Skill Set: Shooting Tempo....Tiger McKee

Skill Set: Shooting Tempo

When you press the trigger it should be with predictable results - the bullet goes where you need it to, or at least extremely close.  The speed you shoot at is dictated by the accuracy needed.  With close, large targets you can fire rapidly.  As the distance increases, and/or the size of the target decreases you’ll need to slow down to get the desired accuracy.

Some skills can be executed at the same speed regardless of conditions.  I draw the pistol at the same speed no matter target size or distance to the target.  The speed of the draw is one that accomplishes the task efficiently, without mistakes.  Shooting tempo varies according to conditions.
Your shooting speed is just like driving.  Speed varies according to road conditions.  A normal speed on good, dry and straight blacktop might be too fast for a wet, curvy road.  Your rate of fire is also dictated by conditions.
One of the biggest problems we see on the range are shooters trying to fire at the same speed regardless of distance and size of the target.  They fire rapidly on close, large targets.  Then attempt to shoot at the same speed for a small target that’s farther away – and miss.  After missing they’ll fire again, but at the same speed or even faster in an attempt to catch up.  The entire time they’re scoring miss after miss.
When you do miss it’s because you fired too fast.  Usually this occurs because the trigger press was too fast, more of a slap or jerk.  On close/large target you can get away with a questionable trigger press.  At longer distance – or again smaller targets – the trigger press must be smooth.  It should result in a “surprise break;” when the shot does fire it sort of catches you off guard.
A miss could also result from focusing on the target instead of the front sight.  This occurs a lot at longer distances.  The focus bounces between target and front sight.  This shifting focus also occurs when engaging a moving target – the eye is attracted to the movement.  Concentrating on the front sight allows you to hold the sights steady.  Focus on the front sight before, during and after the shot.
Regulating or controlling speed is mandatory when firing on targets at varying distances and differing sizes.  This can be difficult because mentally and physically we get caught up in trying to do everything at the same speed.  Again, think about the “road conditions.”
The purpose of shooting is to hit.  Through practice you determine your shooting speed.  How fast can you shoot at close range and still get the desired accuracy?  At longer distances, or smaller targets, how slow will you need to fire to ensure hits?  Whatever speed you can hit at the range is the speed you use to engage the threat – regardless of the danger.  You cannot let the risk factor control the pace of your shooting.
Discovering your shooting speed is essential to getting hits when pressing the trigger.  Every press must result in an accurate shot.  In “real life” lives depend on your accuracy.

Tiger McKee is director of Shootrite Firearms Academy,

Time....Tiger McKee

Skill Set: Time

Time is a precious commodity. There are never enough hours in the day to accomplish everything necessary.  I usually start out the day behind, and then struggle to just keep up.  In a violent confrontation, time is always a deciding factor.  You’re presented a dangerous problem.  Normally you have a very short amount of time to respond to the threat.
Use the time you have wisely.  In a confrontation you have to make every second count.  Chances are the fight is only going to last a few seconds.  The threat is going to be danger close, probably closer than ten feet.  You’re going to have to make a decision – right now - on what to do.  This buys you time to figure out what to do after that.
You’ll likely have about one second to make a decision.  Being human we tend to want details.  But, there isn’t enough time to figure out all the particulars of what’s going on.  By the time you gather all the information required to know exactly what’s going on it’s too late.  The fight is over.  You lost.
Or, you do something to buy yourself time.  One good way to create time is to force the threat to react to you.  Initially you are likely reacting to the threat.  They started the fight.  Moving, taking a lateral step to the left or right, forces the threat to respond to you.  Pushing the threat into making a response buys you time.  How much time?  It may be a half a second, or a couple of seconds.
Distance and time are very closely related.  Normally the more distance between you and the threat the more time you have.  When the threat is three feet away there’s very little time, and a restricted list of possible options.  Backing up, creating distance provides you a little bit more time, and possibly a few more alternatives in the response list.  Moving – in this case backing up – creates time.
The more distance the better.  You see someone fifty feet away look at you, turn and begin approaching.  “Stop,” you command, “Don’t come any closer!”  If they obey that’s great.  If not, they ignore the commands and continue; you’ve got plenty of distance – and time – to determine what to do next.
Moving buys you time and distance.  It also greatly reduces the chances of you being injured.  When you’re moving it’s more difficult for the threat to hit, cut or shoot you.
While time is critical, you can’t feel rushed.  If you let circumstance dictate how fast you perform you’ll end up going too fast, which only leads to making mistakes.  A mistake may provide the threat a window of opportunity to take control of the fight.  You’ll make enough mistakes without creating more by going too fast.  And there’s certainly not enough time for you to think about any mistakes you might make.  When a mistake does occur you’ll need to fix it, correcting or compensating as necessary and continuing the fight.
Time is always in short supply.  Don’t waste it, and whenever possible work to create more time.  This allows you to make more assessments and decisions on what your next actions should be.  You act again, continuing to put pressure on your opponent.  You want to “suck” all his time away, never giving him an opportunity to catch up.  This continues until you’ve won.
Tiger McKee is director of Shootrite Firearms Academy