Interesting thing happened at range yesterday

[ger]

I went to go practice and set up a stage that I started from behind barricade and would draw and engage both steel and paper from each side of the prop. I also would have to do a mag change as I switched from strong to weak side. There were targets that had to be engaged from both sides that were very near center line so some leaning out would be needed. But it could be done with a little effort using strong hand from either side. So thats the setup to have a mental pic of.

Buzzer sounds, I draw fire 2 hots and then a higher primer gives me a misfire (course now I am mind screwed) clear it shoot rest of targets on right (forget all about my mag change) begin to engage all the targets on left, when I run out of bullets, oops forgot that reload and when I go to grab the mag and drop the magazine from gun I realize I have the gun in my left hand and I am pulling a mag out from across my body! and of course the magazine button was not there for my left thumb either. So I use my left forefinger drop mag and continue to shoot the remaining targets left handed ( did not even think to switch gun over after the reload!)

After breaking down what happened over the rest of the night, I come up with this:

When the malfunctioned occurred it threw my game plan out the window, had I not forgot the reload I do not think this would have happened at all, and don't laugh or think less of me but I am currently a Paintball field owner and a competitor for over 25 years now, the USPSA has given me new life in being competitive at something I enjoy, when at 48 my paintball competition days have come to a end. I only tell you this because you will never survive at the highest level of the paintball sport if you cannot shoot left and right from behind cover(reason: you expose to much of your body leaning around shooting left side with right hand) that being said a paintball marker has a air system which makes it more like a rifle than a pistol.

I just thought it interesting that when something goes wrong your mind / body reverts back to what it knows and is use to, and at first I thought what a interesting skill set to have but then I realized looking back at the events I have been to, no stage has really been set up where the need to shoot off hand was worth the effort and hand switch actually would take up more time then continuing the course with strong hand. So now I worry about my instinct kicking in when I do not want it to!

On a side note I slipped in the Mud at The MS classic and the gravel at Alabama State match and keeping the gun down range and getting up fast is also a skill that is 2nd nature from running with a marker and diving /sliding into bunkers. Although I am happy to be able to keep in the game during those moments, I have gathered from my short shooting career that we do not want to really fall/ slip or slide in this sport....really no advantages

So not sure I am in the right forum but is shooting off hand a valuable skill to be able to do other than the few COF that require a left hand only few shots?

Edited June 1, 2010 by ger

[Jadeslade]

Yes. A stage at the Ohio Section last year had targets that were behind hard cover and with no-shoots ,and if you felt better shooting left handed than trying to lean around while keeping two hands on the gun, it was a lot easier-not necessarily faster. Having noticed that, I have shot several stages since then with low ports where the targets are close and it just makes sense. Kind of like driving by and you let go with one hand or the other. I don't know if it is intentional, but probably with the more experienced stage designers it is put in as an option. I think it is an important skill to have, but you should be real confident with it. Sounds like you are. Not a lot of people are.

PS. You might want to edit your topic a little and put something more specific in it like "skill set with off hand shooting" or something. "Interesting thing at the range" is super generic. Interesting stuff, though

[CZinSC]

but then I realized looking back at the events I have been to, no stage has really been set up where the need to shoot off hand was worth the effort and hand switch actually would take up more time then continuing the course with strong hand.

At Area 6, one of the stages required you to either:

1 - Hit two pepper poppers from the start box, 25 yards away, through a 1 foot gap between two barrels, or

2 - Halfway through the COF, If you were lefty, lean out through a port and take them from about 15 yards, no obstructions

To shoot them from the port righty required a skinny person(which i am not), to lean way out and shoot back to the right. It was only a slight lean for a lefty.

This is just one example. I shoot with a lefty shooter, so I see a lot of different ways to shoot stages because he has a different angle when he shoots.

The issue is though, how proficient are you with the weak hand? If you are, say 50-75% as accurate, then you're right, not worth it. However, since you have some unique experience with paintball, you may be accurate enough to pull off some of those shots.

[Corey]

I played paintball for a number of years competitively and got VERY used to switching hands. It still feels a little weird to me shooting around the left side of a barricade with my right hand on the trigger. Maybe I should practice some lefty shots, but I just don't think I would be proficient enough. one way to find out...

[ger]

Yes. A stage at the Ohio Section last year had targets that were behind hard cover and with no-shoots ,and if you felt better shooting left handed than trying to lean around while keeping two hands on the gun, it was a lot easier-not necessarily faster. Having noticed that, I have shot several stages since then with low ports where the targets are close and it just makes sense. Kind of like driving by and you let go with one hand or the other. I don't know if it is intentional, but probably with the more experienced stage designers it is put in as an option. I think it is an important skill to have, but you should be real confident with it. Sounds like you are. Not a lot of people are.

PS. You might want to edit your topic a little and put something more specific in it like "skill set with off hand shooting" or something. "Interesting thing at the range" is super generic. Interesting stuff, though

topic altered thanks for the input

[ger]

like I mentioned I thought about it off and on all day, wondering what the override was and then what was the advantage or disadvantage . In the end figuring the switching from right hand to left hand and then back to right hand and reestablishing grip, it would be time lost and probably not worth it 99.9% of the time and one more thing for me to tell myself not to do it. As far as accuracy it is 90% of the right side but not as quick for sure. The recoil management is off with my left hand as paintguns do not recoil.

Corey, what team did you play for perhaps we have met? did you play 7 man or Xball, I did both Leagues so maybe we have crossed paths? I have played with Live Wire Vicious, Diesel, Warped Army, Swat Paintball, and as of the last few years the Masters division at World Cup with the Ego Maniacs. I have been thinking how cool it would be to get more old paintballers and young* into the shooting game, course we gotta teach them finger out the trigger and the 180 rule for sure! as those are the two hardest things for me to have on my do not do list, after 25 years those are hard habits to break when you are use to engaging moving targets at every angle including behind you

[Bob DuBois]

Won't help mental mistakes but putting your match ammo in the hundred count boxes and checking for primers missing or high primers, wrong caliber, super comp when I'm shooting 38 super etc. will help some of the mechanical mistakes. I'll polish my loaded ammo the run it hard through the media separator to see if any primers are loose. If you don't want to polish your ammo, shake them in a small box. Any loose primers will back out or fall out.

I usually draw a red line with a sharpie across the primers when there in the box, helps old eyes looking through trifocals see bad primers. Also helps in getting your brass back.

[Jadeslade]

Bob-I love a detail guy-those are great tips-if only everybody really read each others posts so carefully..........

[ger]

Won't help mental mistakes but putting your match ammo in the hundred count boxes and checking for primers missing or high primers, wrong caliber, super comp when I'm shooting 38 super etc. will help some of the mechanical mistakes. I'll polish my loaded ammo the run it hard through the media separator to see if any primers are loose. If you don't want to polish your ammo, shake them in a small box. Any loose primers will back out or fall out.

I usually draw a red line with a sharpie across the primers when there in the box, helps old eyes looking through trifocals see bad primers. Also helps in getting your brass back.

that's a awesome idea, THANKS