How Fast Are You ?

[madman4570]

Guys,

With all this talk about defensive situations (bear charging you etc.) and then 86er(Joe)mentioning his skill with his 45-70 Lever.

I got to thinking ----how fast are you to bring your weapon to bear and fire(what you normally have for protection)???

First and foremost----let me say,that feat 86er(Joe)does is absolutely incredible. Forget it,I can't probably never do that(aint even going to attempt it)he is the man on that,and many other things-----so that is that.(5 shots on target with a levergun in 3 frigin seconds (wow)

But since right now(until I get off my a## and go through the hoops for my NYS CCW)my main weapon that I usually have/carry is one of my .40S&W Kel-Tec Sub2000's
I found carrying it (tactical)that "for me" this has become an absolute. I have practiced some as to how long with just standing up/both hands in my front pockets-----to firing weapon at selected target.(with gun's safety initially engaged)
The selected target is a 8" bull at 50ft
I find that with some practice(you can get your times down pretty good)
Right now I am at the .80 second mark.(about the time it takes to say "one thousand"

The amazing thing I have found(after all these years) is how extremely effective the short tactical carry sling,on a short tactical carbine works. Really to get that time you don't have to hurry that much.The big thing is while bringing up carbine grabbing pistol grip and pressing safety button off at same time.(that particular gun/they have it right)
I am going to keep working on this some(but probably won't get it much better)and I have not used a calibrated stopwatch but more of having either myself/wife saying wording and measuring that speech at same rate its pronounced(where it is in the speech pattern to where the gun goes boom)so actually it is (hands in the pockets to time gun goes boom/not to the hitting of the target)

Still,pretty quick----in fact myself---don't think with a handgun for me it would be that fast????????

Now, please take every safety precaution doing any timed event(don't shoot yourself/someone else/something not wanted)do it at own risk

And again-------86er(Joe) Forget it(ain't even touching that one you did)------cause you be king on that bro!

Take care men!

[Old Ironsights]

When I was carrying my Casull in AK for bear duty I practiced until I could draw and place all 5 into a paper plate @ 10yds in 6 seconds.

Not fast, but about as fast as possible considering the recoil...

[Streetstar]

And again-------86er(Joe) Forget it(ain't even touching that one you did)------cause you be king on that bro!

!

Stressful situations can make you do incredible things (charging buffalo definitely qualifies as stressful ) ---- but you have to be very comfortable with the rifle as well not to flub it

Not quite life or death, but i doubled up on 2 whitetail a couple of years ago -- it was 4 aimed shots from the shoulder as fast as i could cycle the action and aquire good sight pictures through a scope turned down to 4x -- using a Guide Gun with the Hornady FTX ammo, which admittedly, is a lot nicer on the shoulder than some of the "African - spec" thumper loads out there.
All 4 shots were kill shots, but the way the deer both took off after the first 2 shots, i thought a follow up was needed before they crossed a fence close by and made my day a lot harder

No way to time such a thing, but my hunting partners stated afterwards it sounded like a very short burst from a gatling gun --- perfect combo of adrenaline, familiarity with the rifle, and having my optic set at an appropriate setting for the situation. The shots were at 100 yards and there is no way i could have taken precise shots that quick with irons at that distance -- my best guess would be 3-4 seconds on the time, but as stated, the FTX load is reasonable on the shoulder and my gun is ported, which kept the muzzle down and easier to follow up

[Blaine]

I'm probably fastest with a SxS shotty, or other long guns. Quick Draw McGraw I ain't

[L_Kilkenny]

I've never timed myself and truth be told never done much in the way of defensive practice. I do know that I surprise myself with snap shots (pump shot gun) on whitetails, I've ruined enough pheasants by blasting them before they flew 10' (my younger impatient days) and can run a bolt gun fast enough to unload a full magazine on a 200 yard running coyote before he covers enough ground to be safe. By my fuzzy math that's 5 aimed shots in the neighborhood of 16 seconds before he covers an additional 200 yards. Note I didn't say "well aimed" and I'm not sure there is such a thing on a running 200-400 yard coyote. Are any of those fast? Not hardly by defensive standards but for my needs, good enough.

LK

[86er]

Who has the video of the "Charging Buffalo" shoot at Krodle Kountry? Many of us shot 4 shots in as many seconds. This is with the rifle at the ready position and the buffalo starting at 25 yds. As soon as the buffalo starts moving you bring the gun to shoulder while simultaneously taking off the safety and going to the trigger. After a bit of practice all of us were faster than we thought possible for our skills. I shot something like 7 or 8 480 Ruger rounds from Piller's rifle in about 5 seconds. I hope someone can resurrect the video. Anyone can do this with the right rifle, a good foundation and practice practice practice.

[86er]

Here they are:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bC8NuI5LE30

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5LFwiTfK ... re=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6uGICBfDFdQ&NR=1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PsI14Un3Q1E&NR=1

[williamranks]

I was out walking with a buddy west of Phoenix one day. I kept telling him not to walk fast, it was near dusk and the snakes were coming out.
He was 25-30 feet ahead of me when he surprised a rattler. The snake's head was knee high striking when I nailed it twice with a 10/22.
He didn't get bit or shot. He also stopped talking to me.
If the sights are lined up touch the trigger. Why hesitate? Shoulder it, line it up, touch it off. One motion.
Of course it helps that I've never felt all the things normal people do and, under stress, nothing.

[Old Ironsights]

I was out walking with a buddy west of Phoenix one day. I kept telling him not to walk fast, it was near dusk and the snakes were coming out.
He was 25-30 feet ahead of me when he surprised a rattler. The snake's head was knee high striking when I nailed it twice with a 10/22.
He didn't get bit or shot. He also stopped talking to me...

Not much of a "buddy" then...

I'd have bought you drinks and maybe a car...

[williamranks]

I was out walking with a buddy west of Phoenix one day. I kept telling him not to walk fast, it was near dusk and the snakes were coming out.
He was 25-30 feet ahead of me when he surprised a rattler. The snake's head was knee high striking when I nailed it twice with a 10/22.
He didn't get bit or shot. He also stopped talking to me...

Not much of a "buddy" then...

I'd have bought you drinks and maybe a car...

I think I scared him because I was calm afterwards.

[Old Savage]

Slow is smooth, smooth is fast.

[Blaine]

)

Slow is smooth, smooth is fast.

I've heard that somewhere

I'm death on clays when it's a fraction of a second snap shot before it hits a tree or disappears. I'm good at the rabbits, too When walking thru re-prod firs, you kick up blacktail all the time, and you need a snap shot to ever have a hope (not that I've ever had a hope )

[Twodot]

I'm a lot faster at the keyboard than at the trigger, and my typing skills stink!
..

[Old Savage]

Held the school record in the half mile.

[Ji in Hawaii]

Slow is smooth, smooth is fast.

Iz dat true wit wimmen too?

[Ji in Hawaii]

Here they are:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bC8NuI5LE30

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5LFwiTfK ... re=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6uGICBfDFdQ&NR=1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PsI14Un3Q1E&NR=1

WOW Thanks Joe, that brings back memories. Time flies.

[Ji in Hawaii]

I got pretty quick and accurate wing shooting passing doves, and flushing pheasants but they weren't out to git me.
I once shot a big 300 lb boar and as he dropped his 200 lb. kid brother charged at me and my son who was 13 at the time. Racked another round and dropped him with my 44 mag Marlin. Not sure if he was actually charging or if he just happened to run right at me in panic without even seeing me but I wasn't going to ask first.

[El Chivo]

not firing, I timed myself bringing up a shot to bear with both 1x scope and irons (tang sight, already flipped up). Scope was faster, about a second, and tang sight was 2-3 seconds. So I would prefer a scoped gun in a defense situation.

[wolfdog]

Not that fast.

[jeepnik]

Held the school record in the half mile.

Darned short distance runners. Only real men ran cross country.

On on to the OP. I have no idea how "fast" I am. Never timed it. But what I learned from dad was simple, it doesn't matter how fast you are if you miss. Or, as Henry Fonda said in Tin Star, "take that extry split second".

[RIHMFIRE]

I can out run all my hunting buddies!

[Blaine]

Held the school record in the half mile.

Darned short distance runners. Only real men ran cross country.

On on to the OP. I have no idea how "fast" I am. Never timed it. But what I learned from dad was simple, it doesn't matter how fast you are if you miss. Or, as Henry Fonda said in Tin Star, "take that extry split second".

Pffft..When you ran cross country, the country was called The New World

[Old Savage]

Kept getting shorter. Started as a miler, then the half, then the quarter, then )) the javelin.

[AJMD429]

I'm not all that fast, but the rifle I'd be the fastest with definitely has to have a Marbles Bullseye rear sight on it...

[madman4570]

Cool responses guys--------------thanks!

Again I bet if I was under pressure(the tooth and claw/horns/hoof kind)???????????????????

Who knows for me------------I might be running

[jeepnik]

Held the school record in the half mile.

Darned short distance runners. Only real men ran cross country.

On on to the OP. I have no idea how "fast" I am. Never timed it. But what I learned from dad was simple, it doesn't matter how fast you are if you miss. Or, as Henry Fonda said in Tin Star, "take that extry split second".

Pffft..When you ran cross country, the country was called The New World

Pot calling kettle!

[williamranks]

Cool responses guys--------------thanks!

Again I bet if I was under pressure(the tooth and claw/horns/hoof kind)???????????????????

Who knows for me------------I might be running

Chances are you'll never be in that situation.
If you've practiced by keeping a can rolling as fast as you can cycle the action your muscles and eyes will know how to work together without thinking. Tell them what you want them to do then shut up and let them do it.
If you think about you'll be slower.

[piller]

I surprised 86er a little when I took my water buffalo. He told me to shoot and I put 2 shots into it while put 1 in. I was using a .480 caliber with 400 grain softpoints at about 1200 fps and he was using a .45-70 with a 400 grain punch bullet at about 2200 fps. He had quite a bit more recoil to deal with, and he was calm. It was my first time shooting something big enough to absorb a few good shots and still hurt you. I had a little bit of epinephrine flowing.

[Ji in Hawaii]

Nothing like a double rifle for a quick follow-up shot when the going gets scary.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RBTr6OLAHB0

[flyfisher66048]

I have one of those Pact timers if anyone wants to find out how fast they can shoot. It is pretty amazing how a little stress (even just a timer) can mess up someone's shooting. the pact timers are very useful tools for learning how to draw/mount and shoot fast. A lot of this type practice can be done with out using ammo. There is a par time function which sounds the buzzer as a start signal and sounds the buzzer again at the specified time increment. Say you wanted to practice your mounting and shooting your lever action rifle - you could set the par time to be 1.2 seconds. Push the start button, stand ready and at the beep, mount and fire all before the second beep. You have to be honest and call your shots to get any benefit from this exercise.

I was at a range back in Texas shooting my CCW rig at three 8 inch steel plates at 15 yards. A sheriffs deputy walks up and comments about them plates being pretty big and close. My comment back was "they get smaller when you try to go fast". I invited him to give it a try - just draw your gun and hit one plate. I did it once to give him a par time 1.2 seconds to hit the target from concealment. I set the pact timer to 1.2 seconds and let him try. The deputy didn't even get his gun out of the holster before the second buzzer went off, and when him did get to shooting he missed several shots. After a little coaching he got a lot better, and as he was leaving he asked where he could get a timer.

You would not try and learn hom to shoot accurately with out a timer, you can't learn to shoot fast without a timer. Just my opinion.

Rob

[buckeyeshooter]

Heck, we shoot 10 rounds pistol, 10 rounds rifle and 6 rounds shotgun a stage in CAS. Requiring you to pick up or draw guns and load the shotgun. Average times are about 30 seconds, the fast guys are in the teens. 10 shot rifle strings with a lever action are less than 3 seconds.
I shoot a marlin 44 mag, 5 shots from my marlin 45/70 would be about the same time. But then I practice several times a week and shoot a match every weekend.

[jeepnik]

Heck, we shoot 10 rounds pistol, 10 rounds rifle and 6 rounds shotgun a stage in CAS. Requiring you to pick up or draw guns and load the shotgun. Average times are about 30 seconds, the fast guys are in the teens. 10 shot rifle strings with a lever action are less than 3 seconds.
I shoot a marlin 44 mag, 5 shots from my marlin 45/70 would be about the same time. But then I practice several times a week and shoot a match every weekend.

I'm curious. I never been to a CAS match, but have seen some videos of the shooting. It seems that the loads don't have all that much recoil. Do you use reduced loads? If so, have you ever tried to shoot a match with standard velocity rounds?

[walks with gun]

I spend a few months a year prowling around for ruffed grouse every year, an addiction really, and kickin brush for whitetails so I figure I'm fairly fast with a long gun but as much as I carry a sixgun I'm getting slower than snails. Best I can do is hope the darned critter chokes on my .45 when he swallows my arm.

[geobru]

In my younger days, I did a lot of pheasant hunting. One time, my BIL was with me. He was fresh back from Nam and had let me know that he'd never hunted with anyone that could get a shot off before him. We were going down this ditch and the dog pointed a bird. He walked up behind the dog to flush the bird and I was off to the side about 15 yards. When the bird flushed, we both shot at the same time, the difference being that after the shot, I rested the stock on my hip. He turned around with this big grin on his face and said, "Who got that one?" You should have seen the look on his face when I ejected the spent shell onto the ground and said, "I'm not sure." He still talks about that incident whenever we get together.

Another time I was hunting with a friend, we both had two birds, and were on the way to another place when we saw a bird out in a wheat field. My buddy said, "I'm going to get my limit before you." Well the fight was on. We walked out into the field, the dog pointed the bird, it flushed, I shot, the bird dropped, and I looked over at my buddy and he was just gettting the gun to his shoulder. I had the advantage though. I was using a 16 gauge model 12 and he was using a 12 gauge duck gun with a 30" barrel.

The last incident occurred when I was hunting with another guy and the dog went on point and he said I'm going to get this bird before you. I shot the bird after it had flown about 4 feet.

All of these things took place when I was younger and getting a lot of practice. Now, I am much slower. I have trouble hitting stuff with a 22 that I have thrown up in the air. I used to do that all of the time. It takes a good fitting gun and a lot of practice to be fast with a gun. I don't get the right kind of practice any more and my eyes are terrible, so I would classify myself as dead dog slow right now.

[Malamute]

A timer would be fun. Only time I tried it was a Smith 19 in a high ride pancake (concealement type holster). 1.5 for draw and hit with full power magnum loads. A better rig helps, and practice,.... Used to be able to hold an empty can at shoulder level on the back of my hand, draw and fire the 6 1/2" Smith 29 before the can hit the ground (with the strap fastened). That was a good belt holster though, not a high ride pancake. Haven't tried it in years. The right holster helps a lot.

When shooting rifles at critters on the run, I just look over the sights like you point a shotgun. Mush quicker. Do it a while and you can make good hits. Take your favorite 22 out with a couple bricks of ammo and you'll start getting the hang of it. Do it a few years and you'll have no hesitation doing it in the field. I never liked using a a shotgun on small game (all the shot in the meat), I liked using a pistol or rifle, it's a lot more fun. I never had any trouble hitting running critters.

Things in the air are a lot of fun with a rifle or pistol, but you really need to do it a lot to stay good. Have been able to "hit the big piece" with the Marlin 39 after a freind shot a clay in the air with his shotgun. Helps to shoot a LOT when trying things like that.

[Griff]

Heck, we shoot 10 rounds pistol, 10 rounds rifle and 6 rounds shotgun a stage in CAS. Requiring you to pick up or draw guns and load the shotgun. Average times are about 30 seconds, the fast guys are in the teens. 10 shot rifle strings with a lever action are less than 3 seconds.
I shoot a marlin 44 mag, 5 shots from my marlin 45/70 would be about the same time. But then I practice several times a week and shoot a match every weekend.

I'm curious. I never been to a CAS match, but have seen some videos of the shooting. It seems that the loads don't have all that much recoil. Do you use reduced loads? If so, have you ever tried to shoot a match with standard velocity rounds?

Yes. When I was shooting regular like, I was also a deputy. I shot ammo that recoiled similar to my 45ACP duty ammo in my .45 Colt rifle and SAA. I did shoot reduced recoil ammo in the shotgun. I did that, so that my duty ammo wouldn't ever make me flinch when it hit the fan and I really needed to shoot. Was never a threat to win, but... as I always told my competition, "...don't screw up... 'cause I'll catch ya if ya do!"

How fast am I? I'm still sucking air and upright... so fast enough. I held the state record in the 200 meter breast stroke for a few years... My wife always got a tickle out of that record! (Swimming guys... swimming; get your minds right)!

It's all about practice. Whatever you practice is what you'll do when the adrenaline kicks in.

[madman4570]

Hey Guys,
You know what "my fast times" are now???????????

10 shots , we even have to do 5 & 5 (two mag change up)-------------wow! or 2 & 8 for the M1
Usually I'm shooting the comp AR15 --- Prone & Sitting-----------------Rapid Timed Event

Time??????????????? It's fast now (hold on)

SIXTY SECONDS---That should impress ya all

CMP M1 Shoots Then we get up and strut around like rooster's!

[gundownunder]

We do a modified Mandar shoot at our club with time between 6 shot strings for a reload so we can accommodate single action revolvers too, a full Mandar includes the reload in the time allowed which I think is 12 seconds for 12 shots. I can just get away 6 shots on target in the 4 seconds allowed in our modified version, and I can shoot it more accurately with my single action 22 than with my double action 38. Bullseye would be about 4" x 8", total target 20" x 20" and we shoot it from 11 meters.

For lever action rifle we don't go any faster than 5 shots in 15 seconds for safety reasons but we do that from 50 yards on stationary targets and running boar targets which are less than 20" wide and we start with gunbutt on the hip. I generally use less than the 15 seconds allowed.

[cas]

Slow is smooth, smooth is fast.

I have a friend who says "slow is just slow", I've started to agree with him.


"Slow and steady wins the race… unless it's a real race."

[Malamute]

Slow is smooth, smooth is fast.

I have a friend who says "slow is just slow", I've started to agree with him.


"Slow and steady wins the race… unless it's a real race."

Yes, slow is just slow, though what slow is can be subjective. "Slow enough to be good without fumbling", or "as fast as you can be consistant" may be a better way to describe it. In either event, one may truly be slow by any measure.

One thing many have a hard time getting their mind around, and may be part of the root of the "slow is smooth,..." thing, is it's easier to get fast after you get good, than it is to get good after you get fast. There's another saying thats very true, you can't miss fast enough to win. It's something you have to conciously work towards though, fast and good. Most are happy to shoot fair groups on paper, and call it good enough. Some like to push the envelope and see what's truly possible, at least for them, depending on their true interest in the subject, and willingness to follow through (many try something unusual a few times and decide it's too hard and give up. Those often tend to say "That isn't possible" and call people liars when they say they did something that person "A" couldnt do in a couple tries). I read a book from the library about an exhibition shooter that did some amazing things in his shows. He said he thought that anyone could do what he did if they practice enough. Many are able to acheive some good results in doing things that are a bit out of the ordinary. Some seem truly gifted and seem to pick it up without much effort. Most of us require a huge amount of practice to achieve or maintain any level above average.

I'm deeply impressed that Bill Joradn could throw 5 asprin tablets in the air, draw his Smith 19 out and shoot them. It makes me want to acheive that level, but realistically, I know I won't. Shooting cans, sticks, and such, with the gun in hand doesn't seem that tough though, when one practices enough to get the hang of it and try to keep it up.

[flyfisher66048]

Back in the day I was on the national shooting team as a junior shooting international skeet. This is the game where you start with the shotgun on your hip (can't mount your gun until you see the target), the target is thrown any time from instant to 3 seconds after your call, the targets are faster and are harder (to stand the stress of being thrown that fast) than standard American skeet targets. They even take away some of the easy targets and make you shoot doubles on stations 3 and 5.

I used to speed evenings in the garage practiceing my gun mount, shooting at least 100 targets in my mind every weekday and shooting real targets on weekends. I got pretty good at mounting a shotgun after years of doing this. I got to the point where I could mount the fun and break the targets without conscious thought as good bird hunters know. It took a little practice to transfer those skills to rifles and pistols. I used to be able to shoot hand thrown chalk chunks out of the sky with a rifle or pistol. Once my Dad thought my head was getting a little big, so he picked up ten 38 special cases and threw them up in the air for me to shoot with a 22 pistol. I hit 7 out of ten. Dad was not impressed because I only got a "C", tough crowd:-). I still do a lot of dry practice in my house because ammo is pretty expensive for me. I use my Rossi 92 that was slicked up by Steve's Guns. I practice mounting the gun, getting a sight picture, pressing the trigger, cycling the action (while moving to the next target), and repeat until my wife starts rolling her eyes.

Don't accept limits based on other peoples limitations. Want to see what fast really looks like go see a master class IPSC shooter shoot a 3 gun match, or a national champ CAS shooter run a lever action.

[buckeyeshooter]

Heck, we shoot 10 rounds pistol, 10 rounds rifle and 6 rounds shotgun a stage in CAS. Requiring you to pick up or draw guns and load the shotgun. Average times are about 30 seconds, the fast guys are in the teens. 10 shot rifle strings with a lever action are less than 3 seconds.
I shoot a marlin 44 mag, 5 shots from my marlin 45/70 would be about the same time. But then I practice several times a week and shoot a match every weekend.

I'm curious. I never been to a CAS match, but have seen some videos of the shooting. It seems that the loads don't have all that much recoil. Do you use reduced loads? If so, have you ever tried to shoot a match with standard velocity rounds?

Depends on who is shooting the loads and what class they shoot in. In smokless, I shoot 44 mag cases with 7 grains of unique that chrono 785 fps out of 4 4/8 bbls on ruger vaqueros with a 200 grain bullet. The same load out of my 20 inch marlin 1894 chronos 1234 fps. So basically, they are factory 44 specials.
I shoot Federal shotshells for the shotgun 1 1/8 oz 12 ga. field loads.
When I shoot black powder -- I shoot 'Pale Rider' which requires max charges of black powder and over .40 caliber arms. I switch to 44-40 cylinders in the ruger pistols and shoot 35 grains of FF under a 200 grain bullet at 782 fps. The rifle is
a Uberti 1866 yellowboy with 19 inch barrel and the same load chronos 1184 fps with the black.
For shotgun loads I shoot 60 grains of FF with 1 1/8 of shot in 12 ga. or 110 grains of FF with 1 1/2 oz of shot in a 10 ga. The black loads, especially in 10 ga. are not creampuffs!

If shooting Wild Bunch-- its a standard 230 grain lead round nose at 850 fps in the 1911, the standard 1 1/8 oz field loads in 12ga and the 44 mag loads at 1234 with 200 grain bullets in the rifle.

[Old Time Hunter]

How fast am I? I'm still sucking air and upright... so fast enough. I held the state record in the 200 meter breast stroke for a few years... My wife always got a tickle out of that record! (Swimming guys... swimming; get your minds right)!

Somehow the vision of Griff in a swimming speedo doesn't sit well with me...

Held the state 40 yard high hurdle record for high school back years ago, till the urban guys that had to run from the cops beat my time. Guess their practice at jumping fences in a single bound made for quick times on the field of play. Still in the record books, but only as a footnote of how and when the records were broken. Today a kid walking fast can probably beat me.

As far as shoot'n, probably as fast as most, but slower than some. Last year cleaned six shots out of my magazine on the .375 BB '94 in eight seconds hitting all shots on a pie plate with the target moving towards me on line from 100 yards to thirty five yards in that eight seconds. We were only required to shoot five times, but I had added one for good measure.

At the same meet, a gent using a '73 Uberti clone chambered for .44 WCF fired 200 rounds in less than a minute, including reloading, for a demonstration. He hit the target @ 25 yards, 192 times....missed his name, but he shot professionally for Uberti. Impressed the heck out of me! He was like, emptying the mag in a couple/few seconds. Took longer to load the mag than shoot 'em.

[O.S.O.K.]

Regardless of how fast (and how accurate?) You are right now, one thing is for sure... Participating in, and particularly working to improve performance in an "action" shooting competition will improve your speed ad shot placement.

My personal experience in this was CAS. I got good enough to place at the top of the match rankings and occasionally win. Within limits, the best shooters were of a pretty broad age range too - many of the old goats could shoot very well indeed, though youth does help a lot

[Ysabel Kid]

Years - and I mean YEARS ago, back before Cowboy Action Shooting became popular, I still fancied myself a gunslinger and used to practice with my Ruger Super Blackhawk from a buscadero gun rig. Got to the point where I could draw, fire, and plug a standard piece of paper (my approximation for a chest-sized target) at 7 yards in a bit over 1/2 a second. Not super fast by true western standards, but not half bad for a revolver with a 7.5-inch barrel! I was 17 years old.

One day while practicing I drilled a .44 Magnum round into the ground about an inch from my right foot. I decided this was a skill I had perfected enough at that point!

[KirkD]

After reading this thread, I've decided I'll go for lucky rather than fast.

[Blaine]

I've always been told that the Fast Draw has been a fabrication of Hollywood, and that it didnt' happen in the old west....is that true? Seems like the old crooks and enemies mostly got shot in the back, or from ambush....Or not?

[gundownunder]

I don't know if drawing fast was a Hollywood fabrication but the classic shootout where two gunslingers met in the street and the guy in the white hat let the other guy move first certainly was. When you consider that a good pistolero can draw and fire in fractions of a second, how would you hope to survive by giving the other guy fractions of a second head start.

[madman4570]

I've always been told that the Fast Draw has been a fabrication of Hollywood, and that it didnt' happen in the old west....is that true? Seems like the old crooks and enemies mostly got shot in the back, or from ambush....Or not?

Or for enemies they would just wait in the woods/cover withing good shooting distance of front door at about 4am waiting patiently for early morning light when the poor grub steps out the door (that where good nosed guard dogs come in handy/or even noisy barking watchdogs.)????

Remember some years back went away for a 3 day weekend,(had the neighbors take care of my dog)came home at about 11pm.
My brother was with me(thought my dog was in dog run)he was loose out back,we came walking up the bank(no flashlight)started to walk around the back of house,then wham-----If you have never walked up on a startled 95lb black ticked off male Doberman(in the pitch black)you don't forget it.(I thought it was a bear attack)all I heard was snarling.I tried backing over brother before after about 15-20 seconds the dog knew----it was me.(wind must have been wrong way????) It just shows how absolutely pathetic we are in that situation.

How bout in the movies where the guy chases the other guy into the thick woods.
Wonder why they never show once the running guy is where the cover is good he just don't stop/in cover/being quiet and still and blast the chaser????????

[Griff]

I have been told, by good authority, that the only documented instance of two antagonists facing each other and drawing from leather occurred in the White Elephant Saloon in Fort Worth on Feb 8, 1887, between Bob Graham & Luke Short.