Would it be fair to say that "shooting at your rhythm" is somewhat akin to "only drive the speed that your headlights illuminate?" (Gosh that's horrible english for the latter, but it's my best recollection on the euphemism.)
Would it be fair to say that "shooting at your rhythm" is somewhat akin to "only drive the speed that your headlights illuminate?" (Gosh that's horrible english for the latter, but it's my best recollection on the euphemism.)
Jules
Runcible Works
Lately I've noticed that I seem to be able to run my 1.0 M&P 9c (with 17 round mag extender) faster than my G19.4 on timed drills while maintaining an accuracy standard of a 5" circle out to 10 yards. I hadn't previously shot this gun very much with an extended grip. This was especially surprising to me because the sights on the Glock are so much more visible for me (green T-Caps).
The most obvious differences, beside the sights, are the grip shape/circumference and the trigger characteristics. The M&P is pure rolling mush all the way through, while the Glock hits a hard, defined wall. I don't know if these are the actual reasons for the difference, but I seem to have more reliable hit rate with the M&P on that particular target at speed. It just seems easier, almost like the timer slows down.
I guess you could say that my rhythm seems to be faster with the M&P, but I think I really need to test this across a much wider variety of target sizes, distances, and time standards in order to tell the full story. Perhaps my rhythm is only faster with the M&P in certain circumstances? It will be interesting to test this out, but unfortunately I don't have as many thousands of rounds of 9mm training ammo as I would like, and I am going to be carrying the Glock, so I think I'll be shooting it exclusively for the time being. Stupid global pandemic.
Each shooter is going to have an individual rhythm, and that may even vary by pistol and specific load. What I think is important is that you figure out the rhythm for the gun that you are shooting to get the best results out of it for whatever your skill level is. As an example, my natural rhythm is different when I shoot a PCC than shooting the P30 LEM with carry ammo.
Likes pretty much everything in every caliber.
I’m barely qualified to comment
But will opine that once you can get your doubles to touch at whatever distance and split time you’re consistent with - it’s time to work on “leaving early” to the next target
I can get .14’s to touch at 7M with this gun but as you can see I’m painfully slow moving to the next target.
The whole purpose of flat shooting guns it’s so you can move to the next target and still get hits.
I bet a lot of us observe this shooting various DoW with set Pars. Many of us undershoot the par time; probably because of this rhythm albeit unconsciously.
I see it a LOT on tasks that have say a 4.5 second par - R2 @ 25 yards from LAPD SWAT qual but slowing it down to shoot at 4.45 rarely improves the hits vs what has settled in as "natural" closer to 3 seconds.
“Remember, being healthy is basically just dying as slowly as possible,” Ricky Gervais
I am not. However, my 1.0 M&P 9c has a thumb safety, stock sights, and I only have one 17 round magazine. It was my first carry gun many years ago when a thumb safety made me feel more comfortable, and I was much less proficient than I am today.
Since switching to the G19 some years (and training classes) back, I am no longer completely habituated to using the thumb safety. It has the opposite affect for me now. While I know that I could remove it, the hassle of ordering the frame plugs, better sights, and additional magazines just doesn't seem worth the trouble with everything going on right now. I am well invested into Glock gear.
If/when things normalize, and if S&W ever gets their shit together, I'll probably buy a 2.0 compact that is RDS capable and invest more into the M&P platform. Just not at this time.
As to GJM's point, I probably need to focus on optimizing for my rhythm with the Glock for now.
I have found this to be true. When I changed from a majority of .45acp shooting to 9mm, I had to establish a new rhythm. At first, the lesser amount of recoil caused me to outrun the gun in a pretty big way. When I installed Langdon trigger bars on my 92s I experienced the same effect, but even worse than switching calibers. The drastically shorter reset the trigger bar provides really messed with my rhythm. All skills have a plateau and shooting is no different. It's important to find your personal plateau where everything merges.
We may lose and we may win, but we will never be here again.......
To apply that analogy here, I would say to drive at the limit of your headlights, not beyond what you can see or less that what you can see. The challenge is, based on different skills and equipment, each shooter is effectively equipped with an individual set of headlights that must be calibrated through experience, and these headlights can vary by the day.
Related to fixed time drills, Gabe and I have discussed par times over the years, and concluded they often reflect the ability of the person establishing the par time. If the par time is easy for you, it essentially becomes a no time drill. If the par is impossible, it encourages haste which often results in poor performance. I get a par time for evaluating ability against a standard, but don’t like a par for improving ability.
Likes pretty much everything in every caliber.