Rodeo Romeo has made some personal and hurtful comments to me. I did not mean to start an argument or say anything offensive to him, but if I did I apologize. He asks for an explanation and so here it is.
To be a competitive gunfighter you must have a finalized draw. By that I mean you draw to the same anchor point and fire each and every time. Each draw is identical to each other draw. Perfection is when every bullet hits the same hole in the exact identical time. By definition, if you have a finalized draw your quickest draw will be your most accurate shot because you are getting to the anchor point as quickly and as smoothly as possible. Anything that causes you to change your draw will cause you to have to re-finalize or re-learn your draw.
If you are constantly changing your draw to get that last millisecond of time, you have to relearn your draw with each change. Every change for whatever reason brings you back to the entry level of accuracy, from my observation less than 30%. To constantly chase the clock impedes a gunslinger's development. Disregard for where you hit takes away the opportunity for your subconscious to learn accuracy.
Partime in Texas is a good study in the development of a gunslinger. When I first saw him he was just another pretty gun. He would come to titled matches and after four rounds go home. Quick but hitting less than 30%. He even wrote a song about it. Then he came to the Springs and had a session with Marshall Cooper. Within six months he was the best gun in Texas. What happened? He finalized his draw. He began to hit the target and see every hit. He no longer was practicing missing. If you see every hit your mind and body will walk the hits to the light. Some will say he learned to be fast then he learned to be accurate. No, that is not what happened. When he was "learning to go fast," he just was not paying attention. Hitting didn't matter. He was depriving his subconscious the opportunity to learn to be accurate.
DO NOT PRACTICE ACCURACY! You can not do it. Practice speed only. To think about accuracy or to try to be accurate causes you to miss. "Any thought changes an expert into a novice." The Sports Gene.
What is needed is to give your subconscious the opportunity to learn those small incremental changes that walk the hits to the light. If you think about hitting you will miss. If you try to be accurate you will miss. If you think about going fast, you will be slow. (For me, trying to go fast in competition causes me to be about 30 mls slow)
"I was lucky in the order, but then I have always been lucky when it comes to killing folks." William Munny
Now to get personal. Saturday at Pioneer we shot an Arizona Bracket shoot. The field was divided into three brackets by x count and time out. In A bracket there were 15 gunslingers, all good and tough gunfighters, not an easy draw in the bunch. Of the 14 matches only three matches were decided by quickness, Old West was quicker than Shady, Holli Day put Old West out on quickness, and I put Ranger out on quickness. Quickness is important, but not as important as mental toughness. In the last seven matches only one match was decided on quickness. The rest were decided on something else and it ain't accuracy.
Those matches were decided on the mental processes of the gunslingers. Based on time out 6 of the 7 were quicker than me. What happened. Well, the same thing that happened at Nationals when 5 black badges went down to Johnny Three Toes. They thought about it. In some form of another they all thought, "I got to hit the target!" or they tried to slow down because you are more accurate when you slow down (another myth). When you think about hitting, you miss.
A couple of shooters Saturday were "slow shooting." Slow shooting is the kiss of death to a gunslinger. Why? Because you have to think when you are changing from fast to slow or from slow to fast. Any thought changes an expert into a novice.
Getting back to the subject at hand. I have suffered through several bouts of grailfever before and I know it takes about 6 months for it to run it's course. Even knowing that, come February 5, based mainly on comments by Levi, I will start a new stance and an new draw. I will start off the clock. Time does not matter. Only a finalized draw matters. It may be quicker or it may not be, but I will let my subconscious walk the hits to the light, there is no excuse for less than 80%.
"I warned em!" Virgil Cole
Monday, January 29, 2018
Friday, January 26, 2018
Lessons of Geography
I awoke this morning composing this post as a response to the swagger of loverboy, but upon further consideration decided that he deserves to strut a bit as long as he doesn't trip on his spurs. The vehicle was going to be a geography lesson, but then decided that the vehicle itself had merit since there may be some traveling here for Winter Range.
The main trail in and out of Phoenix is I-17. From the intersection of the main trail with Wickeburg/Carefree road, about 1/2 mile west is the venue for Winter Range. About a thousand shooters and their camp followers will be at Winter Range February 18 to 25. The Association of Arizona Gunslinger will have a 6 lane range up and running Feb 19 through 24, with a Arizona Bracket Shoot on the 24th. CFDA shooters can shoot all week warming up for Saturday, but it may not do you much good, as the competition is pretty salty at the Showdown at Winter Range.
If you head east down the Wickenbugr/Carefree Road, just about 1/2 mile past Central Avenue (divides Phoenix east and west) you will come to the road (7th Street) that goes from Shady Mountain north around Daisy Mountain back to the main trail (I-17). If you turn south about 1/2 mile you will come to Shady Mountain, the home range of many World and National Champions. Those champions gather about weekly, mostly for social shooting, gunsmithing, and general foolishness. Shooting there is by invitation, but Shady is pretty free with the invitations, his only limit being the space available for the crowd that wants to come.
If, at the intersection of the Carefree road and the Daisy Mtn road, you turn north and go about a mile you come to loverboy flats. When you will come to the girlie street (Dolores), turn east and go about 1/4 mile and you come to the Camp. The Camp is open 24/7 to CFDA shooters and it is a world class 6 lane facility where speed is king. The Camp has a jackpot shoot the first Saturday of the month and quarter matches the third Saturday of the month. The Camp has a 8' by 32' greased wall so there is no practice missing at the camp. If you practice at the Camp and shoot less that 80%, you are not paying attention.
From the intersection of the main trail and the Wickenburg/Carefree road, 1/2 mile to the north is Pioneer Village, Arizona Territory, the home range of The Association of Arizona Gunslingers. They hold a Arizona Bracket shoot on the fourth Saturday of every month. The saying is that "There is no lollygagging at Pioneer Village," but the very nature of the Arizona bracket shoot is to insure that the new shooter, the drifter, the youth and generally everyone feels welcome and competitive..
For those that want to shoot every Saturday, you can travel down the main roads through Phoenix out east beyond Red Mountain and shoot at the Rio Salado Range. The Salty River Cowboys (officially the Rio Salado Vaqueros) hold a club shoot the second Saturday of every month. It is alway an excellent shoot with different formats.
The Loess Hills Paladins, Have Range, Will Travel, are building their portable range at Shady Mtn. The Paladins plan to break camp and head for the Loess Hills when the snow is out of the mountain passes. They will go through Flagstaff then pick up the Pueros River onto the Rio Grande River to Santa Fe and the Santa Fe Trail. They intend to stop at Manual Lisa's place before heading onto the home range of the River City Gunslingers. I will give a photo report when the range is done, hope to set up at Pioneer Village, March 24.
Well, we will see how the swagger goes Saturday.
The main trail in and out of Phoenix is I-17. From the intersection of the main trail with Wickeburg/Carefree road, about 1/2 mile west is the venue for Winter Range. About a thousand shooters and their camp followers will be at Winter Range February 18 to 25. The Association of Arizona Gunslinger will have a 6 lane range up and running Feb 19 through 24, with a Arizona Bracket Shoot on the 24th. CFDA shooters can shoot all week warming up for Saturday, but it may not do you much good, as the competition is pretty salty at the Showdown at Winter Range.
If you head east down the Wickenbugr/Carefree Road, just about 1/2 mile past Central Avenue (divides Phoenix east and west) you will come to the road (7th Street) that goes from Shady Mountain north around Daisy Mountain back to the main trail (I-17). If you turn south about 1/2 mile you will come to Shady Mountain, the home range of many World and National Champions. Those champions gather about weekly, mostly for social shooting, gunsmithing, and general foolishness. Shooting there is by invitation, but Shady is pretty free with the invitations, his only limit being the space available for the crowd that wants to come.
If, at the intersection of the Carefree road and the Daisy Mtn road, you turn north and go about a mile you come to loverboy flats. When you will come to the girlie street (Dolores), turn east and go about 1/4 mile and you come to the Camp. The Camp is open 24/7 to CFDA shooters and it is a world class 6 lane facility where speed is king. The Camp has a jackpot shoot the first Saturday of the month and quarter matches the third Saturday of the month. The Camp has a 8' by 32' greased wall so there is no practice missing at the camp. If you practice at the Camp and shoot less that 80%, you are not paying attention.
From the intersection of the main trail and the Wickenburg/Carefree road, 1/2 mile to the north is Pioneer Village, Arizona Territory, the home range of The Association of Arizona Gunslingers. They hold a Arizona Bracket shoot on the fourth Saturday of every month. The saying is that "There is no lollygagging at Pioneer Village," but the very nature of the Arizona bracket shoot is to insure that the new shooter, the drifter, the youth and generally everyone feels welcome and competitive..
For those that want to shoot every Saturday, you can travel down the main roads through Phoenix out east beyond Red Mountain and shoot at the Rio Salado Range. The Salty River Cowboys (officially the Rio Salado Vaqueros) hold a club shoot the second Saturday of every month. It is alway an excellent shoot with different formats.
The Loess Hills Paladins, Have Range, Will Travel, are building their portable range at Shady Mtn. The Paladins plan to break camp and head for the Loess Hills when the snow is out of the mountain passes. They will go through Flagstaff then pick up the Pueros River onto the Rio Grande River to Santa Fe and the Santa Fe Trail. They intend to stop at Manual Lisa's place before heading onto the home range of the River City Gunslingers. I will give a photo report when the range is done, hope to set up at Pioneer Village, March 24.
Well, we will see how the swagger goes Saturday.
Thursday, January 4, 2018
If you think 2016 was bad, wait for 2018, you ain't seen nothing yet.
Got a look at the new holster rule, and if you thought 2016 was bad for gunfighters misbehaven, wait for 2018. It is going be a springs fiasco all year long. (No fault of the host.) Maybe we can some how divert the powers that be travel plans and the locals will get along just fine.
Any way, one of the funniest story I heard from the old timer yesterday was how when they used to shoot with the hand 6 inches from the gun the rule was enforced with a yardstick to measure the shooter hands during the draw. One particularly wired competitor came completely unglued with a stick being poked at him during his draw.
Now it appears the Comish has got a new bud, it will be interesting to see how he nips it comes spring. All I got to say is that the Range Masters in the Valley of the Sun don't tolerate nonsense much. Warm the penalty box up. I am impressed with the wisdom of my board, we don't have any title events here in 2018, so we can travel and be amused elsewhere.
Any way, one of the funniest story I heard from the old timer yesterday was how when they used to shoot with the hand 6 inches from the gun the rule was enforced with a yardstick to measure the shooter hands during the draw. One particularly wired competitor came completely unglued with a stick being poked at him during his draw.
Now it appears the Comish has got a new bud, it will be interesting to see how he nips it comes spring. All I got to say is that the Range Masters in the Valley of the Sun don't tolerate nonsense much. Warm the penalty box up. I am impressed with the wisdom of my board, we don't have any title events here in 2018, so we can travel and be amused elsewhere.
Tuesday, January 2, 2018
So you want to be a gunfighter!
Recently I had to opportunity to share thoughts on this sport with a aspiring gunfighter by text message. This topic being too voluminous for text I will share by blog.
Over the last two years I have competed in 30 to 40 events, club, State, Territorial, National, and World. What I have observed is that the average CFDA shooter has gunfighter rating of between .80 to .95. If a shooter has a rating of 1.0 or above for an event he or she is in the top 25% of the CFDA. Gunfighters that make it into the Magnificent 7 generally will be those with a gunfighter rating of 1.2 or better. Normally there is only a handful shooting this well, maybe 5% of the shooters.
Gunfighter rating is a shooter's speed index, 1 minus his normal quickness, plus his accuracy index, his average shooting percentage. For example a shooter with a quickness of .35 will have a speed index of .65 and if he is shooting at 30% accuracy his gunfighter rating will be .95.
It really does not matter how you get above 1.0 and to 1.2. A .6 shooter hitting at 80% for a rating of 1.2 is competitive with a .4 shooter hitting at 60% for a rating for 1.2. Granted speed matters, but not as much of you think when you get to the real gunfight, the Magnificent Seven. That is why that .6 shooter was able to put down all those black badges at Nationals. When you get to the real fight, where all the shooter are 1.2 shooters, then the deciding factor is mental toughness.
Speed is glamorous, but accuracy is deadly. The .35 shooter hitting 30% may think he is good, but really he is just a little above average. Get to 1.0 and you will start to be in the top 25% of shoots. Get to 1.2 and you will win most club shoots and make the Magnificent Seven of major shoots.
Those of us who compete against each other know the gunfighter rating of our opponents. We know who is the .5 shooter hitting 60% and who is a .4 shooter hitting only 40%. This ain't hard to figure out and over the long haul the .5 shooter is going to do consistently better than the .4 shooter. Now if that .4 shooter can move his accuracy to 50%, then he is at 1.1 same as the .5 shooter and they will probably split their matches throughout the year.
What is your gunfighter rating? Where do you want to be for 2018?
Over the last two years I have competed in 30 to 40 events, club, State, Territorial, National, and World. What I have observed is that the average CFDA shooter has gunfighter rating of between .80 to .95. If a shooter has a rating of 1.0 or above for an event he or she is in the top 25% of the CFDA. Gunfighters that make it into the Magnificent 7 generally will be those with a gunfighter rating of 1.2 or better. Normally there is only a handful shooting this well, maybe 5% of the shooters.
Gunfighter rating is a shooter's speed index, 1 minus his normal quickness, plus his accuracy index, his average shooting percentage. For example a shooter with a quickness of .35 will have a speed index of .65 and if he is shooting at 30% accuracy his gunfighter rating will be .95.
It really does not matter how you get above 1.0 and to 1.2. A .6 shooter hitting at 80% for a rating of 1.2 is competitive with a .4 shooter hitting at 60% for a rating for 1.2. Granted speed matters, but not as much of you think when you get to the real gunfight, the Magnificent Seven. That is why that .6 shooter was able to put down all those black badges at Nationals. When you get to the real fight, where all the shooter are 1.2 shooters, then the deciding factor is mental toughness.
Speed is glamorous, but accuracy is deadly. The .35 shooter hitting 30% may think he is good, but really he is just a little above average. Get to 1.0 and you will start to be in the top 25% of shoots. Get to 1.2 and you will win most club shoots and make the Magnificent Seven of major shoots.
Those of us who compete against each other know the gunfighter rating of our opponents. We know who is the .5 shooter hitting 60% and who is a .4 shooter hitting only 40%. This ain't hard to figure out and over the long haul the .5 shooter is going to do consistently better than the .4 shooter. Now if that .4 shooter can move his accuracy to 50%, then he is at 1.1 same as the .5 shooter and they will probably split their matches throughout the year.
What is your gunfighter rating? Where do you want to be for 2018?
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