In Rogers speak, and hopefully HeadHunter will chime in, a reaction time is .25 second (with vary small variations between humans). It takes one reaction time to react, and one more reaction time to fire the shot from the extended confirmed ready. Firing the same shot from the transition position (high ready) requires one reaction time to react to the threat/beeper, plus two reactions times for the shot, or a total of .75 seconds.
OrigamiAK - great details, thank you. I even said in the OP that the speed from low ready surprised me.
So WHY exactly is it faster? Because you bring the sights into an area you're already focused on instead of trying to pick them up during extension? And I suppose lifting your extended arms is faster than extending them?
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The Bill Rogers book does a great job of explaining why this is so.
Which book is that?Originally Posted by GJM
book available here:
http://www.rogersshootingschool.com/
I have always believed the time difference to be the product of a smaller motion.
When I extend my hands as if presenting from retracted/high ready, they travel about 24 inches before stopping at full extension. When I raise my hands from a low ready to high chest level (for an imaginary target at 7 yards) they only move about twelve inches - half the distance. Threat ready is less distance than that. The time difference makes sense to me in light of this.
Definitely curious what Rogers has to say though. I need to get that book.
I think Bill explains the time difference between the extended, confirmed ready and the high transition for different reasons. The extended, confirmed ready is doing what he refers to as spot shooting, where the high transition involves enough steering combined with trigger manipulation that he states it takes one extra reaction time (.25).
I can ask him to elaborate when I see him Sunday evening.
Very interesting, thanks! I will certainly be interested in any elaboration he offers.
Tactical and legal considerations aside, the extended ready is faster because the sight alignment is already confirmed in both horizontal and vertical axes. All that is necessary is to place the pre-aligned sights on the target and achieve a sight picture. Any compressed ready position will force the shooter, when ideally done, to confirm the vertical axis, then the horizontal axis, then achieve sight picture. This assumes that the shooter does not adjust his/her grip between achieving sight alignment and engaging the target. Bill's term for adjusting the grip at that point is: "You've f**ked yourself."
There are a number of drills at Rogers that require the target timing to be increased when the ready position is changed from extended (low) ready to transition (compressed ready). That assumes that we want the student to have a reasonable chance at actually hitting the target.
I never tested it but I expect that starting from a pectoral index (i.e., the #2) would require a further increase in timing, on the order of 1/4 second.
When I give private lessons, if I need to demo, I use the student's gun. That way they don't think I'm using a tricked out SCCY to be able to shoot well.
So basically it's explained by my old nemesis, Common Sense, and his henchman Geometry
Thank you for the detailed response, HeadHunter.
If anyone has more to say regarding different ready positions in different situations I'd love to hear it.
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