bgary Posted September 5, 2006 Share Posted September 5, 2006 OK, so I'll say this right up front... I was born with no "fast twitch" muscles. Everything I do, happens at pretty much the same speed I recently took a class, and one of the things I really came away with is knowledge of the need to "snap" my eyes to the next target, with precision, and then drive the gun into my line of sight, so that I can break the shot as soon as I am seeing what I need to see. All well and good, but... my eyes don't "snap". They... "mosey". I can snap my *head* to see the next target, much more quickly than I can track my eyes over there. Which is fine for big transitions, but probably not so great for smaller ones. I feel like I am running up against a speed limit, and not sure how to make my eyes go any faster. Are there drills I can do to increase "eye speed", or... should I find a work-around? B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ktyler Posted September 5, 2006 Share Posted September 5, 2006 Bruce, I place several small dots on the wall and stand across the room. I keep my head still and snap my eyes to the next dot. Don't just see the dot, see the center of the dot. This was recommended to me by Matt Burkett years ago as a way to work on eyes speed. Give it a try....along with all your other assigned home work for the winter. ktyler Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benos Posted September 6, 2006 Share Posted September 6, 2006 And for a live-fire drill, next time you're at the range, try the following drill. Set up 3 IPSC targets at 10 yards, about a yard a apart, edge to edge. Only hits in the A box count. On the buzzer draw and shoot one shot at each target - left to right, then repeat left to right, then repeat again left to right - for a total of 9 shots. Check your time, add a half second for each non-A, and note your score. You don't really care about your score that much, just remember it for later. Shoot a 6 - 10 strings, to establish an average score. While you're establishing your average - you're just shooting like you normally would. Don't try any new tricks or anything at all. In the end just know your average score for the drill. As I was typing part 2, I thought of a way to keep it real. There won't be a part 2 until you go to the range and do part 1. Then come back and PM me with your average, and I'll reply with part 2. And not just Bruce, everyone please try it - it might be fun. Then please don't post your results from the drill overall, until I come back and post part 2 (which means it fizzled out)... Or maybe I never will... be Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alellis Posted September 7, 2006 Share Posted September 7, 2006 And for a live-fire drill, next time you're at the range, try the following drill. Set up 3 IPSC targets at 10 yards, about a yard a apart, edge to edge. Only hits in the A box count. On the buzzer draw and shoot one shot at each target - left to right, then repeat left to right, then repeat again left to right - for a total of 9 shots. Check your time, add a half second for each non-A, and note your score. You don't really care about your score that much, just remember it for later. Shoot a 6 - 10 strings, to establish an average score. While you're establishing your average - you're just shooting like you normally would. Don't try any new tricks or anything at all. In the end just know your average score for the drill. As I was typing part 2, I thought of a way to keep it real. There won't be a part 2 until you go to the range and do part 1. Then come back and PM me with your average, and I'll reply with part 2. And not just Bruce, everyone please try it - it might be fun. Then please don't post your results from the drill overall, until I come back and post part 2 (which means it fizzled out)... Or maybe I never will... be I completed part one last night can we have part two before Saturday. al Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjbine Posted September 7, 2006 Share Posted September 7, 2006 I am starting part one and will look forward to part two. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Payne Posted September 7, 2006 Share Posted September 7, 2006 I did part one today. Had the timer running but didn't really care about keeping track. I was amazed at how quickly the times went down, and the "A"s were easier to get. Something about "Seeing what you need to see" came to mind. I am fairly new, so this was a great drill from many aspects. Also found out how pushing the envelope made it much easier to crash and burn Waiting for part two. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benos Posted September 8, 2006 Share Posted September 8, 2006 You all gotta PM me for Part 2. Once you take Part 2 to the range with you - after having done Part 1 - you'll get it. be Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricW Posted September 8, 2006 Share Posted September 8, 2006 Just like seeing the clay in the air, truly seeing the exact point where I want my gun to end up at seems to be an on going challenge. I'll try the drill here before Monday. Thanks BE! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shred Posted September 8, 2006 Share Posted September 8, 2006 XRe and I shot it today.. a lot of pesky C's in our runs.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XRe Posted September 8, 2006 Share Posted September 8, 2006 That damn Dog showed up once or twice in there, too... Amazing how much you can get lost in such a simple drill.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benos Posted September 9, 2006 Share Posted September 9, 2006 That damn Dog showed up once or twice in there, too... Amazing how much you can get lost in such a simple drill.... That's the beauty of the "simple drill." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
basman Posted September 9, 2006 Share Posted September 9, 2006 starting drill 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Moneypenny Posted September 12, 2006 Share Posted September 12, 2006 I finished the drill but for fun I then ran it backwards ( right to left instead of left to right) I almost always shoot faster ( if only by a couple of tenths going lef to right but on this drill my times went DOWN when I went against what is normally much faster for me.. is this a strange anomilie or coencidence or what? ...yes I have practiced going right to left a LOT. and don't know why I'm just a little faster. but I am great little 9 round drill i liked it a lot. Thanks BE. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loves2Shoot Posted September 12, 2006 Share Posted September 12, 2006 Bruce, Plus 1 on the dot drill. I had a student that sugested substituting "racy" pitures of females to help his motivation and focus. When I'm driving somewhere I've always snapped to telephone poles, lines on the road, licenses plates, ect, even before I was a shooter, just something to break the boredom. You can do it all day long too, for free. You have the will, so there is a way Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CSEMARTIN Posted September 12, 2006 Share Posted September 12, 2006 I've noticed that my dominant eye snaps faster from lateral to medial (i.e. right to left). So, If you're right-eye dominant, you will always be faster shooting right to left. If you're left-eye dominant, shooting left to right will be faster. Has anyone else noticed this, or am I off the reservation? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pierruiggi Posted September 13, 2006 Share Posted September 13, 2006 (edited) I've noticed that my dominant eye snaps faster from lateral to medial (i.e. right to left). So, If you're right-eye dominant, you will always be faster shooting right to left. If you're left-eye dominant, shooting left to right will be faster. Has anyone else noticed this, or am I off the reservation? No, I'm right eye dominant (right handed too) and I find it easier and faster to go left to right. AS for Brian's drill, I'm interested, but it'll be awhile before I'm able to do it. Edited September 13, 2006 by Pierruiggi Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1911vm Posted September 14, 2006 Share Posted September 14, 2006 (edited) So people like me that are R. handed L. eye dominate we just shoot straight well?(haha) Edited September 14, 2006 by 1911vm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flexmoney Posted September 20, 2006 Share Posted September 20, 2006 [Production rig] I shot this last week. Started out a bit too fast and a bit too sloppy. I dialed up the vision (also, kinda held back..two distinctly different things). I ended up with my fastest runs when I dialed up the vision and shoot clean. Those were coming in around the 4 second range. Then I shot it this week. I turned up the vision, but didn't hold back any. I was also seeing well, but not demanding a stringent amount of visual input (kinda like being in the finals in the shoot-offs). My first runs were around 3.15. Solid. I noticed my draw was slow and got on top of that. I was able to bring these runs down to the 3.00 - 3.05 range...with a few sub-3's. (regular transition here ~ .34) Then I really got after it. Turned in some runs around 2.57, with almost all runs below 2.85...but, a bit sloppier on the hits. Keep up this push, but dialed the vision back up and managed a 2.53 clean, IIRC. (transitions here getting into the high 20's) When Brian posted this drill, I was a bit skeptical. One yard between targets??? ...to test/work snapping the eyes? I usually think of tight transitions like that (and plate racks, etc) as 'muzzle bumps" and I don't call them real transitions. Then I got to thinking about some of my dryfire practice, where I am doing two to the body & one to the head. With those, my transitions to the head have me taking my visual focus out to the target, then back to the front sight...just going from the body to the head. So, I thought I had better give Brian's drill a go. Thanks Brian. This has really helped me get my head back into my vision...keeping it moving and all that. Seeing that I can be fast...while still seeing well. Perfect timing...just what I needed right now. I was learning so much about my shooting that I never did do 10 runs for time and an average. (maybe I wasn't yet disciplined enough to try that either). FWIW, I never did hit a sub-second draw. Best I managed was a 1.01 and a 1.05, IIRC. Most of the rest were over 1.10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benos Posted September 21, 2006 Share Posted September 21, 2006 [Production rig]I was learning so much about my shooting that I never did do 10 runs for time and an average. (maybe I wasn't yet disciplined enough to try that either). That's cool. Do you want me to PM you Part 2? You probably already know what it's going to say - but you might find a key word or two... I actually wrote quite a bit, that I could reduce down to one sentence... be Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flexmoney Posted September 22, 2006 Share Posted September 22, 2006 Yeah...please PM me the whole thing !! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flexmoney Posted September 22, 2006 Share Posted September 22, 2006 - for a total of 9 shots. Crap...I just realized that we were doing the drill with only two passes...6 shots...the last time out. (Oh, well...I can mentally add in three more transitions.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loves2Shoot Posted September 22, 2006 Share Posted September 22, 2006 Whew man, I was thinking I had a LOT of work to do Flex with those smokin' times... My FASTEST XD production run was 2.50 sec and had 3 D's 2'c and 4 A's and was sloppy as hell AND I went right left, left right, right left until I had the 9 shots out. I don' think I can pull the trigger and move the gun any faster than that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flexmoney Posted September 22, 2006 Share Posted September 22, 2006 Just for reference... My transitions were all pretty much equal on time. Going T3>T1 didn't cost me any extra. I wasn't rolling through the targets, which is probably something to watch out for. My visual focus was going out to find the "target spot", then bringing the focus back to the gun/sights as the gun came into the target. I feel this is probably important, as the deliberateness of it allows the gun to find a stopping/pausing point (target spot) without let a round loose too soon or too late. (This would have to be different with a red dot...you open shooters are going to have to work that out ??) I was shooting with vision, not with cadence. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rwmagnus Posted September 29, 2006 Share Posted September 29, 2006 I just ran across this drill Brian suggested. I'll do it this Saturday. I was actually searching here for Matt Burkett's gun timing drills link as I couldn't find it on his site. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dcalvert Posted September 30, 2006 Share Posted September 30, 2006 Brian, I tried this drill in my Thursday practice session, It is very good, my average score for 10 runs was 5.78 limited. My first runs were the best as I started to push I was factored to death. Can you forward me part 2 ? Thanks, Dale Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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