Accuracy

I read an article from a well know gunwriter recently talking about the importance of being able to hit what you are aiming at. This is an interesting idea because if you ran the numbers, there are probably only a handful out of the entire “community” who actually prize hitting. Most seem to like making noise, some like to make fast noise.

At the other end, we have the Bullseye shooters, who certainly prize accuracy, but have given up on every other aspect of using and handling guns. For those of us with more general interests in shooting where does that leave us for accuracy? How much should we have and why does it matter?

The old saying “speed is fine but accuracy is final”, is certainly apropos, but like many common sayings, it is often maligned and misunderstood. There are obviously times where an accurate shot taken too late will not get the job done. That might be because you take too much time and the opportunity passes, but why are you taking too much time? Is it because you are incapable of “shooting faster”, or is it because you misjudge how much accuracy is really needed in the moment?

If you over confirm for the shooting problem facing you, you will be slower than you need to be. If you simply can’t accomplish the tasks more quickly, that is another story. In the case of the latter, you need to work on your fundamentals more. Most of the shooters I deal with who can’t go faster are not lower level shooters who simply need more time on the basics.

In many of their cases, they are over confirming their shots. This goes hand in hand with “see what you need to see.” Though this can certainly be a fundamental issue, shooters that I work with who have this problem usually have their fundamental shooting techniques down pat, but have not yet learned how much they can get away with and still hit.

All this brings us back to the initial question, how much accuracy do we need? Not how much for a given shot (addressed above) but how much absolute accuracy do we need to be capable of as shooters? We need as much as we can get. While true, that isn’t all that helpful, so if I had to put a number on it, I would say that a high level shooter needs to be able to shoot something around a 2″ group at 25 yards while standing. 3″ is probably fine, but more than that and you should probably work on it some more.

At a slightly lower level of shooting ability, say a professional who takes pride in their skills and recognizes their importance, I think 5″ or 6″ groups at 25 yards, standing, is fine. Most serious enthusiasts probably fall somewhere in between.

The other question was why does this matter? As an example, if you want to shoot large pieces of steel quickly, you have to be able to hit something smaller than them with no time pressure, or you will not be able to hit them at the speeds you want. Making it a bit more practical, if you want to shoot plate racks very quickly, but your absolute capability is only 8″, then shooting 8″ plates fast will be too challenging.

In that example, everything would need to be perfect for you to hit. That just isn’t realistic. So if you want to hit 8″ plates quickly, and you can hold a 2″ group slow fire, you have a ton of leeway to accomplish the task. This is the basic reason why accuracy matters for speed. Accuracy also matters when there is no acceptable outcome other than a hit. Sometimes the thing to be hit is not that big. Twice in my career I held on a hostage taker, waiting for the need to make a cranial shot through the eyes. Once was with a pistol, the other with a carbine. Both were close range, and both were very demanding shooting problems.

That scenario may not be the norm for most people, but it illustrates a time when you simply cannot fail. 90% hits is great for practical pistol training, but sometimes only 100% will do. Do you have the accuracy you need? Do you have the coolness under pressure? Do you have the on demand ability to make the cold shot?