kdj Posted April 28, 2004 Share Posted April 28, 2004 Today, I made a significant step forward (for me at least). I know this is not significant to many of you here but I manged my first set of consisitent sub-1 second draws. In practice, I'd been managing 1.2 to 1.3 pretty consistently, drawing to an A zone hit at about 10 yards. It seems like a couple of weeks of daily dry fire have made a difference. In practice today, looking at my times for 20 draw and single shot drills, I see: 1.47 (and it was a horrible hit too since I never got the grip right - just in case I thought I'd got it ) a couple of 1.25 a couple around 1.13 a bunch at around 1.01 (very frustrating) and 4 or 5 at .97 and .98 a .93 3 or 4 at .90 About 50% breaking the 1 second barrier seems like it is reasonably repeatable and not just a fluke I guess I no longer consider sub-second draws something only done by the folks who make DVDs As I said, not a big deal to many of you but a significant milestone for me. Now if I can just translate this to draws in matches that don't need to be measured with a calendar .... Kevin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garfield Posted April 28, 2004 Share Posted April 28, 2004 Not a big deal huh ? well you're waaaaayyyyy ahead of this lowly 1.5 drawer, so a big hand to you for accomplishing this ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TriggerT Posted April 28, 2004 Share Posted April 28, 2004 Congrats Kevin, I just broke the 1 sec. barrier a few months ago, and it WAS a big deal to me. I still don't usually have a draw that is under 1 sec. in matches, but it has come down to around 1.15 to 1.2 as an average. I actually had a .72 in practice one day. Keep up the good work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Ankeny Posted April 28, 2004 Share Posted April 28, 2004 It was sure a big deal for me. The first time I made a sub one second draw I jumped up and down like a little kid. I still grin when I think about it. Way to go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rhino Posted April 28, 2004 Share Posted April 28, 2004 I did a 1.10 last year once, but since then I've never even been close, especially in matches. Of course, now I try (key word: try) to see the front sight BEFORE I press the trigger. I'm really considering doing some of that dry fire business, but I can't seem to motivate myself to do it more than once every few months. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tightloop Posted April 28, 2004 Share Posted April 28, 2004 I think a consistent draw is more important than shear speed, but a fast consistent draw is lots better... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ErikW Posted April 28, 2004 Share Posted April 28, 2004 Next goal: do it in a match. Following goal: do it consistently in matches. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duane Thomas Posted April 29, 2004 Share Posted April 29, 2004 It was only a few months ago I did my first ten consecutive sub-one second draws. Was it a big deal to me? You betcha. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kimberkid Posted May 6, 2004 Share Posted May 6, 2004 KDJ, It is a big deal, I did my first one a couple months ago, something I thought I would never do, and i jumped around like a kid on Christmas, and told everyone i saw for the next week. usually hover around .97 to .94 was the fastest now, barely breaking a second, but it still does. CONGRATULATIONS!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pact-Man Posted May 25, 2004 Share Posted May 25, 2004 Just for clarification, are you guys all talking about an A zone hit at 7 yards? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loves2Shoot Posted May 25, 2004 Share Posted May 25, 2004 Generally, drills are measured by A zone hits @ 7-10 yards depending on the person. You would see a lot faster times for hits on paper. .65-7 for a quick draw @ 3 yards isn't uncommon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spook Posted May 25, 2004 Share Posted May 25, 2004 Kevin, congratulations. The first time I did a sub-1 I had a big grin on my face the rest of the day. Like Brian says in his book: Tangible goals are fun. It's also psychological. Why is 1.00 seconds a barrier? Why not 1.03? Or 0.97? I think you'll be doing 0.8 draws very soon because of this. Keep it up! Dry fire will get you to where you want! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kdj Posted May 25, 2004 Author Share Posted May 25, 2004 Interestingly, a couple of weeks later and I've been able to manage a few .79 draws at 7 yds. Not consistantly or anything I'm likely to do in a match for quite a while but more than once .9 - 1.1 seemed consistantly possible in practice. I even managed a couple of .9x reloads although they were usually a couple of tenths slower at best. Another imaginary 1 second barrier. The difference between a .8 and a 1.2 is the slightest glimmer of hesitation. My hat's off to guys who can manage sub-1's consitently in matches! I also notice that the reason I'm much slower in matches is because I spend the time "just to be sure" of my hit as opposed to accepting the first sight picture. (And I still manage to miss anyway to add insult to injury ) Oh well, lots more practice will fix most things and if it was easy I'd be bored by now Kevin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricW Posted May 25, 2004 Share Posted May 25, 2004 The difference between a .8 and a 1.2 is the slightest glimmer of hesitation. Exactamundo. I still remember Steve Anderson's tip to make sure you clear leather before the end of the beep. That one thing *dramatically* improved my draw times. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcoliver Posted May 26, 2004 Share Posted May 26, 2004 Hey, you guys ever experimented with your body tension when you draw? Say, a par time of 1.2sec. When I "ready" myself for the beep, steady my head, cock my elbows a little, "bury" my foot on the ground, drawing seems really fast even with only that par time. Now when I relax, and let my hands & shoulders droop and just stand there, I could swear every thing feels like forever, yet i still have the same time. I gets very interesting for me because with the tense mode, I could not get below a 0.8sec par time. One thing with being in this mode is that it gives me a feeling that I'm really ready. I feel I can get to the gun more aggressvely and think I can really get it out sooner. A really good feeling which unfortunately is a trap everytime I start gauging it with a timer. Just thinking out loud... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kdj Posted May 26, 2004 Author Share Posted May 26, 2004 Years of working with a bokken have taught me that I can only move really fast when I'm relaxed. As you said, you can fool yourself into thinking you are moving faster but the tension is only waste. Now, if I could only remember this consistantly when I hear "beeeep" in my ear Kevin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j1b Posted May 26, 2004 Share Posted May 26, 2004 Breaking 1 second on a draw is simply opening the door to the possibilities. You see, you can do a single one second draw, and if you can do one, then you can do two. If two then 5 and if five then 10. Eventually you get to where you can do 100 and then you simply lose count. At that point you realize that the difference between you and Todd, or Jerry, or Rob is relative - that is to say that if they have always been doing 100 sub 1 second draws in a row and now you can then it stands to reason that you can really do anything they can do. The box is now open, see what goodies it brings! The sub 1 draw/reload, the sub 4.5 El Pres, the first stage win where it really means something - these are all benchmarks that prove you are human, the greats are human and therefor - you can do what the greats can do. Breaking one second on the draw not a big deal? I can't think of a person it wasn't a big deal to. Congratulations and keep up the good work! JB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larrys1911 Posted May 26, 2004 Share Posted May 26, 2004 It certainly was to me... as was breaking the 1 second reload. etc Congradulations. Larry P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harmon Posted July 28, 2004 Share Posted July 28, 2004 at a local steel match i pulled off a .77 draw on one stage and a .94 draw on another... i cant do it today, as i havent been practicing nearly as much as i did at the first of this year. needless to say out of five stages with no gun malfunctions, misses or goof ups, with sub one second draw and pretty speedy transitions, i won that match. i knew i won before the rest of the shooters were done shooting...now, it seems i need to get back to the regular practice schedule if i want to keep that up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rhino Posted July 28, 2004 Share Posted July 28, 2004 I'm looking forward to the day when I bust a move on the sub one-second draw. BigDave can do it on demand now, at least in practice. I'm down to 1.35-1.55 seconds consistently, seeing my sights before I break the shot. That's with a Blade-Tech belt scabbard and I have to dig for the gun to get a grip. I think I could do better with a race rig that holds the gun away from my body, but that's not what I use for carry or matches. I did 1.10 the first time I practiced with BigDave when were timing our draws, but I didn't see my sights. Now I don't count it unless I do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
schmitz Posted July 31, 2004 Share Posted July 31, 2004 I did several 1.00 and .99-ers in practise, still in a match 1.35-ers; just to be sure of a good consistent grip, this matters to me... a good grip normally means a well shot stage for me. Fast draw No, well shot stage...Yes...Endresults count!! Henny. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackdragon Posted August 1, 2004 Share Posted August 1, 2004 Congratulations Kevin, I remember to this day the first time I broke a 1 second draw I also remember the first time I did 2 shots in under 1 seconds ( .69 ) It will come no joke!!!! Ivan SCS Vegas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AikiDale Posted October 26, 2004 Share Posted October 26, 2004 Kevin, I'd like to say its no big deal, but today I did a 1.00 and a .99 on a ten inch plate at 7 yards with a limited gun. It is a big deal! Kinda like Christmas presents! I'll resume my composure tomorrow.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kdj Posted October 26, 2004 Author Share Posted October 26, 2004 Congratulations, Dale! As I was told: Now do it regularly, then do it regularly in a match But bask in the glow of accomplishment for a while first ... Kevin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now