blairmckenzie1 Posted February 3, 2012 Share Posted February 3, 2012 I shot the transitions drill part 1 today. One thing i noticed is that the A zone isn't exactly where I had it in my mind, I know that sounds weird. But I noticed that most of my shots are low in the A zone. My question is would it be a good idea to add a thick black line on the perforations around the A zone to get my focus there. Or is that going to end up being a crutch that isn't there come match day? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Keen Posted February 3, 2012 Share Posted February 3, 2012 I'm a firm believer that it is perfectly acceptable to draw a line around the A zone. I just use a Sharpie to outline mine. The concept (at least in my mind) is that you are training your subconscious to look ONLY at the A zone. Once you burn that "idea" in your brain, then eventually your subconscious will just automatically go there without needing that positive (restrictive) reinforcement. Saul Kirsch (and many others) teaches that the B, C, and D zones "do not exist". In theory, while practicing or training, you should not accept anything but A zone hits. So why worry, or look at any other part of the target? The A Zone IS YOUR TARGET. So focusing on that while practicing is a good thing. Not a negative. Just dont expect to see any outlines or rings around your target while shooting a match for score. The other thing I like to do, in addition to outlining the A zone, is to place a small white paster in the middle of the A zone as an aiming point. Flex likes to teach that you should "Pick a spot on the target" instead of aiming at the whole target (again, just the A zone only). Even when you only focus on shooting the A zones, without picking a spot on the target is another kind of "just shooting at brown" which is not the most accurate way to shoot. Pick a spot in practice, and you will train your subconcious to do the same thing in competition. Your accuracy should quickly come together, and your groups will improve dramatically. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cyburg Posted February 3, 2012 Share Posted February 3, 2012 Make sure you also train with the targets without the line as it gets closer to match time. Because when you get use to having a line around the A zone and it is not there on game day it could throw you off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corey Posted February 3, 2012 Share Posted February 3, 2012 If you dont want to put lines on a target, just stick a paster in the top 1/3 of the A-zone to get your attention drawn a little higher. Most of the targets we shoot at, unless we are the lucky #1 shooter on the day, all have pasters on them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blairmckenzie1 Posted February 3, 2012 Author Share Posted February 3, 2012 Thanks for all the input. I think will darken the perforations around the a zone for a few practice sessions and taper it off toward the end of the week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
38supPat Posted February 3, 2012 Share Posted February 3, 2012 Brians got these nifty little stickers in the store that work great as aiming points... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bbbean Posted February 3, 2012 Share Posted February 3, 2012 Brians got these nifty little stickers in the store that work great as aiming points... I use those on every practice, and I've noticed my percentage of shots in the upper A zone has improved. While it seems counter intuitive, I haven't noticed any problem transitioning from the marked targets I use in practice to unmarked targets in matches. My eye naturally goes to where I typically put the sticker. They're also great aids for working on partial targets. Working with that aiming point makes it a lot easier to ingrain the tradeoff between risk of a no-shoot/hardcover vs risk of a C/D hit. BB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
No.343 Posted February 5, 2012 Share Posted February 5, 2012 Pick the spot where you want your bullet to hit during your walk thru. Close your eyes and see the bullets hit the targets before you shoot the stage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobmysterious Posted February 5, 2012 Share Posted February 5, 2012 Try cutting out the A Zone on a target and then taping it to another target so the A Zone is the only part that is visible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigfish Posted February 6, 2012 Share Posted February 6, 2012 Ive only outlined the A zone on my mini dryfire targets but I like the paster idea. Might have to use a sharpie to colar the paster during live fire so it doesnt blend in with the other pasters. I know I should practice with the classic targets but I dont just because they are rarely used around here. I do see where the outlined A zone would really help during practice with them Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeremy kemlo Posted February 21, 2012 Share Posted February 21, 2012 I like the idea of marking the a zone for practice but I like to do it a little different. I take a black marker and draw a line from left to right across the middle of the a zone. That way the target looks a little more like it will in a match and you get a clear picture of how much target is on the bottom vs the top. Line up these every other target and keep shooting them until you have that picture in your head. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlexOsensei Posted February 23, 2012 Share Posted February 23, 2012 In dryfire session, I have outlined the A zone on small ipsc target in the live fire I use notshoot to cover the the low zone of the ipsc target. The target seems big, but not if u want to shoot the A's only. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DyNo! Posted February 23, 2012 Share Posted February 23, 2012 I went even further - I have a steel target with no A zone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sroe3 Posted February 23, 2012 Share Posted February 23, 2012 I block the bottom half with a no shoot. I practice a higher sight picture and not getting distracted by no shoots. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chip_E Posted February 24, 2012 Share Posted February 24, 2012 I went even further - I have a steel target with no A zone. I'm wondering if something like this could be made where there was an insert that goes into the A-Zone portions...but with a different hardness of metal, that gave off a different tone when hit. Does that sound wacky? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JakeMartens Posted February 24, 2012 Share Posted February 24, 2012 I went even further - I have a steel target with no A zone. What if you have a mike? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DyNo! Posted February 24, 2012 Share Posted February 24, 2012 I went even further - I have a steel target with no A zone. I'm wondering if something like this could be made where there was an insert that goes into the A-Zone portions...but with a different hardness of metal, that gave off a different tone when hit. Does that sound wacky? When I got the a zone cut out, I still have it and planned to hang it within the target. Never got around to it but there's no reason it can't be done. I went even further - I have a steel target with no A zone. What if you have a mike? I call every shot in training (and unfortunately, only most of them in competition ) so I'm immediately aware when I break the shot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rvb Posted February 24, 2012 Share Posted February 24, 2012 (edited) If you dont want to put lines on a target, just stick a paster in the top 1/3 of the A-zone to get your attention drawn a little higher. Most of the targets we shoot at, unless we are the lucky #1 shooter on the day, all have pasters on them. a paster is good, and can help you learn an aiming point, but you need to be able to call your hits, and the only way you really learn what the 'imaginary' (can't see it past a couple yards) A-zone boundary looks like is to trace the border, or use one of the other techniques described here. imo. I personally like tracing because I can make it as obvious or un-obvious as I want, and the target stays all one color and doesnt change what you are looking at on match day. These other techniques, imo, change the target too much... and we need to learn to call the shots based on our sight picture in relation to the big brown shape alone. lots of good stuff here: http://www.brianenos.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=9655&st=0 -rvb Edited February 24, 2012 by rvb Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Keen Posted February 24, 2012 Share Posted February 24, 2012 I like that even better than just drawing an outline around the A-Zone. Try cutting out the A Zone on a target and then taping it to another target so the A Zone is the only part that is visible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephen7942 Posted March 5, 2012 Share Posted March 5, 2012 Thanks.. I will be trying this.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XRe Posted March 5, 2012 Share Posted March 5, 2012 I'm a firm believer that it is perfectly acceptable to draw a line around the A zone. I just use a Sharpie to outline mine. I've gone so far as to do that, plus take a ruler and make diagonal hash marks across the A-zone, too, so that it looks sort of grey-ish from a little bit of a distance. Eventually, you have to go back to a plain target to test your memory of what the sight pictures is supposed to look at - and I've found that after using marked A-zones for a while, I didn't actually need them any more. I definitely don't consider it a crutch - more of a learning tool... The other thing I like to do, in addition to outlining the A zone, is to place a small white paster in the middle of the A zone as an aiming point. I sometimes do the same, but with a black paster Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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