Shooting Fast

[Prof. Bullspit]

I've been shooting CAS for less than a year. I had done a lot of informal shooting prior to my CAS involvement but I have to say that all of that shooting emphasized accuracy.

When I started shooting CAS I found I could hit all the targets with not too much problem but I wasn't fast. I finally had to accept that to score better I had to shoot fast enough to risk missing an occasional shot, while trying not to miss.

How do you gain speed?

[Doc Shapiro]

Gaining speed is something that we'll all be fighting with as long as we shoot competitively.  Kanada Kidd says you have to practice shooting fast in order to shoot fast.  He's right.  Take the misses.  Your eyes will eventually catch up with the pace you are shooting.  Though it might take a while.

You have to train your eyes to see faster.  You can snap them back and forth between distant and close objects and between objects that are far apart laterally.  This will help them get used to different focal lengths and moving.  Your eyes drive the shooting. 

You have to be aware of the sights and the target.  This doesn't mean that you need a precise sight picture.  It means that you have to see what you need to see to get the lead on the target.

Follow?

Doc

[Prof. Bullspit]

I think I follow. I think I might worry too much about perfecting the sight picture, that's what I trained myself to do. I think I follow about "seeing faster" as a way to speed up.

Thanks for the tips. I've watched your shotgun tips video on your website a bunch of times and it has helped me with that aspect of getting faster.

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[Klondike]

What Doc says has a lot of merit and truth. One thing that is not talked about much is you must think fast as well as see fast. If you think the stage or sequence through slowly, you will probably shoot it slower. Granted you have to get the sequence in your mind first, but you have to think it at speed before you shoot it. Computers don't allow a good example but I will try: Nevada Sweep three targets left to right:
Slow:
1---2---3---2---1
Fast:
12321
Does that make ant sense?Think it through at the speed you want to shoot.

[Brazos Bucky Smith]

Thanks Klondike and Doc,

both threads are informative and yeah I get the timing idea! Something I would not have thought of while praciticing the stage.  I will try it at our sept. shoot.

BB

[Prof. Bullspit]

Excellent advice about the timing of your thinking. Now the question, do you think it through at the pace you want to shoot it or do you think it through as fast as you can think it?

[Doc Shapiro]

Niether.  I don't think while I'm shooting.  If you have to think while you are shooting, you're not letting your subconsious do it.  So, you'll be slow and awkard.

You need to program the stage into your subconsious and then just let it go when the buzzer goes off.

The pace you shoot is the speed at which you see what you need to see to hit the targets (this is difficult to explain).  But basically it means to shoot only as fast as you acquire your sight picture.  However, pulling the trigger shouldn't be something that you are thinking about.  When it happens the way it should, when the sights are lined up, the gun goes off.

When you wake up in the morning, your fastest pace for the day is already set.  You can't make yourself shoot the stages faster.  You can only shoot as fast as your subconsious will do it.

Doc

[Klondike]

Well said Doc, I have to program into my subconcious at speed not at slow speed. Sight, target, boom, automatic. Already know where next shot is going or what move to make or what transition.
I get the shooting sequence in mind, and then remember gun sequence and go on auto-pilot when the buzzer goes off. Now every now and then a brain bubble gets in the way and I have to get back on track.
I also have habits, like which pistol is shot first, so I automatically know which pistol gets pulled next (no click, click, OH crap wrong gun).

[Doc Shapiro]

Klondike, I tend to let the stage dictate my transitions.  But it took an awful lot of practice to get there.

Are you going to be at the NE Regional?  I'm flyin out for it.

Doc

[Klondike]

Yes we will be there, I will not get to defend my 49er Championship though. I will be in the seniors starting in September. I am sure glad to get away from those kids , now all I have to worry about is Evil Roy, San Juan and a whole slew of others
I let the stage dicatate my transitions too, but I am concious of which pistol was shot if the pistols are seperated. Too many times I see a shooter draw an empty gun and it startles them and they seem to get confused, very costly. also how my shotgun is staged is dictated by where the rifle is shot in proximity to the shotgun. If they are close the action port is down to keep a wayward brass from getting in, if they are seperated I leave the action port up so I can be putting a shell in as I pick the shotgun up.
The one thing we haven't mentioned and is very worthy of mention. Don't let your equipment beat you. If you want to be a competetive shooter you must have competetive leather, loads and guns (slick, reliable guns). Guns will come out of most holsters, but they must go back in easy and stay.

[Prof. Bullspit]

I guess I didn't make my question clear. Klondike said to think the stage through fast prior to doing the actual shooting. I try to run the stage through in my mind before I shoot as is recommended. I wanted to know if I should think it at the pace I think I should shoot it or should I think it through as fast as I can think it.

I guess I'm wondering if you try to push your pace by thinking faster than you can shoot the stage or if you try to set your pace by thinking the stage through (again, prior to the shooting) at the rate you want (or think you can) shoot it?

[Doc Shapiro]

That's a pretty individual thing.  I run through the stages in my mind very slowly.  Seeing the sights on the spot on the target where I want the bullet to hit.  I try to visualize everything, including the bullet hitting steel and the ring.  But I go through it slowly in my head. 

But that's what works for me.  You're not going to be able to increase your pace on match day.  You're going to shoot at the speed you are going to shoot.  It's all about seeing what you need to in order to put lead on steel.  It can't be rushed.

Doc

[Klondike]

Prof,
I try to think it through first at a speed to understand and set the sequence to memory. Then I think it through at the speed i want to shoot it or faster if possible. I get the cadeance in my mind.
Don't let another fast shooter intimidate you or dictate how you shoot. Many times I have heard a shooter run a stage and thought "damn that was fast", only to run it 2-3 seconds faster. Try not to focus on what they did, focus on your game. I really don't want to hear the time on a fast shooter, because I will get that number in my head and think that is the time I have to beat. I really don't want to know. The other thing not mentioned is don't watch the shooter ahead of you run the stage, if they mess up, you are subject to repeat their mistake.

[Sidewinder Sills]

Hah !!

If I practised like the gent whose CAS school I attended, I'd be divorced!!
Standing in my underwear practising pointing at a plate for 15 minutes every night before bed?
No thanks. I'll just take my score and be thankful I had fun doin it.

I have to second something that Klondike said. Getting in the habit of always drawing the same pistol first each time has made a big difference for me. I was always so focused on the stage layout when I started shooting CAS that I would often draw the empty revolver in my hurry to remember everything.

Now it's gotten to the point that when I transition between pistols, I am holstering with the left as my right hand draws the strong side pistol. Always having my holsters in the exact same spot has allowed me to quit looking down during the tranistion and that helps me keep my eyes on the target. I find I do better if I have the mind set that I am the one whose time I have to beat.

And like Doc said, if you have to think about it...... Kinda like stepping on a snake. I bet you move a lot faster/jump higher than you would if you thought about it.

Sidewinder~~~~~

[Doc Shapiro]

For quite a long time I always drew one fun first.  Put it on the clock after publishing Breaking the Shot and found that it was faster to draw the strong hand gun first.  Ok, so now I do that!  I will draw the left gun first if the stage situation warrents it.  For example.  Moving from left to right.  Start with your rife.  Set the rifle down by the door in the rack (vertical staged). Shoot your first pistol through the door way.  Pick up your shotgun and knock over 4 plates.  Set your shotgun back down as you move to the right and shoot your 2nd pistol through the window.

Ok, so now why would I use my left gun first?  Because the rack you have to put your rifle down in is on the right and can't be moved!  So, set the rifle down with right hand while drawing left gun with left hand.

It happens that you will need to switch and draw the other gun first.  Be ready for it!

Doc

[Klondike]

I am quite a bit faster with my right pistol from buzzer to a target hit also. Until a shooter gets enough experience and confidence, I think it is good practice to have a riutine to follow to avoid confusion.
There are times I will draw my pistols different, such as right to left sweep (to help myself remember) I will draw right pistol (to start on right) and left to right sweep I will draw left pistol. But for the most part (unless the stage absolutely demands something else) I will draw my left pistol first, especially if they are seperated as in Doc's scenario, then I know which gun is empty and the transition is natural.