My good fbf says "I hear you talking but I don't see anything to really support it." I respond by saying that is because you are not looking. I only know what I see.
What do Alonzo Smith, Oregon Ranger, Powder Keg, Old West, Mongo, Johnny Three Toes, and Lil' James have in common? Hint, it ain't speed! They are normally flat shooter, i.e. hitting at better than 80%. There are others, don't be offended if I left you out. Those are just a few of the flat shooters in our sport. Speed is so glamorous that we don't see what is really going on.
The year started out at Pioneer Village at the Arizona State Championship with two mid 3 shooters dueling in the final match. Not a single shot in the final match was determined by speed. It was just a lottery and one could say the winner won by a recovery shot. The other two winning shots were marginally quick. The circuit then moved onto to the Southern where a 9 flat shooter mowed down most of the speed, taking the final match to 2-2 before losing on speed. Flat shooters dominated the titled matches at the springs. National was pretty typical. The majority of the mag 7 were flat shooters including the top seed. Having a 6 flat shooter win was not a fluke, pretty much par for the course, he was just the toughest of the flat shooters that day.
We don't see what really is going on because we are so taken with speed. It is, after all, fast draw. If I could wrestle the score sheets away from the stakeholder and if I had the time to do it I would like to actually see how many matches are determined by speed. What I see is that in most matches, mental toughness carries the day. Flat shooters win because they hit the target whether it is Oregon Ranger as a 3 flat shooter or Lil' James as a 9 flat shooter.
A little query. How many of you have been the victim of a 0-3 match. Give me a Yep if that has happened to you. I always try to remember how many consecutive wins I have that are 3-0. I know that I have had multiple 4 in 12 events this year. It happens more than you think. I point that out because of the widespread myths in the sport.
You don't have to learn to go fast first then learn to be accurate. You can learn both at the same time.
You don't have to slow down to hit. Your fastest shot can be your most accurate.
You don't have to be blazing fast to win.
Quickness is important but far more matches are won by mental toughness and by hitting the target than by speed only.
Yesterday, Shady put his last 5 shots on the target, each within 2 inches of the other and all 5 shots within 3 milliseconds. Now that is the sign of finalized draw. That is the goal. If you can do that at any speed you will win.
Granted, flat shooters sometime stumble, but 80% is attainable. Some have fled the sport because they could not handle losing to shooters that they perceived were inferior. Just remember folks, it is a gunfight, not a speed exhibition. There are quarter matches for that.
A great gunfight is when every shot is decided by quickness. Does not matter who wins. If you put five on the plate as quick as you are capable of, then you are a winner no matter what the score.
I am a 7 shooter, and just back from Kentucky. I did as well as I did by the simple expedient of hitting the target. I gave some Xs to some much faster shooters who couldn't find the plate, and I was beaten by faster shooters who could find the plate. Shenandoah, out of Virginia is one such shooter. He beat me 0-3, simply because the got there quicker than I did. It was a masterful performance. He was solid in the .380s.
ReplyDeleteAnother such shooter who gave me trouble was Big Ugly, also from Virginia. First round of the day, I put two shots on the plate before he found his spot, but then it was wham, wham, wham, and I was done.
But, I gave plenty of Xs to much faster shooters who just couldn't seem to it the target. In the final analysis, hitting is all that matters.