How to get faster?

[Alaskapopo]

Todd,

I don't discount your points at all - you made some very good ones. At the club level matches you can get away with that level of accuracy in B/C - even M/GM to some degree. At the major matches you are much less likely to finish strong even in C class if you're shooting that many C's. No biggie - we can agree to disagree on this point.

Alaska,

Ron Avery - Practical Shooting Academy is as good as they get out there. He will come to your location if you host. Max Michael, US Army Marksmanship Unit is great if you can get him, and Manny Bragg does a great course. I'm partial to Avery, though.

My first formal instruction about 10 years ago was a 3 day practical handgun class with Avery. He is a very good shooter. But if I can be honest he is a bit of an ass. Is there someone else you recommend.
Pat

[ToddG]

BW -- I'll happily bow to your superior experience in this matter. The biggest USPSA match I've ever attended has been the VA/MD Sectional.

[Bryan W]

Nothing to bow down to Todd - You made excellent points. Nothing is a given on either side of this discussion, I guess.

Alaska, I can see where some might have that impression of Ron. Experiences vary obviously. I've known Ron for many years.

There are several GM's that teach - Manny is good. Also you can set up a training trip to USSA - and take a class with either Phil Strader or Mike Seeklander. Both are solid instructors and both are high performing GM's in the IPSC world. USSA-United States Shooting Academy, Tulsa OK. They are on the web.

[uscbigdawg]

Like others, speed is a process. If you're getting your points, that's great 'cause most newbies don't do that. They just start sprayin' and prayin'.

Reading Brian's book is a great idea. For books here are some great ones to add:

- Shooting From Within by J. Michael Plaxco
- Practical Shooting Manual by Matt Burkett
- Everything by Saul Kirsch

For training aids, I would suggest the dry fire books from Steve Anderson. You will definitely crank up your trigger and gun speed after doing them habitually. Too, given your locale, dry fire is probably a requirement.

Videos aren't a bad idea as they give visual input to everything you're reading.

Finally, quality instruction is key. I have taken classes from Matt Burkett, Mike Voigt and Bennie Cooley. Of course shooting with folks in CA and AZ doesn't hurt either. Any of these guys would be happy to work with you, but don't rule out like my buddy gotm4 suggested and that's attending the USSA.

Rich

[drawson]

You have a great shooter trainer up there in Alaska, I think he's in Fairbanks. He lived down here in Utah and got me on my path the Master, while he was here. His Name is Bill Filiaga. He has a gun store up the call something like Protec Guns. All I have is his E-mail address... protec@acsalaska.net

Write him and tell him Dee Rawson told you to get ahold of him, he'll help you ramp up your speed...

[Alaskapopo]

You have a great shooter trainer up there in Alaska, I think he's in Fairbanks. He lived down here in Utah and got me on my path the Master, while he was here. His Name is Bill Filiaga. He has a gun store up the call something like Protec Guns. All I have is his E-mail address... protec@acsalaska.net

Write him and tell him Dee Rawson told you to get ahold of him, he'll help you ramp up your speed...

I shot with Bill today at a USPSA match. He is very very good but he does not teach he has no time.
Pat

[RWK]

Ok I am slowly improving but I need to get faster. ... I am accurate and usually shoot 95% A's on any given courses of fire. But my times are slower than I want.

My first question is: get faster at what? I think you'd be best served by first identifying some specific areas for improvement. What's slowing you down? Presentations? Reloads? Multiple targets? Moving between shooting points?

Are you shooting too slowly for the sake of accuracy? Don't be afraid to shoot 90% A's instead of 95%. Hell, let it all hang out on occasion and be happy with 80% A's / 20% B's. You'll learn what you can get away with and what you can't. If you're straining for that 95%, perhaps you're spending too much time on the sights. The only way to get fast is to go fast.

Have you tried having someone video record your performance during matches? You might be surprised by what you see.

What schools do you guys recommend for competition shooting to get faster while maintaining good accuracy. I want to get to B class sometime.

Want a good "go fast" school? http://rogers-shooting-school.com/

[drawson]

I shot with Bill today at a USPSA match. He is very very good but he does not teach he has no time.
Pat

I didn't know he was so busy Tell him Hi when you see him again...

[rob_s]

My first question is: get faster at what? I think you'd be best served by first identifying some specific areas for improvement. What's slowing you down? Presentations? Reloads? Multiple targets? Moving between shooting points?

Excellent points.

Having video of yourself shooting will help you to weed out inefficiency in your motions. I thought I had a decent pistol speed-load until I watched video of myself and saw that the ejected magazine was on the deck before I even had my off hand halfway to the spare mag.

[Bryan W]

My first question is: get faster at what? I think you'd be best served by first identifying some specific areas for improvement. What's slowing you down? Presentations? Reloads? Multiple targets? Moving between shooting points?

Are you shooting too slowly for the sake of accuracy? Don't be afraid to shoot 90% A's instead of 95%. Hell, let it all hang out on occasion and be happy with 80% A's / 20% B's. You'll learn what you can get away with and what you can't. If you're straining for that 95%, perhaps you're spending too much time on the sights. The only way to get fast is to go fast.

Have you tried having someone video record your performance during matches? You might be surprised by what you see.



Want a good "go fast" school? http://rogers-shooting-school.com/

I think this is a good approach to trying to figure out where your biggest gaps are Alaska - This is made easier by video but also by watching video of the top shooters. Shooting a match with these guys can be where real learning comes in if you can watch them shoot the exact stages you shot. If you video them shooting the stage, even better.

It seems like you know how to fire an accurate shot on demand. Increasing your speed means teaching yourself how to see faster - You don't have to sacrifice accuracy to shoot faster but you do have to see only what's necessary for a given shot. Much of the overall time on stage comes from movement - leaving fast and shooting fast once you arrive to the next set up position. Add in faster transitions, no make ups on steel, and you're on your way to seeing a real difference.

I will say though that your stated goal is to make B class, moving up a from C.

This is actually pretty easy in that the way to accomplish this is to shoot classifiers better. Take a look at several classifiers and isolate the skills that are being tested.

Making B class through classifier performance and winning B class at a major match are two different things in my view but you have to start somewhere - and everyone does. I'm not suggesting setting up and practicing classifiers so much as just practicing the various shooting set ups that are common to classifier stages.

Beyond some of these thoughts an absolute that is necessary is productive dry fire training. If you're not spending time in dry fire almost everyday, then you're not wanting to move up bad enough, yet..