Trouble lowering split times

[Hole Shot]

Hey everyone, I've read many posts on here over the past few months and have found much of the information very helpful. I wanted to post a specific question though and see if anyone could offer me some advice on how to break a plateau of sorts that I am at.

I have an issue with being able to lower my split times any lower than .5 seconds with any consistency. I know I *can* pull the trigger faster, but when I'm performing a drill I seem to revert to ensuring I have the perfect picture before breaking the shot. I value accuracy over speed, always have, but right now it seems to be hindering me somewhat.

For example, I can consistently draw and hit a 3x5 card at 7yd between 1.5 and 1.8s, but a second shot may take up to .8 seconds to break. I have the same problem on a paper plate. No matter how big I make my target lately it seems as though until the sights are perfect I cannot make myself break the shot. I also seem to lose the front sight if I try to push it.

[jon volk]

What kind of sights are you using? One thing I tried was misaligning my sights, front sight still in the notch, slow fire to see where the rounds would impact. You can then get an idea of what is an "acceptable" sight picture for a given target size. My problem with split times is sometimes getting double vision on the sight return.

[gringop]

Try some drills without a target. Aim at the berm, shoot, see the front sight drop back down in the notch and press off the second shot. Repeat while accelerating the second trigger press. Repeat while accelerating until you are not longer able to see the sight dropping back in the notch or your shots are getting wild on the berm. Keep it safe.

Use this drill to,
A. Understand how the gun is recoiling and what the sights are doing as they rise up and drop back down. If they don't drop back into the notch and you have to make corrections each time, then you need to figure out what it is in your grip/stance that is causing the misalignment.

B. Learn how fast you can shoot well without sweating the perfect hits.

I think you need to set yourself a splits speed goal. Shoot a .30 split on a 10 " 7 yard target by the end of the session or do 25 pushups.


Gringop

[Hole Shot]

What is going on if the front site does not return right back into the rear notch during the recoil arc? Is that a grip problem? Too much strong hand, not relaxed enough?

[JV_]

What is going on if the front site does not return right back into the rear notch during the recoil arc? Is that a grip problem? Too much strong hand, not relaxed enough?

I would check that your grip is front to back (strong hand), and side to side (weak hand); also, it wouldn't hurt to confirm that you're stance has you squared up with the target.

[gringop]

What is going on if the front site does not return right back into the rear notch during the recoil arc? Is that a grip problem? Too much strong hand, not relaxed enough?

It depends what the front sight is doing. Does it hang up in the air before returning? Way too tense, need to relax the wrists a bit.
Does it come back down off to the side? Something is not balanced in your grip, try increasing/decreasing pressure on each hand.
Sometime the sight might make a little circle and come back. Ideally, you want it to go up and down like a sewing machine needle.

We can't really figure it out over the internet but this drill is a good way for you to experiment with your grip and figure out what grip pressure in each hand works for you and your gun. What worked for me years ago with a 1911 is different from what works for me now on the G19.

Try it out in good light where you can see your sights well and you will soon get that sewing machine needle running and see .25 splits in no time.

Gringop

[shootist26]

Hey everyone, I've read many posts on here over the past few months and have found much of the information very helpful. I wanted to post a specific question though and see if anyone could offer me some advice on how to break a plateau of sorts that I am at.

I have an issue with being able to lower my split times any lower than .5 seconds with any consistency. I know I *can* pull the trigger faster, but when I'm performing a drill I seem to revert to ensuring I have the perfect picture before breaking the shot. I value accuracy over speed, always have, but right now it seems to be hindering me somewhat.

For example, I can consistently draw and hit a 3x5 card at 7yd between 1.5 and 1.8s, but a second shot may take up to .8 seconds to break. I have the same problem on a paper plate. No matter how big I make my target lately it seems as though until the sights are perfect I cannot make myself break the shot. I also seem to lose the front sight if I try to push it.

have you tried shooting to a cadence? I have found this to be a valuable tool in learning how to consistently shoot quickly but still maintain a strong accuracy standard.

[YVK]

There is just too much stuff that goes in split times to figure it out online. I can't quite reconcile the numbers you posted, you're obviously not obsessing about super-perfect sight picture on your draw, otherwise you wouldntve been able to hit the first shot at 1.5.

One thing that's important to clarify is if you're talking splits during shooting just splits, or during composite drills like FAST.

My favorite split practice drill is the Circle Drill, look it up on p-t.com.

[Hole Shot]

YVK,
Your right, the first shot comes to me pretty well. I have a pretty good index for that first shot but it's the consecutive shots (like during a fast drill) that I get hung up on. But, I have the same problem performing a Bill drill. I have the problem shooting any drill for that matter. Good first shots, very good accuracy at any distance (given adequate time), just cannot improve my speed.

Gringop,

I'm going to spend some time specifically diagnosing my grip. Some of what you mentioned describes what I see. The sight does not go up and down like a sewing machine but more up and to the right. The issue seems to be the front sight not settling back on target within the rear notch. More often than not the sight ends up lower and to the left (as if I've over corrected for the up and right) This likely is causing me to have to reacquire the proper sight picture before I allow a following shot.

I'm also gripping 100% with both hands trying to prevent the gun from moving in a sense. This may also contribute to the problem.

[YVK]

HS, quite a few shooters record slower splits during composite drills like FAST or EL Pres as compared to just shooting splits. I generally shoot sub .50, sometimes sub .40 on 3x5 at 7-8 yards during standalone practice, but I often see this go up by quarter of a second during FAST, especially on a cold run.
Beyond that, my best advice is not to diagnose this on the web. Have a pro diagnose this for you during live observation. In other words, take a class or a lesson.