Speed vs Accuracy: which is more important to you when Training

[John123]

Speed and accuracy tend to be two conflicting ends on a pendulum; Go too fast and miss your target, go too slow and strike a bulls eye. What is more important to you as it pertains to defensive training and why?

I will start off by saying I now tend to focus on speed more than accuracy. I used to shoot for groups until I had a good solid base in the fundamentals, then started shooting in local IPSC matches, which opened my eyes to the dramatic "need for speed". I know competition is NOT combat, but it is a great way to train your mind and body for an all out "run and gun" and to really see how fast AND accurate a human being is capable of. There are IPSC shooters who absolutely shoot circles around me, I'm just happy to learn from them and soak up as much knowledge as possible.

When considering a defensive scenario we also have to take into account almost all CCW incidents will start off with us being in reaction mode; I.e. the threat has already made the first move, weapon is already out and your already behind the power curve.

So fellow DCers, what are your thoughts?

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[cj]

It's always a balance. Practice a certain way...if you're groups are too small, speed up. If they're too big, slow down. If you aren't grouping at ANY speed, go back to the fundamentals (and probably spend some time with a decent instructor).

[Bill MO]

My vote is speed with combat accuracy, but before that in a actual gunfight not getting hit would be my first thoughts. If you don't think move and move first you most likely will lose in a gunfight. So you shoot him .5 second before he shoots you sorry you are both dead.

[John123]

My vote is speed with combat accuracy, but before that in a actual gunfight not getting hit would be my first thoughts. If you don't think move and move first you most likely will lose in a gunfight. So you shoot him .5 second before he shoots you sorry you are both dead.

Great point about about not getting hit first/ getting off the X.

[gasmitty]

cj said it - you have to achieve a balance. You can't miss fast enough to win a gunfight, but if you take too long to line up that perfect shot you'll be the first one ventilated.

[Bill MO]

Great point about about not getting hit first/ getting off the X.

I not only want not to get hit but I want first hit also. Gunfights are most often won by he who gets the first hit.

[xXxplosive]

Fast is fine, but accuracy is everything.
Wyatt Earp

[kb2wji]

You can never be fast enough or accurate enough, and practice will only improve both I would say this: be as fast as you can while still being able to double tap center mass. Pinpoint accuracy has nothing to do with your effective return in a gun fight. Speed is nothing without accuracy, but accuracy doesnt mean squat if you need to work on your breathing for 45 seconds before the trigger squeeze.

[Beans]

Faster then your opponent. more accurate also.

The only time you can be too fast is when you don't hit what your shooting at.

[Harryball]

The balance of both. To fast you miss, to slow you loose. Just right, they loose

[limatunes]

As others have said, there is a balance and need for both. There also may be a time when you do need to make an exceptional and very accurate shot (let's say a head shot in a crowded mall or a head shot on someone holding your child hostage). At which point you should never be in a hurry to miss. Or.. let's say, your bad guy in behind cover and the only thing sticking out is his foot. Hey, if it's available... shoot it! But that might require accuracy you are not accustomed to if all you EVER do is shoot for combat accuracy as fast as you can. There does need to be a little bit of pin-point accuracy from time to time and a confidence in your ability to make accurate shots on demand under stress... the faster you can do that, the better.

A lot of schools do drills where you shoot and a target for combat accuracy and just keep backing up 2-3 yards at a time until you miss and then you know where you need to start working. Watch your times. How fast can you make those combat hits up close and how many seconds slower is it as you back up? Can you speed up? Can you work on accuracy alone.

The theory is to keep pushing yourself until you fail, then go back and work yourself until you master your new level and then push yourself until you fail again. But be accurate and do it quickly.

[rammerjammer]

There has to be a balance of course but I tend to go more for accuracy. I see guys at the range who will do an ammo dump and have hits all over their targets and even though I'm not counting all their shots, it's obvious they are way off with many and also completely missing the target. I can fire quickly and be accurate but I'd focus more on the accuracy.

[sgb]

Many excellent posts above ..................... I'll just add that you can do everything right and still loose in a gunfight.

[All_Business]

Speed comes first. How fast one can process whats going on, how fast one reacts, how fast one can draw...that all accounts for nothing if you can't hit the broad side of a barn. Incorporate both in your training.

[TSiWRX]

The balance of both. To fast you miss, to slow you loose. Just right, they loose

^ This , and....

The theory is to keep pushing yourself until you fail, then go back and work yourself until you master your new level and then push yourself until you fail again. But be accurate and do it quickly.

^ That.

I can always improve. I can always be faster. I can always be more accurate. There is no end to this path.

If you're making every shot at the speed and accuracy you envisioned in your dreams, and you've got a smirk on your face, then you're not training hard enough. Train until you start flying apart.

I was rather down on myself two weekends ago, in Bob Vogel's class, when I missed 2 out of 10 head shots at 15 yards, when pressed to go as fast as I could possibly go. As we reviewed my hits, he noticed that I was visibly disappointed, and he just said "don't be discouraged - you just flew apart a little there, and that's what you WANT to see, in training, so you know that you've pushed right up to and even beyond your failure point." Even when Bob was doing demos, he made mistakes. Why? Because he was pushing to be faster, to be better.

I can't improve without first failing.

I can always go faster. I can always shoot more accurately. I can always be a better shooter.

But, of-course, like sgb said, you can be Wyatt Earp and Wild Bill all rolled into one, and still suffer the Any Given Sunday syndrome; that's just reality, right there. Nevertheless, that's not going to stop me from doing my honest dues, in hopes that I will be just that much faster than the bad-guys.