The 1st Shot

[cz75ipsc]

Now I know the vibe around here is to call each and every shot, but let me lay my case down.

I like to think that I have a good index; I can usually hit my intended target (not any target of course )with my eyes closed after a draw or a reload if I position myself properly. Often (when I try to shoot as fast as I can after a draw or a reload) I see the rear sight but no front sight. The front sight is very often low and left. I don't know if I move my head a little bit on the draw, because it seems that my gun is properly aligned but my head is often low and left.

I call my shots on paper and I do get mostly alphas (around 90%). I also call my shots on steel but sometimes I don't call the FIRST shot on steel, the sights being off making the calling difficult. My question is: Is this a bad idea? I've really aced some stages with a really fast shot on a plate right after a reload or a draw. If I don't hit it with the first shot, I hit it on the 2nd 95% of the time, because I use my sights for the 2nd shot. And all consecutive shots on steel (for example a plate rack).

Any thoughts?

[DogmaDog]

Well, calling the shot simply means being able to know where the bullet went when the gun went off. Seeing the sights is the usual method for calling the shot, but it isn't beyond the realm of possibility that you could call the shot in a different way sometimes (by "feel", or index). That is, "See what you need to see", as is oft repeated here. I don't think that "indexing" and "calling the shot" are mutually exclusive at all. Indexing is how you get the gun on target, and calling is how you keep it there until the bullet leaves the barrel.

To the extent you are scoring good hits, it's a good idea. To the extent that you miss and lose points or have to fire makeup shots, you would be better off waiting until your sight picture is better refined.

I'll sometimes miss the first plate on a plate rack, and if I do, I'll often miss more plates, too. It seems as though I get "dialed in" with an initial hit, and then I can hit the rest just by making the same repeated transitional movement, getting away with less visual refinement because the plates are all regularly spaced. But that first shot seems to be really important, so I want to be really focused on the sights, and I want the gun to be completely settled. For subsequent shots on the plate rack I can use a looser focus, and let the shot go without stopping the gun completely.

DogmaDog

[Matthew_Mink]

I think it is extremely important to get dialed in with that first hit. I have experimented during matches with the first shot. If I try to get out of the holster as quick as possible to get that quick first shot, usually I have no visual patience during the entire stage. If I see what I need to see on the first shot, then the rest of the stage goes a lot better than if I didn't.

[spook]

If I try to get out of the holster as quick as possible to get that quick first shot, usually I have no visual patience during the entire stage. If I see what I need to see on the first shot, then the rest of the stage goes a lot better than if I didn't.

Very cool.

I believe it was Saul Kirsch that said: "The first shot is the most important one", because of this I would say.

[Ron Ankeny]

I always get dialed in for that first shot. Things just go so much better if I not only call the shot, but also know the hit will be good before I get the visual input to confirm the hit.

I don't have the quickest draw around. I am working on getting faster, but I refuse to sacrifice seeing what I need to see for the sake of a quicker draw.

I don't know if I move my head a little bit on the draw, because it seems that my gun is properly aligned but my head is often low and left.

If you are moving your head, dipping the shoulders, etc., fix that problem first.

[benos]

Sounds like you just need some more training with your "first shot index."

A good goal would be to draw - with eyes closed on something about the size of light switch, from across the room - open your eyes and see the sights in perfect alignment, on the switch, almost every time.

The reason firing a "first-shot-hoper" is not a good thing to make habitual is that your gun will not begin decisively moving toward the next target until you KNOW you hit the previous target. Not knowing slows you down big-time.

be

[Loves2Shoot]

I call my shots on paper and I do get mostly alphas (around 90%). I also call my shots on steel but sometimes I don't call the FIRST shot on steel, the sights being off making the calling difficult. My question is: Is this a bad idea? I've really aced some stages with a really fast shot on a plate right after a reload or a draw. If I don't hit it with the first shot, I hit it on the 2nd 95% of the time, because I use my sights for the 2nd shot. And all consecutive shots on steel (for example a plate rack).

Any thoughts?

What BE said and do the math. One miss and you could have seen the sight all day long for the first shot. Can you afford a non A hit on 10% of your draws, I can't. If you ace a stage it isn't because of the draw. Do the math. A smoking draw .85 a good draw .95 an average draw 1.25-1.5 or is the .4-.75 that you gain (MAX more likely .3-.5) worth not knowing exactly where the bullet went? I concur with the rest of the guys, a good first shot sets up the rest of the stage.

[Mistral404]

I was shooting a steel stage a couple of weeks ago. The stage had three large steel plates on the right and 4 small round plates on the left. It had a mandatory reload.

I started with the large and proceeded to the small with the reload on the last small plate.

A very knowledgable GM asked me why I wanted to shoot the stage slow.

He proceed to enlighten this grasshopper.

1. Make your first shot on the most diffucult-the small round plate- count

2. Do your reload on the large steel because you will have a bigger target in your vision when you are doing your reload.

So I shot the stage again his way. Yeppers the time was faster.

The first shot draw was a little slower, but on the money, then the reload went faster.

I really like the wisdom of making the first shot the most important shot, it sets up the rest of the shots.

[cz75ipsc]

If I try to get out of the holster as quick as possible to get that quick first shot, usually I have no visual patience during the entire stage. If I see what I need to see on the first shot, then the rest of the stage goes a lot better than if I didn't.

I just realized I've got the same problem. Even more so if I draw on steel, in which case I might NOT use the sights.

Ok, I'm gonna quit firing the gun without at least a glimpse of the front sight, because so much of what you guys said makes sense. I'm just going to have to do it the hard way (practice)

Still on the subject, what would be a good live fire drill for practicing this? Draw, 1 plate at 15m? I tried Brian's dry fire drill and already I noticed I'm getting better at aligning the sights (after a draw or a reload). But I've often noticed that I lack visual patience in live fire more so than in dry fire. The winter is a b*tch here in northern Europe, making the season relatively short. Every time I go to the range in the wintertime I want to get the most out of it. But I think it also has a psychological effect, making me rush shots and maybe subconsciously wanting to end the session early . Pardon the thread drift and the rant

[Mistral404]

I started out at 15m but I now begin my practices at 25m. I also do at least 20 shots on a steel plate at 40+ m at the end of my practice. Draw, aim, and fire. It slows you way down to find that front sight at 40m but it pays huge dividends.

I also paint the plate every twenty shots. It really helps me diagnosis my areas for development.

For example, I notice I had a bunch of low and slightly left second shots. So I slowed way down, got my sight picture then focused on the front part of the pad on my finger. Next ten shots were point of aim. I stopped jerking the trigger.

[kevin c]

I think that there is a risk to overdoing anything here.

Practicing a blazingly fast draw is good for close in indexed shots, but can make you imprecise at distant shots requiring a refined sight picture which may be hard to get if you cannot slow down the last portion of the draw as you come on target.

Practicing an ultra precise shot from the draw is great at distance, but will kill you if you do the "fifty yard draw", as MB put it, on a close in target - just plain too slow, and unnecessary (who needs a perfect double on a target three feet away, if you have the whole A zone to score on?).

I've heard that a good approach is to get the gun up as quickly and cleanly as you can, but to take the time you need at the end of the draw stroke to get the sight picture you need to make the shot (see what you need to see...)

[Jasonub]

deleted

[Steve Anderson]

To anyone who is thinking about shooting the first shot from pure index, without seeing anything:

1. Good luck.

2. When are you planning to see something? 2nd shot? 3rd shot?

As soon as you consciously tell yourself to pick up the sights on the 2nd shot, you have entered the realm of thinking and trying.

Calling the shot needs to be our S.O.P. for every shot of every stage, not a seldom used jedi mind trick we whip out for a steel array.

It's just so much faster to know.

A great dry fire drill is to do draws to a sight picture without pulling the trigger. Do a decreasing par time session to a sight picture, prep the trigger but don't fire. This will put the speed emphasis on an acceptable sight picture, NOT a rushed first shot.

Max talks about scoring the targets as he shoots them. (maxmichel.com) That's an extreme level of visual input, and a goal worth striving for.

PLUS, when we really see, and when we really trust, we'll never rush anything and screw up out of tension. We'll just shoot.

A good example was the frigid steel match Flex and I shot in Indy a couple months ago. (lurker Dale T was there too ) We screeched in late and went straight to the first stage. No safe area fiddling, no casual warmup, load the mags and go.

I spent the whole first stage worrying about missing my warmup routine, afraid I couldn't be quick because I was cold, literally and figuratively. I rushed every shot of that first run, and blew the stage. After that stage I realized I wasn't EVER going to get "warm" that day, and my only chance to do well was to just shoot the dot.

My day got much better and I went many runs without missing, after I began to trust.

I learned a lot about my mental game that day...

Sorry for the ramble.

SA

[Skywalker]

Just wish to throw in my .02

the following should occurr whenever you get trapped into that weird thinking mode where you speculate about saving time from looking at the relationship between the sights and the target (before breaking the shot) by shooting "on index", "on jedi powers", "on chance", or whatever method you prefer.

Have you ever stopped there and thought: "hell, I'm trying to shave some .1x seconds, but is this the only area I can shave time from my stage performance?", followed by "wouldn't it be better to practice and shave some more time from other areas, such as eliminating wasted motions, trying to visually acquire targets faster, or even trying to have the gun settling faster and smoother on the target?".

At least this is the thoughts that I force myself in, and almost invariably I conclude there are better improvements I could attain, other than shooting before proper sight picture has been confirmed.