"Strategies for Improving Performance: Increasing Scores, Reducing Raw Times, and Throwing Mikes"

So you want to score higher in Action Pistol Competitions. These matches are scored on two factors: Time and Accuracy. Simple answer: Go faster and shoot more accurately. Of course this is easier said than done but here are five quick tips that might help out.

Shot Timer

First off: If it's not measured, it's not managed. This old saying can be applied to about anything that somebody is looking to improve. With anything in life that you wish to get better at, know where you stand currently and know what your goals are. When I first got into Action Pistol I couldn't hit the broad side of a barn. That is the level of shooting that I was performing at during those times. My goal was pretty simple, start hitting the targets. Once I achieved that goal on a regular basis, I set a new goal, hitting the alpha zone of the targets with both shots. Once I could do that, I would set a new goal. And so on and so on... Want to get better? Know where you are and know where you want to be.

Second: Don't reinvent the wheel. So the big picture goal is to go faster and be more accurate. There is always somebody that can outshoot me, out run me, set better stage plans and just plain old be better at putting points on the board. These shooters are nothing short of incredible. They have spent thousands of hours honing their craft. Want to shoot like them? Then literally go out and shoot like them. We have a great group that we shoot with regularly and we often have people videoing our runs. I had a video of myself and a video of another, much faster competitor running the same stage. I watched the two of us go through the stage many, many times, over and over, side by side. I was able to pick up on several differences in our movements, how we draw, how we stop to shoot or don't stop at all. And now I have adapted my movements to be similar to his. This will help me to move up to his speed. I can do this with more than one shooter also. There are plenty of recordings on Youtube of the top shooters in the world. Want to shoot like them? Go ahead and shoot like them. Remember when you were in Little League pretending to bat like Babe Ruth? Now I'm 42 pretending to shoot like Jay Beal.

Third: Dry Fire, Dry Fire, Dry Fire. Practice, Practice, Practice. Experience is the best teacher. I used to shoot once a year and I really didn't even know how poor I was with a handgun. Then we started attending Wednesday Night Practices at CCSSEF once a week. This helped me get significantly better. Four practices a month, fifty-two a year is a significant increase. Then we started shooting Action Pistol competitions one weekend a month and Steel Challenge Matches once a month, so that makes six events per month or seventy-two per year. Want to get faster? Dry fire at home. (No ammo should be present when practicing at home.) When I was comparing videos of myself vs faster shooters, I had noticed that they get their first shot off a full second faster than me. I didn't like that so I would go into my basement for 20 minutes a day an practice drawing my pistol, taking aim at anything in the room and pulling the trigger. This made major improvements in my par times. You can even set up your own mini practice range at home. Practice transitions. Practice moving and staying on target. Everything you do adds experience and experience gets results.

Fourth: Minimize your movements. One evening at practice I was in the box and told to "Make Ready". I drew, loaded, chambered and reholstered. I thought I was ready. The RSO that was running the stage stopped me at this point to give me some solid advice. He said "when the timer sounds, where are you going?" I pointed to the first shooting position approximately fifteen feet away and he replied "set your body up like a sprinter ready to lunge". Don't stand up straight, get the beep and then have to get into position to take action. Bend your knees like a cat ready to pounce into action, get the beep and go like hell.

Raw Time

Fifth on this list has become our motto for the summer: Raw Time is how long it took the shooter to proceed through the course of fire. In the wise words of Action Dan, "You can't beat the fastest shooter if you don't go as fast as the fastest shooter". He is right. He explained this to me a bit ago. If I am running the course and shooting all Alphas (Bulls-eyes) then I am not running fast enough or trying hard enough. Step it up a notch. Run fast enough that you are throwing Deltas (outside rim) and maybe even some Mikes (missed the target all together). Deltas and Mikes really hurt your score but the pace you ran the course is what is important for this practice. Keep practicing at that pace and eventually those Deltas will become Charlies and then Alphas. Then it is time to go faster again. I think this is the best advice I have ever gotten in competitive shooting. I am currently at a stage in my practice where I am drawing and firing so quickly that I often cannot tell if I am putting the first round on paper or not. This is not blazing fast compared to some other shooters but it is faster than my comfort zone and that's the whole idea. Its ok to miss in practice. It's ok to fail. If you aren't pushing yourself to the point of failure then you really aren't training hard enough. I can hear some folks talking now and I do want to be clear that safety should never be compromised but the only way to be faster is to simply go faster.

I think if you use these five tips, you cannot help but increase your scores when the next competition comes around. I would also encourage you to get out and shoot with people who are better than you. I believe you are missing out on a significant advantage if you don't have somebody to chase or somebody pushing you.

If you are still looking for some solid reasons to come shooting with us: Maybe these are the four reasons your looking for. CLICK HERE.

Questions, concerns or comments? Think I missed the mark or believe you have some additional tips that might help a fellow shooter out? Leave a comment.

And as always, if you made it this far, thank you for your time and I look forward to meeting you out on the range.

Action Pistol practice every Wednesday night from 6pm until dusk. It's $5.00 and you don't have to be a range member. The Competition Schedule is listed on the home page of this website, currently costs $25.00 and happen twice a month. All are welcome. Steel Challenge and Practical Competition Shooting League (PCSL)

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