Practicing Missing!

I was working with my 6 year old shooter getting him ready for a local shoot (finished 13th out of 40.)  After we finished he said, "Watch Grandpa, I can go fast".  He then dry fires 10 rounds in about 5 seconds.  He was quick, but every shot was about 10 feet high.  He was flailing the gun. What did he learn? Nothing, but a bad habit.

Rodeo Romeo would say you got to learn to go fast before you learn to be accurate.  He says that because that is how he learned and was told that by his mentor.  I don't think it is true.  I think this fallacy comes from the flailers, those that get their speed from swinging the gun upward rapidly.  If you flail, it is a matter of chance  whether you will hit.  The faster you flail, the faster your times will be and the less accurate you will be.  Most of the top guns do not flail. Rodeo does not flail. There are some that flail, but it is extremely hard to be accurate doing that.

Another fallacy is that you have to slow down to be accurate.  This also comes for those that learned by flailing.  It makes sense for the flailer.  If you flail, the slower you flail the longer the muzzle will be in the hit zone, hence the better chance you will have to hit. For those that do not flail, those that shoot from a solid stable shooting position, their fastest and quickest shot is also their most accurate.  This fallacy, that you have to slow down to be accurate, is why slower shooters give us so much trouble.  We come against a slower shooter and we change our draw trying to slow down, hence we miss.

It is frustrating to see new shooters in our club, routinely shoot into the 3s and 4s, and then go to competitions and hit 30% or less.  If you are practicing enough to shoot into the 3s or 4s, you are practicing enough to be shooting 80%.  If not, you are either a flailer or you have been practicing missing.

If you are practicing and hitting 30% and not paying attention to that 70% that miss, then you are wasting that 70%.  YOU ARE PRACTICING MISSING.  Why do it?  Takes no more effort to learn from that 70%.

What you need is a target medium that allows you to see every shot.  And I don't mean in a general way but a very specific way, 2 inches high, 3 inches high, 4 inches low and so forth.  If you see every miss and exactly how far off, your body and mind will automatic adjust to hit the target.  You don't even have to think or try. With the proper target medium, you may start out hitting 30% but by the time you have shot a 50 shot practice round you will be hitting more consistently.  The body and mind will move the hits into the target zone.  The last 15 or 20 rounds of a 50 round practice session are what are important.  That is where you progress into being a gunfighter, not just someone that happens to hit the target every once and awhile.

It is also beneficial to get off of the clock.  If you are always chasing the clock you will never finalize your draw.  Your draw needs to be automatic, instinctive, done without thought or effort when you compete.  If you are always changing your draw trying to get that last millisecond, you will never be done with your draw and will be always in the draw developer stage.  Those developing their draw are slowed by the process.  To reach your potential, the draw must be like breathing.  That is why our fastest times come not when we are trying to go fast, but come as a complete surprise, when we are relaxed and just letting our body do what it done a thousand times before.

Fair warning to those who compete in the Valley of the Sun.  There are a few youths that shoot with me in Jack's Canyon and,

"We don't practice missing in Jack's Canyon!"

The Recovery Shot

That purveyor of videos has been ranting about sportsmanship again. He has just about ridden that horse into the ground.  We are proud to have him as a life member and take him with that one flaw.  In a few short years he has become one of the top guns of the sport.

I just don't understand the obsession.  In the old west I doubt anyone worried about sportsmanship, they were too busy looking for an advantage.

When someone on the line asks me if I take recovery shots, I belly laugh and respond "Every chance I get."  I am reserving another comment for that one cowboy who thinks he epitomizes cowboy fast draw but really is a tad short on sportsmanship to meet the norm.  The comment is "If you will tell me when you are going to miss, I will intentionally slip cock."  When asked, I always think "this ought to be easy, he is already worried about missing."

We have to take every competitor as they are when they come to the line.  If one is thinking about whether I might take a recovery shot, that is fine, it is just an advantage I will have.  I ain't missing, so it does not matter to me and I always enjoy a good laugh before I shoot.  Loosens me up.

The top guns don't worry about recovery shots, that why we have championships determined by .98, .34 and a .331 to a .36 and .36.  For my obsession, I note that the winner shot 75% while the loser shot 50%.

John, I don't know why you always flee this crispy weather we are having for that cool, breezy place.  Now I hear you are fleeing to an island.  You need to get back here, I can't handle Shady any more. I might have to break down and buy one of your videos.  "But it is hard to fill a cup that is already full!"

The Belly Shot

I have been training a young lad, age 6, who for anonymity I will call the Jack' s Canyon Kid since that is where he first drew from a holster.  He has been shooting off the table for about a year and at his last competition hit 24 out of 25 shots finishing 25th out of 50 shooters. He is ready to move on. We moved him to the holster with the requirement that he shoot from the hip.  We intentionally were going to skip "the point and shoot stage,"  so that he never would learn the "point and shoot" since so many struggle unlearning that technique.

He did well drawing from the holster. After 150 rounds he was hitting about 60% from the holster, although slow.  Hitting has always been important to him.  Unfortunately, the powers that be have read the rule book which says that a competitor under the age of 8 can not shoot out of the holster.  So now it is back to the table.

So as not to lose what we have accomplished he is now shooting the "belly shot" from the table.  He starts with the gun on the table or at low ready position. Upon the light he draws the gun back to the locked elbow position while cocking the hammer.  When the off hand wrist reaches the belly he pulls the trigger.  Therefore the gun is fired from a stable position with no forward or upward movement.  THERE IS NO POINT AND SHOOT involved.  Why learn something you have to unlearn later on. This method mimics the draw out of the holster.  When he turns 8, the draw will be already firmly established.

His first seventy rounds were good but he was consistently high.  It will not take long to fix that because in Jack's Canyon we don't practice missing and to the Jack's Canyon Kid the most important thing is to be able to brag he beat Grandpa. He is the only novice I have ever seen who adjusts his stance naturally upon a miss.  He broke into the six s today and I foresee he will be a force to be reckoned with.

Others that help new shooters age 6 to 86 may want to consider the belly shot for their new shooters.  Start them from the low ready position and have them draw back to a hip fire position,  I have good friends that can consistently shoot into the low fours until they get into competition and the target draws them back to their "point and shoot" roots.  Why learn something that you have to unlearn later on.

"We don't practice missing on the mountain or in Jack's Canyon"

The Waggle

Professional golfers have a pre-shot routine that they go through each and every time prior to a shot.  Many use a pre-shot "waggle," immediately before the shot.  It is a insignificant motion of the club head right before they beginning their shot.  It is a signal to their bodies and especially their minds that they are ready to go.  All preparation has been completed.

When I started to shoot I had the privilege of hand judging Wild Onion Willie.  He has a waggle which at the time I thought may be a violation of the rules but I did not say anything because of his stature in the sport. Of course, it was not a violation I just did not understand the rules. I just watched a video of Yusta B Fast in which there appears to be a waggle but it was not there on every draw.  To be a waggle it must be done intentionally, each and every time, and be a signal to the mind and body that the shooter is ready to go.

I have a pre-match waggle which is to draw and dry fire my gun twice.  After that I am set and do not think about my draw or anything related to it again.  If I lose a bye round I always unload and show clear so that I can go through my waggle again on the load and make ready command.

I am currently working on a pre-shot waggle but have not perfected it yet.  I did use one at Nationals and shot my fastest competitive time.

We can learn from other sports.  I wish I had been a sprinter in track and field because I am sure that there are some techniques used there to get off on the light.  I heard of trying to anticipate the light but when I do that I am generally 50 mls slower because I am thinking, and whenever you think you are slow.

Mind Set

I think the mental part of this game far exceeds the physical.  At the High Plains Territorial I followed WildShot around for five rounds, he was either hand judging me or I he, or on the next lane. He shoots the long gun and  he was on.  In round four he put three shots in a dollar size circle.  I figured he was the cowboy to beat.

In round five, WildShot, met Marshall Cooper. He put one in the ground 6 feet in front of the target, several over the top, don't remember him hitting the target once.  After the round I asked him what happened, you were so accurate in the earlier rounds.  He said well  I shoot with Marshall every week and I always shoot different against him.  I always try to go faster.

The mind affects how we shoot.  Thinking about anything is bad.  I was cruising along and really had found the target.  In round three I missed an inch wide on the first shot then proceeded to walk the shots right to the middle on the next three winning in four shots.  I was so pleased with myself that I bragged in between matches. Then I met Deacon, a  90% shooter.  I never hit the target once.  Mind set?

The next round I shot what I considered the near perfect adjustment match. Four rounds, first a miss light high to the left, then three shots walked to the middle in  perfect horizontal line.

Next, I met Wildshot and my mind was right. Match over in three or four shots.

Then in round eight, I met Luckey O'Riley.  He is faster than me but he also knows that when I am on he has to hit.  He had just defeated Beaver Creek Kid, wearer of the black badge, in two consecutive matches so he was flying high.  We both had our minds right! First shot he wins .434 to .436. The die was cast.  He wins two on speed, I win two on speed. He hits 4 out of 5, I hit 5 out of 5.  That is what this sport is about, a perfect match beween good friends, felt like a marble match.

I am a student of the game and the mind set.  You would think I would learn.  Met Marshall Cooper in the 10th round and I think (all thinking in bad) "Well, I can't beat him on speed just put it on the target"  Marshall hits one out of the first five shots, I hit none. It was just as if I met Deacon again.

This game is not about who can shoot the best, but who can get or keep their mind in the proper set.  As Little Bill explained, "Quick don't mean much in a gunfight."

Style or Draw Technique

A few weeks ago a regular and seasoned contributor to the forum opined that there really was only two types of draw for the fast shooter, the level and follow through and the upswing draw.  I took offense that the locked elbow draw had being omitted and opined that the current world champion used it.  The contributor corrected me that the World Champion uses the level and follow through but has omitted the follow through.  Marshall Cooper in his video explains his draw that way.

Problem with this is it is exceeding hard to learn.  I seen numerous shooter work years to learn the level and follow then work years trying to unlearn the follow through.  Many are successful in practice getting into the 4s but in competition the target draws them out and they shoot 5s and 6s.

On the other hand with the lock elbow draw, you never learn the follow through so you don't have to unlearn it.  The lock elbow draw may be the favored draw in the Valley of the Sun because the desert master teaches it.  

I was fortunate in that I had hand surgery and could not shoot for two months.  I used the time to copy a multiple champion who shoots the locked elbow draw and she was trained by the desert master. Since I now shoot a variation, the thumb roll draw, I will explain that and let some else explain the lock elbow draw.

The thumb roll draw is a variation of the locked elbow draw out of a high rise Shaniko holster.  The Shaniko is suited for it because of its high position on the hip and its wrapped trigger guard.  You start by crossing the thumb over the hammer (as Wyatt Earp recommended, yes that Wyatt).  This helps in eliminating slip cocks and provides the power for the draw, You draw by forcefully cocking the hammer thereby rolling the gun out of the holster.. When you clear the holster you should be in the locked elbow position and the trigger is pulled.  The gun is solidly against your body, there no forward motion, there is no upward motion.  You should be able to shoot better than 80% because of the stable position from which the gun is fired.  Misses result from misalignment of your stance, not from variation in the draw.

If you can do it, I recommend the thumb roll draw, if not then the locked elbow draw.

An humorous side note. About six months ago a pretty young thing came to a shoot and needed help learning the sport.  The old geezers could not get in line quick enough to help her.  There was that purveyor of videos trying to teach her the level and follow thru,  the prayerful one was selling the locked elbow draw, and there were other cowboys mentoring when they have never mentored before.  I was worried she was going hurt herself she was getting so much conflicting advice.  Fortunately, the desert master took her under his wing as he does with all novices,  She now has a .373 competitive PR and routinely breaks into the threes.  If you want to see good form on the locked elbow draw, look at her facebook page.  There is a straight line from her locked elbow to the muzzle horizontal to the ground, gun solidly a her side as the trigger is pulled.

The Opening Statement

Ladies and Gentlemen of the jury. You are here today to determine what the facts are.  Most of observable facts are not in dispute. It is not disputed that Mr. Blackman was a neighborhood youth of only 13 years, although 6 foot 3 inches with a menacing appearance.  It will also not be disputed that he approached the defendant, Miss Rightous, wearing a hoodie and baggie jeans below his hips. It will not be in disputed that he asks Miss Rightous what she was doing in his neighborhood in the only language that he knew, saying "Whitey, whatsup?

It will not be disputed that the defendant responded by pulling a 357 small revolver from her training bra and pulling 5 slugs into Mr. Blackman's heart from a distance of 3 feet..

The only issue in this case is what was the defendant's intent?  Undoubtedly she will claim that she was in fear of her life.  That is what you will have to decide.

The prosecution will show that Miss Rightous is a card carry member of the NRA. We will show that she practices regularly at the Shootem Gun Range, at least twice  a week.  We will show that she is proficient with her handgun being able to put 5 shots in a human target in less than 60 seconds at 15 feet.  The prosecution will also show what is maybe the most telling evidence, her facebook comments, that she carries her weapon concealed for the element of surprise and that if she ever has to stand her ground she has been taught to be sure her opponent does not get up.

Ladies and gentlemen, you will have to decide, is Miss Rightous a innocent fearful victim or a well- trained killer just waiting for the opportunity to use her skill.