Video critique wanted

[Corey]

Finally have some video from a local match today. Posted in my range diary as well, but I wanted to make a separate thread for some critique as Im sure not many people are following my diary yet.

One of the clips starts just after I started shooting....what can I say my camera man is still a D class videographer

Any tips or advice will be warmly welcomed! thanks!

[CHA-LEE]

This is what I see…..

Stage 1 – When you make ready, have the gun high like you would be doing the reload during the stage run. Also seat the mag at the same speed as you would during he stage run. This burns in the proper way to reload. If you always do the reload in the proper place and proper speed good reloading habits will follow after the buzzer goes off. When you shoot the second string on the left it would have probably made more sense to start on the right target first then shoot the string right to left. The right most target is what keeps you pinned in that shooting position. The sooner you can be done with the target that is “pinning” you in the shooting position the sooner you can get moving to the next shooting position. Lots of time is spent reloading. If you are going to sun low cap Divisions then your reloads need to be a lot faster.

Stage 2 – Nice smooth draw to first shot. Listen to your shooting cadence between both strings. They are almost identical which isn’t optimal for a target setup like this. You should be able to shoot the full targets faster than the partial targets, but your splits are almost exactly the same on both strings. How were your hits on this stage? I think that you might be shooting with a little too much of a locked elbow arm position. Each shot sends a jolt of recoil into your shoulders and that leads to your head bobbing with every shot. Try shooting with your elbows just unlocked, this will allow your elbows to absorb some of the recoil keeping your upper body solid. When you have your body and head bobbing around with each shot it makes it really hard to shoot fast and keep the sights tracking consistently along with trying to see everything.

Stage 3 – Since we can’t see what you are shooting at there is no way of telling if you are shooting fast or slow enough. This is a good vantage point of you shooting though. If you look closely you are transitioning left/right with your waist instead of at your knees. You always want to transition with your knees and keep your upper body moving as a whole unit. When you move at your waist it unsettles your stance and greatly reduces your ability to keep from moving around during recoil. You are standing with your feet in just about the same front to back position. Try moving your right foot back about 8 – 10 inches then transition with your knees. I think you will be surprised at how much more secure your stance is by simply moving your right foot back a little bit. Doing this also stages your feet in a way that allows you to quickly launch out of a shooting position by simply pushing off with your back foot.

Stage 4 – It would be nice to see the start of this stage. But the one thing I do see is that you shot the left side paper then steel. I like to shoot whatever targets are lower first then the higher ones second. Its easier for me to see and transition to a target that is above the one I am currently engaging. When I shoot this classifier I shoot it steel first then paper. During your reload you drop the mag and stop moving into the middle then finish the reload and have to move to the right. On these barricade classifiers with reloads between sides you need to keep your body moving from one side to the other as you do the reload. That way when the reload is done you can already see the targets and more importantly be able to shoot them.

Stage 5 – I think you lost a significant amount of time on this stage by drawing across to the left AND starting on the furthest/tightest target. Think of doing things sooner with easier shots post gun manipulation (draw & reloads). If I would have shot this stage I would have drawn to the extreme right target on the right side of the barricade then shot the string right to left. Reloaded then engaged the extreme left target first and shot the left side string left to right. This would have allowed me to engage the easiest and closest target on both the draw and after the reload. It also allows me to get shooting sooner on both sides. Another important thing about doing it this way is that it allows me to have a more natural body position during the draw. When you are leaning over and all twisted up during the draw it slows everything down and creates more of an opportunity to have a botched grip during the draw. You always have plenty of time to move your body into the optimal position DURING the draw as the gun is coming up. So don’t get sucked into funky start positions that get you only slightly closer but put your body in a contorted position for the draw.

[Corey]

I was hoping you'd see this . you always seem to have insightful views on this sort of thing.

After watching myself a couple times, i did notice my elbows seemed to be locked. something I didnt think i was doing but will be more conscious of. Stage 1 was the first stage of teh day and i think i could have done a little better if ihad a stage or two under my belt for the day first.

your stage 5 advice makes a lot of sense. when i shoot around a barricade or wall i usually wrap inside so i can back out of the position while shooting the last couple targets. it gets me on my way when i need to move. I didnt need to move and i actually drew past3 targets

Edited May 17, 2010 by Corey

[fasteddy]

I was hoping you'd see this . you always seem to have insightful views on this sort of thing.

After watching myself a couple times, i did notice my elbows seemed to be locked. something I didnt think i was doing but will be more conscious of. Stage 1 was the first stage of teh day and i think i could have done a little better if ihad a stage or two under my belt for the day first.

your stage 5 advice makes a lot of sense. when i shoot around a barricade or wall i usually wrap inside so i can back out of the position while shooting the last couple targets. it gets me on my way when i need to move. I didnt need to move and i actually drew past3 targets

Edited May 24, 2010 by fasteddy