"I come ti dance" or Don't Toy with a Sundowner

 "I come to dance...."  Royal Wade Kimes.

It was a beautiful day at Pioneer with the top finishers being Short Keg, Hitch, and QC Carver. Short Keg was undefeated but for three shots by Wyoming Ranger.  I thought I had Short Keg in the finals when with the match tied 2 to 2 and I hit my best draw of the day,  but alas the announcer was slow on the button and the timer failed to registered a time.  Short Keg, ever the gentleman, called a thumb rock on himself, being startled by the quickness of my draw, so the match continued.  On the next shot he showed me that he clearly was the "faster gun" and not to toy with a Sundowner.

 Training Tip:  For an event, never ever change your draw.  I started poorly shooting the first four rounds with a .96 gunfighter rating. (.40 accuracy and .56 speed index). The next 3 rounds were shot with a 1.327 rating (.74 accuracy and .587 speed index).  I did not change my draw in any way just shot the Alleluia System adjusting my alignment only. By the shoot off I was dialed in. I shot the shoot offs with a gunfighter rating of 1.48 (accuracy .90 and speed index of .58).  The tip is never change your draw. Once you change you draw you are lost. Change your alignment before the set command and constantly get better both quickness and accuracy. Shoot the system.  It works.

I stayed focused with the system until the second to last shot when I thought "he is not beating me on speed," which of course led to the world record no time.

Messages Sent:  I am not sure I believe the "thumb rock."  Short Keg has always been such a gentlemen I accept his assertion, but I know he intended to send a message that he was the "faster gun" which he did.  I intended to send the message that if you draw me, you had better hit the plate, because on the mountain we don't practice missing as Wyoming Ranger also showed.

Four Days to Cali.

 This post is for the mtn shooters.  There are four Wednesday left before the California State and Western Territorial and since there are only so many Wednesdays in a lifetime we are not going to waste these four. So we will be shooting Arizona Bigs the next four Wednesday on the mtn.

The Target:  The target will be the CFDA 24 inch target with a 10 inch black circle on it.  Target height will be 45 inches.  We arrive at that height because muzzle height of most shooters is between 38 and 41 inches which means the appropriate target height would be between 44 and 46 inches at 10 feet.  We shoot at 10 feet because "we don't practice missing" on the mtn.  A shooter only benefits from a shot if they see the actual hit.  A miss off of the target is just wasted wax and primer.

Scoring:  A hit on the target nets you the time of the hit.  A hit in the black, including thumb nails, the time is divided by 2.  A clear hit in the light the time is divided by 3.  Winning and time really is not important but we have such a bunch of competitors that it amounts to the heckle factor.  We will not be publishing standings.  But scoring is important to keep the shooters focused.  It matters not only that you hit but where you hit.  The point of Arizona Bigs is to give the shooter the opportunity to improve with every shot and with every match.  By seeing every hit the shooter has the opportunity to store those small incremental changes in the subconscious that are so important in being a tough gunfighter. (See "Chunking Data" May 30, 2016 of this blog)

The Format:  We will shoot Arizona Five.  It uses 25% less range time which means you can get more rounds in.  It also sorts better that other formats.  It also duplicates the pressure you get in a titled match.  You need to hit, and hit right now.  We will shoot two sets of Arizona Five each match.  We are only going to record the score of the first match in the computer.  This was the standard format of the mtn for more than five years until the advent of the marble match.  

2 Shooter or 3 Shooter:  Whether we shoot 2 shooter or 3 shooter matches will depend on the number of shooters we have.  If we have 12 or less we will shoot 2 shooter matches.  If we have 15 or more will shoot 3 shooter matches.

Brackets:  We will be shooting brackets because that is the most efficient type of match.  You will be bracketed by your current 2nd fastest time of the year.  We will have either 2 brackets or 3 brackets.  Since you are going to shooting someone with a comparable speed, you can not slow down if you want to win which every one does.

How to shoot Arizona Bigs:  The point is to allow the shooter to get better with every shot and every match.  You want to use your quickest finalized draw.  Never ever slow down.  You need to improve your quickest draw, not learn how to slow shoot.  Don't worry about your speed.  Just go as quick as you can.  What you got is what you got.  

Never worry about where you are going to hit.  We do not aim.  You will hit where you are aligned. You are so close and the target is so big, don't worry about it.  If you have a solid hit let your subconscious work for you.  You mind and your body will move the hits closer to the black and the light.  You are chunking data on how to walk your hits to the light.  Let it happen.  If you are off the target or if you feel you need to change your alignment do it before the set command.  Then forget it.  If you think about it you will over compensate and you get the wide swings that lead to missing.

Data:  By Thursday morning, I hope to e-mail a spreadsheet that will show the hit percentage, in black percentage, and gunfighter rating of each match and a combined gunfighter rating for the entire day to each shooter. Standings will not be kept or published.  No shoot offs.

"Chunking and automation travel together on the march toward expertise."  The Sports Gene.

Arizona Blockers continued

Don't misunderstand, we shoot for fun. I think the AZ Blockers were a lot of fun.  My perception is that the matches were more competitive than they would have been otherwise.  The scoring opened the door for some shooters to compete with some super fast competitors.  They were still talking the next day about how that .330 got beat by a hit in the black. "Well, you should have been in the black too!"

 

Bias! The Arizona Five has a gunfighter bias. The 10 foot target has a speed bias.  Some would say the scoring has a accuracy bias (a myth).  It all balances out.  "It just practice, man, practice, what are we talking about, practice, man, practice."

But even if you are having fun you might as well be getting better. 

 

Perception vs Reality:   I did a spreadsheet to verify my perception that shooters improved, however it only dealt with hit percentage and "in the black" percentage.  To further verify what I perceived, I have calculated the gunfighter rating for all of the matches.  Generally, the rating of all of the shooters improved  significantly from round 1 to round 7 except for Shady. He started at 1.590 and maintained that near perfect rating in every round.  

 

Improvements:  If we ever do this again one change I will make is to record the fastest actual time as the fastest time on the score sheet.  That will be easy to do and then the fastest time report and bracket report would be available for data analysis.  I think I can modify my spreadsheet to input the fastest time for each match and the computer would automatically compute the rating for each match if I get the formulas correct.  Might be useful.

 

Heh, those obsolete 24 inch targets may be of use to you and you might get better too.  Remember:

Never ever slow down;

Never ever worry about where you are going to hit; you are going hit where you are aligned.

Never ever worry about speed; what you got is what you got, worry only slows you down.

Never ever practice missing;

 

Arizona Blockers

 We tried Arizona Blockers again on the mountain. I think it was very successful for a practice session. I do have some data that would indicate that it does help shooters get better.

The format: We shot Arizona Five which sorts better and put pressure on the shooter to hit right away.  It has a gunfighter bias. There were no matches resulting in a double loses and only one match resulting in a double win out of 27 matches.  We shot two shooter matches, if we had had more shooters we would have shot three shooters matches which have a speed bias.

Targets: We used 24 inch targets set at 10 feet. Target height was 45 inches. The personal target height of the shooters ran from 44 inches to 46 inches so we set the height at 45. The larger targets at a closer distances creates a speed bias.  

Scoring:  The targets had a 10 inch black area with the balance being a different color, red or green. A hit in the colored area resulted in the time displayed. A hit in the black including thumb nails resulted in the time being divided by 2.  A clean hit in the light resulted in the time being divided by 3.

The point of Arizona Blockers is to motivate the shooter to care about where they hit on the target.  This motivation and the practice should result in the shooters getting better as the event progresses.  With several of the shooters it was obvious that they improved significantly during the event.  The final match of the shoot off really showed the results with both shooters hitting 100% with 50% in the black.

Group Data:  My perception was that the shooters improved significantly as the event progressed.  However, perceptions can be incorrect so I put the data in a spreadsheet to confirm what I thought happened.  The group as  whole shot 72% with 24 % in the black in round 1.  Generally the group improved as the event progressed with the best round being round 6 at 85% and 40%.  As I stated before the final match was 100% with 50 % in the black.  There was no lollygagging all day.  Fastest times report ranges from .122 to .337, of course, the scoring affects that report.

I don't know if we will do this again, but "we don't practice missing on the mtn."

Ratings and where are we going???

When I get my hands on score sheets from matches I do gunfighter ratings on the shooters. I have the ratings of 59 shooters who shot at Pioneer in January 2017 and the ratings of 39 shooters who shot on January 2, 2021.

Interesting Trends:  The average hit percentage in 2017 was 41%.  The average hit percentage in 2021 was 41%.  The average speed index in 2017 was .38. In 2021, the average speed index was .47.  What this tells me is that our accuracy has not improved but our speed has.  The average shooter has moved from being a low 6 shooter to a low/mid 5 shooter.   

Ratings:  Generally, a rating of 1.0 or above will put you in the top 15% of shooters. In the 2017 shoot, there were 5 shooters (8%) at 1.0 or better. In the 2021 shoot, there were 6 shooters (15%) at 1.0 or better. Expanding the view to .97 or better, results in 18% of the shooters being included in both 2017 and 2021.   Final two shooters in 2017 were at 1.27 and 1.208. Final two shooters in 2021 were at 1.34 and 1.26.  (I might add the top shooter at 2021 event followed up with a 1.41 rating in his next 37 shooter event.)

How do you rate?  It is really easy to do. You combine an accuracy index with a comparable speed index.  The accuracy index is simply your hit percentage.  For the speed index, in order to have a comparable number, you subtract the speed from the number of 1.  For example, a shooter shooting .325 would have a speed index of .675, a .5 shooter would have a speed index of .5, a .700 shooter would have a speed index of .30.

What speed do you use?  The easiest number to use is the speed listed in the bracket report which is your second fastest time.

It really does not matter how you get your rating. A 7 shooter hitting 70% will have a rating of 1.0. A 3 flat shooter hitting 30% will have a rating of 1.0.  Those are evenly matched gunfighters.

 

Where to?  The numbers seem to reflect our obsession with speed.  Speed has improved but accuracy has not.  At Shady Mtn we never practice accuracy, only speed, but we try to avoid practicing missing.  If you see every hit you mind and body will naturally move your hits to the light. Practicing at championship distance and missing 70 % of your shots means you have wasted that wax unless you can actually see the exact location of your hit.  Average hit percentage for an Alleluia shooter ought to be 80% without ever practicing accuracy.

Dishearten on the Mtn!

 Many times it is more important to find out what does not work than what does.  I was somewhat dishearten how poorly Arizona Bigs worked but the sun came up this morning anyway.

Color:  Neither the red nor the green allowed the shooters to consistently see their hits which was the point of the target.  I think if we do this again we will have to go with all black targets with some sort of inscribed circle

Overall Results:  We shot four rounds. In rounds one and two, the hit percentage was 45% and 40% which is no better than the CFDA average for titled events.  The targets completely failed to allow the shooters to improve during a match.  I attribute this  in part to the color of the targets.  I was so disappointed that I moved the shooters to 10 feet for rounds 3 and 4 and the hit percentage improved to 57% and 55%, better, but not what you would expect.

Fundamental Error:  When I moved the shooters to 10 feet I did not adjust the target height.  I should have adjusted the target height to 44 inches which would be the standard for a typical CFDA shooter but did not do so.  This probably accounts for the poor shooting.  A clear example was the poster shooter, who hit 75% at 15 feet but hit 0% at 10 feet.  Having the targets at the incorrect target height is going to hurt the shooter with the more finalized draw more.

Individual Results:  The current National Champion crushed these targets hitting 80% with 25% of his hits in the black. You would expect these results because he has been using this training technique for years on blocker targets.  Only one shooter had a higher in the black percentage than his hit percentage.  Half of the shooters had a hit percentage above the CFDA average.  

Grumblings:  There were several instances where a quicker shooter lost to a "in the black" shooter.   The point of the match is to train the shooter to stay focus and put them "in the black."  Looking at the fastest time report, there was no lollygagging.  Nine out of ten shooters had in the black times.

I will post the results on the mountain.

Arizona Bigs

 The knock against blocker targets among CFDA shooters is that they ruin your draw for professional events.  Many of the good shooters in the valley of the sun refuse to shoot blockers for that reason. However, blockers can be beneficial for training if you have the proper focus. The advantages can be that:

 1. Because of the large size you see the actual hit of most of your shots.  If you see the actual hit, your mind and body will adjust your draw to bring the shots onto the center of the target.  A shooter that is hitting 30% on a small target is wasting 70% of his wax, his effort and his time.  Why not hit 100% and get the benefit of the subconscious moving the hits to the light.

2.  Because of the large size of the target, some of the stress of trying to hit the target is removed.  When we shoot up close at 5 feet and then move back to 15 feet, our times are always much slower than what is accounted for by the distance.  The additional time results from the stress of trying to hit the target.  Larger targets remove some of this additional stress.

ARIZONA BIGS:  The target is a standard 24 inch CFDA target with a 10 inch black circle in the middle.  We initially painted the outer circle grey which did not work well.  We are experimenting with red or green.  The grey color did not allow the shooter to see the hits which is the whole point of the target.  If the shooter hits "in the black" the time is divided by 2.  If he hits in the outer circle he gets  that time. 

The target is designed to be shot at 10 feet but we probably will be shooting it at 15 feet.  At 10 feet target height is 44 5/16 based on the CFDA's calculation of standard muzzle height of 39".  At 15 feet target height would be 47".  Shooters would benefit more at 10 feet because higher hit percentage, but there seems to be some resistances to that distance so we will try it at 15.

Poster Shooter:  At our first test Holli Day hit 93% of 14 shots, her first shot being .375 and her final shot being .348.  Her final 5 shots were all "in the black" and were all within a 3 inch circle.  The speed was not remarkable, but the  consistency was.  She got better and better, quicker and more accurate.  That is the point of the target.  The goal is to finalize your draw and to walk your hits to the light.

"We don't practice missing and we don't lollygag." Alleluia Ruah

Seven day Update

 I write this post because I said I would and to record my thoughts for myself.  There is really about four changes going on which I will try to segregate.

The Holster:  I think the Max 3 is about 10 millisecond slower than the Max 2 for me right now. That is really pretty good considering I have only 7 days and 250 rounds into it.   That number comes from my mean time on 15 test rounds starting first thing in the morning.  Couple things that I have noted.  The Max 3 has considerable barrel wobble and a significant butt wobble.  I think this comes from the fact that my competition guns do not have sights.  I tried a New Vaquero with sights on it and the gun was secure both for barrel wobble and butt wobble.  The barrel wobble I don't think will be a problem but the butt wobble was definitely a distraction for me between the set command and the light. WOW suggested a small slot for the trigger guard.  I did this by Dremel and I think that has solved the butt wobble.

If you order a Max 3 and you do not have sights on your guns I would suggest you tell Ernie that and he may adjust for that.  I think the barrel wobble is within limits but if it is not, a leather strip will have to be added in the boot.

The Draw:  I am trying to draw nearer the pocket. From the gunfighter badge, it is clear that I am not there yet.  The higher holster and new stance has resulted in the badge being higher on side.  I will continue to work on this.  I want to get down to where Hi Strung is on this. Less gun travel should mean quicker.

The Stance:  I am trying to shoot from a more upright stance.  This moves the barrel forward and is easier on my old body.  When I shoot the new stance I am pretty accurate.  The problem is that I tend to lose focus and revert back to old stance trying to go fast.  This is what happened at the Four Corners.  Yesterday, shooting in two competitive matches I shot 21 rounds at 95% accuracy with no hit less than 6 inches from the light.  All shots were from the new stance, no lapses of focus.  I have thirty days to finalize this new stance.  Should be enough time.  I posted previously I am now doing bucket work from 10 feet on the light.  I think that has helped.  It is important that I stay focus and not try to lean back for speed. 

Post Set Command Routine:  I am using a new post set command routine. On average, I would say that it is about 20 to 30 mls quicker. Yesterday, my last three shots at championship distance were almost identical times which were about 25 mls quicker than what is normal for me.

Fairly happy with the progress.

Just remember "I ain't as slow as I look," and "I don't practice missing!"

Final Update:  I have given the Max III a fair trial and have not gotten any improvement of speed from the holster.  I have returned to the Max II.  I have improved timewise because of the new post set comment routine.  Today baseline was .363 twice to .385 with the Max II.

Update New Bucket

With my new holster I have been hitting about 20% at championship distance. Generally, I have been missing high and my close work has not solved the problem.  I thought I might try bucket work at 10 feet.  My calculated target height is 45 inches so I drew two lines one at 40 inches and one at 50 inches.  This is my target area. It would be the same as a 21 inch target at 21 feet. I also used the light by setting the target in front of a light and making a hole for the light. Here is first 20 round session.

I hit all twenty shots so bucket work at 10 feet seems to help. Generally my groups got better later in the set.  I am about 10-15 mls slower with the new holster.  Hope it picks up.

I have been using a new post set command routine.  Seems improve times but also results in high misses. 

Will keep you posted. So far have not seen that speed.

Starting Over with MAX III

Two weeks prior to the Springs I went back to the bucket but was not a fully engaged. It was enough to take me three days without a loss until my good friend, Buzzard, brought me back to reality in the final round of the main match of the Colorado State.  Ernie was watching and he suggested that he thought the Max III would bring me some additional speed.  Not one to avoid a challenge I am starting over with the new holster.  My goal is to be a 160/160/23 shooter in 30 days.  We shall see.

My plan is to get back to the bucket at least three days a week, with mirror and reaction training intersperse during the week.  Some of you may have noticed that on my practice gun which I shot clean in the jackpot shoot, I had a velco strip.  This is to hold a piezo for reaction practice. It has not seemed to help in the past but I am going give it another try.  I am a 200/200/23 shooter now.  I need to improve my reaction time.  Ernie thinks the Max3 will improve the draw time.

The Draw:  I have not been at the lip since 2016 and since the new holster is a little higher it seems to be a good time to get back there. To comply with Rule 17, I have straighten my stance a bit.  The main problem I have now is that some times I lose my focus and I will revert to my old stance.  One can not change draws or stances in the middle of an event.  30 days of bucket work should finalize this draw from a new holster.

 

I shoot the Alleluia Training and Competition System.  It does work.  I will start anew as soon as I get the Max3. I intend to post how it is going ever 7 days in the comments to this post. The gunfight on the Niobrara will tell the tale.

Just remember "I ain't as slow as I look." 

 

First Update:  I had a pretty good session on the mtn with the Max 2 today.  I started off with a .089 anticipation then followed it up with 13 hits within 6 inch circle with times ranging from .366 to .389.  I was using a new routine after the set command which seems to work.  Mean time was .377. I will use this as a base line to evaluate the Max 3.  

I received the Max 3 in the mail from Ernie this afternoon.  My initial impression is that it is going to be quicker.  We shall see.  Here is the difference:

Max 2:

 

Max 3:

My initial impression is that it will be quicker.  In the mirror it seems to set the cylinder of the gun right over the pocket which means the muzzle clearly extends past the lip.  I am going forego the flash guard for a while to use the gunfighter badge to gauge the location of the cylinder.  It is three months early for grail fever, but what the hey, Fallon has been cancelled.

Stressors

I write this post at the prompting of Fowl Shot because he commented on a photo of Deadeye Daisy and I shooting in the final match of the jackpot shoot at Colorado. We were shooting for a CFDA gun.  The match was a repeat of the final match for the 2020 National Gunfigther Championship.  The result was the same.

I should have no chance against Deadeye Daisy because she is 20 millisecoonds quicker than me but so far I am winning.  The only reason I win is that she has not yet learned that she is the better gunfigther. There are quite a few gunslingers out there that are in the same position.  Once they learn they are quicker, I will have no chance.  That is what has happened with Shady. I used to be able to handle him, but now he knows he is 10 mls quicker and 10 mls is an eternity in fastdraw. Confidence is so important in fastdraw.  You have to believe you are the better gunslinger or you have no chance.

An interesting match at the Colorado State was the match in the finals between Deadeye Daisy and Flying Cowgirl.  Generally, Deadeye Daisy is more accurate and Flying Cowgirl is quicker. I have not talked to them about the match but I know what was going through their minds by just watching the match and the results.  There was little stress on Deadeye because she knew she was the slower shooter and if Cowgirl won she would be proud and happy for her daughter.  Flying Cowgirl on the other hand had to deal with the stress of wanting to hit the target.  She knew her mother was more accurate and if she wanted to win she had to hit the target.  Deadeye was free and loose and was just going shoot her quickest, that was all she could do. Cowgirl was careful because she knew she had to hit the target.  There was the stress of "I got to hit the target."  Deadeye Daisy won the match relatively easily on speed hitting down into the .38s while Cowgirl was shooting in the low 4s. For perspective, at their best, Deadeye will be down into the .38s and Cowgirl down into the .35s.

To be competitive, a gunfighter must deal with stress.  I do this by using the Alleluia Training and Competition System. It does work.  I am always looking for shooters who want to learn the system. Right now I have my eye on two shooters, one male and one female, who by the Arizona State should be Mag 7 shooters. Whether they want to try remains to be seen.  It is not easy. It is easy to learn, but to shoot it consistently is another matter.

My poor shooting at the Four Corners Territorial resulted from my abandonment of the Alleluia Training and Competition System.  It is easy to lose your focus.  It was my event to win, all I had to do was shoot average but I lost my focus and abandoned the system.

Now that I have told all these shooters that they can beat, just remember, "I ain't as slow as I look."

"We don't practice missing!"

I am training a new level three shooter and I think it is a good opportunity to reiterate why we don't practice missing. This shooter has just started one handed shooting and has about 300 rounds into it. He is pretty well finalized when this video was made and the one handed draw is now his preferred draw.

When you practice you should always go as quick as you can, never ever slow down.  Never ever worry about where you are going to hit, the wax will go where ever you are aligned.  You can not practice accuracy, don't try.  Just trust your draw.

I prefer to shoot close so that you see every hit.  If you see every hit your mind and your body will move the hits to the light.  Let your subconscious work for you.  It will.  By shooting close you get those small incremental changes by your subconscious.  Don't worry about where you are going to hit.  If change is needed, it should be only by alignment before the set command.

I actually prefer shooting on card board without the light and close.  This removes the stress of trying to hit the target and the stress of racing the clock, both of which slows down your progress to a finalized draw.

Now for the video:  Notice that his first shot is a .581 at the bottom of the target.  Now he did not have to change his draw or do anything, he just let his subconscious move the next hit up on the target at a respectable .641. His next two shots were essentially at the same area of the target with his fastest time being a .509.  His fifth shot is interesting because his mentor told him he had a new PR so he tried to race the clock and missed.

What did this shooter learn from the five shot set. Well, for the first four shots his subconscious was storing data on how to move the hits to the light.  He learned nothing from the fifth shot. He was just practicing missing.

This new shooter is well on his way to a finalized draw.  My expectation for him is that he will be shooting at 80% without ever trying to be accurate.  He only practices to go as quick as he can. PRs for him will come in spurts as he matures as a gunfighter.  He has already shown signs of mental toughness which is a skill you can practice.

Bring me another shooter!

Here we go again! Or What is a miss worth?

I shot pretty well at Rio. Lost the first match but then stayed focused for the next 9 matches.  I was the 5th quickest shooter out of 33 but got that lucky 3rd seed in the shoot-offs.  Defeated in short order the .36 shooter, the .34 shooter and then another .34 shooter for the win.  It helped that  there was a little money on the line.

I am not going to bore you with why except to say the system prevails.  See my May, 2019, post "Flusters."   "Ahmo" and "Never Slow Down," are also worth the read.

What is a miss worth?  Some shooters get angry when they miss, some start changing their draw, and some get flustered. They are missing the point of a miss.  A miss is just an opportunity to excel.  It is a signal to the shooter that they need to make a minor adjustment in their alignment. That is all.  No need to change, no need to get angry, no need to be flustered.  Just adjust your alignment and walk the hits to the light.

I have heard that 50% is good enough or maybe 60 % but if that is your goal you will not be competitive.  100% is not even good enough. You can always shoot better.  BUT never practice accuracy.  Never ever slow down!  You will hit where you are aligned. Don't worry about it, just learn to adjust you alignment before the set command.  Those misses are valuable. They tell you how to adjust your alignment.

Some have ask how I stay so focused.  It is no secret. I have written about it.  It is just the system. It is progressive. You should get better and better the longer the event goes. By the final match you should be shooting your quickest at 100% accuracy.  Bring me another shooter!

AHMO, locked elbow and the flail.

Every gunslingers has lists. Generally, there is the "I can handle him" list, the "I don't know if I can handle him" list, and the "I can't handle him" list.  To be competitive, you have to move all the other shooters in the field to the first list. It is just a matter of attitude.  You need to truly believe that you are the toughest gunfighter there.  It does not matter whether you are shooting the World Champion or the most accurate shooter in the field, you are the toughest and will prevail.

There are some great lines in the movie Unforgiven:

Little Bill: "That is about as fast as I can draw and hit anything." 

Biographer: "But what if the other shooter is quicker than you."

Little Bill: "Then he will miss. It is not easy to shoot a man." 

Little Bill ruled Big Whiskey not because he was the quickest but because he was the toughest gunfighter there.

I took Dismal to his football training camp at the Wylie Pirates' facility.  Every where was the slogan "AHMO" so I ask what it meant. I was told it was from a fiery talk the head coach gave in the 1970s which came from the comedy show "Laugh In."  The full quote is "AHMO kick your butt."  I may be nice to you before the match and I sure will be nice to you after the match, but at the set command AHMO and I don't care who you are, you are on my first list.

The photos from the Southern and National are great for evaluating form. Here are a couple Shady Mtn shooters:

Although John does not acknowledge the locked elbow draw he shoots it since he has gotten down into the threes.  Powder Keg shoots it. Note the locked elbow, the stable anchor point and the level forearm and gun.  Old West and Powder Keg will drill the center of the target.  Powder Keg is shooting the fasting gun at the event, who shoots the flail.  Note in the last photo, the flail is complete, wax long gone, high/low who knows when the locked elbow shooter fires.  He will drill the center of the target with a level shot.  Dismal is here just to show a good two handed locked elbow draw.

See you on the line.  AHMO!

Flusters!

I write because it is fresh in my mind and maybe there is a nugget or two rambling around in there.  At Pioneer I shot fairly well. I was the 6th quickest shooter there out of 48 shooters. The draw was favorable, but I did shoot against 3 of the quicker shooters.  For 7 of my 9 matches, I stayed focused and shot the Alleluia Competition and Training system. For those seven matches it was mostly three up and three down, averaging just a little over three shots a match.  

But in two matches, I lost my focus and got flustered.  Why?  With all of my training and competition, it should not happen. Why?

In the Bracket A shoot off, Dirty Dan was mowing them down.  I think he won 5 matches in a row.  Then, for some reason he lost his focus. I do not know for sure, but as he was moving up the bracket in his sixth match, he lost a shot on quickness. I would guess that caused him to  worry about speed.  That is my guess, that worry disrupted his focus.  He was no longer the toughest gunfighter on the line.

In the 5th seeding round I drew Shady.  We shoot together so much and I wanted to out quick him so much, I strayed from the system.  Loss of focus, loss of match.  But it was a fun match, all four of the winning hits were decided on quickness. (Shady Mtn shooters don't practice missing.) 

In the Bracket A shoot-offs the only shooters that worried me were Dirty Dan and Rodeo Romeo. Dirty Dan did not reach me.  Under normal circumstances, I should have no chance against Rodeo. He is 70 mls quicker than me and normally better than 60%. But in this event I had the opportunity to shoot the 4th seeded shooter and the 2nd seeded shooter (The Rustler, another Shady Mtn Shooter) before shooting against Rodeo.  Those shooters were dispatched in 6 shots, all within 3 inches of the center of the light.  My guess is that caused Rodeo to worry about hitting.  If I would have stayed focus it should have been resolved in 4 but was resolved in 8 shots. I credit my hand judge, Doc, for walking me back onto the target,  A good hand judge is priceless in a tough gunfight.

The point of this post is that worry about anything will cause you to lose your focus.  Worrying about your opponent will do you in, worrying about quickness will do you in, worrying about  hitting will do you in!  Trying to hit will not help you hit.  Trying to go quick will not help you be quick.  You need to stay focused.  For Alleluia shooters, shoot the system.  It is designed to keep you focused.  Now, if only I could heed my own advice.

Never Ever Slow Down!

Shady/Ruah Speed Run:  For those of you that practice with a training buddy you might try the Shady/Ruah run.  You start at 5 five feet from the target on the light.  You are so close that it takes away all of the stress of trying to hit the target. You shoot your normal finalized draw. You are not changing your draw or thinking about the draw for any reason.  You  are just going as quick as you can from your subconscious.  If you are thinking of your draw for any reason, you will not get the benefit of this drill. The only thing you are trying to do is catch the light.  Hopefully you will be shooting without the stress of trying the hit the target and the stress of trying to go fast.  Your true potential should come forth because you are without the two stressors that hold us back.

If your muzzle height is 43 inches or less your target area is the lower right quarter for right handed and lower left quarter for left handed shooters.  That is because the bullet needs to rise to  the center of the target at 15 feet.  For shooter with muzzle height of 44 inches and higher, target area is just below the light.

After five shots, you move back to 10 feet.  Again don't worry about hitting.  Don't worry about your draw. Just practice catching the light. By now your draw should be really in the groove.  For some reason, I am quicker at 10 feet than I am at 5 feet. 

After five shots at ten feet move back to 15 feet.  If you can keep the same mind set, you will find that you are just as accurate at 15 feet as at 5 feet.  That is if you can just shoot from the subconscious.  Worrying about hitting is what causes us to be less accurate and for that matter slower.  Worrying is what cause the 2 up fluster and those missing streaks we have all had.

On Shady Mtn we never practice accuracy but average for us is 80%.  We are all more accurate than we shoot because let our mind get in the way.  It is not unusual for the competitors in a Shady/Ruah run to hit 30 for 30. Once you are in the groove you should stay in the groove.

The Levi One Step:  For those who don't have a training partner you might try Rodeo Romeo's 3,6,9... drill.  He starts at 3 feet and continues to shoot at 3 feet until he hits the target five shots in a row.  Then he moves back to 6 feet and again shoots until he hits 5 in a row.  As to speed he tries to duplicate the 3 feet times.  When he hits a 5 shot set he moves back to 9 feet and so on back to 15 feet.  It is a great training routine, except I do not like the emphasis on hitting. I would suggest you move back no matter what you hit.  Accuracy does not matter!  I would say "Don't worry about hitting, hitting will take care of itself, just shoot from the subconscious getting on the light."  You want to find that subconscious groove and walk in back to championship distance.

"Never Ever Slow Down!"   Alleluia Ruah

Saga of Tishminga

Just had to use that title, Tishminga is such a great name.  Hope she does not mind but yesterday was such a great illustration for those who want to be competitive.  I had the privilege of hand judging Tishminga for four matches in a row at the Camp Bounty shoot.

In the first match she was high left, then low right, then high left and then low right, all by a wide margin.  It was obvious to me that she was thinking during her draw and shooting right where she was thinking. So I counseled her to stop thinking.

In the second match I told her just to draw and shoot and not worry where she was going to hit, I would line her up on the target. She did not need to think about hitting, I would take care of that.  I have used this technique before, it especially works well with a new shooter with a good stance and a stable draw.  You can normally sight them just like you would a gun.  If you can get them to not think about where they are going to hit, then it is just an alignment issue and it is normally easy to walk them right onto the target.

We continued on into the third and fourth match with Tishminga either on the target or just a little off, no wide swings.  I did notice that she was hesitating a bit to aim her gun. Generally, the aimed shots were a misses whereas when she just drew and shot she would be right where I had aligned her.  We do not aim!!!!!!! We draw and fire wherever we are aligned.  

You need to make your alignment adjustment before the set command.  Then forget about it. Never worry about where you are going to hit. Thinking about where you are going to hit only causes you to miss and to be slow.  No thinking after the set command.

Tishminga got more accurate and quicker as the shoot when on.  After four rounds, I was on the line at the same time, but did note she handily sent her opponent to boot hill.

Don't think!
Don't aim!
Just draw and fire!
You will hit because you are aligned on the target!

The Finalized Draw.

I  think I may have turned some heads in Nebraska.  In one match I put a shot low on the plate and then followed it up with two more in the same hole.  You could have cover all three shots with a quarter. The sign of a finalized draw.  In another match, I put a hit just to the left of the light, about a half inch from the light, then put the second hit about a half inch from the light on the right and said to my hand judge "Next one in the middle."  The third shot was exactly in the middle although a little low.  The hand judge was still talking about it the next day, although really, "I was just foolin about" when I made the comment.
I don't know if it help me, the hand judge hit 80% as he put me out of the contest in two successive rounds the next day.

Although I brag about my finalized draw that is not to say I didn't have any accuracy problems.  The three shot quarter shots came when I was down 2 shots, having missed the first three.  At a venue like Nebraska, which is the toughest venue on the circuit, you just can't see your misses. If you have a finalized draw and your alignment is off you can go through match without hitting a shot. 

I had more than one match where I and the hand judge thought I was high when in fact I was low.  If you are off just a bit you can consistently drill those shots into successive misses. But don't ever change the draw.  The problem is the alignment, not the draw.  If you start changing the draw you are lost.  You will never be accurate.

All I can suggest if you are missing and can't find the target, guess. At Kansas, on the south range that has the same problem as Nebraska, I missed about ten in a row thinking I was shooting high. Finally I guessed, maybe I am low, and I was and then put three on the plate.  Don't have blind faith in the hand judge.  Many times a low hit right under the target will look like a high hit to the hand judge because the backstop above the target will move.  On range A, lane 4 at Nebraska, you will see a hit high and right because of a defect in the ballistic. I still have not figured out whether that is true hit or just the way the ballistic moves on a miss any where.

If you have a finalized draw you can still struggle to find the target.  Don't give up.  Help is on the way.  At Nebraska it is impossible to see your misses at 21 feet.  But the second chance match was shot at 15 feet and you could see ever hit, on the plate or on the backstop.  With the move to 15 feet at the World you can expect a much better hit percentage by all shooters because all will be able to see the exact location of the misses.  For us finalized draw shooters, it should be a walk in the park, just like shooting at the camp with that 8 by 40 foot wall.

Remember, "We don't practice missing!"

Train to Win: Loverboy's Slump

At a recent shoot at the Camp, we had 17 of the toughest gunslingers in the valley. Rodeo Romeo was probably the quickest shooter there, but finished 7th. Afterwards on facebook he commented that he has "accuracy issues and needs to go back to the wall."  Rodeo does not have any accuracy issues. He is one of the most accurate shooters in the CFDA. When he hits early he will normally follow up with two more hits almost on top of the first, three hits, and he is done. It is the sign of a finalized draw.

Rodeo's slump stems from one or more of three issues: 1) alignment, 2) mental toughness, and 3) temper.

Alignment:  When Rodeo's first shot is high on the target, he will follow it with 2 more high on the target.  When his first shot is low on the target, he will follow it with two more low on the target. If he is shooting at 21 feet all will be within 3 inches, at 15 feet all will be within 2 inches.  It is the sign of a finalized and accurate draw.  But if his early shots are off of the target, he struggles.  He is like Albert Pujols trying to hit Jenny Finch.  Because his practice has been so focused on speed and accuracy, he does not have chunked data in his subconscious on how to walk his hits to the target.  He needs to store data on how the make those small incremental alignment changes that will bring the hits to the target and once on the target to the light.   With the wall, Rodeo has no excuse to be less than 80% at any speed.  If the first shot is a miss, his second should be on the target, next shot should be closer to the light, next shot in the light, and then sit down because of his speed.

Elevation:  For most folks, I suggest that they determine their target height then draw two lines, one 3 inches above and one 3 inches below the target height and shoot 50 rounds from 6 feet. An average shooter will start out with 40%  in target zone for first 15-20 rounds then move to 60% and then by last 10 shots be 100% in the target zone, all done without thinking about it. Let the subconscious do the work. One inch change at 6 feet equals about 4 inches at 21 feet.  This drill will probably not work for Levi because he is so accurate. He will put the first shot at the target height and follow it with 49 more in the target zone. What will he have learned, little.

For Levi I suggest he shoot at 6 feet and at a 17 inch or blocker target.  Draw a line 3 inches above the center of light and a line 3 inches below the center of the light.  For first five shots, the target is the area below the bottom line.  First shot is a guess. He needs to adjust the elevation before set command however he does that. Do not aim! Do not think! Adjust the elevation, waggle and draw! The shot will go where ever it is aligned. Keep adjusting until the hits are below line.  For Levi, for the next five shots, the target is the area above the top line.  For the third five shots, target is the middle six inch area.  Do three sets of 15.  The point is to store data on how to make small incremental adjustments prior to the set command so that you can walk your hits to the light.  Do not adjust by aiming!  Do not adjust by thinking!  Make the adjustment, then let the shot go where the alignment takes it.  Make all adjustments before the set command, then forget them.

Right and Left:  I normally do not concern myself with right or left when I practice because those adjustments are so easy to make.  But some shooters struggle with it so I will cover it.  Right or left adjustments are made by rotating your stance. For me one degree of rotation equals about 4 inches of movement at 21 feet.  I wrote a earlier post on this.  Adjustment right or left again should be made before the set command.  
 

A good drill for this is to shoot cross target. See my post on this.

If you are trying to adjust right or left by changing your draw you will be hopeless lost.  Never ever change your draw to adjust. All adjustments should be by alignment and done before the set command.

Mental Toughness:  When Rodeo is on, mentally tough, he will put three on the plate at .35 speed or less all within a 2-3 inch circle.  He is shooting from his subconscious.  When he is struggling he will shoot at .38 speed and where he hits is just a matter of chance. "Any thinking will transform an expert into a novice."  The Sports Gene. When he is struggling he has moved from shooting from the subconscious to shooting from the frontal lobe. He is thinking about it.

If you are missing to the left, and you think about it while you are making your draw you will hit exactly where your mind has told your body to shoot, and you will miss to the right.  Shooting from the frontal lobe results in wide swings. First, a miss to the right, then a miss to the left, then a high miss, then a low miss.  The body does what the mind tells it to do.   You also run the risk of changing your draw.  Once you start changing your draw you are lost to the agonies of the mind.

A pre-shot routine is essential to mental toughness. I have given you mine in a prior post.  Walking the hits to the light is not about accuracy, it is about mental toughness.  Evaluate, adjust, waggle, (no thinking after the waggle), coiled spring, shot will go where alignment takes it, normally closer to the light than the last.

Temper:  I have noticed that Rodeo has a temper.  When he is struggling, he will get mad at himself.  This does not help. The last shot is water under the bridge.  Anger will only be a disruption of mental toughness. 

I struggle many times when my first shot is near perfect.  A perfect first shot disrupts my pre-shot routine. I have no adjustments to make.  A miss is just a opportunity to get useful information on our alignment so we can continue our stroll to the light.  Once  you have evaluated a miss for alignment information, forget it.  It is just a distraction.

Rodeo Romeo, who I believe to be one of the few shooters capable of being a true 3 flat shooter (.25 to .35 at 80%) gave me permission to write this post.  I greatly appreciate his permission.  After he wins World, he is going teach me to go fast!

If you want to go fast, go to the Camp.......!

Train to Win: Where do we go from here?

Rodeo Romeo and I do not disagree on much when it comes too fastdraw, but he has said that if there is another human being doing something then he can do it too if he works hard enough, or words to that effect.  That is also the premise of the book "The Sports Gene," in the first few chapters, that it is all about learning and practice.  Then the author destroys that premise by showing that top performance sometimes results from genes, such as the cow stealing tribe in Kenyan that produce elite runners.

The truth is we are all given certain talents and abilities and how far we go depends on those abilities as well as how we use them. At Shady Mtn I have tested the reaction times and draw times of most of the shooters. It is an elite set of champions. The two fastest reaction times were Holli Day and her mother, Troublemaker.


Holli Day is a 175/150/30 shooter when she shoots to her ability. Troublemaker is a 180/400/30  shooter when on.  That is reaction time/draw time/flight time or .355 and .610 respectively. Where do we go from here?

Troublemaker has the most clear cut decision to make.  At the Colorado State Championship, she missed a total of five shots for the entire event and finished 2nd. She can keep her current draw and become a solid 6 flat shooter.  With enough events clearly she can move into the top ten of Top Gun shooters as 6 flat shooter.  She will be at the top of most events if she is shooting 80% or better.  Her choice is between staying with her current draw and being a top shooter with that draw or totally abandoning the draw to learn a draw that will move her down to maybe a 5 flat shooter or even a 4 flat shooter.  The room for improvement is clearly in her draw time.



Half Cock Willie (7th in Four Corners Territorial) faces a similar decision. He can stay where he is at as a 5 flat shooter, or abandon that draw to move to one with more potential.

I face a similar decision.  I am a 200/200/30 shooter. I have tried and tried to improve reaction time.  My only place for gain is draw time.  200/150/30 would be nice. My mentor is itching to tear down and rebuild. Been down that road before.

The point of this post is that after World a shooter should evaluate where they want to go in this sport.  It helps to know your reaction time/draw time/flight time.  You can get those by using a program such as coach's eye.  If you are in the Valley of the Sun, see me and I will video you and calculate those for you.   That information would be useful in trying to decide what to work on.

Rodeo says it takes at least 21 days to form a new habit and hence at least 21 days to rebuild your draw after abandonment. I agree with the "at least" statement.  Back to the premise, maybe you are at the limit of your ability, but you will not know until you try. Loverboy and Doc are on me constantly to get faster. We will see come October 11.