Week 177: If You Aren't Fast Enough, It Doesn't Matter How Accurate You Are

[Mr_White]

Week 177: If You Aren't Fast Enough, It Doesn't Matter How Accurate You Are

Results may be posted until September 12th, 2016.

Designed by: Gabe White
Range: 3 yards
Target: USPSA Metric or IDPA
Start Position: Holster and Ready
Rounds Fired: 2

If you aren't fast enough, it doesn't matter how accurate you are...

I've heard this idea expressed quite a bit less than the idea behind DotW 175 (if you aren't accurate enough, it doesn't matter how fast you are), but it's also true. A big part of the challenge of practical shooting is the recognition that there is a time limit. And while it may or may not be a challenging time limit, it probably cannot be discerned beforehand. We have to shoot accurately enough, at a relevant speed. If we aren't fast enough, it won't matter how accurate we are.

String 1: Start with loaded handgun at the ready, target at 3 yards. At the start signal, shoot 1 shot to the lower A/-0 zone (body, not head.) Record your time and hit. You must make the hit in less than 0.50 seconds.

String 2: Start with handgun loaded and holstered, hands at sides, target at 3 yards. At the start signal, draw and shoot 1 shot to the lower A/-0 zone (body, not head.) Record your time and hit. You must make the hit in less than 1.50 seconds.

You must make both hits under the time limits to Pass.

Please report the following when you post your results in this thread:

Target, gun, holster, concealment (if used)
Time and hit on String 1
Time and hit on String 2
Pass or Fail
Observations: anything you noticed

Training with firearms is an inherently dangerous activity. Be sure to follow all safety protocols when using firearms or practicing these drills. These drills are provided for information purposes only. Use at your own risk.

[Luke]

Can I get a definition of "ready position" please sir.

[Mr_White]

Can I get a definition of "ready position" please sir.

I intended for it to be pretty open-ended, because people do (credibly) use a variety of ready positions. You could use low ready, contact/threat ready, high ready, compressed ready, etc. - whatever you like. At its essence, a ready position has the gun held in a manner that allows essentially unobstructed vision of the target in order to enable the decisionmaking that necessarily comes before engaging, and with the trigger finger in register. Some ready positions are better than others in certain physical circumstances and contexts. For this drill, whatever ready position you use needs to have finger in register, and you can't be 'on the sights' while in the ready position.

[scw2]

Shot this with CZ 75 SP-01 from concealment with CCC Gestalt holster and polo shirt.


String 1: Ready position was sort of where hands come together during the draw. I turned in times at 0.79 sec, 0.67 sec, 0.63 sec (miss), 0.62 sec - all failed. Too slow - can maybe cut a few hundreths of seconds working on reaction time, but clearly moving arms too slowly. As I type this up I think I can work on this in dry fire a bit...

String 2: 1.20 sec, 1.18 sec, 2 x 1.11 sec (miss) - calling this a fail by shooting a few shots high pushing speed. Glad I made the 1.50 sec time though.

I think I will get the most benefit initially working on getting string 1 times down so that I can hopefully see carry over benefits into String 2. I think moving my arms faster is what I need to work on. Misses were high, which happened when I shot with rough sight picture and not enough discernment when breaking the shots, so visual processing speed can help too. Also leftward bias suggests more trigger work needed...

[JohnK]

Target, gun, holster, concealment (if used): IDPA target, HK P30L LEM, JMCK AIWB, Untucked golf shjrt
Time and hit on String 1: 0.5 from a compressed ready.
Time and hit on String 2: 1.43 from appendix holster, concealed
Pass or Fail: I'm not thrilled with the first string as I want to get it under.
Observations: I need to hone my reading comprehension skills because I went back to seven yards on string 2. So I do need to re-shoot this drill. It also took me 15 runs on each to get where I wanted to be. I was dancing around .6 for the first 8 shots on string one. Then slowly chipping away with a .58,.57,.53, etc, until I hit .50. I couldn't seem to break under that yesterday. String 2 may have been a bit more forgiving of time if I was a smidge closer (hence reading comprehension!) But that turned in my fastest draw ever to a down zero hit so I was pretty happy.

I had been using a P30 LEM but wanted to try - and ultimately do prefer - the P30L for carry. I've been practicing with that, 437 rounds through and I feel like the trigger just needs a few hundred rounds more to feel like my standard model and my times should drop a bit more.

I've been doing these drills and just forgetting to report my results... time to be a bit more proactive to be accountable!

[Mr_White]

Target, gun, holster, concealment (if used): USPSA Metric target, Gen3 G34, concealed in a Keeper under a polo shirt
Time and hit on String 1: 0.29, hit
Time and hit on String 2: 0.82, hit
Pass or Fail: Pass

[Wobblie]

Target, gun, holster, concealment (if used): USPSA Metric target, Gen3 G34, concealed in a Keeper under a polo shirt
Time and hit on String 1: 0.29, hit
Time and hit on String 2: 0.82, hit
Pass or Fail: Pass

I quit.

[JHC]

Target, gun, holster, concealment (if used): USPSA Metric target, Gen3 G34, concealed in a Keeper under a polo shirt
Time and hit on String 1: 0.29, hit
Time and hit on String 2: 0.82, hit
Pass or Fail: Pass

Subscribed! LOL Nice!

[P.E. Kelley]

Target, gun, holster, concealment (if used): USPSA Metric target, Gen3 G34, concealed in a Keeper under a polo shirt
Time and hit on String 1: 0.29, hit
Time and hit on String 2: 0.82, hit
Pass or Fail: Pass

Damn Sporty!

[Mr_White]

Thank you Sirs!