Onset of fatigue when shooting low probability targets

[GJM]

Lately, I have spent a fair amount of time drawing to two inch dots at 7 yards, trying to make the hits as fast as possible. What I notice, is after well more than 50 rounds, but certainly less than 100 rounds of continuous dot practice, my performance starts to deteriorate. I define deteriorate as meaning I need more time to make the hit on the dot, or at the same time, my accuracy is worse.

Leaving aside the advisability of shooting this many continuous rounds at dots, going at full speed as opposed to a dot torture pace, does this deterioration seem typical of what others are experiencing?

[ToddG]

I'd say that's a very typical response to doing so much timed accuracy work. It leads to eye fatigue and probably mental fatigue. I'd say it's an inefficient approach to improving the component skills but you said not to...

[Jay Cunningham]

As with all Internet Analysis, this can be tough to figure out the exact whys and whatfors.

Do you feel any type of tremor in your strong hand? Does your vision get weird? When your accuracy falls apart, what does it look like on the paper?

[GJM]

To respond to Todd and Jay.

When I was down at Universal Shooting Academy training with Manny Bragg this past February, Manny started us each day drawing to two inch dots at 7 yards, going as fast as he/we could make the hits, and commented that he started each of his practice sessions doing the same. Since that time, I have spent a fair amount of time shooting dots at speed, and found that it has translated into measurable improvement in my shooting performance, across a range of shooting tasks -- for example, on everything from the 3x5 hits on the FAST, to the body shots on the FAST, to groups at 25 yards and beyond.

While generally, my dot shooting might consist of five strings of five shots, mixed amongst the session, on more than one occasion, I decided that the day would be mostly a dot session. On those days, at some point, my performance would start to decline. Rather than leave it alone and move on, I would be determined to end on a good note. Unfortunately, the outcomes were either I had to slow down to make my hits, as much as .3-.5 slower, or my accuracy would fall from 9 +/- hits in the dot out of 10 shots, down to 6 or 7 out of 10 hits (with the missing shots within an inch or so of the two inch dot, but not in the dot). If I redoubled my efforts to get back to my earlier level of performance -- well you know what would happen then.

Todd, and others, I would be interested in hearing your views on how dot shooting at speed should be incorporated into an overall improvement program, and what is the most efficient and effective way to practice dot shooting at speed. Jay, what I think falls apart is is my fine motor skill of pulling the trigger with finesse and speed, which seems especially critical with the trigger characteristics of a Glock, which is less forgiving than some other triggers.

[ToddG]

Todd, and others, I would be interested in hearing your views on how dot shooting at speed should be incorporated into an overall improvement program, and what is the most efficient and effective way to practice dot shooting at speed.

I try not to use any one drill -- or type of drill -- so many times simultaneously that I stop getting benefit from it. My typical practice session rotates through a variety of skill segments: speed, marksmanship, handling/synthesis. I'd rather cycle through the rotation multiple times, keeping everything fresh, than beat on my bill drills until my eyes, brain, and fingers are all fatigued to the point that I'm not accomplishing anything.

[ford.304]

They've found this pretty strongly in dog training studies, too - multiple short sessions result in much faster learning that fewer long sessions on the same technique or concept. Brains need downtime to process what they've learned.

[Lomshek]

My (much) less than expert opinion has been that after less than an hour of serious focused practice on something I am mentally fatigued to the point that my brain needs a rest.

Physically I have no issues with going all day but the brain is trying to learn and needs recovery time. The couple shooting classes I've taken (Todd's being one of them) wisely cope with this by splitting the shooting up with short lecture sessions and change things up during the day with very different drills.

To turn it around this is the equivalent of trying to become a faster runner by doing quarter mile sprints. You can only do so many intervals before your body is done for the day. The brain works the same way.

[Jay Cunningham]

As a very general rule, I think it makes some sense to start your practice slow fire on small, low-probability targets and then move to larger, higher-probability targets for the bulk of your practice. At the end you can revisit the tiny dots to dial your hard sight focus and refined trigger control back in.

Spending an inordinate amount of time on something as fatiguing as shooting small dots I think can quickly get counter-productive.

[Greg Perry]

I've found the very same thing to be true, and in more than just shooting low probability targets. I would describe it more as a loss of mental focus than actual fatigue, although fatigue doesn't help. The dangerous part is that once I lose my mental focus, I get sloppy and bad habits have a way of creeping into my technique. I've also noticed this when hitting golf balls or shooting free throws. As a golfer, on the driving range I cannot hit more than about five consecutive good drives before the pushes and pulls and hooks and slices show up, even though I'm a pretty fair hand with a driver. Instead of freely swinging the club, I try to force it into certain positions, or I try to think of too many swing keys at once, or I tense up, or whatever. That's why tour pros, in hitting several hundred balls a day on the practice range virtually 7/365, will seldom hit more than a shot or two at a certain target before changing to a different target. They may hit 50 straight 7-irons, but they will switch back and forth between 5 or 6 different targets to force themselves to keep their mental focus sharp. In shooting free throws, I can make a lot more if I shoot 10 sets of 10 with other stuff interspersed between sets than if I tried to shoot 100 straight. I just can't mentally focus that long. Like golf, shooting free throws or guns, or any other repetitive exercise, sometimes we think too much about what we are doing and get in our own way.

I try to take the same approach in shooting. If there is a certain skill I want to beat into the ground during a practice session, I'll certainly shoot a bunch of repetitions, but I'll mix other things in, periodically going back to the drill I want to groove. Even though I'm just a hacker, I find that this really helps me improve that particular skill. YMMV.

Greg Perry