some fliers I didn't have to. So, I hate myself for that too. Maybe there's a goal that will make me happy, but I doubt it.

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What I'm learning is that speed comes from deliberation. When I'm fast - there's no "speed" involved. I *know* *exactly* what I'm going to do and I go do it. Thinking "fast" doesn't do squat for my times. Fast is when I think, "I'm gonna get a solid grip and put the front sight *there*, then I'm gonna go *there*...." This seems to be about half again a fast for me as shooting "fast." If you know what I mean...