IPSC ,Speed or accurate?
- Thread starter Brianma65
- Start date
Each of the points you earn are diluted by how long you took to earn them. If you can earn a large amount of points quickly, then its not worth diluting those points by taking forever to get Alphas on a single 25m target in the same Cof.
If only long shots are offered in the COF, then all points will be diluted for all shooters, so they will be valuable. Really, when one previews the Cof, its not just to plan engagement strategy and mag changes, its to evaluate where to best earn the most points and where to accept Charlies.
Speed vs. Accuracy IMO can be course specific in this case.
Overall however, consider that all the points collected by slower accurate fire gets divided by seconds, so mathematically speaking speed reduces your score much quicker than accuracy.
Shooting an A instead of a C earns you more points for that one target, but the extra time dilutes the points earned for every target.
Consider a COF with four targets at 4m and one target at 25m.
In attempt 1 you shoot the first 4 clean in 4 seconds (40pnts in 4 sec) and then carefully place 2 As in the 25 m in 4 seconds (10pnts in 4 sec)
Total is 50 points in 8 seconds or 6.3 points per second
In attempt 2 you shoot the same 40 points in 4 seconds and then quickly lob 2-3 rounds at the single 25m and get a C and D (5 points in 1.5sec)
Total is 45 points in 5.5 seconds or 8.2 points per second
The time to earn the extra 5 points ate up the pile of points you earned in the first four seconds....and your points per second dropped 25%, likely dropping you a dozen spots down the leader board. Play to your strengths in competition to place well, but practice the weaker parts of your game outside of competition, as after all the goal is all Alphas!
If only long shots are offered in the COF, then all points will be diluted for all shooters, so they will be valuable. Really, when one previews the Cof, its not just to plan engagement strategy and mag changes, its to evaluate where to best earn the most points and where to accept Charlies.
Speed vs. Accuracy IMO can be course specific in this case.
Overall however, consider that all the points collected by slower accurate fire gets divided by seconds, so mathematically speaking speed reduces your score much quicker than accuracy.
Shooting an A instead of a C earns you more points for that one target, but the extra time dilutes the points earned for every target.
Consider a COF with four targets at 4m and one target at 25m.
In attempt 1 you shoot the first 4 clean in 4 seconds (40pnts in 4 sec) and then carefully place 2 As in the 25 m in 4 seconds (10pnts in 4 sec)
Total is 50 points in 8 seconds or 6.3 points per second
In attempt 2 you shoot the same 40 points in 4 seconds and then quickly lob 2-3 rounds at the single 25m and get a C and D (5 points in 1.5sec)
Total is 45 points in 5.5 seconds or 8.2 points per second
The time to earn the extra 5 points ate up the pile of points you earned in the first four seconds....and your points per second dropped 25%, likely dropping you a dozen spots down the leader board. Play to your strengths in competition to place well, but practice the weaker parts of your game outside of competition, as after all the goal is all Alphas!
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Yup, pretty much what Smally said. I'm still green at this but on one stage during a match, I shot a lot of Double As with one or two Cs (no Ds or penalties) and I thought I did good stage compared to some of the guys who shot it a lot faster. When the results were posted, I did score more points but because their times were much faster, they beat me easily. I'm slowly learning it's a trade off where it's okay to get a C on some targets and if you're fast enough and don't have misses or penalties, you can win stages over a more accurate but slower shooter.
I was told you can buy fractions of a second by having a fast draw, fast mag changes, efficiency in movement and having good course strategy but it doesn't mean squat if you can't hit the target. So as John92 commented, I was told to focus on accuracy and the speed will come in time.
I was told you can buy fractions of a second by having a fast draw, fast mag changes, efficiency in movement and having good course strategy but it doesn't mean squat if you can't hit the target. So as John92 commented, I was told to focus on accuracy and the speed will come in time.
ipscgraz
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
As has been mentioned, consider the closest targets low hanging fruit that bring lots of points, fast. The problem is the other guys get the same points, also fast.
Practice at 20 yards + when you can. And once in every range outing, shoot 2 10 shot groups with your IPSC gun at 25 yards.
And a lot of guys don't practice the strong hand only or weak hand only stuff, to the point of proficiency.
Practice at 20 yards + when you can. And once in every range outing, shoot 2 10 shot groups with your IPSC gun at 25 yards.
And a lot of guys don't practice the strong hand only or weak hand only stuff, to the point of proficiency.
If you striving for excellence, you will find that points are more important than speed even if you are shooting major. A C class shooter can make some really good gains by improving their speed and taking misses/dropping points. However, once you get to A class or upper B you will find that you reach a limit as to how much faster you can go. At this point, you will need to focus on points to see real improvement.
Many newer shooters focus on speed for immediate perceived gains, but are developing horrible habits that will prevent them from succeeding in the future, or at least make things much more difficult down the road.
Many newer shooters focus on speed for immediate perceived gains, but are developing horrible habits that will prevent them from succeeding in the future, or at least make things much more difficult down the road.
That is exactly what is happening to me. I started accurate but slow and went from C to A, but now I seem to have hit a wall because I am faster but my accuracy has suffered. I find that I am as fast as the top shooters (or almost) but have let the accuracy slip so I am getting way too many C's and the odd D. I will be focusing on accuracy especially at distances this winter.
I'm new at the game and have only done my qualify courses.
Three small stages and one large stage.
Small stages were 12 targets and large was 32.
I was hitting mostly A,s and all the steel. But not so fast.
But another guy was hitting a lot of C,s and missed a couple of poppers, and he was faster than me.
He ended up beating my score.
So I assumed speed + mediocre accuracy = wins.
Three small stages and one large stage.
Small stages were 12 targets and large was 32.
I was hitting mostly A,s and all the steel. But not so fast.
But another guy was hitting a lot of C,s and missed a couple of poppers, and he was faster than me.
He ended up beating my score.
So I assumed speed + mediocre accuracy = wins.
It's always trying to find that balance of how fast you can go before you cross the line to giving up too many points. I use the Practiscore competitor app to track the % of points I shoot in a match, if I shot less than 90% of the available points then I know I need to focus on getting more points as I will really start to drop in the standings at less than 90%. There are much younger and faster shooters than me that can be successful while shooting slightly under 90% but I use 90 as the benchmark level. Most new shooters I try to advise to shoot only as fast as they can see the sight picture they need to get Alpha's and to try to do everything else as quickly as possible.
heavenIsAlie
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Knowing when a C is good enough takes a bunch of practice/matches to figure out; but the 90% rule mentioned above is a good one. As was said, you can throw accuracy to the wind and just go quickly and generally the one or two stages where you get lucky on your hits will give you a decent percentage but then it will get harder to progress after that.
I was always accurate and then just practiced getting faster and learning what my abilities actually were. ie: at this distance I can get 2A this quickly with this good of a sight picture, or at this distance I can just index shoot. It has worked out for me and I made GM last year.
I was always accurate and then just practiced getting faster and learning what my abilities actually were. ie: at this distance I can get 2A this quickly with this good of a sight picture, or at this distance I can just index shoot. It has worked out for me and I made GM last year.
This is gold.
New shooters normally ask the OP’s question, my reply has always been to new shooters; go for the A’s, the time will look after itself, you cannot miss fast enough to win.
New shooters who push for speed I find normally are sloppy and that extends into other aspects of their shooting which can be quite detrimental and in some cases down right alarming.
Experienced shooters have established skills and can calculate where time needs to be pushed or cadence maintained, but for new shooters that comes later.
I have no problem hitting the Alphas but I have to take my time and aim, the DA first shot is a pain also.
It was my first match,so I figured slow was best, no penalties or DQ that way
It was a lot to take in ,in two days,
Mag changes on the move ,etc.
Not breaking 90,finger out the trigger, all with the instructor breathing down your neck
Exciting though!
Thanks for the pointers too.
It was my first match,so I figured slow was best, no penalties or DQ that way
It was a lot to take in ,in two days,
Mag changes on the move ,etc.
Not breaking 90,finger out the trigger, all with the instructor breathing down your neck
Exciting though!
Thanks for the pointers too.
Got Juice?
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Peoples Republik of Kanukkistan
Balance. The key is balance. You cant miss fast enough to win, and you cant be accurate enough to lose.
Get your hits. A/C in .5 seconds beats taking 3 shots at a target to get 2 alphas in 1 second. One you make 2 hits on target, move to the next target. This is especially true in standard division shooting .40 major.
Shooting production, same holds true BUT you need to get a higher % of alphas per unit time. And with the limited recoil of a 9mm, you need to get 75% of your hits in the A zone without sacrificing speed since you are scoring a lot less out of the A zone.
For open guns, speed carries a slight advantage over accuracy. NEVER try to make up an A/C into a A/A. Even an odd C/C With good speedwill beat a slower A/C
Get your hits. A/C in .5 seconds beats taking 3 shots at a target to get 2 alphas in 1 second. One you make 2 hits on target, move to the next target. This is especially true in standard division shooting .40 major.
Shooting production, same holds true BUT you need to get a higher % of alphas per unit time. And with the limited recoil of a 9mm, you need to get 75% of your hits in the A zone without sacrificing speed since you are scoring a lot less out of the A zone.
For open guns, speed carries a slight advantage over accuracy. NEVER try to make up an A/C into a A/A. Even an odd C/C With good speedwill beat a slower A/C
Got Juice?
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- Location
- Peoples Republik of Kanukkistan
A wise man once said that speed is fine, but accuracy is final. Words to live by. If you are a new shooter, dryfire and mag changes at home will help with mechanics, concentrate on good hits. Speed will come in its own time. When you get to the point of being comfortable, and safe, and hitting 85% or better alphas, feel free to speed up a little, while keeping at 80% alphas.
