Gooldylocks Posted April 16, 2015 Share Posted April 16, 2015 The other day I was at the range training on some group shooting. I had targets at 15, 25, and 35 yards. I have been extremely displeased with my shooting recently, so I was just trying to focus on sight alignment and squeezing the trigger. I was still feeling rather discouraged, since my groups were pretty bad (mostly C's, a few D's) out at 35. I got down to my last few rounds and decided to bring the targets in to 10 yards to shoot an El Presidente to end the session. I didn't have a lot of high hopes for it, but I just wanted to continue to just shoot alphas, and not worry about the time. I ended up shooting a 4.96, the first time I have ever broke the 5 second barrier, only down 4 points (less points down than I normally am at that kind of speed). I had a 1.20 draw and a 1.17 reload, HF was 11.29. The funniest part about it was that it didn't even feel difficult or rushed at all, after shooting so far away when the targets moved in to ten yards it was like I could touch them. A cool feeling, for sure. I am amazed at what your brain is capable of when you aren't really trying, but when you actually do try it causes you to fail. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sup38 Posted May 10, 2015 Share Posted May 10, 2015 work on accuracy speed will follow in time Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vixty Posted May 10, 2015 Share Posted May 10, 2015 ^^ That's what a good friend of mine just told me because as a new shooter I was to worried about trying to be fast which has caused mike to follow me around lately.. I have over a month of down time before I can shoot again so I'm planning on mostly working on dry firing and shooting groups at different distances. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sup38 Posted May 11, 2015 Share Posted May 11, 2015 Smart move Vixty it will help also practice your reloads Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benos Posted May 11, 2015 Share Posted May 11, 2015 The other day I was at the range training on some group shooting. I had targets at 15, 25, and 35 yards. I have been extremely displeased with my shooting recently, so I was just trying to focus on sight alignment and squeezing the trigger. I was still feeling rather discouraged, since my groups were pretty bad (mostly C's, a few D's) out at 35. I got down to my last few rounds and decided to bring the targets in to 10 yards to shoot an El Presidente to end the session. I didn't have a lot of high hopes for it, but I just wanted to continue to just shoot alphas, and not worry about the time. I ended up shooting a 4.96, the first time I have ever broke the 5 second barrier, only down 4 points (less points down than I normally am at that kind of speed). I had a 1.20 draw and a 1.17 reload, HF was 11.29. The funniest part about it was that it didn't even feel difficult or rushed at all, after shooting so far away when the targets moved in to ten yards it was like I could touch them. A cool feeling, for sure. I am amazed at what your brain is capable of when you aren't really trying, but when you actually do try it causes you to fail. Nice work on that! Pick one key feeling (from what you described) and remember to summon it as often as possible when you are shooting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gooldylocks Posted May 11, 2015 Author Share Posted May 11, 2015 Pick one key feeling (from what you described) and remember to summon it as often as possible when you are shooting. My issue is that I have been shooting so poorly for so many matches in a row now that I have lost the feeling of what shooting well truly feels like. This past weekend I shot the worst match I have (placement wise) since January of last year (2014), at only my third match ever. I was able to shoot an 88% classifier this weekend (Roscoe's Rattle), and would have shot over 100 on it had it not been for barely touching the no shoot to the left of the middle target. I wasn't even pushing it, or trying to zero or hero, just standing and shooting. Yet, when I shoot the other stages I feel like everything I do is wrong. I can't hit the targets no matter how hard I focus on the sights, can't put my feet exactly where they need to go, and worst of all can't seem to shake it off and do better next time. Any words of wisdom that you could share? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkCO Posted May 11, 2015 Share Posted May 11, 2015 work on accuracy speed will follow in time After hearing that for the last 10 years, I no longer agree with that statement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vixty Posted May 12, 2015 Share Posted May 12, 2015 I think the biggest issue I have with trying to be fast is actually picking up my front sight before I pull the trigger. A lot of times the speed buzzer foes off In my head when I feel it's time to take the first shot rather than acquiring the sight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkCO Posted May 12, 2015 Share Posted May 12, 2015 There is a big difference between "slow" and patience. You can be patient and very fast...in fact I guess that is the ultimate goal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benos Posted May 12, 2015 Share Posted May 12, 2015 There is a big difference between "slow" and patience. You can be patient and very fast...in fact I guess that is the ultimate goal. Yes. When you are truly patient - not pulling the trigger until you saw whet you needed to see - time, as in fast or slow, is out the window. There is only the state of knowing... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vixty Posted May 13, 2015 Share Posted May 13, 2015 I wonder if I scrap my fiber site I will start to focus more because now I see red and bang which kills me most times. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teros135 Posted May 13, 2015 Share Posted May 13, 2015 It's not about the red fiber optic front sight - it's about discipline. Build discipline, watch and SEE, and the red sight won't be a problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
US1 Posted June 2, 2015 Share Posted June 2, 2015 Slow is smooth, smooth is fast. Focus on proper technique and don't rush it. Good things will start happening to you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benos Posted June 2, 2015 Share Posted June 2, 2015 I wonder if I scrap my fiber site I will start to focus more because now I see red and bang which kills me most times. That was always my problem with the fiber optic. It's not about the red fiber optic front sight - it's about discipline. Build discipline, watch and SEE, and the red sight won't be a problem. Although perfectly true, I rarely had the disciplie to pull that off consistently. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkCO Posted June 2, 2015 Share Posted June 2, 2015 I wonder if I scrap my fiber site I will start to focus more because now I see red and bang which kills me most times. It's not about the red fiber optic front sight - it's about discipline. Build discipline, watch and SEE, and the red sight won't be a problem. My accuracy did improve when I got rid of the red fiber optic. I have played with size and color and I have found that a small green (.040) or larger (.060) violet allows me the speed without the flare but still lets me pick up the glow quicker than flat black. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nimitz Posted June 2, 2015 Share Posted June 2, 2015 work on accuracy speed will follow in time No, no, no .... speed will never come by itself ... why do people think that by practcicing to be slow and accurate you will somehow become fast? you have to practice at speed and work on speed if you ever expect to learn to shoot at speed ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkCO Posted June 2, 2015 Share Posted June 2, 2015 The game has changed significantly over the past 20 years. Fundamentals are fundamentals, but speed has to be worked on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gng4life Posted June 2, 2015 Share Posted June 2, 2015 work on accuracy speed will follow in time After hearing that for the last 10 years, I no longer agree with that statement. Same here...until I started pushing the envelope, I never really saw any speed gains. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gooldylocks Posted June 3, 2015 Author Share Posted June 3, 2015 work on accuracy speed will follow in time After hearing that for the last 10 years, I no longer agree with that statement. Same here...until I started pushing the envelope, I never really saw any speed gains. I started this game focusing on the speed gains, and ended up hitting the wall in match performance. Now I am having to go back and teach myself to shoot accurately at range, and on tight shots, because that is what was costing me matches, not the speed. Though I am glad I worked on speed so much when I first started, as it has allowed me quicker progression in this game I think than if I had worked on amazing accuracy at first. My stage times are generally good enough to be near the top of the standings, but as soon as you get a mike on that 20 yard hardcover you are SOL. Hence, I have been working on those 25-35 yard targets, and shooting fast enough to get all my hits but not drop any misses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benos Posted June 3, 2015 Share Posted June 3, 2015 My temperament... I naturally want to do everything as quickly as possible, so I never had to "push." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Hostetter Posted June 26, 2015 Share Posted June 26, 2015 I always found it easier to teach accuracy then speed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RevoWood123 Posted June 27, 2015 Share Posted June 27, 2015 Pick one key feeling (from what you described) and remember to summon it as often as possible when you are shooting. My issue is that I have been shooting so poorly for so many matches in a row now that I have lost the feeling of what shooting well truly feels like. This past weekend I shot the worst match I have (placement wise) since January of last year (2014), at only my third match ever. I was able to shoot an 88% classifier this weekend (Roscoe's Rattle), and would have shot over 100 on it had it not been for barely touching the no shoot to the left of the middle target. I wasn't even pushing it, or trying to zero or hero, just standing and shooting. Yet, when I shoot the other stages I feel like everything I do is wrong. I can't hit the targets no matter how hard I focus on the sights, can't put my feet exactly where they need to go, and worst of all can't seem to shake it off and do better next time. Any words of wisdom that you could share? One aspect that I believe to focus on is the mental discipline. I know I have experienced and have had to work on when I shoot a stage poorly, to not let it affect me on the following stages. No it is not an easy task and it is very easy to be overcome by (nerves, frustration, anger, etc) after a stage goes poorly for you. I have had to learn to let go of the bad stages as they come because I know they can affect the rest of the stages at a match. One stage does not always determine the outcomes of a match, but multiple poor ones absolutely will. For me, after I have had (and still have) stages that go awry, I have to come to the next stage thinking about executing it to the best of my ability (kind of a clean slate/ one stage at a time); there is no room in my head to dwell on the last one without clouding what I am trying to accomplish on the next stage. That being said, I don't try to focus on going fast as much as I am focused on seeing my sight picture when I need to pull the trigger. I hear other guys talk about cadence (as in a rhythm that you are hearing/ moving to in your head), I know that I tend to shoot worse when I don't feel in time with this. When I am in time with this, I tend to shoot more smoothly (and faster) with better hits on target. On that note, I feel as though what I had to say belongs more in the Zen of shooting, but if it helps you in any way, then I am glad I posted it here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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