Hitch's Training Blog

I write this post as a record for myself and to share any training tips that may be helpful to others.  If you think it may help you give the tip a try.  As a baseline, I am a 200/200/20 shooter, that is 200 mls reaction time, 200 mls draw time and 20 mls flight time. For 2021, my best bracket time is a .420 which is consistent with 200/200/20 for a .420. The Draw:   I am trying to stand more upright and to draw closer to the holster.  Standing more upright moves the muzzle forward which helps with rule 17. I would like to get the cylinder just above the boot of the holster.  That would put the muzzle several inches in front of the lip.  What I am trying to do is make my draw more compact.  Less motion should be quicker.  I practice with a laser into a mirror at 8 feet.  I can see my draw.  If the laser hits me in the waist, it would be a hit in the light.  I am striving for a draw time of 180 milliseconds or less.  It is diffi...

Yesterday Shady and I had a pretty good training session. We did two Shady/Ruah speed runs (5/10/15). The first 10 matches between us were all within 2 milliseconds or less, all in the 3s. Pretty evenly matched gunslingers.  After the second speed run, because I have been neglecting my bucket work, I drew a 5 inches circle target areas on the targets and we shot16 rounds each. We both shot almost identical groups. The interesting thing is that on average I was 10 milliseconds slower when there was a target area drawn on the target. I was speed training, drawing the same, trying to go as fast as I could, but that target area drawn on the target was an additional stressor on me which slowed me down by 10 mls. We have always noted that as we move away from the target our times slow down far more than they should just based on the distance that we moved back.  From 5 feet to 10 feet the extra travel time for the bullet is only 1.5 milliseconds. Our times slow 10 to 15 tim...

I had a chance to watch the tennis semifinals between Federer and Shapavalov.  It was a match of the veteran champion against a young player.  From my observation each look to be about the same in skill, power, finesse and yet Federer won the match easily in two sets (best two out of three).  I don't think the young player lacked anything, he looked to be more powerful on the serve and could make all of the shots as well as Federer.  From what I could see Shapavalov's great shots were just a little too great.  His great shots were sometimes just a little too wide or a little too long or his drop shots were just a little too soft.  Federer on the other hand was just steady. His great shots were well in, his drop shots were adequate.  He just played his game and let Shapavalov make the errors.  The difference from my observation was that Shapavalov was just trying too hard. I think this happens in fastdraw a lot.  Sometimes we just try too ha...

Well, the 2019 season is about to begin. Saturday is the Winter Range Arizona Jackpot Shoot soon to be followed by the season's titled matches.  Do not be dishearten if you have a rough go of it for a bit. Remember to shoot the system. Everyone draws a better shooter on occasion or loses focus for a time.  Persevere.  The system is progressive. You train to get progressively better. You will improve as the day or event goes on.  While others get frustrated, you will shoot better and better. You can tune yourself up for events. Get competition ready. One of the best ways to do that is several days before the event have a bad day on the bucket.  Shoot 50 rounds on the bucket, by yourself, no light.  Take away the stress of hitting. Take away the stress of the timer. Just draw and fire.  Draw as quick as you can.  Your natural ability will come forth.  Those perfect draws! Think about what this is doing.  You are finalizing your draw wi...

I was bored and posted a comment about quarter matches with little response. A quarter match is the WFPG.  The organizers have tried to eliminate accuracy, mental toughness, luck of the draw from the competition so that the only factor left is speed, so it is really just 1/4 of a CFDA match, hence a quarter match.  To me it seems to be a noncompetitive speed exhibition. Shady and I have had a disagreement for quite some time whether shooting blockers would be helpful for the CFDA shooter.  I always thought that seeing every hit was so important that shooting blockers would be helpful.  However, in December I attend a qualifying session at the camp.  As the day went on I got worst and worst until I finally quit in disgust. Maybe Shady is right.  I am not fully convinced yet, but do know that it is just the opposite of the system.  With the system you should get better and better as the day goes on, not worst and worst. The Texas State should be a good...

There are studies that indicate to become proficient at a skill, one must expend 10,000 hours practicing the skill.  Well, I don't have 10,000 hours left in me.  The skill I am concerned with is the ability to draw on the light or with the light.  How do we improve our reaction time.  That is where I can make the greatest improvement.  I know the various methods of trying to improve reaction time but as of this date none have been productive for me. I am trying to develop a grip that would be hooked to the light like a sensor and when I pressed the hammer on the simulated grip it would register a time like the sensor does a hit. I have tried a button but that will not work because the button completes or beaks a circuit whereas the sensor send an impulse. I am looking for something that would work with CFDA timer through the light.  Any suggestions on how to fabricate such a grip sensor? You are probably saying why don't he just draw on the light and sh...

A gunfighter needs to have a little swagger. When you come to an event you need to believe that you are the toughest gunfighter there. You may not be the quickest or you may not be the most accurate, but you are the toughest.  But you need to be careful.  There are little things you can do to booster your confidence.  Have confidence in the system, it will carry you through day, even a bad day. At a titled event, Gentleman George asks me if I was Lil James' grandpa because he loads like me.  Lil James only loads three and if the hand judges asks him why, he says "That is all I need."  It is a statement of confidence.  It can be unsettling to your opponent, if fact Dirty Dan used it against me Saturday in the shoot-offs, sending me to boot hill in 3 shots.  Little statements of confidence can be helpful. They remind you that you are the toughest gunfighter there.  I only load three because it is generally three winning shots.  If I miss or l...

Winning Flyer:  A comment was made about walking the hits to the light and then having a flyer on the third or fourth shot. This is quite common.  It happens to me frequently.  I am not sure but I think it is just a variant of the 2 up fluster.  See August 7, 2017, post "2 up fluster" on ShadyMtnTips.blogspot.com.  At Rio this last Saturday I think the majority of my wins were on winning flyers. Dance with the girl you brought:  A comment was also made about falling back into an old draw.  This time of year many of us are working on new draws or new stances.  It is sometime easy to fall back into old habits, if you do, you end up shooting the old draw, not the new one you are practicing.  Generally, I say never ever change your draw during an event because if you do you are lost.  The exception to that rule is when fall back into old habits, then of course, the sooner you get back to the draw you have been practicing the better.  ...

Mental Toughness : More matches are won by mental toughness than by quickness or accuracy combined.  The remainder of this session (20 weeks) should be spent trying to achieve a system that promotes mental toughness.  If you have a finalized draw no matter what your quickness you will win your share of matches, but to be truly competitive you must develop mental toughness. I have given you my system.  You don't have to use my system you can develop your own but it should have the same basic elements.  You need a mental routine, a physical routine, and a waggle.  The point is to shoot from the subconscious. We are all better than we know but our minds keep getting in the way.  The elements give you something to do. A draw should be like a breath.  Your quickest shots will surprise you.  You will not know how you did it.  Mental Routine:  Evaluate the last shot. Let see, I was 6 inches to the right of  the target and low, I need t...

"Life has a way of making the foreseeable never happen, and the unforeseeable that which your life becomes."  Everett Hitch, Appaloosa. One week and 150 rounds into my new draw, my new draw seems to be about 20 milliseconds slower and more accurate than the thumb roll draw.  This is just the opposite of what I expected. I may be slower because the draw is not fully committed to the subconscious and therefore I am shooting from the frontal lobe.  Any thought slows you down.  Most of my shots during a match at Rio were within a few milliseconds of each other and generally about 20 mls slower. The increased accuracy may be coming from the fact that my muzzle height is now higher and less angle is required to the center of the target.  Most of my variance at Rio was horizontal although I did have one match where I walk the hits vertically. At Rio I started the event at 1.33 (.58+.75) and finished the only shooter clean at 1.56 (.56+1.0).  Unfortunately ...

I started my new draw December 2. Hopefully, it will be a little quicker.  Today, I started my bucket work.  I setup my portable target. Since I changed my draw I needed to recalculate my target height. My new height was 46 inches.  (47-45=2/15=.13*5=.66+45=45.66 rounded up to 46)  Two lines one 2.5 inches low and one 2.5 inches high. This the same as shooting at 15 inch target at 15 feet. First five shots: Next five shots: First 25 rounds on my new draw. A little low but I am not concerned it will come up over time. I am chunking data and learning how to move the new draw up into the target zone. I got 2950 more rounds to go.  I am a high shooter normally in an event so starting low is better: After this Shady and I did a Shady/Ruah Speed run. I hit 14 of 15 shots but grouping was poor. It will get better. The point of the training system is to get your draw finalized and to get you to shoot from the subconscious. Once you get there, the menta...

We do not practice accuracy.  All of our practice is speed work.  When you are doing training you should go as fast as you can go comfortably. You are finalizing your draw and the draw you want to finalize is your quickest draw.  Whenever you change your draw, you have to go back and refinalize the new draw.  You do not need the clock to do this. Time does not matter.  You will get quicker and quicker the more you do this. The reason we do not practice accuracy is because it can not be done.  Accuracy comes from a finalized draw and shooting from the subconscious.  Shooting the same each and every time without thinking. If you try to hit the target or hit a specific location on the target, you are shooting from the frontal lobe. That slows you down and causes you to miss.  "Any thought changes the expert into a novice." The Sports Gene. We want to finalize our draw to the extend that we will hit the same location in same time with every shot....

Here is a list of Alleluia Shooters on this session: Paul Nicolas             a/k/a     Lazuras Allen Bauer Lewis Berman Nicholas Vincze Dan White Rick Mcanally          a/k/a Whiplash                                                                    (Multiple Champion) Dee Qualls                a/k/a Possum Dennis Diaz              a/k/a No Daisy                                   a/...

If you watch a professional golfer you will notice that their routine is the same on every shot. That is because to be on the circuit they must be mentally tough.  When they approach a shot they evaluate the shot. They look at the lie, distance, wind and make a decision on their shot selecting a club. Once they make their decision they commit to it completely. They then go through the same physical routine before each shot.  Most then do a waggle.  A waggle is a meaningless movement that serves as a signal to their mind and body that they are ready to go. They then hit the shot.  This is all about mental toughness. We are professional athletes.  We need to do the same.  We need to evaluate the shot. Make a decision. Committed to it completely. Do our waggle, then make the shot.  To be competitive, you need to develop a mental routine, a physical routine, and a waggle.  It is all about mental toughness, not accuracy.  I will give you such a ...

I write this post to encourage you to persevere with the system. If you do you will become a tough gunfighter.  Saturday the  Rio Salado Vaqueros held their club match at Pioneer. It was a tough field with many State and Territorial Champions, Mag 7 shooters, and CFDA Top Guns in attendance. I started slow hitting only 50% for a gunfighter rating (GR) of 1.05 against a shooter I normally handle easily and lost the match.  That caused a doubt in my mind and I hit only 20%, GR .75, in the second match losing again.  I then got back to the system and shot with a gunfighter rating of 1.35 the rest of the day winning the next 5 matches. For the shoot-offs I was seeded  6th.  If I had shot just average in the first two matches, I would have won with ease and been seeded 1st. The shooter I lost to in the first match was seeded 8th and I hand judged him in the shoot-offs. I noted he had shot 56 rounds for the day. I shot 35 rounds for 9 matches. He is a good sh...

I tried to entice my eldest daughter back into fast draw saying I could make her into a champion in 20 weeks but so far she has not accepted the challenge.  Here is the training program. This is based on the Alleluia Competition and Training System. The system is progressive.  During each 50 shot training session you should improve from the beginning to the end, likewise during an event you will improve during the day and if the event is multi day you should improve with each day because if you shoot as you train, it is progressive, you will get better. The script:  Dry fire : I suggest that you dry fire at least 20 draws 3 days a week.  I suggest you do this up against a wall with your shooting toe against the wall.  This will prevent you from poking or flailing.  I assume you have a draw now, but if you do not, let me know and I will walk you through the locked elbow draw.  There is a post on my main training blog, ShadyMtnTips.blogspot.com, on...