Got a Timer

[Slavex]

Nope, not waiting for the buzzer sound to end to start the draw. The single biggest, first improvement a person can make is their reaction to the start tone. Normal human instinct is to wait for a sound to end before processing it. With timers in any sport, athletes train to move at the start of the sound. Learning to do that can cut more than a quarter second off your start time.

 

[Winchester3030]

^^^ +1

 

[RUPZUK]

I'm surprised no one has mentioned the single most effective way to cut time off their draw to first shot time.

Nope, not waiting for the buzzer sound to end to start the draw. The single biggest, first improvement a person can make is their reaction to the start tone. Normal human instinct is to wait for a sound to end before processing it. With timers in any sport, athletes train to move at the start of the sound. Learning to do that can cut more than a quarter second off your start time.

While I would not be concerned with the time I do see the benefit of practicing with a timer. Some people stall at the beep, practicing with a random start should not effect your primary goal of a good grip and a solid first shot but it should condition you that the beep means go.
Your practicing so your already on the right track IMO.

I was kinda close...
Same reason I used a practice tree when I drag raced.
Cheers
Rick

 

[PapaHotel01]

Nope, not waiting for the buzzer sound to end to start the draw. The single biggest, first improvement a person can make is their reaction to the start tone. Normal human instinct is to wait for a sound to end before processing it. With timers in any sport, athletes train to move at the start of the sound. Learning to do that can cut more than a quarter second off your start time.

Yeah the old reaction time drill. Easy way to learn to listen for the start of the beep. Start with a loaded gun pointed at the backstop, prep the trigger and with either a delay function or someone timing you. When you hear the beep, pull the trigger. The time shown is your reaction time. Most people I find when they get on to reacting at the start of the beep will turn in a time around .20, I've seen as low as .13 (I've seen and done lower but it's really just anticipating the beep and not a true reaction time) typical runs for better shooters run .16 +/-
Also try this drill shooting double action, it surprising how little time it really takes to pull the full length of a DA pull. I usually find no more than .02-.03 of a second extra and quite often no difference.

 

[ivan]

... snip ... Start with a loaded gun pointed at the backstop, prep the trigger and with either a delay function or someone timing you. When you hear the beep, pull the trigger.

While I haven't tested this in many years, I used this test to check timers, as opposed to my reaction time. I found that I'd get 0.15 on a Pact but 0.25 on the old little yellow timers (I'm so old, I forget the name of them). It told me that different timers actually started timing at different points in the beep. I don't know if this is still the case, but it's an interesting experiment.

-ivan-

 

[PapaHotel01]

I've run this drill on both the PACT and the little yellow timers as well as the little black timer that proceeded them and never noticed a significant difference in the readings. I do know that the yellow timer has a much shorter, sharper beep than the PACT which is almost half a second long, the yellow is probably only a quarter to three tenths long.
It might also depend on which generation of PACT. While I've used every generation of the RUReady timer (including the new one with par time adjustable to tenths of seconds (woohoo!!) I've only used the MKIV pact timers, the older ones might be different...

 

[PapaHotel01]

I've also used a version of this drill to help students with accuracy, mastering the DA pull and shooting on the move. The idea being I am taking away the shooters ability to decide when to pull the trigger and I tell tem when. It quickly shows how much people's brains screw them up trying to decide when is the best time to pull the trigger.
Do the same drill but with an aiming point and you'll see what I mean...

 

[PapaHotel01]

In most stages a 'fast draw' doesn't really have any effect on your score.

The majority of stages seem to require movement - pivot and draw, get up from a chair or bed etc, run from XX to another position - before the first rounds are fired. The classic ' facing down range with hands relaxed at sides' is relatively rare and is the only time a truly fast draw offers any advantage: and even then only if targets are visible from the starting position.

If you can draw and engage your first target in under 2 seconds you will be running with the pack on most stages.

John

In the context of the OP and what he is practicing for, ORA CQB, the draw is actually quite important. In the strings where the pistol is used its a straight transition from rifle to pistol while staying static. No movement here to hide a bad draw. While a fast draw would not seem valuable in what is largely a precision match, every string is a fixed time stage and the times fairly tight. A number of guys don't even get to complete all the shots because they run out of time. A fast draw and a fast reload gives you more time to shoot accurate shots (and possibly complete the CoF) a slow draw will force you to give up a lot of points.