I decided to break out the shot timer today.

From the holster with a hoodie over it, at bad breath range, my first shot from the CAR low position was averaging about 1.7 seconds. One broke 1.5 seconds and still went in the a zone.

At distance I’m getting about 2.5 seconds from the high position. I haven’t practiced this position much because I feel like the first scenario is the most likely.

I don’t know how that stacks up against everyone else, but for me with my carry setup it’s a huge improvement. I’m getting much better at clearing my clothing, and airsoft is 100% responsible for that. I’m able to practice so much with various clothing, and I’m really getting the technique dialed in.

You might get a lot of misplaced hate but IMO anything that gets you trigger time is a good idea. Between airsoft and dry fire practice, you can get a whole lot of training in at the house with very low cost. It’s too bad so many people dismiss it.

I was inspired to use the shot timer after that video of the Japanese kid today. I’m not on his level yet but then again I’m training for something entirely different. I’m dealing with concealment and a high tight pancake holster that’s essentially pressing the gun into my side. I think 1.5 is pretty good drawing from that kind of rig. I’m extremely happy with the results. I’m happy with the times, and the rounds are going into the a zone so I’m not sure where there’s any room for criticism.

If airsoft  keeps things improving for you,and helps development just keep doing it.

I congratulate you,don’t listen to the negativity

Its a great tool also for kids. Not enough range time my Son has an M4 AS and knows the basics just from that.

Practice and repetition are invaluable for ANY physical skill. Anything that helps you train proper repetition is a good thing.

Kudos on practicing and training. I know folks who've carried for years, but don't even train drawing from concealment. Heck, they don't even train their presentation (you don't even need to squeeze a trigger to do that. Just 15-30 minutes a day, to practice pushing out to develop that muscle memory for good alignment 100-300 times).

There's a reason that a LOT of the top competition shooters still practice dryfire on top of shooting thousands of live rounds every month.

For non-sponsored shooters like the rest of us, it's even more beneficial, as it's FAR cheaper to be able to train thousands of shots with airsoft, laser trainers, DryFireMags or simply an unloaded firearm, than having to spend $0.xx per shot.

That video of the Japanese kid illustrates that the biggest factor for live fire training is recoil mitigation. Most other things can be trained without live fire.

Try a dryfire book by Steve Anderson or Ben Stoeger.

You can produce some amazing results. Anderson especially has sussed out a very logical and effective set of training principles.

The timer is the most important tool in accurate and fast shooting.

As long as you're zone shooting you should be fine.
Most of the airsoft replica pistols I've observed don't have a great deal of accuracy, and it only gets worse with any distance.

That’s true. That’s what the range is for. In my line of work though I’m not worried about someone who’s that far away. That’s why I work the CAR low position instead of isosceles, it’s just much more geared towards the kind of thing I might be likely to get into.

Thanks for providing the link.

Martial arts taught me the value of repetitive training, but this kid appears to have reached his level of competency through his isolated individual efforts using the internet as his mentor. Truly amazing...

Just echoing what some of the others have posted.  Airsoft can be beneficial for critically important weapon manipulation skills.  Use it for what it is...building those neurological pathways.

Absolutely sound information tried and true. Like the one user said below building neural pathways and moving and using your gear does wonders. Been a fan of all dry fire type drills (shout out to SIRT products) and looking into Airsoft as of late.

Also dry fire training cards for your drills are good also !