How to shooter revolver in USPSA

[BigDave]

Being a new revolver shooter, I'm finding it difficult to switch my noggin from Limited thinking and stage disection to what will work for a 6 shot revolver. Can anyone post some advice on you thought processes when shooting stages with revolver.

I've all but abandoned the thought of lobbying for 6 shot neutral COF's and limiting mandatory reloads (although I'm working on the mandatory reload thing, its just out of hand at times).

Are there any stage scenarios that are more advantageous to revolver shooters than other divisions?

[Bubber]

Dave, So many different things to talk about. I'll just choose one and my other compadres will probalby take up the slack. One item so important is knowing what shot you are on and how many you have left. Nothing is so bad as pulling on an empty cylinder. That is a one second delay to actually start a standing reload then the time for the unplanned reload. This could easily cost you four seconds for one shot. And as for more advantageous stages. I know of none except that single hit requirement and larger swings target to target puts you on a LEVEL playing field. My thought only. to steal a phrase from another revo shooter "Keep em turnin"

[Loves2Shoot]

"Are there any stage scenarios that are more advantageous to revolver shooters than other divisions?"

I can't imagine one, the closest I can come that they are even is draw and 1 shot. After that, the autos have an advantage.

[xcount]

BigDave asks - Can anyone post some advice on you thought processes when shooting stages with revolver.........

For me, one of the cool things about the revolver is the slower pace of the shooting. I find I am generally more accurate with a revolver and I believe this is due to the slower trigger action allowing me a greater opportunity to observe (and correct) the sights as the gun comes onto the target.

I find I pay more attention to the feel of the trigger with a revolver and, as a consequence, am better able to see the front sight lift & call the shot. Like I'm not making anything happen, I'm watching it happen. To me, the shooting is almost more fluid than with other guns. I roll the trigger back as I come onto a target, see the sight lift, roll it again as the sight comes back down, see it lift again, and start swinging & rolling onto the next target. It's more of a timing & cadence thing than a "see, shoot, see, shoot" thing. (If that makes any sense.)

Also, I get the feeling of "skating" from one position to another rather than "charging". To onlookers it probably looks more like lumbering but I get the sensation I'm skating, especially right after a York Peppermint Patty.

BigDave says - I've all but abandoned the thought of lobbying for 6 shot neutral COF's........

I've been a proponent of 6 shot neutral COFs for a number of reasons, none of which relate to my personal likes or dislikes of standing or mandatory reloads. I have heard said that the "thing" about a revolver is as soon as you start shooting - the gun is empty. Reloading is such a major facet of revolver shooting that it often eclipses the actual shooting part in importance. So I have adopted a philosophy which I stole from the book "Golf is Not a Game of Perfect". Here's the story......

Back in the '50's Gary Player and Davis Love, Jr. used to room together on the PGA tour. One time they were playing a tournament on a southern course with Bermuda grass greens that were like a shag carpet. Love hated the slow greens. But every night Player would talk about how much he loved the slow greens.

The next week they were on a northern course with bent grass greens that were clipped so close it was like putting on a linoleum floor. All Player could talk about was how much he loved the fast greens - the faster the better.

Finally, Love said "Which is it? Do you like slow greens or fast greens?"

Player said, "It doesn't matter. Whatever the green you are putting on, you gotta love it."

Obviously, what Player was saying is you have to be able to put, no matter what the COF requirements are.

Now, the interesting thing for me with the revolver is (as opposed to when I was shooting in other divisions) I have no idea how fast my reloads are. Nor my draw. Nor, even, my splits for that matter. Never timed 'em. I don't care. At the end of the day I will have drawn the gun, shot the gun, & reloaded the gun fast enough to win - or not. Does that mean I don't practice? No, I dry fire my draws & reloads a bit and I shoot weekly. When the weather breaks I may even practice live fire.

I draw & reload as fast as I can without being tense or sloppy. I shoot as quickly as my eyes tell me to. But I don't practice with a timer. Because, in the end, I don't care. I am shooting a revolver for the hell of it and, once the match is over, I grab a beer. I may be celebrating - or not - but that doesn't really matter to me. It's the process I enjoy, not the result. (However, I'll admit the beer does taste better after a win. )

As for - Are there any stage scenarios that are more advantageous to revolver shooters than other divisions?

I have to concur with Loves2Shoot - probably none. Take joy from the fact that you are not following the same "yellow brick road" that everyone else is (like your former Limited colleagues) when travelling through the stage. You will quickly find great satisfaction in strategizing a stage to suit your limited ammo capacity and then finding you are actually capable of pulling it off and shooting the stage to the best of your ability.

And when your buddies rag on you for taking so long to shoot a big field course remind them that they paid the same entry fee as you but only got half the range time.

[SmittyFL]

Big Dave,

I think it depends on what your goals in the match are. #1 has to be to have fun, otherwise it will be a long day. I love xcount's statement about the extended range time. If #1 is your main goal, then don't worry too much about anything, just go shoot. Obviously you have to think about the stage differently than when shooting a square gun, but don't worry too much about it just shoot and reload.....and reload.....and reload.

But if you want the best possible hit factor or you are competing against other revolvers in an IPSC match then you need to think a little more. Figure out the comstock factor for you and the stage. (see Matt Burkett's web site if you don't know how to do it) then you have to know your reload times. It may be benifical to only put one round in a target or two.

For instance if you end a stage with a bank of four targets and you figure you can take two mikes and have a better HF than if you do a standing reload, then just fire one round in the last two targets to avoid a FTE. This could be done at any point during a stage but you need to figure it out ahead of time.

But like I said, the main thing is to have fun. Plus I like to see how many square gun guys I can beat. To steal a piece from Bubber and xcount....."keep 'em turnin and have a beer afterwords".

Smitty

[AFDAVIS1]

I'm new to revolver too. Shot a 1911 last year. My thoughts for what it is worth is this: You absolutely can not defeat the good auto shooters, forget about it. You can however defeat the lesser autoloader shooters and that should be a victory in itself. First practice more than they do. Second remember that a revolver is more accurate by design. Third you MUST run the stage smarter than they do. So what I do is this, I find the best spot to shoot as many targets as possible then move (reload) to the next spot...it's kinda that simple. The idea is to use this concept; your gun's bullets are faster than the autoloader's LEGS! They will run to every target while you will simply aim better and smoother, and hit targets in the "A" ring. They will run fast, and hit it in the C of D ring. As you stay with them with this concept during each stage they will during the match have ONE catasrophic failure to feed. That is the point when you the tortoise will overcome the rabbits and beat many (but not the best) autoloaders. And remember, mentally that is a big worry of theirs so you can play that side of the game too if you want..."God I hope you gun doesn't jam on this stage, I might run away with this stage then and how would that look ?! :-)

[spook]

Dave, there are scenarios where a revolver is faster than an auto. Like starting with an unloaded gun. It's faster with a revolver (given two equal shooters and a low round count). Or gun loaded but empty chamber scenarios.

For the rest, revolvers are always slower. Reloads can not be made in under a second (at least, I still can't do it). And they have to be made every six rounds.

I personally don't listen to that stuff though. I WILL not believe a revolver is "slower or faster" than an autoloader. Just shoot. With a revolver. Be as fast and accurate as you can. You can always improve yourself. Jerry M. could do really well with his wheelgun in standard/limited. And Eric Grauffel would probably still win the WS with a Single Stack 1911 and a bent nail as a frontsight.

[pskys]

When I feel the need for a "Good" Revolver course, I set it up and run it. Of course, at any "Big" Match it's not going to happen (the most fun for the most competitors should be the motto anyway).

It seems to me that the ease of tracking the front sight on a revolver is the same as having a comp on a 1911, back in the days with iron sights. It's easy to lose the front sight on a 1911 Slide, as it flys back (it always comes back, but in between it was a blur). When I first put on a comp in '86 it seemed the front sight just didn't move and on looking back I think that was more important than the recoil control. And it didn't move back and forth, just up and down. The same with a Revolver.

As for gaming out a course, I always felt I was there to shoot, winning may be a by-product (or not) but it's just not the end all. If I am at a course that can be gamed by not engaging targets, I'd rather attempt to shoot each target with the maximum hits and explain it to the course designer. If it was inadvertent, he needs to know. If it was deiberate the Competitors and Staff need to know, so it won't be encouraged.