[Seth]

After some discussion and a little motivation by the speed in practice thread, I decided to let the dogs hunt this past weekend. I'm usually a VERY cautious shooter. I get my hits at the sacrifice of speed.

This time I decided to just BLAZE. Fast as I can run, fast as I can see -- points be damned.

First, it was FUN. BIG FUN. WAY BIG FUN.

Second, it was successful, for the most part - I'm a high C shooter that has been knocking on B for about 5 months. I typically shoot matches better than I shoot classifiers.

Instead of the usual middle of pack finishes, I actually did fairly well... a 2nd place finish, 3 3rds and a 5th out of 17 Limited shooters. One stage I crashed and zero'd (come to the line with more than one reload on the off chance that you punt your reload out of the county).

My hits were a little more ragged, including 2 mikes, but I was still 75% alpha and much MUCH faster than normal. I was watching the sights as fast as I could and accuracy did suffer, but the speed was substantially faster.

And it was fun. WAY fun.

[CJDOUBLETAP]

I have been trying the same lately too. I just try to have the mentality of- go as fast as possible, just get the shots on paper (works especially well for major PF).

Usually I try to just be smooth and go for hits, but at last week ends 3 Days of Revo match I went flat out speed. I won the steel challenge portion and the 625 portion. It worked very good for me. I usually shoot in the high B to low A class range but in the 3DR match I shot 2nd over-all. Check the revo forum for scores...

And like you said, VERY FUN.

Craig

[Seth]

If I didn't know better, I'd swear that was the point... but....

[JimmyZip]

I tried this a couple of matches past. Well, I found out that I have a lot of work to do. Wish my primers would show up. I have work to do.
My speed sucked anyway, and my normally accurate shooting became a little sloppy.
Going fast is great if you are already good at the fundamentals.
If you need work on your draw, first shot times at any distance, reloads static and moving, shooting on the move, transistions, memory on memory stages, well then you need to think. Do I want to shoot smooth or sloppy.
For right now, I will work on smooth. Later I will work on fast.

That's where I am right now.

JZ

[Seth]

Fair point. I'm at the point where I can shoot accurately. I do well on steel and can shoot at distance reasonably well.

For me it was time. And it wasn't a bad idea.

[G-ManBart]

CJDOUBLETAP, on Jul 7 2009, 06:14 PM, said:

I just try to have the mentality of- go as fast as possible, just get the shots on paper (works especially well for major PF).

Yeah, if you want to be hang in the middle of B or lower, it works especially well

No matter where you are, if you're trying to beat the best guy/agal in C, the best guy/gal in M or win the whole match, it'll take points to do that. Frequently, a D or two means the difference between winning a stage or being 3rd-5th.

Trying to shoot a competitive B score (or any other class) by blazing as fast as possible and getting lousy hits is going to be self-limiting before long.

I've said this over and over and over and from looking at a lot of match results I'm convinced it's 100% true. You can win your class up to A at Nationals by shooting smooth and steady, not having any procedurals or penalties and shooting very good points. That doesn't mean you walk when you should run, but fast trigger presses mean almost nothing.

Just getting shots on the paper won't get you very far, even if it seems fun. R,

[SA Friday]

G-ManBart, on Jul 7 2009, 08:50 PM, said:

CJDOUBLETAP, on Jul 7 2009, 06:14 PM, said:

I just try to have the mentality of- go as fast as possible, just get the shots on paper (works especially well for major PF).

Yeah, if you want to be hang in the middle of B or lower, it works especially well

No matter where you are, if you're trying to beat the best guy/agal in C, the best guy/gal in M or win the whole match, it'll take points to do that. Frequently, a D or two means the difference between winning a stage or being 3rd-5th.

Trying to shoot a competitive B score (or any other class) by blazing as fast as possible and getting lousy hits is going to be self-limiting before long.

I've said this over and over and over and from looking at a lot of match results I'm convinced it's 100% true. You can win your class up to A at Nationals by shooting smooth and steady, not having any procedurals or penalties and shooting very good points. That doesn't mean you walk when you should run, but fast trigger presses mean almost nothing.

Just getting shots on the paper won't get you very far, even if it seems fun. R,

Doing this all the time can be self-destructive, but going as fast as you can now and then to see where you need work, to understand where your limitations are, is fine. I think you found out something I knew last April, you need to move your A$$. Now you understand there is a different gear. Practice that gear and you will see it get encompassed into your shooting.

[1bigshooter]

This seems to be a very common question at our club. "How do I go faster?" As mentioned above, accuracy is more a part of this game than most people want to believe. When it comes to speed, I believe that you absolutely have to push yourself faster than you normally go, especially in PRACTICE, and your hits will improve, as you work on getting comfortable at the faster speed.

There are so many aspects to going faster, not just fast split times, but target transitions, and the ever-present (and important) time that it takes you to break the first shot when you enter a shooting position, how fast you get out of that position, etc.

Many shooters are self-limiting on speed, they are afraid they won't shoot all A's (or maybe have a miss) if they go faster, so they are reluctant to do so.

Also - have one of the better shooters at your club, that is good at coaching, watch you shoot, and point out things you are doing that are costing you time. Working with another shooter, in practice, like this, will help alot!

Good luck!

[bkeeler]

Just be sure not to compromise the fundamentals for the speed! Be aware of what is happening.

Learn to call your shots at that pace!

BK

[mildot1]

I did the same thing last sunday. It was a blast!!!!

Now I need to do it without the 2 misses I had at the same speed.

It did move my % up quite a bit.

[DUKE]

Shoot as fast as you can see your front sight. My front sight has been a pretty good speedometer.

[benos]

Depending on one's Temperament, some folks tend to always shoot "too fast" (don't get consistent good hits while not knowing that they're not doing that) and some folks tend to always shoot "to slow" (trying not to drop any points, ever).

The "shoot-to-fasters" will benefit by spending some time learning and executing the fundamentals. And the "shoot-to-slowers" will benefit by letting go and cranking it up a bit.

I have a couple brief articles for both types in my site's Words page.
be

[boz1911]

I switched back to shooting my Limited gun 5-6 weeks ago after shooting open for a year and a half. It's been difficult to not run at "open" speed every stage and I've paid the price several times. I'm just now beginning to shoot at "Limited" speed again. The transition back and forth is not as easy as one might think. I think it's going to be easier (or at least in practice) to transition back to open.

[Seth]

I have been told by my Yoda that shooting open, then returning to iron sights is a huge advantage. His explanation is that shooting open teaches you to flow into and out of position while shooting AND you learn aggression.

I'll report back next year!

[GrumpyOne]

mildot1, on Jul 24 2009, 07:57 AM, said:

I did the same thing last sunday. It was a blast!!!!

Now I need to do it without the 2 misses I had at the same speed.

It did move my % up quite a bit.

One of the quotes I heard when I first started will never leave me....."You can't miss fast enough to win".

[boz1911]

Seth, on Jul 24 2009, 06:24 PM, said:

I have been told by my Yoda that shooting open, then returning to iron sights is a huge advantage. His explanation is that shooting open teaches you to flow into and out of position while shooting AND you learn aggression.

I'll report back next year!

That part is very true and perhaps it's my eyesight and age that can't keep up.
One thing I have learned is just how difficult it is to beat an open gun in compitent hands.