Keys to success - Shooter Performance (general)

[Flexmoney]

I thought I'd put up a few sticky threads here.

The IDEA: ...is for some of our experienced Bianchi/Action Pistol shooter to share some insight.

(Talk it up from time to time and maybe win over a few new shooters to the sport!)

I'll probably put up a sticky thread for each of the courses of fire (events). so, lets keep this one focused on "general" tips.

While I'm no AP stud, I'll kick us off....

[Flexmoney]

The Draw:

Most of the cof's in Action Pistol are PAR time events (you have a set amount of time to get the shooting in). Coming from an USPSA background, it is very rare that I feel crowded on time. In fact, I like watching shooters cross-over from USPSA or IDPA and face their first few matches with the PAR times. They usually use up only ~60% of the available time.

So...one might think that a fast draw isn't all that important? If you have 6 seconds (PAR) to run a plate rack and you can easily do it in 3.8 seconds...why not slow that draw down, huh?

Here is the deal. If you have a nice and efficient draw...with a good presentation...then get it down with. Get the gun gripped and out onto the target. Then, any time saved can be used for the shooting.

Another thing to be aware of on the draw... As the distance increases, folks tend to slow down their draw stroke. Always use the same draw stroke. For one, it's consistent. Two, I doubt folks realize just how much they slow down their draw. Again, minimize the draw time and there is more time for the shooting. And, at distance, that time can come in quite handy if you need to fine tune the sight picture a bit.

Please share your general shooting tips !!

[xsniper]

I totally agree...let the draw be the draw. I hope your thread draws a lot of AP talk. I am wanting to get immersed in it again.

[goneracin]

Im very new to AP, and to shooting in general. For me, I tend to agree with you as far as how important the draw is. When i go out to practice, I will spend a bit of time just drawing and shooting the first target, no matter if its a plate, or the practical, or whatever. from every distance. I make sure that I can quickly get the gun out, and get the first shot off in the x ring, every time. Nothing will jack up a run on the plates more than blowing the first plate, for me that gets in my head and I can almost bet on another miss on that run. I find that the faster I can get the gun out and ready to shoot, I can then slow down the shooting to try to assure good hits. Also agree on using the same draw method no matter where. Even on the Barricade, I still use the same initial movement to get the gun out. Keeps me from having to think, or to learn 2 methods and getting confused when the buzzer goes off, and my IQ drops...

[benos]

I remember this one from another thread...

In the match, new targets are put up at the beginning of the "3rd distance" of each paper stage. Each paper stage is shot at 4 different distances.

Practical: 10, 15, 25, 50 yds

Barricade: 10, 15, 25, 35 yds

Mover: 10, 15, 20, 25

The first lesson I remember - don't tape your targets in practice. If you do, you will learn to depend on the "tape group" that will accumulate in the middle of the target as an aiming point, which you won't have in the match.

I couldn't afford to buy enough targets to not tape, so I made a template out of thin, stiff cardboard with the 3 scoring rings in it. You can buy brown paper (that's close to the same color as the targets) in big rolls, 24" wide. Then I'd rig up a section on my workbench and I'll razor off the 18" wide "center," then draw the scoring circles on it so you could just barely see them, with a pencil.

Then tape them on the targets at the same time they change targets, in the match. Which is halfway through each stage in the match.

I know that sounds like a lot of work... but definitely come up with a solution other than taping the targets. At the longer distances, it's critical that you teach yourself to find the center of the targets without relying on anything but the shape of the target itself.

be

[oldtrooper]

I remember this one from another thread...

In the match, new targets are put up at the beginning of the "3rd distance" of each paper stage. Each paper stage is shot at 4 different distances.

Practical: 10, 15, 25, 50 yds

Barricade: 10, 15, 25, 35 yds

Mover: 10, 15, 20, 25

The first lesson I remember - don't tape your targets in practice. If you do, you will learn to depend on the "tape group" that will accumulate in the middle of the target as an aiming point, which you won't have in the match.

I couldn't afford to buy enough targets to not tape, so I made a template out of thin, stiff cardboard with the 3 scoring rings in it. You can buy brown paper (that's close to the same color as the targets) in big rolls, 24" wide. Then I'd rig up a section on my workbench and I'll razor off the 18" wide "center," then draw the scoring circles on it so you could just barely see them, with a pencil.

Then tape them on the targets at the same time they change targets, in the match. Which is halfway through each stage in the match.

I know that sounds like a lot of work... but definitely come up with a solution other than taping the targets. At the longer distances, it's critical that you teach yourself to find the center of the targets without relying on anything but the shape of the target itself.

be

The one big change from the above is the black X ring that is now standard in the matches. One can still use the brown paper replacement center and cut out the X ring on a paper target and use that as a template to spray some inexpensive black paint there.

[benos]

Thanks. I guess I'm pretty far out of the loop - never even heard of the black x-ring change.

That sounds like a nice change. Because depending on the light conditions/whether or not you could see the scoring rings - you could either be winning big or losing big at the longer distances.

be

[Griz]

A lot of us on the Virginia AP circuit are using 4" black stickers(they can be found at packaging supply stores like uline.com) to replace the center of the "new" AP-1 targets. If you use those plus kraft paper pasters for any hits outside the x-ring, the target looks virtually brand new to my eyes from 10 yards away. The kraft paper pasters blend in with the cardboard perfectly. The only difference from a brand new target is that the sticker is a little more shiny than a new target's x-ring would be.

Edited July 29, 2009 by Griz

[Action Pistolero]

BE,

Here's what most of the target looks like now. I got raked over the coals for a while for pushing this but I believe most of us are happy about it. Lighting conditions is the reason for this change. You know how it was. When you got your shooting schedule on Tues you would know how the rest of the week was going to be. I figured I would have to just shoot my way onto the super squad to get good lighting but even with the good finishes that didn't happen. This levels the playing field quite a bit.

They brought out the old targets for the Nostalgia match and oh boy, the nightmare started again. It proved to be quite interesting on the upper mover at 9 AM with a stock revolver.

You should come out and join us sometime. Things have changed for the better.

Kevin

I thought I had a picture showing the 10 and 8 rings but I was mistaken.

Edited July 29, 2009 by Action Pistolero

[goneracin]

cant get the pic to upload.

here is the url

ap1 target

BTW Flex, thanks for this area. AP is a blast to shoot. Ive been doing it for only about 4 months or so, and Im hooked. Thanks to Alan, and Kevin for all the help. And for helping me create a new money pit.......

Edited July 29, 2009 by goneracin

[Bafaction]

I have found that I like to train Prac, Mover and Plates on the plate rack. I have found that if you lose your concentration it will give you a instant result of a plate standing in front of you.

When I practice the plates I usually shoot one string standing all the way and then I shoot the next string as per normal, As for the mover on plates I shoot at the correct distances and I start the first stage as you would on the mover, I shot right to left then the next six shots are shot from left to right. When I go back to 20 and 25 yards I shoot the first 3 shots on the right 3 plates starting from the right then the left 3 on the next run.

As fpr prac on the plates I usually shoot it the same as I would shoot a normal prac but on the plates. It is verying interesting on how much hard you concentrate on the dot and trigger control. It has made a massive improvment to my over all scores.

[hammerspring]

Learn to use the time allowed. This and trigger control has helped the most.

[BPiatt]

Learn to use the time allowed. This and trigger control has helped the most.

+1 on this.

Leaning to use ALL of the time allowed will permit you to maintain good trigger control. I often shoot late shots in practice.... then hear people whispering about it. I know I'm going to shoot a little faster at the match so I don't give late shots a second thought in practice.

[grayguns]

As one who's coming back to this AP stuff after shooting it first in '81 and being away for the past decade or so, I'd offer a few observations and opinions.

We're shooting X5's in Production. The new black X-ring is interesting. It draws us (Roy and me) to prioritize aiming over alignment a bit more than I'd like. That, in turn, invites grabbing at the trigger when things look "perfect". I've found that blurring the target more by increasing my master-eye diopter correction has helped me a lot in this regard. I never relied upon the rings for an aiming reference and instead held for a alignment within the spacial relationship of the target itself, since the lighting in Columbia is unreliable. To me, the new target just is what it is. Neither better, nor worse. I can see it's rationale and I agree wholeheartedly with anything which enhances the shooters' perception of fairness against the inherent variability of range conditions.

In my opinion, laying off USPSA and steel for six years is the best thing you can do for your precision trigger control skills. Seriously. :-)

I'm a firm believer in the concept that shooting accurately is more a function of what we choose to pay attention to as we make each shot, and less about how much time we take to do it. That said, I've read comments regarding full use of the available time for each string of fire. That seems facetious coming from USPSA shooters. I'd suggest that the question here is not whether we're fast enough per se, but whether our trigger control skills are capable of delivering X's within the time allowed. We're too attached to time as an aspect of scoring, and thus as a necessary limiting factor in our performance. I'd recommend not using a timer at all for anything other than as a start stimulus (being somewhat deaf these days, my starts will be visible on the paper events anyway) until the last week of final training before the match. I'd instead suggest we work ruthlessly on the process of making each shot what it needs to be within the context of procedural and technical requirements for each string of fire. I'd rather start out conditioning my mind to accept X's on demand and get faster through finding the efficiencies in that process that inevitably reveal themselves as skills improve, than to struggle to shoot 10's within the alloted times from the beginning in the fond hope of overcoming thousands of rounds of maladaptive practice that conditioned me to accept less than optimal sight alignment and trigger manipulation. Properly executed shots, observed with interest, will always be fast enough. You'll know; in fact, you know now. On the other hand, the worst advice I could give might be to consciously try to use all the time as an end to itself. That invites a sense of compromise. Time is what the range officials are concerned with. It's not their fault, as timing and scoring are the only interactions they have with our process (unless we do something really strange out there on the line). Ideally, that interaction is benignly passive and need not become an intrusion unless we let it. We might rather wish to to concern ourselves only with operating the trigger while watching the sights as an interested observer. The resulting string, fired without excessive, other-directed tension, shall always be fast enough. That's become my perspective on timing, FWIW.

-Bruce

[Toolguy]

Wow. That was a very well written thesis. I concur.

[DWFAN]

i agree with Bruce and Warren. After taking Phil Straders class this weekend, and learning about perfect practice, i couldnt help but to think how it would apply to Bianchi. Mr. Gray summed it up perfectly, and i may just see how it works out.

[Allgoodhits]

I go with both Bruce Gray and Bruce Piatt, but here's the difference.

First, let's assume that one's "equipment" is capable of delivering an X or at a minimum a 10 on demand all the time.

Given the statement above as true, then provided that the "shooter" has the ability to deliver a 10 or better on demand then using the par time to the maximum benefit of the shooter is absolutely correct as said by Bruce P.

However, if the "equipment can" deliver the 10 on demand, but the "shooter can not", then as Bruce Gray states, and I agree, one's time is better spent learning what they need to see, and they need to do irrespective of the par time. Learn the skills required, then learn to repeat that skill set on demand between the beeps. Once the skill required has been programmed into one's subconscious, then it's just a matter of making it happen more quickly.

MJ