How to increase pistol shooting speed

[spinmove_]

One of the things that I've needed to work on for some time now is being able to shoot faster. I went to the range yesterday and actually had the opportunity to put myself on a timer. I ran some bill drills and discovered and my average split times, going as fast as I possibly can right now, hovers right around 0.26s. If I go at the speed where I an guarantee A zone hits at 7 yards I'm looking at closer to 0.30s splits. My perception of this is that I am S L O W. What are some methods, tips, tricks, drills, and changes that I can use/make to increase that speed?

[warpedcamshaft]

One of the things that I've needed to work on for some time now is being able to shoot faster. I went to the range yesterday and actually had the opportunity to put myself on a timer. I ran some bill drills and discovered and my average split times, going as fast as I possibly can right now, hovers right around 0.26s. If I go at the speed where I an guarantee A zone hits at 7 yards I'm looking at closer to 0.30s splits. My perception of this is that I am S L O W. What are some methods, tips, tricks, drills, and changes that I can use/make to increase that speed?

Can you track your sights between shots?

[GuanoLoco]

What kind of gun / trigger weights / reset?

How hard are you gripping the gun with your strong hand? Excess grip on the strong hand slows the trigger finger. Use the weak hand in a crushing grip to manage recoil.

Have you tried just blasting 6 into the berm as fast as you humanly can and just attempting to watch the sights while you do so? Do it while relaxed and not trying so hard to manage recoil, a little rockign and rolling of the gun will often boost speed - and can still be managed to a degree.

[GJM]

Besides what Guano mentioned above, different people just have different ability in pressing a trigger fast. Only on the internet, do most people shoot .15 splits with a service pistol.

A question is whether the time and ammo spent to shave a few hundredths off your Bill drill splits is effort well spent. I would be more inclined to putting that towards shooting two inch dots at 7 yards, and regular Bill drills to 25-35 yards.

[Clusterfrack]

Good advice so far. I suggest dryfire as well. When pressing the trigger fast feels normal, it will be easier to do it in live fire. Also, if your strong hand is crushing the gun at its limit of strength, this will slow the trigger finger.

I hate to disagree with George, and don't want to sound harsh, but 0.26s is slow--and reveals a big opportunity to improve your technique more broadly. If you were whining about 0.20s splits, I'd be on board with the advice to work on something else.

[spinmove_]

Can you track your sights between shots?

Going "light speed" for me? No. Going for guaranteed A-zone hits at 7yds for me? Yes.

What kind of gun / trigger weights / reset?

How hard are you gripping the gun with your strong hand? Excess grip on the strong hand slows the trigger finger. Use the weak hand in a crushing grip to manage recoil.

Have you tried just blasting 6 into the berm as fast as you humanly can and just attempting to watch the sights while you do so? Do it while relaxed and not trying so hard to manage recoil, a little rockign and rolling of the gun will often boost speed - and can still be managed to a degree.

I'm probably gripping harder than I need to with my strong hand as my grip isn't 60/40, I "just grip it hard". I can try relaxing, letting up with the strong hand a bit, and clamping down more with the support hand.

Besides what Guano mentioned above, different people just have different ability in pressing a trigger fast. Only on the internet, do most people shoot .15 splits with a service pistol.

A question is whether the time and ammo spent to shave a few hundredths off your Bill drill splits is effort well spent. I would be more inclined to putting that towards shooting two inch dots at 7 yards, and regular Bill drills to 25-35 yards.

I can generally achieve the two inch dots at 7 yards if I'm not trying to go fast. What would be a good par time to shoot for doing Bill Drills at 25 yards?

Unfortunately I'm limited to shooting at an indoor range as the outdoor ranges that I've found are actually more restrictive. Sometimes when I'm alone at the range, I can break out the timer and properly record splits and times. Other times, I gotta use par times with a timer.

Currently I'm shooting a G19Gen4 with a smooth faced trigger, standard trigger spring, and dot connector. I've mildly polished the contact surfaces. They could probably stand more polishing, but I'm not super worried about it. The trigger doesn't feel or seem sluggish. I think it's me simply not moving my trigger finger fast enough.

[spinmove_]

Good advice so far. I suggest dryfire as well. When pressing the trigger fast feels normal, it will be easier to do it in live fire. Also, if your strong hand is crushing the gun at its limit of strength, this will slow the trigger finger.

I hate to disagree with George, and don't want to sound harsh, but 0.26s is slow--and reveals a big opportunity to improve your technique more broadly. If you were whining about 0.20s splits, I'd be on board with the advice to work on something else.

So 0.20s splits are what I should be realistically be shooting for? Is there a reason why I shouldn't at least TRY to go faster in time?

[Clusterfrack]

I think the important question is what's missing from your technique that is limiting your split speed? The utility of a 0.16 vs 0.20 split isn't that great in comparison to the other time components in high performance shooting. I'm guessing it's grip (and timing), and that will help with SO much more than splits. (It's not the gun).

[taadski]

A big part of learning to shoot at the paces we're discussing here is becoming familiar with what the pistol is going to look like at those speeds. If you're used to a process where you're letting the sights settle completely, letting the gun stop, then pressing another shot, a two second bill drill is going to look pretty chaotic. I think it's important to become familiar with how the faster shooting looks without the onus of trying to 'hit' something. At least initially.

+1 for dry bill drills or the like also. Lots of value there in just learning to manipulate the trigger at those speeds.

[Mr_White]

Allow me to split (harr harr) the difference. When someone is shooting ~.25 seconds splits on an open lower A/-0 zone at 7 yards, I think they could improve that a bit but I don't see it as a huge priority. It can almost certainly be improved though. If a person is shooting ~.2 splits on that same shooting problem, I don't give a lot of priority at all to improving those splits and would definitely want to prioritize working on shooting problems more demanding of accuracy or a composite of accuracy at speed. .2 splits can be improved too, but I think it's a lot of work that can be put to more powerful use on other shooting problems faced in practical shooting (both games and real-world use.) It might also be worth noting that a good way to be able to shoot very tightly at .25 splits, is to develop some awareness of the sights and skill on the trigger at about .2 splits. At some point though, as other aspects of shooting are improved, splits are good to revisit from time to time almost no matter where you are at.