One of the stages at a local speed steel match required three rounds on one of the targets.  My problem wasn't one of getting on target, but more about the time it took to squeeze off three rounds rapidly compared to some of the other shooters.  What drills or exercises can I do to increase my trigger speed?  Gun is an AR9 with an ALG/ACT.

...how fast were you pulling it?

Do you have splits to share, or have a rough estimate?

I didn't get the splits but I was consistently slower by .3 or so seconds behind the leaders on the stage.

ETA: Scores haven't been posted on Practiscore yet.

Don’t worry about the others.  There will always be people faster then you. What’s important is that you improve your own times. There isn’t some trick or gimmick to get faster. Practice makes perfect.  Talk to your top shooters and they will all say this dry fire for at least 10mins a day, and get as much live fire practice as you can.  Lighter weight triggers can speed up the trigger pull times but until you are comfortable and extremely proficient behind the trigger it will harm more than help.

Don't have my split times but here are the scores.  I'm the 6th shooter down.
Attached File


This stage had three targets, an 18 x 20 rectangle in the middle with 8" dia. plates on either side.  These were all 10 yards out.  The rectangle was the stop plate and required three rounds.  Felt like I was moving in slow motion when squeezing off the three rounds in a row and couldn't seem to go faster.  

I'm thinking bill drills will help but also need to evaluate how far back and then forward my finger is moving during the trigger press. Want to make sure I'm not wasting time with unnecessary movement.  My initial rollup times are typically .7-.8 sec.

Any other advice?

I'm going to jump in too.  I've spent most of my years shooting (going on five decades) slowly squeezing the trigger and having the shot go off without knowing ita coming.  Lots of hunting type shooting, bench rest shooting, slow fire, etc.

I shot my first competitive match this week and all of a sudden I need to speed up. It's a culture clash. I went from taking a shot every 5 minutes with focused breathing, to needing to knock down 8 pieces of steel in 2-3 seconds.  

If anyone has tips or suggestions for how to transition from focused slow shooting to speed performance I'm all ears. I am struggling to wrap my mind around pulling a trigger quickly.

I found I sped up by finding the reset sweet spot.  

I naturally released the trigger completely when the shot breaks.  So I had to force myself to pull and hold, then slowly release to hit the reset.  I noted how far my finger traveled forward, and then gradually sped up from the pull/hold, slide forward to click and immediate pull/hold, slide forward to click and immediate pull... over and over.

So now my natural reset only releases as far as the reset click, instead of releasing all tension at the break.

Hope that helps some folks.

Guys who are quick on the trigger, can you follow the sights with your eyes, and how do you keep the gun so flat under recoil?

Yes, I can track the sights.

Flat gun is grip technique, grip strength, and gun setup (springs, firing pin stops, etc.)

The really fast guys are gripping the gun way harder than it looks like.

A video might help but…

To speed up, shoot at a berm with no targets. Pull as fast as you can and observe what you see/feel. Maybe you are waiting for a sight picture? Maybe you are riding the reset instead of getting off the trigger? How fast can you physically get your splits? Then apply what you learned to a target.

So basically crush the grip until the gun shoots flat? I have pretty strong grip, but have never been able to keep up with the sights or even get close to shooting flat.

I remember reading that Bob Vogel uses those hand strength grip thingies.

It has way more to do with technique than crush strength. Search YouTube for grip videos, there are lots of good ones. Bob Vogel, Isaac Lockwood has a good one, there are many more. It has a lot to do with wrists and joint locking as well as griping the gun hard.

Shooting bill drills and the like will only help if you can diagnose your results to correct and get the results you want.

Also research Hwansik Kim's measurement drill and doubles drill.

I've recently learned some new things about grip.  One of those is to be more aware of your support hand pinky finger.  When you pull it in and use more strength, it actually improves your presentation angle.  Try it for yourself.  I was surprised at how it brought the barrel down.  

Another thing to remember with speed shooting is that you're looking for an "acceptable" sight picture, not bullseyes.

As I get deeper into improvement, I find that I can somewhat talk the talk, but actually remembering and executing is another thing.

Thanks, will do.

Give this a try guys.  I'm not on here nearly as much as I used to be but you can always reach out to me via Instagram with questions!  @RobEpifania

Sewing Machine

I created this years ago with the intent to do a few things:

- Dial in my grip with a subconscious image (automatic sewing machine running, for gun goes straight back, rise up minimally, return quickly and consistently).

- Shoot as many shots as I want to in a row while maintaining a group size of 2-3" at 5-7 yds. with full trigger speed.

- Shoot as many shots as I want without getting trigger freeze.


I don't prep/reset, Although I don't particularly come all the way off the trigger either.  If you reset/prep, you probably will short stroke the trigger from time to time when your firing hand gets too tense (trigger freeze).


I also find this helps people become more acclimated to recoil faster too because they learn the rhythm and timing of the recoil of their gun.

I took the advice from a pro pistol shooter on rapid fire (whose name I've forgotten)...who said that you'll have to teach your subconscious how to pull the trigger --- And that takes --- he said --- about 30,000 rounds to learn how do that with a semi auto. I find that a 22 semi auto will go a long way to achieve that stated goal, without spending a lot of wampum.

All you do is let your subconscious pull the trigger. And with your self-conscious: Just aim the sights

Shooting rapid fire with my hi-power AR's and AK's: I try to stick with this principle: "Shoot a family of six" : That is...shoot a rapid fire string of six rounds, before letting the gun cool down (to avoid burning out the barrel). So while my big gun is cooling down...I switch to my 22 rimfire or some other firearm.

You can trigger practice by using a push button ball point pen...till it's ingrained in your subconscious.