Ticks

[Vic]

I began competitive shooting around 1976, local "combat" matches, then they evolved into IPSC sanctioned matches, I then switched to strictly revolver shooting in 1990 and never looked back. Within my time frame , from 1976 to around 2009, I saw all of the great shooters, and many hundreds of the rest us mere mortals shoot. Im a people watcher by nature, was always looking for subtle hints or positions, movement from shooters better than I was, that made sense and I could utilize in my shooting.

  Watching shooters, I also  observed the many habits and ticks that so many shooters develop, wondering why, and how they thought it "upped" their game? They run the gamut from practice grabbing their grip 5 to 20 times at the make ready, to many multiple draws and sight picture on first target, adjusting a watch on their wrist, nervous twitching of fingers on one hand, Im sure you all can name half a dozen other ticks one can observe.

  In my early days I always paid attention to our host, Brian Enos.  I was never at his level of shooting, but realized right off, his approach and purpose was a good thing. He'd step up, load and make ready, no twitching, no monkeying with his gun or equipment, nod his head at ready, then shoot so smoothly, rarely missing a target, and I  knew, that's something I wanted to emulate, and did.

  Ive grabbed my gun a million times, I don't need to touch it 5 more at the make ready, I know where it is. Ive seen a sight picture a million times,I don't need to check it 5 times more at the make ready, I know how to see it. I don't need a lucky rabbits foot habit of adjusting a watch( I don't even own one), I don't need to twitch my fingers a dozen times, I need to make ready, nod my head and when the buzzer goes off shoot. At the local matches I attend, if every shooter did the same, I swear we could get back to the house 2 hours earlier.

    An interesting tick I see some fellow revolver shooters perform puzzles me, maybe someone can address this and clear it up to me. At the load and make ready, some guys fiddle with the cylinder at closing it after loading, like they are trying to spin it, what the hell is that all about? I imagine Ive put several hundred thousand rounds thru the several revolvers Ive used over the years, never once turning or trying to spin a cylinder, and never once have I experienced some manner of malfunction of the revolver.......am I missing something, or just lucky?

    

  

[old558]

I'm guilty of the last! I close the cylinder pull back the hammer a bit and spin the cylinder. Reason being I'm checking for a high primer. Now its been some time since I've found one, but now its habit that I don't plan to change it, just call it part of my sequence to make ready.

[Toolguy]

Maybe checking for a high primer or junk under the extractor. Either of those will make the cylinder hard to turn.

[pskys2]

On My 325 when I close the cylinder it seems to be able to rotate a couple of chambers on first closing?  Don't see why, it shoots great and is actually the most accurate revolver i have.  Have only shot it in idpa and edc.  So I don't have a habit of checking for it on my other competition revolvers.

The one habit i do have is i close my eyes and mentally pantomime shooting the course, this sets the shooting order and engagement order.  Takes only a few seconds, but it helps the old brain function better.

Edited February 10 by pskys2

[Squirrel45]

I spin the cylinder before closing. Does it have any affect on functionality absolutely not but have done it for a number of years 

[gargoil66]

Called a 'Ritual' or a 'Routine'.   It is done before competing to focus attention, relax, visualize.  What ever the athlete thinks he must do in order to put his focus in the right place to succeed.  And yes, it has been proven beyond question that these pre competition rituals work.

 

If rituals annoy you -- just remember that annoying the competition may be part of it.

 

GG

[MikeyScuba]

I never re-tightened my extractor rod years ago (I keep my revo far too clean).  So I tighten every time I make ready.  It’s now just a thing I do.

[bigdog02]

I don't spin the cylinder, but once I load the cylinder I click it into place and ensure it is seated by trying to spin it.  Slowly put gun down into holster until it clicks into place, then touch the top of my three speedloaders to make sure they are all there.

[guns_and_labs]

22 hours ago, Vic said:

At the load and make ready, some guys fiddle with the cylinder at closing it after loading, like they are trying to spin it, what the hell is that all about? I imagine Ive put several hundred thousand rounds thru the several revolvers Ive used over the years, never once turning or trying to spin a cylinder, and never once have I experienced some manner of malfunction of the revolver.......am I missing something, or just lucky?

    

  

I do this, to make sure the cylinder is locked into place. It always is, but I do it anyway. I do something similar with my semi-auto, in that after the press check I make sure the slide is fully forward. It always is, but I do it anyway.

[Farmer]

In everything I do the more I screw with it the worse I perform. It’s like it distracts me from what I should be paying attention to…..like the beep, green light ect.  Just stage and Go. 
My hunting friend says every time he over analyses a shot ie (how far is it, what’s the wind, should I take a neck shot ect ect) he’ll miss every time. Just pull up and BLAM it’s on the ground. I’ve seen him do it many many times from 50-200 yards. 

Edited February 12 by Farmer
Added

[IVC]

The purpose of "ticks" or "twitching" is NOT to increase performance, it's about routine that settles the mind.

 

Any sport at the top level is more about mind and mental preparation than about physical execution. People train all their life to get to a certain performance level, then they need the mindset to be able to perform at that level on demand, when it really matters and in front of a lot of people.

 

If you shoot with Brian a lot, chances are you have and have read his book. Notice how much it talks about the mental aspects of training and execution and how little it talks about the technique. There is a reason for that... 

[gargoil66]

17 hours ago, Farmer said:

In everything I do the more I screw with it the worse I perform. It’s like it distracts me from what I should be paying attention to…..like the beep, green light ect.  Just stage and Go. 
My hunting friend says every time he over analyses a shot ie (how far is it, what’s the wind, should I take a neck shot ect ect) he’ll miss every time. Just pull up and BLAM it’s on the ground. I’ve seen him do it many many times from 50-200 yards. 

Farmer:

 

Most of the reason why guys perform some sort of ritual before they perform is to keep from doing things like second guessing themselves.  Rituals or some simple act like clapping their hands together is something physical they do to stop intrusive thoughts and to put the image of perfect performance into their 'working memory'.  Tells them they are done with the BS and now to do something perfectly.

 

Not everyone has a physical ritual.  Some just have a mental process they use with breath control to thought stop and cleanse the mind of negative or counterproductive thoughts and replace them with clarity and confidence.

 

Never heard it called a 'tick' or 'twitching'.  To me, a tick is a tick and not something someone uses to clear their mind.  And twitching is a sure sign of a tweaker. 

 

One thing for sure is that top end performers have some technique to ensure that when they compete, their mind is clear of unnecessary thoughts and that their emotions are in a range where they know they can perform at their best.

 

GG

 

 

[Sniperboy]

What an interesting and charming thread.  All from the philosophy of routine and even the dig about annoying the competition, which I got a good laugh out of.  A snarky but very fair observation.

 

I asked a revo veteran why they pull the trigger back slightly and spin the cylinder.  As was mentioned it was to make sure that there were no high primers and the bullets were all seated properly so that there was no way for it to bind.

 

But pragmatically speaking this only works for the first set of rounds.  If you get a high primer in your reload moonclip then you're effed anyways.

 

As an interesting side note he also mentioned that icore rules allow this, you cannot do this in USPSA since you are not allowed to pull the trigger "half cock" to be able to rotate the cylinder a full revolution??  Have not verified.

 

Still pretty cool though and works great to annoy everyone - kind of like catching your round mid air during the unload and show clear procedure : )

 

I will say in the very few times I shot revolver I have this urge to make sure the cylinder locks with a click before I holster.  An asinine and unneeded action but a compulsion all the same.

Edited February 12 by Sniperboy

[pskys2]

I liken a pre performance routine as opening the door to my sub conscious abilities, where all the needed points hide.

[pskys2]

2 hours ago, Sniperboy said:

What an interesting and charming thread.  All from the philosophy of routine and even the dig about annoying the competition, which I got a good laugh out of.  A snarky but very fair observation.

 

I asked a revo veteran why they pull the trigger back slightly and spin the cylinder.  As was mentioned it was to make sure that there were no high primers and the bullets were all seated properly so that there was no way for it to bind.

 

But pragmatically speaking this only works for the first set of rounds.  If you get a high primer in your reload moonclip then you're effed anyways.

 

As an interesting side note he also mentioned that icore rules allow this, you cannot do this in USPSA since you are not allowed to pull the trigger "half cock" to be able to rotate the cylinder a full revolution??  Have not verified.

 

Still pretty cool though and works great to annoy everyone - kind of like catching your round mid air during the unload and show clear procedure : )

 

I will say in the very few times I shot revolver I have this urge to make sure the cylinder locks with a click before I holster.  An asinine and unneeded action but a compulsion all the same.

10.5.9 Failure to keep the finger outside the trigger guard during loading, reloading, or unloading. Exception: while complying with the “Make Ready” command to lower the hammer of a gun without a decocking lever, or while initially loading a revolver with a spurless hammer.

If you go too far and a round is fired, it is a DQ.

[Joe4d]

4 hours ago, Sniperboy said:

But pragmatically speaking this only works for the first set of rounds.  If you get a high primer in your reload moonclip then you're effed anyways.

 

 

 

 

why I do it at home when I am loading the moonclips,  Just a prematch QC check.. before the loaded moons go in my ammo box. Can catch more than just a high primer,, and I am not fiddle farting with a loaded gun in front of everyone... Home alone I wont lose any cool points for a discharge.

we have had discussions about the make ready hokey pokey some people do.. Best you can do is ignore it..  even better is the Timmys and their tactical two steps  after they are done shooting...  Like dancing three or four steps to the left or right,, an exaggerated look around, before holstering.... Like dude. WTF are you trying to impress ? you look like an idiot.

 

[revoman]

Since I started shooting revolvers 46 years ago I always did the spin test after I put a moon in or after loading the cylinder. 
Well there will not be 47 years of doing that as when I was performing one I am not sure if I dropped the hammer(no spur) or pulled the trigger just a little to far. 

Long story short, AD and I went home embarrassed as hell. To make matters worse I went the following week to the club I usually shoot at and my DQ preceded me and I got a lot of well deserved ribbing. 
The worst thing about this is that I always check my moons in the cylinder the day before any match and check for high primers at that time and I have never had a problem. I did the spin test because I saw others do it and the sound was cool. Well I am not going to be cool anymore. 

[Sniperboy]

FNG here again.  

What does "(10.5.9) initially loading a revolver with a spurless hammer" refer to?

I did try to do a search here and on the www but without having a clue to prod me in the right direction, all I found are discussions on how horrible it is to lower a hammer on an SP-01 or the unabridged history of revolver design : ).

[Joe4d]

9 minutes ago, Sniperboy said:

FNG here again.  

What does "(10.5.9) initially loading a revolver with a spurless hammer" refer to?

I did try to do a search here and on the www but without having a clue to prod me in the right direction, all I found are discussions on how horrible it is to lower a hammer on an SP-01 or the unabridged history of revolver design : ).

old school holdover verbage... Some revolvers you had to pull hammer back as you loaded or closed cylinder and spun it slightly to get it to lock in..  Spurell hammer is flush with frame, so only way to get it to come back slightly is to pull on trigger

[Sniperboy]

You learn something new every day.  Thank you for taking the time to explain that.  I would never have found that easily with a search.

[pskys2]

1 hour ago, Sniperboy said:

FNG here again.  

What does "(10.5.9) initially loading a revolver with a spurless hammer" refer to?

I did try to do a search here and on the www but without having a clue to prod me in the right direction, all I found are discussions on how horrible it is to lower a hammer on an SP-01 or the unabridged history of revolver design : ).

It refers to allowing a spurless hammer in a revolver to have the trigger pulled slightly to check that the cylinder is not binding.  If you have a spur on the hammer you can slightly cock it and check cylinder rotation.

Peacemaker type revolvers have almost never been used in uspsa, and their older versions had a half cock notch that allowed the cylinder to rotate freely to load chambers.

As revoman stated it has its problems and is not something I do, but it is allowed.

[Farmer]

8 hours ago, Joe4d said:

.
we have had discussions about the make ready hokey pokey some people do.. Best you can do is ignore it..  even better is the Timmys and their tactical two steps  after they are done shooting...  Like dancing three or four steps to the left or right,, an exaggerated look around, before holstering.... Like dude. WTF are you trying to impress ? you look like an idiot.

 

Reminds me of Belushi in Animal House. 

[Farmer]

14 hours ago, gargoil66 said:

Farmer:

 

Most of the reason why guys perform some sort of ritual before they perform is to keep from doing things like second guessing themselves.  Rituals or some simple act like clapping their hands together is something physical they do to stop intrusive thoughts and to put the image of perfect performance into their 'working memory'.  Tells them they are done with the BS and now to do something perfectly.

 

Not everyone has a physical ritual.  Some just have a mental process they use with breath control to thought stop and cleanse the mind of negative or counterproductive thoughts and replace them with clarity and confidence.

 

Never heard it called a 'tick' or 'twitching'.  To me, a tick is a tick and not something someone uses to clear their mind.  And twitching is a sure sign of a tweaker. 

 

One thing for sure is that top end performers have some technique to ensure that when they compete, their mind is clear of unnecessary thoughts and that their emotions are in a range where they know they can perform at their best.

 

GG

 

 

I know everyone is wired a little differently and I’m not knocking anyone’s rituals but for me the more I think about it the more I end up thinking of the procedure or rituals than actually what I need to do. If I’m going fishing the next day I try very hard to get things ready the day before and just do a simple walk around before we leave. I guess you could call that my ritual. If everything has been double checked the day before there’s no need to check it five more times the day of. I also know that I won’t be competing with the top notch guys so if I screw up… well I screwed up and that’s a learning experience.  
And your correct, a Tick is an involuntary movement that you have no real control over. 

Edited February 13 by Farmer
Added

[JTWjr]

I used to spin the cylinder after initial loading, but now I keep enough moonclips loaded so that I never have to reload a moonclip during a local match. I test each one in my shop when I load the moonclips. 

I started doing this when I starting functioning as the RSO, this way I never have to rush and load moons.

 

 

[gargoil66]

9 hours ago, Farmer said:

I know everyone is wired a little differently and I’m not knocking anyone’s rituals but for me the more I think about it the more I end up thinking of the procedure or rituals than actually what I need to do. If I’m going fishing the next day I try very hard to get things ready the day before and just do a simple walk around before we leave. I guess you could call that my ritual. If everything has been double checked the day before there’s no need to check it five more times the day of. I also know that I won’t be competing with the top notch guys so if I screw up… well I screwed up and that’s a learning experience.  
And your correct, a Tick is an involuntary movement that you have no real control over. 

Farmer:

 

Reading into rituals. 

 

Have you ever done something to stop some sort of negative thought and or to get you back on track?  For example, after working for ten or so hours, you have to face a deadlined piece of equipment.  You feel the exhaustion and your mind reinforces the feeling.  However you know you must fix the piece of equipment.  So, to stop the negative thoughts and feelings, you stamp your feet, slap your arms, or something of the sort and say to yourself -- 'tough...am getting it fixed before I do another thing.'  So you get the gear running without any sort of problem. 

 

That slapping or stamping would be something like a ritual -- not precisely because technically I guess it would be a physical cue but it does what a ritual does -- clears the mind of anxiety and intrusive thoughts and gives a person confidence they can do something and do it smoothly, quickly, and perfectly.  

 

Getting stuff prepared the day before probably isn't a ritual.  It is something you do because you want some time to make sure you got everything you need to compete.  It is a smart thing and I find prepping the day or even two days before an event to relieve stress and let me focus on the things I must do at the event to succeed.  

 

A ritual would be something you would do just before competing to clear the mind and let you 'get er done'.  

 

GG

 

 

Edited February 13 by gargoil66