Quick Draw Old West Style.

**free** · April 9th, 2024, 04:22 PM

Originally Posted by Captain Waffles

I watched the classic movie Tombstone again and I was wondering if anyone has opinions on why certain notable gunfighters were faster draws than others? It*s not that complex to draw a pistol from a hip and fire at a stationary target a few feet away. Is it just faster reflexes or some technique difference? The seen with Doc Holiday and Johnny Ringo is a good example. The only thing I can see is remaining calm and efficient, rather than being nervous. That*s easier said than done obviously.

Firing at the target and actually hitting it require different skills.

Forget the draw. Just fire from the hip at a target 10 yards away and see how successful you are.

**free** · April 9th, 2024, 04:25 PM

Originally Posted by Emptymag

I don't really think my reflexes are THAT good, but somehow I beat 99.999% of all cars off the line when the light turns green.
Regardless of what vehicle I've ever owned.

When I ran cross country, teammates commented how fast I reacted to the starter's gun.

I think some people are just more "wired" than others.

**Captain Waffles** · April 9th, 2024, 11:51 PM

These are all interesting points. It’s always best to avoid gunfights all together.

**SevenMilePete** · April 10th, 2024, 01:13 AM

Originally Posted by raxar

I suspect the whole "quick draw" thing is more hollywood than historic.

More like duels where the duelers were supposed to walk 10 paces and then turn and fire. The guy who turned at 9 almost always won. Until the other guy turned at eight.

**Daycrawler** · April 10th, 2024, 10:18 PM

Originally Posted by SevenMilePete

More like duels where the duelers were supposed to walk 10 paces and then turn and fire. The guy who turned at 9 almost always won. Until the other guy turned at eight.

I turned at one and walked backwards till 9 and shot. Paint ball gun wars and other dumb kid stuff was always fun.

**JAKIII** · April 11th, 2024, 05:35 AM

Originally Posted by free

When I ran cross country, teammates commented how fast I reacted to the starter's gun.

I think some people are just more "wired" than others.

Save for marathons, probably the only race where a quick start doesn't matter.

**free** · April 11th, 2024, 06:02 AM

Originally Posted by JAKIII

Save for marathons, probably the only race where a quick start doesn't matter.

Have you run cross country?

There are many courses where it really DOES matter.

It's common for teams to line up at the "wide end" of a chute that narrows to 1/2 to 1/4 the width of the wide end, within 100 yards or so. At an invitational, which may have 20-30 or more teams (7 people per team, more in JV) the wide end is WIDE. When the gun goes off, it's a mad sprint to the the narrow end. If you are not at the front of the pack by the time you get there, you're "stuck", sometimes standing still while all those people squeeze through the relatively narrow opening. If that happens to you, it's very difficult to ever catch up to the leaders and contend for a good finish.

I once did such a race at Manassas Battlefield Park. It was only a tri-meet, but the narrow end of the "chute" was a 2-person wide footpath into the woods. A lot of people were eating trees. It was ugly.

**JAKIII** · April 11th, 2024, 12:34 PM

Originally Posted by free

Have you run cross country?

There are many courses where it really DOES matter.

It's common for teams to line up at the "wide end" of a chute that narrows to 1/2 to 1/4 the width of the wide end, within 100 yards or so. At an invitational, which may have 20-30 or more teams (7 people per team, more in JV) the wide end is WIDE. When the gun goes off, it's a mad sprint to the the narrow end. If you are not at the front of the pack by the time you get there, you're "stuck", sometimes standing still while all those people squeeze through the relatively narrow opening. If that happens to you, it's very difficult to ever catch up to the leaders and contend for a good finish.

I once did such a race at Manassas Battlefield Park. It was only a tri-meet, but the narrow end of the "chute" was a 2-person wide footpath into the woods. A lot of people were eating trees. It was ugly.

I ran middle distance in HS. I ran a few x-country races in college, intramurals, not the college team. In the USMC, I ran the annual physical fitness test, which included a 3-mile run (my best time was 15:30). I've also ran numerous 5K races as an adult.

During windy races, I've run right behind another runner to shield myself from a head-wind (it's very effective for conserving energy).

To your point, if you're competitive then starting in front and getting out ahead of the traffic is important.

**free** · April 11th, 2024, 01:37 PM

Originally Posted by JAKIII

To your point, if you're competitive then starting in front and getting out ahead of the traffic is important.

Yes. Yes it is.

I was competitive - but my best finish was 2nd (it was an invitational though, so lots of teams). The guy who was 1st led the whole race and finished maybe 50 yards ahead of me. I had to work for it though. Last mile I passed a lot of people and had to fight hard for that second place medal (:

But on that note, one year we had a track sprinter on our team. His first race, he went all-out for about a mile and was WAY ahead of the pack - ended up finishing WAY toward the end (: