If you want to learn to shoot better, there are lots of techniques out there to choose from. Scoop draw vs. descending draw, escalator draw vs. press-out. I’m sure you can supply a bunch more. All of these techniques can work, but what are you trying to accomplish?
An often heard refrain is “Whatever works for you.” A common variation is, “It works well for me.” That may be true, but what are we talking about? When I hear someone say that some technique or other works well “for them”, I can only assume that they are not trying to push their pace. That may sound harsh, but when the pace goes up, many techniques fall by the wayside.
Another way to look at that is to say that when the pressure mounts, many techniques fall apart. The scoop draw is a great example. This is probably the fastest way to draw a gun, and was developed and understood very early on in the development of the holster worn pistol. Unfortunately, it is not very resistant to stress, and a bad scoop draw tends to leave you with a poor grip on the gun at best, and a gun on the ground at worst.
Another great example is resetting the trigger just far enough. I had a guy trying to teach this to someone yesterday at a range I was at. He meant well, and in the context of the shooting being done at the range, the technique will work, since the pace is pretty slow. Once you pick up the pace and want to shoot faster, resetting to the “click” is a terrible idea, one that many LE agencies still foist on their shooters.
The next time you find yourself saying that you do something because it “works well for you”, stop and think about it. Does it really work well, or are you not pushing to see where it might fall down? If it works great on a big target at 3 yards, does it continue to work great as the target gets smaller or as the distance gets further? If it does continue to work great, is that still true when you want to go faster? If it really does hold up when the target gets smaller and you go faster, you probably have a workable technique.
I really enjoy reading these short blog posts as they always give me something to think about. Thank you.