Sarge Posted May 12, 2011 Share Posted May 12, 2011 (edited) Well, after waiting all winter I will have my new Open gun next week. I've been shooting Production for 2 1/2 years and worked my way up to a high B shooter. I know it can be a tough transition but I'm looking forward to the thrill and challenge of shooting Open. I am seeking all the info I can get my hands on. So, what are some of the lessons you learned along the way while making the move to Open? Edited May 12, 2011 by Kevin Sanders Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ParaGunner Posted May 12, 2011 Share Posted May 12, 2011 Shoot really fast. I will be joining open division to after our state match. So I'll be watching this thread too. See you at the range Kevin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OpenDot Posted May 12, 2011 Share Posted May 12, 2011 I just switched and have shot 2 matches with mine... I have no advice what so ever. Only thing i've noticed so far other than I suck is... lots of draw and find the dot excercizes are what i'm doing daily. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loki999 Posted May 12, 2011 Share Posted May 12, 2011 learn to work with a different visual imput. What i noticed when changing from limited to open, is that i was aiming too much on long range targets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrumpyOne Posted May 12, 2011 Share Posted May 12, 2011 Work on finding the dot, more than anything else...You already have good trigger control, draw, and reload (essentially, all these will be the same in any division), so finding the dot quickly everytime is essential. Another thing, don't look at the dot, look through the dot....see the target on the far end, not the dot itself, kinda like superimpose the dot on the target....If you look just at the dot, things tend to get lost...My .02 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
herky Posted May 12, 2011 Share Posted May 12, 2011 Besides being old and slow, the hardest thing I've found is keeping on the dot thru the entire COF. The urge is to just shoot thru the window, especially on the closer targets. You will find that steel is much easier IMHO. Dry fire practice will help with the initial dot alignment. I have been shooting Open only this year and still don't feel that I am moving fast enough (being 65 years old doesn't help), but the hits are better. Good luck with the move, I enjoy shooting Open and look forward to every match. Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corey Posted May 12, 2011 Share Posted May 12, 2011 Shoot fast. Don't lose your dot! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Keen Posted May 12, 2011 Share Posted May 12, 2011 Keep both eyes open, and never stop learning, never stop taking in new input, new ideas, new revelations. Your shooting will progress by leaps and bounds when you keep your mind open to new ideas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ncboiler Posted May 12, 2011 Share Posted May 12, 2011 I made the switch back in the February timeframe. The number one tip I have is to practice finding the dot ... in all sort of shooting positions. It is fine to do draws in dry fire practice but you only do 4-8 of those per match. Practice moving, leaning, squatting, etc etc and indexing the gun so you find the dot. This has been my biggest issue so far. Just because you have a ton of extra rounds (vs Productions) doesn't mean you can just hose away. You still have to be accurate and fast. You'll like reloading less I'm sure and just focus on shooting. Find a major load that you like and makes PF and then shoot it. That's all I have for now Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CocoBolo Posted May 12, 2011 Share Posted May 12, 2011 Kevin - The short answer is Don't Short Arm the Gun. What this means is that any time you say head up to a port and fold your arms in a pinch that dot will disappear so keep back from stuff keep your arms out and you won't lose the dot as often. As stated you need to do this in all sorts of positions, including WEAK HAND. Other than that the Open Gun is very loud can throw out a lot of concussion and while some say they are not affected, they are. Double Plug for a while and even shoot and practice with some minor loads, once you get use to the quick reaction, the noise, and the concusion you will be back to your old relaxed confident shooting self. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aircooled6racer Posted May 12, 2011 Share Posted May 12, 2011 Hello: Keep both eyes open and don't blink. If your equipment is not working for you try something else. I went from a standard C-More mount to a Quinn II. I also went from a 6,8 to a 12 MOA dot module. Play with different loads and bullet weights till you find what you like. If you are a "B" shooter now you will be a "B" shooter in Open. Lastly have fun Thanks, Eric Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XRe Posted May 12, 2011 Share Posted May 12, 2011 Target focus all the time. Dry fire, dry fire, dry fire - your shooting platform and index must be much more consistent than you can get away with using an iron sight gun (this will translate back to improvement in your shooting on other platforms, though). Start paying attention to differences in stage strategy. Timing drills. Realize that you do not have to see a static sight picture (try as you might, the dot will move around , especially as you start shooting Open for the first time). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Torogi Posted May 12, 2011 Share Posted May 12, 2011 Great tips! One more, im pretty sure you have targets set-up for dry fire. Cover the back of your c-more with tape, black, white (not clear!), this way you cant see through it. Dry fire that way. This will train your non-dominant eye to fish for targets. Remember, the dot is there just like an overlay to the target. Do not get fixated with the dot but like everybody said, learn to track it. Look for target outside the glass of c-more or optic, not through it. You'll find out how helpful the non-dominant eye compared to iron-sight where you almost shut it and focus on the dominant one. This is the part where it helped me realize what 'seeing' more means. and again, practice aiming at different body positions. in my short experience, i lose my dot during transitions not from target to target. esp in this situations; draw and have to lean to either left of right, same thing as coming from a run. classifier, reload to strong hand only, much worse with the weak hand only. one last, learn where your shot is going. whatever your mount is, there is that space between the dot and the bore. keep shooting, shoot fast and have fun!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiny Warrior Posted May 12, 2011 Share Posted May 12, 2011 Open is way more fun than production Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lcs Posted May 12, 2011 Share Posted May 12, 2011 As others have said before me---Both eyes open and target focus. At a high level, see the entire target-see the A in the A-zone (or the spot on the target you intend the shot to be, as we do evil things to obscure parts of the target ) then the "dot" will appear where your focus is. Someone asked me at a local match "does the dot have to be centered in the c-more?". No. The dot could be at the outer edge of the glass on the c-more and the hit will be where the dot is aligned with the target. Push yourself to shoot on the move! Think fast! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pjb45 Posted May 12, 2011 Share Posted May 12, 2011 First, do not let Roy Neal (he posts on BE)know, he threaten to take my SV Skulls gun away if I fail to live up to his standards. I have shot my Open gun a few times; my challenge was finding the dot on draws and physcial movement. I kept adjusting my hands and head to find the dot. Once found there was no problems with getting my hits (As) but finding the dot was/is my biggest learning opportunity. I think dry firing will enhance my ability to find the dot. Then I follow Seeklander's advice, "red on brown-fire!" I will be moving to Open after Saturday's Single Stack Nationals. I use a traditional mount for now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jman Posted May 12, 2011 Share Posted May 12, 2011 These are my weak areas with the dot gun. 1. Target. Target. Target. a.) Dot focus is the death nail in this division. 2. Keeping the gun correctly elevated. 3. Probably most important for me is just letting go. My old, slow vision is no longer an excuse. I am just old and slow now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrumpyOne Posted May 12, 2011 Share Posted May 12, 2011 These are my weak areas with the dot gun. a.) Dot focus is the death nail in this division. You said it much better than I....I have to remember that...Dot focus.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarge Posted May 12, 2011 Author Share Posted May 12, 2011 Thanks one and all! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
E K Posted May 13, 2011 Share Posted May 13, 2011 Thanks one and all! Leave all of your minor loads with your production proteges! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MoNsTeR Posted May 13, 2011 Share Posted May 13, 2011 I switched from Production a year and a half ago. Definitely sucked big time at first. Since then I've moved up a class (to A). Double plug. Every time. No exceptions. Focus on the target. Find the dot. Find it until you can't lose it. Practice drawing while leaning, sitting, standing on one foot, any awkward position you've ever had to assume. Practice moving into and out of those positions then finding the dot. Don't spend a lot of time futzing with loads and springs and stuff at first. Find a combo that works and burn 5000+ rounds before tweaking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blaster113 Posted May 13, 2011 Share Posted May 13, 2011 Production is an entirely different animal from Open. To be successful in Open you gotta be FAST. Cant shoot an Open gun like a Production or Limited gun. You gotta push it a little. Playing in Open once in a while helps my L10 scores just cause you gotta push it a little on the trigger to keep up with the hosers The cadence and timing with an Open gun is dramatically different from an iron sighted gun. To help with the transition from iron sights to a dot I definitely recommend a 90 degree CMore mount like the Cheely or Quinn. I regularly switch back and forth between L10/Open and the 90 deg mount on my Open gun makes it real easy to pick up the dot. That explains why I cant get really good with either cause I love to shoot both platforms... Oh well Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benos Posted May 13, 2011 Share Posted May 13, 2011 To repeat what has been said. Never look toward or at the dot. Never look at anything but the targets - and look precisely where you want each bullet to go. be Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DyNo! Posted May 14, 2011 Share Posted May 14, 2011 To repeat what has been said. Never look toward or at the dot. Never look at anything but the targets - and look precisely where you want each bullet to go. be I want to see the sticker on the outside of a C-More case that says: "DANGER: NEVER LOOK TOWARD OR DIRECTLY AT THE DOT!" Good stuff guys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supermoto Posted May 15, 2011 Share Posted May 15, 2011 Think of the dot as a bouncing ball. it should bounce from target to target, never stopping Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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