Best drill for improving draw/first shot time?

[John Ralston]

I can barely get a shot on 3x5 at 25 from high ready under one second....

To be honest, I have limited aspirations here. I've truly spent enough time on it to start feeling that this could be unattainable for me. If one looks on Todd's P30 and HK 45 reports, the first shots at 1.4-1.5 range have been associated with sub-5 seconds F.A.S.T., and I know I am not going to shoot that fast ever. All I care is to consistently break 2 seconds par.
BTW, speaking of par, I've tried to use this feature on my timer to know where I am at in my draw when 2 seconds are up - and it doesn't help - just tells me I am almost there all while distracting my attention. I wonder if any of you used it with shorter pars, say, 1 second, to gauge your speed, i.e. how much time one expects to spend on pulling gun up to the point of initial sight acquisition vs. time spent on pressout.

Well...kind of the same thing here. I am sure I won't get down to those blinding fast draw speeds, but I would still like to improve.

I know of different exercises that help with visual speed (both movement and fucusing), so maybe it's time to hit google up for exercises that help with improving speed on the upper body.

That is what it really boils down to - RAW SPEED If you can move twice as fast, then you should be able to get to the gun, draw, press out and be on target faster. Throttle it back 25%-30% for perfect shot placement and control and you would still be under 2 seconds.

And of course there is still the old standby...practice, practice, practice

[beltjones]

To a degree I think you guys are missing the key things that will actually equate to more speed, and frankly more accuracy.

It's not about moving faster. I seems like it should be, but it's not.

A huge part of getting those two shots on a three x five is practicing to the point that you're not adjusting your sight picture at all once the gun comes out. If I draw, press out, and then adjust my sight picture I'm going to be about a half a second slower than if I draw, press out, and break the shot. That doesn't mean I "guess" about where the rounds go, or that I'm just hoping to get lucky. It means I've practiced my index to the point that when I press out, the sights automatically come to where I'm looking. That way I see my sights on the target, and I don't have to adjust anything. That takes a lot of practice to build muscle memory (of what your index feels like), and also to build the hand-eye coordination that will allow your eyes to automatically guide your sights onto the target. Oh yeah, if you're constantly doing this with different guns you're sabotaging your learning curve. Pick one gun and use it as exclusively as you can if you want to learn this stuff faster.

Another thing that is critical is your trigger prep. If you're not prepping the trigger until you see an acceptable sight picture you're going to be slow and inaccurate. On the press out get that trigger all the way up to the ragged edge so that you only need to "bump" it once your sight picture is acceptable. You will definitely throw some rounds early when you're practicing this stuff. That's ok. As long as you're gun is pointed in a safe direction, it's ok to throw a few rounds into the berm - it's just part of learning your gun's trigger.

[YVK]

I won't speak for John, but I've certainly worked on adjusting my draw and picking up my front sight as early as possible so I can correct sight picture during extension.

You did bring one point that, to me, makes the difference between average shooter and good/great shooter. People use the word "index" all the time and I don't know what it means; I prefer the term "hand-eye coordination" that you used. Advanced shooters, through repetition, do get their sights to point exactly where their eyes look. In other words and in context of press-out, I will have to make a lot more adjustments as I push my gun on target than Todd when he pushes his.
That's my take on it, and that's why I said my personal hope was in live fire practice since this can only be achieved by means of mileage.

[John Ralston]

To a degree I think you guys are missing the key things that will actually equate to more speed, and frankly more accuracy.

It's not about moving faster. I seems like it should be, but it's not.

A huge part of getting those two shots on a three x five is practicing to the point that you're not adjusting your sight picture at all once the gun comes out. If I draw, press out, and then adjust my sight picture I'm going to be about a half a second slower than if I draw, press out, and break the shot. That doesn't mean I "guess" about where the rounds go, or that I'm just hoping to get lucky. It means I've practiced my index to the point that when I press out, the sights automatically come to where I'm looking. That way I see my sights on the target, and I don't have to adjust anything. That takes a lot of practice to build muscle memory (of what your index feels like), and also to build the hand-eye coordination that will allow your eyes to automatically guide your sights onto the target. Oh yeah, if you're constantly doing this with different guns you're sabotaging your learning curve. Pick one gun and use it as exclusively as you can if you want to learn this stuff faster.

Another thing that is critical is your trigger prep. If you're not prepping the trigger until you see an acceptable sight picture you're going to be slow and inaccurate. On the press out get that trigger all the way up to the ragged edge so that you only need to "bump" it once your sight picture is acceptable. You will definitely throw some rounds early when you're practicing this stuff. That's ok. As long as you're gun is pointed in a safe direction, it's ok to throw a few rounds into the berm - it's just part of learning your gun's trigger.

I agree with your post, however, most of my lack of speed is actual movement (IMO) - so if I don't address that issue, I don't think that I can get much faster. I definitely want to address the issues you have mentioned (and thank you for mentioning those points) - as every aspect of the draw will determine the overall speed of presentation.

If I could get to the gun faster, then I could slow down a bit getting a good grip, if I could get to the high ready faster, then I could slow down getting my support hand on the gun, if I can press out faster I can get a sight picture quicker.

I will definitely take your suggestions to my next range session though

[Odin Bravo One]

Is there a drill that you guys might suggest or is this one of those cases of practice, practice, practice and hope it improves?

I don't think 1.6 is terrible, but as has been mentioned before - you can't bee too fast in a gun fight!

A lot of good discussion points on some very particular things to work on for improving a one shot from the holster time. Something else to consider.....find a shooting buddy who can critique you, and/or use a video camera that you can slow down enough to see exactly what you are doing, where you can trim some fat, and economize your movements. Watch other shooters who have good economy of motion, and back at your video and note the differences. One of the most often dicked up quotes in the shooting/tactical world is "Smooth is fast"........I don't know the name of the moron who insisted on introducing this phrase, but smooth is not fast. Especially if it is slow. But it is a place to start.

The correct phrase, and properly implemented can be a great training/practice reminder: "Slow is smooth, smooth is fast". But what they meant by that was not going slow for the sake of going slow. But rather going slow, and methodical until your body developed the habit of performing that motion in an effecient, and fumble free manner. Herky Jerky body movements give the illusion of speed, and that is what we are trying to avoid. We want speed through effecient movement, not the illusion of it for the sake of feeding our ego.

Another idea is to break down the sequence of events into talking points....such as 1) Hands move to garment 2) Lift garment, grab pistol 3) clear leather 4) acquire two hand grip 5) press out 6) front sight focus................or whatever you come up with that makes the most sense to you and is repeatable. Then start with focused, conscious practice, going no faster than you can talk yourself through and apply your points of performance. As you progress, and your comfort level increases, gradually apply a little faster movement, but ensuring that you continue to perform each action without extraneous movements or going faster than you can properly perform the actions.

If a particular practice run felt jerky, or ineffecient.....stop. Go back to one solid repetition of talking yourself through nice and slow, consciously remind yourself of what the actions are, and resume practice.

Visualization of the motions works well too. Visualize the motion, in minute detail from start to finish. Then talk yourself through it. Then a little faster. And faster still. Visualize doing it faster. And go faster. Visualize it at the speed you want to go, then perform the action. But never going so fast as you get out of control, or fumble the manipulation of concealment garment, or pistol manipulation.

And to piggyback off of Todd's post......be wary of practicing a single shot drawstroke drill.

What is the "why" behind the desire? The closing sentence in the OP infers self-defense/lethal encounter. And while I get it that we want to be fast on the draw stroke, press out, first round hit so we hit our adversary before he hits us.......and that is where the majority of the excellent comments so far are focused.........is it solely the first shot we want to be fast? Or are we looking for something more and that first shot is just one step along the way?

Because if it is just the first shot quickly, that changes the game drastically. We can get away with a lot of fundamental errors for just one shot and still hit, and hit very quickly. But you are not likely to be able to continue to engage with accurate and effective follow-up shots if you blew the fundamentals out of your ass for the sake of speed. If we are talking about self-defense, and your pistol is chambered in something smaller than .300 Win Mag, those follow up shots become every bit as important as the first shot.

I understand the desire to be fast. And obviously we need some method to gauge and measure our current level as well as improvement, so we use shot timers. But if we use the shot timer as the end all, be all measurement of skill, then we are so concerned with finding a tree that we have failed to see the forest. If ever we do have to execute a draw stroke and engage a lethal threat for real, there is one thing I can guarantee you will not see...........a shot timer.

[John Ralston]

Because if it is just the first shot quickly, that changes the game drastically. We can get away with a lot of fundamental errors for just one shot and still hit, and hit very quickly. But you are not likely to be able to continue to engage with accurate and effective follow-up shots if you blew the fundamentals out of your ass for the sake of speed. If we are talking about self-defense, and your pistol is chambered in something smaller than .300 Win Mag, those follow up shots become every bit as important as the first shot.

Great point - and I definitely plan to implement the 2 shot criteria into my practice from now on. I will set up the video camera at my next session as well (or maybe during a dry fire session) and see if any alarms go off. I also think that if I can get comfortable with appendix carry (physical comfort) that I will see some improvement from gear placement alone. It is much easier for the support hand to clear the cover garment when using appendix carry.

Thanks

[beltjones]

I agree with your post, however, most of my lack of speed is actual movement (IMO) - so if I don't address that issue, I don't think that I can get much faster. I definitely want to address the issues you have mentioned (and thank you for mentioning those points) - as every aspect of the draw will determine the overall speed of presentation.

If I could get to the gun faster, then I could slow down a bit getting a good grip, if I could get to the high ready faster, then I could slow down getting my support hand on the gun, if I can press out faster I can get a sight picture quicker.

I will definitely take your suggestions to my next range session though

I hate to sound argumentative, but I think eventually you will find that it doesn't quite work that way.

It's like driving a race car. Sometimes you need to go slow in order to go faster later. How much time do you think you save on a smooth press out vs one going as fast as you can? A tenth of a second? If I can press out smoothly onto the target and fire the instant my arms are extended I'll be faster than if I press out as fast as I can and then start aiming. Likewise, if I go smoothly and efficiently toward the gun and get a perfect grip I'll be faster than if I go as fast to the gun as I can and then fumble with my grip as I get my support hand in place.

Smooth doesn't equal slow, but it will feel slow if you've practiced it enough. That's a good thing.

Also, if you're racing to get your grip, racing to get your support hand on the gun, and racing to complete your press out there is a very good chance you will add tension, and tension is a speed killer. You will feel lightening fast when you are tense and moving in jerky movements. You will feel slow when you are relaxed and moving smoothly. The clock will tell a much different story in both cases.

[John Ralston]

Got it! Now I see the intent of what you posted.

The snow is now melting off, so I can do more shooting than I have been able to lately, and put these suggestions to practice.

[ToddG]

I don't consciously train for or rely on a physical index. Physical index is situation dependent, can fail when moving targets or moving shooter enter the equation, and as mentioned takes a great deal of time to train.

A proper press out involves picking up the sight and having your aiming process occur before you reach full extension. You're not relying on the sights being aligned, you're actually visually aligning the sights.

[mnealtx]

I don't consciously train for or rely on a physical index. Physical index is situation dependent, can fail when moving targets or moving shooter enter the equation, and as mentioned takes a great deal of time to train.

A proper press out involves picking up the sight and having your aiming process occur before you reach full extension. You're not relying on the sights being aligned, you're actually visually aligning the sights.

Does it become something that you automatically do given sufficient practice, or do you have to consciously do it each time?