I need to shoot Alphas up close

[ErikW]

After realizing the folly of dropping points on close hoser targets at the end of a stage, I am powerless to prevent myself from doing so. What mental techniques can I use make myself shoot Alphas on the close targets? Visualize it?

Yesterday I shot a D and two Cs in the final array of three targets at three yards. On my own stage design with many more difficult shots preceeding the end.

[shred]

See the sights on every shot? It's a difficult thing to overcome for me too, but the only thing that seems to help is focusing on shooting only when the dot says I can on every target.

I was sorely tempted to do some sight-free hosing on a stage at last weekends' match-- a 40 yard run past targets at 3 yards, but decided it was a learning experience and I'd see the dot on each and every one of them. I ran it faster than I'd expected even for blind hosing, with better points. 99% of a limited GM on the stage. A couple of times I caught myself not looking at the dot, but it was almost always there. A good eye-opener for me on trusting my speed and seeing what I needed to all the time.

[Steve Anderson]

I got to talk to Max Michel Jr about this topic at the AL section match.

He calls them "gimme" targets, not because they are easy but because they are easy A's compared to harder targets.

When he airguns the walkthru, he calls A's in his vision and visualizes two perfect hits on each target. (as opposed to just holding his hands up and looking at the targets)

I started doing the same and shot the best points of my life at that match.

I have also started visualizing my dot on each target (with my eyes closed) while I am on deck. When I can see my dot on every target, I know I'm ready to shoot.

This inspires great confidence and is very relaxing.

I neglected to do this before Saturday's local match and paid the price the first time through. I think I was coming down from a major match mental state and wasn't as serious at first. Once I realized my mistake I got my head back in the game.

Hope this helps,

SA

[Guest Larry Cazes]

Eric, are you pushing too hard to "win the match" as opposed to just concentrating on performing your best? I often feel just the opposite....That I am holding back just a bit. I just about never miss an A hit on a target array that close in. There must be a happy medium between these two extremes but I have yet to find it.

[ErikW]

Oh yeah, and I missed the closest target of the match, Alpha-Mike, last target on my first stage. Forum member kdj didn't even blink at BANGBANG "That's a double!" <sound of unloading>.

It's worse with the Open gun.

[kdj]

The other alternative is to practice your jedi mind tricks more so ROs will be convinced when you claim the one perfect hole is a truly perfect double

*Somewhat* more seriously, maybe your Limited shooter's natural aversion to the dot makes you too prone to any excuse not to have to look at it and it's hard to tube site with a C-More

Kevin

[diehli]

On the closest stuff--the run-bys--I only see the A-zone... it's worked for me. I see the perfs surrounding my gun and press the trigger. If your index is good, you're golden. On 3-yarders I've gotta see the sights.

[benos]

The dreaded checkered-flag mentality, especially on close targets at the end of a stage, is one of the hardest to avoid.

If I knew a certain area of a stage was going to be a problem, as I was visualizing the stage I'd also visual-feelalize the feeling and action of exhaling and letting go of excess tension/energy as I was approaching the CF. When I could actually do it during the stage, the results were often amazing. I remember once just calmly tapping away, strong-hand only while dragging a dummy weak-handed, toward the end of a complex, juiced up assault stage. When later I compared that feeling to what I would have normally felt like then, I thought I was the Buddha.

be

[AikiDale]

KWATZ!

[Run n Gun]

Okay, a couple of prefaces; I feel a little peculiar offering advice to an accomplished Master Class shooter like Erik and that MY solution flies in the face of the usually accepted dogma here at BE, so I’ll probably be labeled a Heretic and be damned for all time… again. But I’ve had exactly the same problems with exactly the same results… until lately.

My solution? The evil double tap! By double tap I mean two shots with one sight picture… sort of, I’ll explain. When shooting left to right and the targets are REALLY close I look at the center of the A-zone (vertically) and about a quarter of the distance from the left edge and swing my sights there and pull the trigger, pretty traditional. But then I snap my eyes to the next target WITHOUT waiting for the second shot! I’ve slowed the swing of my gun but not stopped it, trusting my index and splits speed to take care of things. It works and it’s VERY fast!

We had a stage last Saturday with two groups of four targets setting down behind a 4’ wall and one group was awash with hardcover, just the sort of setup that, in the past, would’ve been a disaster for me. The result? Snake eyes in the center of the A-zone X 8! YMMV

Ed

[Flexmoney]

...MY solution flies in the face of the usually accepted dogma here at BE, so I’ll probably be labeled a Heretic and be damned for all time… again.

Interesting.

[Ron Ankeny]

Looking over there while shooting over here is rather innovative.

[Loves2Shoot]

Looking over there while shooting over here is rather innovative.

I hit 2 alphas on a 7 yarder doing that last match, leaving a port, I left my gun in the port while I started off downrange not a 180, but I was saying cr@p the rest of the stage, stay on your dang sights. Sometimes it is better to be lucky than good, but not often.

[TDean]

Erik, it's gotta be one of 2 things right?....and both of them are dealing with transitioning (horizontal). Are you breaking the shot too early, or too late?

It seems you're not stopping the gun on the A-zone for the needed amount of time (.25sec)?

[shred]

Looking over there while shooting over here is rather innovative.

Naah, I've been doing it for years.

It just doesn't work for me.

[ErikW]

Most of the time I break the shot too early, like my eyes get there before the muzzle does and my eyes and brain pull the trigger. Brian has repeatedly said, "See the A zone," but note I posted this question in Mental Conditioning. I know what the right shooting technique is; I just mentally can't seem to execute it.

Whaddaya think about a "pause" like the reload technique where you pause just before inserting the magazine? I distinctly remember that feeling several times when arriving at the "checkered flag hoser arrays" and I distinctly remember seeing tons of front sight on those occasions.

[benos]

R&G,

When the targets aren't too far, and especially if they're closely spaced, what you say makes sense, because, at least you are seeing something, instead of just blasting away at brown, trying to stop the clock.

Remember the point is to get the job done quickly and efficiently, but how you do it is up to you. Try this - index in on the A box of a 5 yard target. Now look somewhere else and pump a couple shots into it. No problem, right? It's amazing what happens if you just find the center of the A box every time.

be

[schmitz]

Nothing to do with visualisation, Erik slow down just a little bit!

DVC, Henny.

[wide45]

It is a mental problem, mechanical solutions won't help, other than a trick of the day sort of way.

If the first targets of the stage were the close ones, would you get A's on them?

[Flexmoney]

I don't know if this is helpful or not...

You aren't hitting Alphas because that isn't your goal.

[Steve Anderson]

That's beautiful.

SA

[diehli]

Actually, that is an interesting thing to note. The best stages I've ever shot have been ones where I was left looking for more targets (mostly figuratively speaking on that one ). Often times when I've come out of that zone at the last 1 or 2 targets, I throw crappy shots, don't call 'em, then pick 'em up after I've begun bringing the gun down for the IYAF and notice two holes not even close to where I wanted them to be....

Another thing I noticed in dryfire practice when transitioning to close targets quickly: I see the front sight, centered "on" the rear notch, rather than in the rear notch. My front sight is there, on target, but the shots go high... explains why I have a lot of lower A, B pairs on targets at 7-10 yards: I don't let the front sight settle into the rear notch before breaking the second shot.

Ah, the things you learn when you open your eyes....

[ErikW]

wide45, good question, but I rarely encounter close targets to start a stage. Maybe I would have a "green flag" mentality instead of a "checkered flag" mentality.

Flex, yeah, I guess my goal is to finish up the stage ASAP. No more movement; the targets are right there, nothing left but to pull the trigger as fast as possible, right?

[Flexmoney]

Sounds right. Just gotta decide what the target is?

It's tough to only accept those Alphas. I struggle with "just shooting brown" all the time.

[benos]

nothing left but to pull the trigger as fast as possible, right?

That's the illusion of IPSC - that speed is more important than accuracy. They really are like a see-saw. Even so, because it's difficult for the mind to entertain more than one concept at a time, you have to start with one. So the trick is have points as your first priority, and let the time take care of itself, because in the heat, you probably won't shoot too slow...

But then a common trap that follows too much emphasis on points is that one becomes too deliberate, maybe almost shooting "scared" to drop points. That's where the balancing comes in. You have to learn how to see so your shooting fills up the A box, instead of shooting the center out of it.

be