the caveman can be trained, through repetitions. The caveman is the athlete. If you don't put in the repetitions, the caveman will do stupid ****. If you put in the repetitions, the caveman will look like an athlete.
-rvb
Some discussion on another board made me think of something to add on this one...
Having ROd a lot of shooters in competition, I've seen a lot of new guys... What I've seen of the caveman is a guy who gets behind the curve, lost in the problem, frankly in a bit of a panic state. As an RO I've learned to recognize this and watch very closely, because this is when safety mistakes often happen (180 violations, ADs, sweeping yourself, etc). I've seen the caveman run out of ammo and keep pulling the trigger wondering why it isn't going bang. I've seen the caveman stare at his stove-piped gun trying to process the problem. I've even seen the caveman do the "caveman proof" over-hand rack and fail to grab the slide or pull it back hard enough.
If you've put in the reps to automatically do something and do it well, it's no longer a caveman response. I don't care if its an over-hand slide-racking reload or use of slide release levers. They are both equally "athlete." To say one method is better under stress because it is "more caveman" fails to recognize just how stupid the caveman is.
just another of my "against the grain" opinions....
-rvb