Hosing mental switch...

[tanks]

I shot a match in CO last weekend that was quite a bit different than the type of matches I usually shoot locally in Southern CA. It involved a lot of targets that were 2-4 yards away. Looking at the videos I took, I noticed that I actually shot those same speed or even slower than 10 yard arrays. Almost all of the shots were an inch apart in the A zone.

 

What is a good way to make the mental switch for those close targets? Now, in my stage plan I was concentrating on flow of movement, reload location and order I was going to shoot the targets. Should I also make a mental note to say target focus/fast trigger etc. or something else?

[Hi-Power Jack]

Bill drills might be of some assistance    

[tanks]

I do Bill Drills and Blake drills which actually help more skill wise. The issue was mental switch. In one stage there were 3 targets put together very similar to a Blake drill configuration at 10 yards or so and I was actually faster with splits and transitions with those than the real close targets.

[uewpew]

Do some Accelerator Drills and make sure you shoot the close target AS FAST as you can.  Don't worry about hits right away, just focus on shooting the close target fast. 

 

Then really start paying attention to what kind of sight picture u need to hit Alphas fast on the close target.    

 

Lastly, at your matches:  when visualizing your stage plan be sure to visualize your sight picture (based on what you learned from the accelerator drill).

 

Hope this helps. 

[dhighlan]

Distance change up drills and watch the timer. Start on close targets and switch to far on the start. Put out three paper targets close 3-5 yards and 2 steel target 15-20 yards. Watch your timer and check if you start close what your tension is like and if more relaxed from far target first. Get accustom to driving the gun into the A zone without a clear sight picture. This drill you can do paper then two lollipops or paper, steel, paper steel, etc. 

[motosapiens]

practice?

 

seriously, it makes sense to me to practice at different distances, and learn how much you need to see to call shots at those distances. At 2-4 yards, not much, but until you practice it, it won't be a part of your toolkit.

[StuckinMS]

If you only practice at 10-15 yards then you will be a great 10-15 yard shooter.  Since target distances and available scoring zones change frequently,  you should vary your practice accordingly.   You need to know what sight picture and time you need at varying distances or with varying scoring zones just like moto said.  Do ghat and you will rise to the challenge.

[johnbu]

Didn't see this before.  On hoser type stages where everything is close,  TIME is the primary goal.    I shot a match recently with a good Open shooter that usually gets all A hits.  He ran a 9.4HF with all Alpha. I had about 40%C hits, but ran it faster and had a slightly higher HF.  Honestly,  I was flat out running and shooting the middle of brown.  Now obvioiusly had I gone that fast AND hit all A it would be better!  But I'm still learning and focusing on one aspect at a time. 

 

 

On 4/18/2018 at 5:52 PM, tanks said:

Should I also make a mental note to say target focus/fast trigger etc. or something else?

 

Figure out your route and then just think about snapping off the shots the instant you have brown behind the sight.  Your brain will be centering the gun. 

 

That may not be right, but it's what I do. 

[MemphisMechanic]

On 4/20/2018 at 3:00 PM, tanks said:

I do Bill Drills and Blake drills which actually help more skill wise. The issue was mental switch. In one stage there were 3 targets put together very similar to a Blake drill configuration at 10 yards or so and I was actually faster with splits and transitions with those than the real close targets.

 

I had this same issue while taking Ben Stoeger’s class in ‘17.

 

His advice? Three yard bill drills.

I expanded it to “in your face” el prez’s, too. 

 

Helped a TON on shredding close targets.

 

Edited May 23, 2018 by MemphisMechanic

[tanks]

Thanks. Range day on Thursday. Will set up Bill and Blake drills with a partial in the middle at 3 yards ( a lot of what I see) and go for it and see what happens.

[tanks]

On 5/22/2018 at 9:55 PM, MemphisMechanic said:

 

I had this same issue while taking Ben Stoeger’s class in ‘17.

 

His advice? Three yard bill drills.

I expanded it to “in your face” el prez’s, too. 

 

Helped a TON on shredding close targets.

 

 

I spent a bit of time on 3 yard Bill drills. Interestingly my times were about the same as my 7 yard Bill drills. (1.2 draw, .21-.22 splits). The only difference was that the shots were clustered together vs a lot more space between the shots on the 7 yard drill.

 

I also had one other thing to work on so I stopped after 15 reps. Afterwards I was thinking that the gun was not moving out of the A zone, so there was no need for me to wait for the sights to come down. Also, I was still on front sight focus and at that distance probably should switch to target focus, but I am not sure.

[Beef15]

5 hours ago, tanks said:

 

I spent a bit of time on 3 yard Bill drills. Interestingly my times were about the same as my 7 yard Bill drills. (1.2 draw, .21-.22 splits). The only difference was that the shots were clustered together vs a lot more space between the shots on the 7 yard drill.

 

I also had one other thing to work on so I stopped after 15 reps. Afterwards I was thinking that the gun was not moving out of the A zone, so there was no need for me to wait for the sights to come down. Also, I was still on front sight focus and at that distance probably should switch to target focus, but I am not sure.

With a good grip the gun will barely leave the A zone if at all at 5yds and will return close enough you can sort of go by feel. I only need to see enough of the gun to know it's pointed toward the right area at those distances until the available A gets pretty small.

 

Can You Count would make a decent hosing drill, with available benchmarks/par times.

[MemphisMechanic]

@tanks why are you only splitting at .21 in that situation? The purpose of working on something so close and dirty is 100% to focus on hosing speed.

 

(Looking for .8 to 1.0 on the draw and to be down in the teens on the splits.)

 

You’re running through the drill with your comfortable 7-10 yard speed and mindset, and then posting that it wasn’t worth your time... of course it wasn’t.

 

This stuff is teaching you to find another faster gear to downshift into when things get super hose-y in matches, which means you have to begin by shooting slightly out of control.

 

Rip the gun from the holster with a solid grip, hang on hard, and look through the gun at the target while working the trigger faster than you ever have.

 

Edited May 26, 2018 by MemphisMechanic

[Sac Law Man]

In your walk-through, I believe you would have to start out making the mental decision to pull the trigger faster on the targets you can afford to.  Call your shots and let the sights dictate your cadence of fire.. many times we wait until the sight settles before pulling the trigger instead of pulling the trigger the instant to sights are on target.

[tanks]

On 5/26/2018 at 6:41 AM, MemphisMechanic said:

@tanks why are you only splitting at .21 in that situation? The purpose of working on something so close and dirty is 100% to focus on hosing speed.

 

(Looking for .8 to 1.0 on the draw and to be down in the teens on the splits.)

 

You’re running through the drill with your comfortable 7-10 yard speed and mindset, and then posting that it wasn’t worth your time... of course it wasn’t.

 

This stuff is teaching you to find another faster gear to downshift into when things get super hose-y in matches, which means you have to begin by shooting slightly out of control.

 

Rip the gun from the holster with a solid grip, hang on hard, and look through the gun at the target while working the trigger faster than you ever have.

 

 

OK. Today I followed your advice. At 3 yards draws were in the .92 -1.0 range and the splits were averaging around .17. I had one .13 and several .15s as well. And I was still seeing the sights go up and down during the process within the A zone.. What got me going was to start from the draw and two shots. Once I was hitting consistently at .17 move to 3 to 4 etc..

 

Thanks for the suggestion, I really didn't think I could slap the trigger that fast as fastest shooting into the berm was .19 in the past.

[MemphisMechanic]

Yep. Until you learn to shoot into a close target, gripping hard, and rail the trigger that fast...

 

You don’t know you can.

 

Now work on it until you are comfortable with it in a match. So that you’re able to shave .5 seconds or so off the next “in your face” hoser array you face in a match.

 

Edited June 8, 2018 by MemphisMechanic