a matt Posted October 1, 2013 Share Posted October 1, 2013 I hated steel, I would see and start to worry about, no good at all. So I had to take that weakness and make it, at least not a weakness. Now I see steel and I know it's no problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasM Posted October 1, 2013 Share Posted October 1, 2013 Steel has always been easier for me. I like that its hit or miss. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricWilliams Posted October 4, 2013 Share Posted October 4, 2013 I don't mind poppers but plate racks make me nervous for some reason. I have tried practicing with them and can clear them fine but come to a stage with one and I freak! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigstick0000 Posted March 27, 2014 Share Posted March 27, 2014 I know some guys that shoot great in an ipsc match but have a problem with steel matches. Steel is a great teacher for speed and target acquisition. I shoot a lot of steel and hit every match that I can. A great help is two plate racks and two shooters side by side. You will learn to shut out the other shooter at the beep or the other shooter will beat you.. Steel is getting more popular every year. Shoot it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcarpenter82 Posted March 27, 2014 Share Posted March 27, 2014 its a mental thing. I used to have the same issue, until I understood, one sight picture for each shot. simple and easy-ish.lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zhuk Posted March 27, 2014 Share Posted March 27, 2014 (edited) Shooting a steel match is great practice, well its a match but it helps you to find that balance between speed and accuracy. You may find it humbling, but as a shooter you need humbling to improve. Its all A hits, no C or D, not much movement, but excellent for draw to first shot, transition practice, and yes accuracy. You may find that a gong at 35 yards is a bit more difficult to hit at speed than the average A zone. Take the plunge got to a Steel Challenge match, get you mojo on at speed and watch the mikes pile up, then start trying to get one for one, it will make you a better shooter. Your not shoot fast until you break in to the 2's, even at 2.99 you are there, you can't get there without being able to call your shots if you look or listen for the hit you just wasted time. Good points. As an IPSC shooter who also shoots Steel Challenge I'd wondered why not many faces who turn out for IPSC shoot steel as well. A far more experienced head pointed out that cos it's harder - and people don't like to be shown up. Its accuracy and speed shooting on demand, its just you and a whole squad to watch you (potentially) go down in a flaming trainwreck Lol. Very little margin for error. But why wouldn't you shoot what is difficult in order to get better? is my question Edited March 27, 2014 by zhuk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ardo Posted March 27, 2014 Share Posted March 27, 2014 I was always nervous when shooting plate racks - so I built a 4-plate rack for my airsoft practice. Once I got better at it, this helped staying relaxed when shooting plates in matches. One thing I noticed: if I can stay focused on the front sight, I can call my shots better and shoot the stage at my optimal speed. If my focus shifts to the plate, there's a 50% chance that I will miss. Must be an age thing, not being able to shift focus quick enough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoubleL Posted March 27, 2014 Share Posted March 27, 2014 Steel is the best, so fun. Wipe a plate rack clean, you get immediate gratification. Nothing more disappointing, or boring in my opinion, than too much paper. I want Texas stars and propeller plate racks and falling steel and poppers big and small and any other evil steel target the MD can come up with. A target big or small, far or near, steel or paper, doesn't really matter any ways, you still have to put a hit on all of them. If paper seems easy because it's "bigger" you're probably just fooling yourself shooting at brown. The A zone is tiny! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zhuk Posted March 28, 2014 Share Posted March 28, 2014 Ahh, I would love to try a Texas star...I don't believe they are legal here though (like so much isn't ) You've got it in one about the A zone though...the bigger whole target just lulls you into a false sense of security lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
niroth81 Posted March 28, 2014 Author Share Posted March 28, 2014 There is a texas star at Hume PC. A mate and I ran it the other weekend, just because it was on our shooting bucket list. Awesome fun to shoot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dane Posted March 28, 2014 Share Posted March 28, 2014 I tell ya what I am kind of glad they don't use the Texas Star in IPSC or I'd be zeroing a lot more stages... I sucked at it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zhuk Posted March 28, 2014 Share Posted March 28, 2014 There is a texas star at Hume PC. A mate and I ran it the other weekend, just because it was on our shooting bucket list. Awesome fun to shoot. Yeah I saw those at Hume last year at the State Titles. Maybe its changed but back then someone said they were verboten. It's NSW so I wasn't surprised lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zhuk Posted March 28, 2014 Share Posted March 28, 2014 I tell ya what I am kind of glad they don't use the Texas Star in IPSC or I'd be zeroing a lot more stages... I sucked at it! hey no doubt I would too mate! Would be fun to try though Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nimitz Posted March 28, 2014 Share Posted March 28, 2014 You want to learn to shoot accuractly at speed? Take up Steel Challenge. It's called the world speed shooting championship for a reason ... There is a PPR and a Texas Star at Area 6 this year .... Can't wait !! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoubleL Posted March 29, 2014 Share Posted March 29, 2014 I tell ya what I am kind of glad they don't use the Texas Star in IPSC or I'd be zeroing a lot more stages... I sucked at it!What? No stars in IPSC? Pray this is blasphemy. I have zero knowledge of IPSC rules and I may just be showing it right now. What would lead a shooting organization to leave out one of the absolute most fun targets to shoot at? I built a star just because the fun factor is off the charts. If true, IPSC just lost a few points with me, no stars is like a match without 'no shoots'. A big +++1 to Nimitz! The PPR is what it's all about! I can think of no better reason to practice and dry fire than the PPR. Clearing that one is a real confidence booster the first few times. You also learn REALLY fast what works and what doesn't as far as visual focus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zhuk Posted March 29, 2014 Share Posted March 29, 2014 I tell ya what I am kind of glad they don't use the Texas Star in IPSC or I'd be zeroing a lot more stages... I sucked at it!What? No stars in IPSC? Pray this is blasphemy. I have zero knowledge of IPSC rules and I may just be showing it right now. What would lead a shooting organization to leave out one of the absolute most fun targets to shoot at? I built a star just because the fun factor is off the charts.If true, IPSC just lost a few points with me, no stars is like a match without 'no shoots'. A big +++1 to Nimitz! The PPR is what it's all about! I can think of no better reason to practice and dry fire than the PPR. Clearing that one is a real confidence booster the first few times. You also learn REALLY fast what works and what doesn't as far as visual focus Not that I've ever seen featured in Australian matches, nope...but in NSW particularly I can't see the Firearms Registry liking it lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Solidgun Posted March 29, 2014 Share Posted March 29, 2014 I like shooting steel and I shot it faster because I don't find myself second guessing my shots. But I wish I could practice more with texas stars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parallax3D Posted April 1, 2014 Share Posted April 1, 2014 I love shooting Steel Challenge, but it IS different from shooting poppers or plates in an IPSC match. The BIG differnce is that the steel has to FALL in order to score in IPSC, but an edge hit still counts in Steel Challenge. I do think that shooting Steel Challenge helps with learning how to call your shots, but like someone else said, if you leave the steel for last when leaving a shooting position, and your shot call was off, you have to go back and pick up the shot. Makes sense to shoot steel first if the stage design makes it possible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michael b. Posted April 6, 2014 Share Posted April 6, 2014 I shot a plate rack during practice yesterday. With the help of an experienced shooter, I was able to figure out a huge problem on my draw. For example, I can draw on paper and hit it at least somewhere. There's a lot of real estate on that target. I've also been noticing my first shot after a draw is not my most accurate. On the plate rack I had a heck of a time making a hit on my draw. Beep, Bang, Miss...Beep, Bang, Miss...Beep, Bang, Miss. From a low ready I can clean the rack pretty quickly, so I know I can shoot decently and transition from plate to plate. I just couldn't draw and hit it...at all. After a lot of frustration and swearing on my part, and the help of a very patient and supportive fellow shooter, I was able to figure out my issue. On my draw, I was just slapping my big-dumb finger on the trigger. No trigger control. No prepping the trigger or focus on what my finger was doing, at all. Once I figured that out, things improved quite a bit. In a nutshell, I loved and hated that plate rack yesterday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parallax3D Posted April 8, 2014 Share Posted April 8, 2014 On my draw, I was just slapping my big-dumb finger on the trigger. No trigger control. No prepping the trigger or focus on what my finger was doing, at all. Yeah, slapping the trigger works fine when you have a big open paper target that's REAL close and you need fast shots, (CM06-03 "Can You Count" is a good example), but not so much when you need accuracy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mese341 Posted May 16, 2014 Share Posted May 16, 2014 i like shooting steel because it gives positive feed back right away instead of walking down range Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeerBaron Posted May 28, 2014 Share Posted May 28, 2014 I tell ya what I am kind of glad they don't use the Texas Star in IPSC or I'd be zeroing a lot more stages... I sucked at it!What? No stars in IPSC? Pray this is blasphemy. I have zero knowledge of IPSC rules and I may just be showing it right now. What would lead a shooting organization to leave out one of the absolute most fun targets to shoot at? I built a star just because the fun factor is off the charts.If true, IPSC just lost a few points with me, no stars is like a match without 'no shoots'. A big +++1 to Nimitz! The PPR is what it's all about! I can think of no better reason to practice and dry fire than the PPR. Clearing that one is a real confidence booster the first few times. You also learn REALLY fast what works and what doesn't as far as visual focus yeah IPSC have no texas star. they are big on being true to what they believe was coopers vision and trying to keep the 'practical' in IPSC... they argue that the texas start is not a 'practical' target presentation and as such deem it to be a 'carnival target'. so yeah many places that shoot ISPC will shoot the star for fun, but not in a sanctioned IPSC match. IPSC have a whole list or target presentations and target types that they deem not practical and thus not in keeping with the flavour of the sport. many would argue though there is a whole bunch of stuff in IPSC that strays from this practical mandate and that since it's obviously a sport or a game (not training or god forbid 'real life') that we should just accept things like the star as a fun and challenging target. here's one for the steel lovers. given the origins of the sport are 'practical' what is steel supposed to replicate? obviously the IPSC turtles are a body mass or centre of mass type of target, the IPSC metrics are (duh!) a metric of a human. I have heard that the round plates simulate a car headlight to be shot out. So what is a popper or pepper popper an analogue of? I guess people that are really far away? That perhaps makes sense for pepper poppers, less so for the plain poppers. and a final message about the difficulty of steel. many older shooters who shoot bullseye type sports or NRA will tell you: "There's no 8's on plates"... They do seem to sort the men from the boys. I know I need to work on my steel... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WheelGunHunter Posted July 17, 2014 Share Posted July 17, 2014 I don't really shoot steel matches, but for me poppers in USPSA used to give me trouble because I would see the entire popper as a target and not just the circle know how big your target is. The biggest reason I had trouble with poppers was because in my stage planning and visualization I would say don't miss the steel instead of saying I hit the steel. It was all mental for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fastluck13 Posted July 18, 2014 Share Posted July 18, 2014 I don't really shoot steel matches, but for me poppers in USPSA used to give me trouble because I would see the entire popper as a target and not just the circle know how big your target is. The biggest reason I had trouble with poppers was because in my stage planning and visualization I would say don't miss the steel instead of saying I hit the steel. It was all mental for me. Don't let Brian fool you, I have never seen him miss. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quackhead Posted August 13, 2014 Share Posted August 13, 2014 I tell ya what I am kind of glad they don't use the Texas Star in IPSC or I'd be zeroing a lot more stages... I sucked at it!What? No stars in IPSC? Pray this is blasphemy. I have zero knowledge of IPSC rules and I may just be showing it right now. What would lead a shooting organization to leave out one of the absolute most fun targets to shoot at? I built a star just because the fun factor is off the charts.If true, IPSC just lost a few points with me, no stars is like a match without 'no shoots'. A big +++1 to Nimitz! The PPR is what it's all about! I can think of no better reason to practice and dry fire than the PPR. Clearing that one is a real confidence booster the first few times. You also learn REALLY fast what works and what doesn't as far as visual focus yeah IPSC have no texas star. they are big on being true to what they believe was coopers vision and trying to keep the 'practical' in IPSC... they argue that the texas start is not a 'practical' target presentation and as such deem it to be a 'carnival target'. so yeah many places that shoot ISPC will shoot the star for fun, but not in a sanctioned IPSC match. IPSC have a whole list or target presentations and target types that they deem not practical and thus not in keeping with the flavour of the sport. many would argue though there is a whole bunch of stuff in IPSC that strays from this practical mandate and that since it's obviously a sport or a game (not training or god forbid 'real life') that we should just accept things like the star as a fun and challenging target. here's one for the steel lovers. given the origins of the sport are 'practical' what is steel supposed to replicate? obviously the IPSC turtles are a body mass or centre of mass type of target, the IPSC metrics are (duh!) a metric of a human. I have heard that the round plates simulate a car headlight to be shot out. So what is a popper or pepper popper an analogue of? I guess people that are really far away? That perhaps makes sense for pepper poppers, less so for the plain poppers. and a final message about the difficulty of steel. many older shooters who shoot bullseye type sports or NRA will tell you: "There's no 8's on plates"... They do seem to sort the men from the boys. I know I need to work on my steel... I am being a tad cautious because I just began shooting matches 3 weeks ago...my first was a monthly USPSA club event, my other three were steel, one a Steel Challenge event. I noticed on two steel matches, they had "Gangsters"..a gong with a 8" round on top and a 8" round below in the "crotch area" as a stop plate. In Steel Challenge, all plates and gongs were set at a specific hight...I assumed these represented head shots..6 head shots at varying distances and sizes in under 3 seconds for the open guys seems like pretty good training to me..j/s Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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