How fast do you shoot?

[Bugs100]

Recently I was at the range when a guy asked me do you always shoot that fast, you should slow down and enjoy your self.

I was a little surprised by the question and final comment but I just replied, I practice for carrying not for shooting bullseyes.

When I shoot at the range I just concentrate on how fast I can put the rounds in to the center of the target. As long as they all hit in a tight pattern in the chest area I'm happy. I figure that's the way I was trained and it's always made sense to me.

I don't want to get in to the habit of slowing down when I'm using a handgun which I use as a carry gun. It's just hard for me to think of using a carry gun as a platform for any thing else but self defense practice as a good idea. I figure if I can hit what I'm aiming at from 7 to 50 ft. with out slowing down I'm in a good position to defend myself.

I do have a model 41 that I use for shooting bullseyes every once in a while. But that's a handgun that's made just for that.

Was this a valid comment made by this guy or am I the only one that thinks like this?

 

[adweisbe]

In IPSC you shoot as fast as you can while still getting good hits. How fast that is depends on the size of the target, relationship to no-shoot targets, and distance.

 

[Admin]

Were you shooting next to Zumbo?

 

[Wingwiper]

Your comment is perfect.
YOU were at the Range practicing what YOU felt you needed to practice, NOT what others felt you needed to practice.
Combat Pistol is Fast and for score
Precision shooting is a mixture of FAST and SLOW and X counts can win the Match.
Until I got on these boards I had no idea there was a Defense Shooting Practice where hits count and scores are irrevelant.

I was in another thread and said " When someone is coming at you, they are not going to have any idea what the calibar of the weapon you are holding is, they are only going to see the opening at the end of the barrel. When you start shooting you will have added ingrediants not found on any Range, FEAR and PANIC and composure will have to be instinctive, your score will not be measured in points but more so by the number of hits and where. That is what is going to decide whether YOU the person doing the shooting will Live or will Die and not who wins the Match."

 

[GTOShootr]

Yeah, it just depends on what you are going for. Not everyone has been exposed to fast shooting. It doesn't float everyone's boat, people go to range for different reasons, and that is ok. There is something to be learned from shooting fast and intuitively and there is something to be learned from knowing how to prep and break precise shots, and how they relate.

"Speed up, and enjoy yourself!", would be a funny response though.

 

[M1911]

Personally, I've found that the best way for me to learn to shoot better when shooting fast, is to spend time shooting slowly (1-hole drills) and dry firing.

 

[Lugnut]

Nothing wrong with learning how to shoot fast- within reasonable accuracy for SD. However I usually start slow and build up my pace. Last week I was next to a guy shooting somewhat "fast" and he was missing the paper (std bullseye target) at about 15ft.... and he just wouldn't slow down. With an 8x11 piece of paper at distance up to 25 ft, I think hitting all shots on the paper at whatever speed is good practice. IDPA/IPSC practice, while shooting on the move, if you can hit most shots within that paper size you'd probably do well although it's often a challenge.


My philopophy- shoot the way you "need" to shoot for what you are trying to accomplish. I think knowing how to shoot slow and fast, standing still and on the move, two handed and single handed, in the open and behind cover are all important for SD.

 

[The Goose]

Personally I find any time at the range to be fun. Nuf said!

 

[Chris]

Go to the big matches and watch the top shooters. You won't feel very fast ever again.

 

[Pilgrim]

I shoot at a minimum of 900 feet per second, up to about 2800 feet per second.

 

[Supermoto]

shooting fast is fun.
but trying other styles of shooting will benifit fast shooting

working trigger prep and break, sight tracking and calling shots are things you should work into your practice

 

[Dirtypacman]

I do a mixture of different paces while at the range.

Honestly it depends on how much range time I have and how much ammo I have to burn through

 

[adweisbe]

Something I learned studying martial arts. It never pays to do it wrong. Ever, at all. To truly develop to the highest levels you have to hold yourself consistently to a high standard. It's important that you meet your accuracy requirements at all times whatever they may be. Missing your goals to shoot faster won't teach anything very useful in the long run. You might learn to miss faster I guess.

 

[ZenShooter]

I do the same, mixed drills of varying speed. Slow to develop technique, fast to practice keeping multiple quick shots on target. I also practice a lot of one-handed shooting, both left and right. And, when it doesn't annoy the range officer, the quick-draw-Mozambique is a blast to practice.

 

[Lugnut]

Something I learned studying martial arts. It never pays to do it wrong. Ever, at all. To truly develop to the highest levels you have to hold yourself consistently to a high standard. It's important that you meet your accuracy requirements at all times whatever they may be. Missing your goals to shoot faster won't teach anything very useful in the long run. You might learn to miss faster I guess.

Well said. I like that.

 

[kevin9]

I shoot at a minimum of 900 feet per second, up to about 2800 feet per second.

Well put

 

[Jose]

Recently I was at the range when a guy asked me do you always shoot that fast, you should slow down and enjoy your self.

Was this him?

 

[JimConway]

Question: In the real world, how fast should you shoot?
Answer: Take your time. You have the rest of your life

There is an old quote that goes like this
"Fast is fine. Accuracy is final"

 

[KMaurer]

Q: In the "real world"®, how fast should I shoot?
A: As fast as you can hit your target. Missing before the other guy shoots rarely does much good. Neither does getting off a perfectly aimed shot a split second after you're effectively killed.

Ken

 

[Bugs100]

Q: In the "real world"®, how fast should I shoot?
A: As fast as you can hit your target. Missing before the other guy shoots rarely does much good. Neither does getting off a perfectly aimed shot a split second after you're effectively killed.

Ken

My thoughts exactly. Thank you I couldn't had said better. That's why I practice like I do.

 

[dwarven1]

Q: In the "real world"®, how fast should I shoot?
A: As fast as you can hit your target. Missing before the other guy shoots rarely does much good. Neither does getting off a perfectly aimed shot a split second after you're effectively killed.

Ken

Or there's the Lazarus Long theory of shooting:

Get a shot off fast. This upsets him long enough to let you make your second shot perfect.

I never agreed with that one, myself.

 

[BillO]

I shoot at a minimum of 900 feet per second, up to about 2800 feet per second.

 

[matt]

I'm typically the slow guy on the range. In bullseye practice I'll take 1+ minute per shot to get it perfect (or as close as I can come to that...). I subscribe to adweisbe's theory about this. But that is for bullseye.

In the past couple of weeks I've added in working on point shooting from low/ready, double tapping, starting in DA (my SD gun is a Sig). I start slow and speed up. If I can't keep my shots on paper at 25', I have no business or use going faster.

If you can hit your target going fast, go for it if you find it fun/helpful (the two aren't always synonymous)

Lugnut's story of the guy who was shooting fast and not getting on paper at 15' scares me. Where are those shots landing? Are they going over the berm? (that's real easy at my range because the back stop is at 100+ yds so missing high at 15' puts you over the back stop landing who knows where depending what you are using to hold the target).

Matt

 

[Lugnut]

Lugnut's story of the guy who was shooting fast and not getting on paper at 15' scares me. Where are those shots landing? Are they going over the berm? (that's real easy at my range because the back stop is at 100+ yds so missing high at 15' puts you over the back stop landing who knows where depending what you are using to hold the target).

Matt

Most of the time when I see this happening (as in this case) I see the rounds going low, not high. I suspect they are anticipating the shots or really jerking the trigger enough to make shots go down or left/down. (I sometimes do this to some extent when increasing speed too).

Once I was shooting next to a couple guys at an outdoor range- we were shooting at 30 feet. This one guy's friend (guest) was so bad he was hitting the dirt several feet IN FRONT of the target stand. The target was at ~5 feet high from the ground!!

My point isn't to bash people for shooting fast/bad.. it's just sad to see people shooting so fast that they really have NO control. They're just making bad habits worse IMHO.

 

[adweisbe]

I subscribe to adweisbe's theory about this. But that is for bullseye.

It's not just for bullseye. Accurate enough, no more no less. You shoot faster at 25 feet then you can at 25 yards for a given size target. In that situation a less then perfect sight picture may be adequate or some other pointing method can be used.

 

[matt]

It's not just for bullseye. Accurate enough, no more no less. You shoot faster at 25 feet then you can at 25 yards for a given size target. In that situation a less then perfect sight picture may be adequate or some other pointing method can be used.

agreed. The modifying clause was misplaced. should have read:

I'm typically the slow guy on the range. But that is for bullseye. In bullseye practice I'll take 1+ minute per shot to get it perfect (or as close as I can come to that...). I subscribe to adweisbe's theory about this.

 

[tuna]

Depends on what I'm shooting, and what I have that gun FOR.

My Ruger Single Actions are mainly for hunting, so I mainly practice slow fire hitting a single spot (bullseye style). OK, with some "wish I was a cowboy messing around" in there too, but mainly for target.
With guns that I'd carry for CCW, then my accuracy criteria gets lower. "Minute of Bad Guy" is perfect, if I can get all shots into COM, then I'm not concerned with "group size" and want to be as fast as I can safely and accurately.

Last time I qualified with the M9, we had to draw, fire two COM and 1 head shot (Mozambique). The guy next to me would wait until I fired, and then start his shots, because I was shooting pretty fast. I didn't get the best score of the day, but I felt a lot better about my own shooting, considering that I was reholstered before a couple people had even fired.

As long as it's safe, fast can be VERY fun.

 

[howie]

how fast can you shot

I toke randy cain class 2 years ago(NE SHOOTERS) and he said you can shoot fast enough to lose a gun fight! Who care how fast you can shoot .If you cant make the hits. By the way my spit time is 1.2 . And i learn how to make my hits count. Training is the answer! take a class today( nes shooters is the best around my 2 cent) jim you can send me a check later
howie

 

[Supermoto]

I toke randy cain class 2 years ago(NE SHOOTERS) and he said you can shoot fast enough to lose a gun fight! Who care how fast you can shoot .If you cant make the hits. By the way my spit time is 1.2 . And i learn how to make my hits count. Training is the answer! take a class today( nes shooters is the best around my 2 cent) jim you can send me a check later
howie

What distance are those splits at? At 10 yards .25 splits are easly obtainable with practice. getting under .2 takes some work

 

[howie]

how fast

What distance are those splits at? At 10 yards .25 splits are easly obtainable with practice. getting under .2 takes some work

I think it was 0.125 but i will have to check with jim conway to made sure i am right. he said it was has fast as rob latham , i just cannt shoot as good has him. ( no kinding)