mgardner Posted January 17, 2014 Share Posted January 17, 2014 It's always good to watch and shoot with better shooters. Problem is that you won't be able to emulate their behavior until your basic skills level comes up to theirs. I spent years shooting long range silhouettes so when I plan a stage I will shoot any and all targets I can at longer ranges than normal so I don't waste 5 seconds running up to the fault line to do it because I'm not young and fast like I was. If you can get someone who is a great shooter to watch and assess you it can be priceless. Use your strengths and practice to overcome your weaknesses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duketdub Posted February 28, 2014 Share Posted February 28, 2014 (edited) I think of it the same way as learning a language. When we are young we learn to speak by talking with older more experienced people. Mistakes are infact encouraged, and corrected as we go. If we shoot or speak or learn anything new with people on our own level the time it takes to acheive mastery is greatly increased. I love the shooting sports for exactly that reason. Everyone is friendly and willing to help us through our journey. Watching videos is a great way to learn but one on one attention is irreplaceable. Edited February 28, 2014 by duketdub Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cundiff5535 Posted March 14, 2014 Share Posted March 14, 2014 Its like any sport... you only get better with practice and working with better competition.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zhuk Posted March 29, 2014 Share Posted March 29, 2014 I heard it yrs ago that if you hang with a certain skill level crowd you will rise no higher than the crowd, which is fine ifthat is your thing, butf orthose who want to excell to the maximum oftheir abilities??? need to look beyond the comfort zone/squad ^This. I was pretty much the worst shooter for a long, long time...when the results got pinned up, start at the bottom ("hey, I came second last!" lol) Then I changed clubs, got some proper instruction from much better shooters than me and have improved considerably in the last couple of years. You not only see what is possible but get pushed, as you say calishootr past your comfort level. You can surprise yourself with how well you do out of that zone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sarge450 Posted April 3, 2014 Share Posted April 3, 2014 It has already been said, but I was grouped with the better shooters a few times in the past. While I learned from watching I fell into a trap the first time of thinking I had the ability to keep up with they're pace. I did not and my scores suffered. I was just focusing on the being fast, rather than smooth. I didn't even realize I was doing it at the time. So like has already been said you can learn from the better shooters as far as tips and techniques, but you don't want to try and shoot there pace until you are ready. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idHawk Posted April 17, 2014 Share Posted April 17, 2014 I prefer to shoot with better shooters. When I try to go as fast as them, I screw up. However, I still shoot much better with them than I do when I end up on a squad of people with more limited skill sets. Shooting with better shooters forces me out of my comfort zone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stephen1776 Posted April 21, 2014 Share Posted April 21, 2014 When you stop learning from the group you shoot with is it time to change up the group? I am far from this point. Just wondering. I do like the comment, "shoot slow, do everything else fast"... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishhunter3 Posted April 24, 2014 Share Posted April 24, 2014 i shoot with another revo shooter we are about equal, he is a better shot and i know how to play this game( been shooting for a lot of years) and we push each other, we both just shot our first GM score on a classifier at the same match, I was not getting any better till he started shooting at our club , some times it just nice to have some one to shoot against. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kooyahdesigns Posted June 2, 2014 Share Posted June 2, 2014 I like to "chase" someone especially if we are in the same group of friends. It just helps push my limits to get better instead of just staying in "cruise control" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ethanolguy Posted June 6, 2014 Share Posted June 6, 2014 I like having better shooters at matches, gives me drive for improvement. Also makes it more fun when I beat one of them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mthomas0001 Posted June 11, 2014 Share Posted June 11, 2014 Better shooters make us better shooters, it is a bit humbling at first, but then yiou rise to the level of those that you are shooting with if you are training. Then it gets fun.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glockified Posted June 16, 2014 Share Posted June 16, 2014 I always try to get on a squad with shooters better than me. You definitely shoot better when you are with better shooters. Some of their plans and techniques are bound to "rub off on you." The opposite is also true. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quackhead Posted August 12, 2014 Share Posted August 12, 2014 (edited) I may just be blessed to live by cool people but it seems like the better the shooter the nicer the shooter. The higher end shooters are usually very helpful and I always try to squad with them. To be honest though, I've often wondered if they were just tired of having to wait for slower shooters. That being said, I was squaded with significantly better open and limited shooters at a major match last year and I ended up tring to shoot the match at their pace. Of course I shot too fast for my ability and ended the match with 6 misses. If I would have spent a whole additional second per miss I would have been more competitive in my class and division (L10). I think the best advice to give anyone is shoot slow , do everything else fast and listen to others. It's very annoying to try and help someone out only to get excuses as to why they can't follow the suggestion. I shot my first firearm match ever 3 wks ago...went with a friend to a USPSA match. Our squad R.O. was a GM. I did not even know what the acronym USPSA stood for until I googled it after the match.18 misses on that one. 51/52 overall. I have no where to go but up from here. I just shot my 3rd steel shoot in 2 wks this past Sunday, a Steel Challenge with the same group as that first USPSA match. I finished 30/42 overall...I constantly tell myself "Make the hits"...the speed will develop on it's own. Lots of helpful info in this thread. ps. I watched an Akai Custom Guns team member blaze away and hit too many stop plates prematurely...He opted for a DNF...some of this advice crosses all classes. Edited August 12, 2014 by Quackhead Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shooterrdy Posted September 22, 2014 Share Posted September 22, 2014 Shooting with shooters better than yourself is Paramount to get better. My take is its no different than golf if you play with better players your play up if you play with equal or lesser players you will play Down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nimitz Posted September 23, 2014 Share Posted September 23, 2014 (edited) I may just be blessed to live by cool people but it seems like the better the shooter the nicer the shooter. The higher end shooters are usually very helpful and I always try to squad with them. To be honest though, I've often wondered if they were just tired of having to wait for slower shooters. That being said, I was squaded with significantly better open and limited shooters at a major match last year and I ended up tring to shoot the match at their pace. Of course I shot too fast for my ability and ended the match with 6 misses. If I would have spent a whole additional second per miss I would have been more competitive in my class and division (L10). I think the best advice to give anyone is shoot slow , do everything else fast and listen to others. It's very annoying to try and help someone out only to get excuses as to why they can't follow the suggestion. I shot my first firearm match ever 3 wks ago...went with a friend to a USPSA match. Our squad R.O. was a GM. I did not even know what the acronym USPSA stood for until I googled it after the match.18 misses on that one. 51/52 overall. I have no where to go but up from here. I just shot my 3rd steel shoot in 2 wks this past Sunday, a Steel Challenge with the same group as that first USPSA match. I finished 30/42 overall...I constantly tell myself "Make the hits"...the speed will develop on it's own. Lots of helpful info in this thread. ps. I watched an Akai Custom Guns team member blaze away and hit too many stop plates prematurely...He opted for a DNF...some of this advice crosses all classes. You are partially correct in that you need to make your hits but it's 'how' you go about that which makes all the difference in the world. You should only be pulling the trigger as fast as you can see your sights. In addition, the notion that 'the speed will develop on its own" is not correct. You must force the speed to develop by focusing on speed and accuracy at the same time. If you focus just on accuracy you will develop into a slow, accurate shooter ... One of the greatest shooters of all time in this sport has said .... Shooting alphas is irrevelant if you can't do it fast ...It is ok to focus on accuracy at first, particularily if you don't have a background shooting a pistol. However, once you develop good fundamentals your training needs to focus on shooting fast, accurate shots all the time ... Our sport is only about one thing: shooting alphas as fast as you can. Edited September 23, 2014 by Nimitz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
awfaxis Posted September 24, 2014 Share Posted September 24, 2014 I shot the Indiana Championship (Spaceballs) match this month. I put myself on the same squad as Bob Vogel, thinking I'd be motivated, inspired and at my best. Boy did I suck! Everyone on my squad had names you see at the top consistently around the country. Boy did I suck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neomet Posted September 24, 2014 Share Posted September 24, 2014 Shooting with better shooters?? Move here. It is all you will ever do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UCOShooter Posted September 24, 2014 Share Posted September 24, 2014 I totally agree it will improve you as a shooter. You just have to set your pride a side a little bit and be able to learn, and not trying to impress a big name. Because they are more than likely not going to be impressed. Just go out and shoot, have fun, and learn. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chfields Posted January 4, 2015 Share Posted January 4, 2015 I have only been shooting competitively since May of 2014. I am shooting the steel challenge. The first time out I shot my 9MM, after I saw how much ammo I shot, i decided to go for .22. The first couple of times, I was squadded with other new shooters and didn't see a lot of progress. So after that, I found out who the best shooters were and squadded with them and thats when I found out 2 things. 1 I sucked worse than I thought, it was very humbling, but with help from them I got better. Every match my times improved. After finding out my range will be hosting the US Steel Nationals, I went back to shooting the 9MM. At first, it was hard getting used to the stronger recoil, however, after shooting the .22 for 6 months against much better shooters, my skills improved as well when I went back to the 9MM. The first time I shot the 9MM I scored a 265 for 6 stages, the last time I shot a 171 for 6 stages. I credit my faster times to shooting against the best at the range and watching and listening closely to them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike4540 Posted January 13, 2015 Share Posted January 13, 2015 It always pushes you to do better when you are shooting with people better than yourself, also helps you see stage breakdown better also Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nimitz Posted January 15, 2015 Share Posted January 15, 2015 (edited) for level II and II matches i just put myself on any old sqad initially and then as time goes by I check the signups and move to a squad that has as many Production GMs as possible. Last year at Area 6 I moved 5 times and finally landed on a squad with 5 Production GMs including Frank Garcia. I'm not looking to win anything, I'm looking to garner free match conditions shooting advice ... I spent the day shooting and listening & watching (not talking). other than thanking ROs I doubt I spoke 10 words in 8 hrs of shooting. I also don't sqaud with anyone I know so I can just focus on shooting ..... I love being the worst shooter on my squad ... Edited January 15, 2015 by Nimitz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
a matt Posted January 15, 2015 Share Posted January 15, 2015 That's a good way to meet good shooting people too, it doesn't hurt to talk some as long as there not coming up in the hole ect. you know what I'm saying I'm sure. Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nimitz Posted January 15, 2015 Share Posted January 15, 2015 yeah, i just usually find it ackward to talk to "strangers" ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigboy69 Posted February 24, 2015 Share Posted February 24, 2015 When you shoot with better shooters, you will become better. You will pick up on all the little" tricks etc" And you will push yourself to shoot better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ELSOS Posted March 4, 2015 Share Posted March 4, 2015 I like to shoot with better shooters as long as they are in the same division as I am. As a Production shooter the big thing for me is stage breakdown. If I have someone to bounce ideas off of that is preferable to me. With that being said, I still learn a lot from the Open and Limited guys. Its also nice to have a good Limited shooter on the squad so I can try and beat them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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