Finally, I can see...

[TerryT]

Last night it finally happened. I was able to see my sights clearly and call all my shots. Shot until I ran out of ammo as I was afraid it would disappear as quickly as it appeared. Sorry for the long post, but maybe my path to being able to call my shots for the first time will help others.

I have only been shooting a pistol since March 2012. Shooting a Glock 34 in production with iron sights. Mainly shooting local matches and frankly having a lot of fun going really fast for me. At the level I was shooting at, I could actually win by going much faster than my level of competition while shooting much worse from an accuracy standpoint. My typical raw times were in the top 20% and accuracy in the bottom 20% of all shooters. Shooting a couple of state matches with better competition quickly dispelled the notion that accuracy didn’t count as much.

Finally believing that being able to know where the bullet would go the instant I broke the shot was the only way I would reach the upper levels, I started working on being able to call the shot in June. First I read the bible, Practical Shooting, Beyond Fundamentals. I have to admit it was a tough read for a beginner, but every time I re-read a section I picked up something new. Next I read everything I could about shot calling on this forum. Then I tried implementing some of the advice at the range.

First problem was that when I was running through a stage, the sight alignment appeared good on targets but I was still missing where I was aiming. Understanding that the bullet has to go where the sites are pointed at the instant they lift, it was obvious I wasn’t seeing the sights at that instant. I had to be blinking. Even if my trigger pull was bad, I should be able to see the sights move before the shot broke. Firing a magazine at an empty berm was the first time I could actually see the sights lift and return. Then I moved to Bill Drills. Only took a few before I could see the sights lift and return every time. Great! I got this now I thought.

Problem was as soon as I did anything other than Bill Drills, I didn’t see the sights. I would see them lift every now and then, but couldn’t call the shot. Many times I thought the sights were good but the bullet never seemed to go where I thought the sights were pointed. I also still caught myself blinking at the concussion of the gun unless I really concentrated on keeping my eyes open. Unfortunately it made it hard for this beginner to also think about everything else. Trigger pull, snapping the eyes on transitions, sight alignment, footwork, etc. Frustrating.

The next thing I tried was shooting at a target 20 yards away, trying to call the shot and marking on a piece of paper where I thought it went. The only ones I called where by luck. Most were not even close. Tried this exercise for a few weeks with no progress. In the meantime I continued to shoot local matches and every now and then I knew I had a bad shot. A couple of times, my body just instantly made up the shot. This was only 1 out of every 200 or so shots. Even if it only happened a couple of times, at least I understood the feeling of instantly knowing where the bullet would go.

I read that some people had better luck learning shot calling with a dot in lieu of iron sights. I didn’t know anyone with a gun I could borrow that had a dot and didn’t feel it worth it to try and temporarily put something on my Glock. I mean, how hard could this be? I also read on the forum that you aren’t blinking if you see the muzzle blast. One day at the range, I was there late running my drills and it started getting dark. I concentrated on seeing the orange muzzle blast on all my shots and found out I was able to do it if I just focused on just seeing the blast and the sights spotlighted in the light. Ignore the timer and everything else. It felt like progress.

A couple of other nights at the range I was able to repeat seeing the muzzle blast pretty easily. Now I knew that I was seeing the sights. How do I put it together and call the shots? Going back and shooting cardboard, I just couldn’t make it happen. I got so frustrated that I just gave up for a about a month. I had plenty of other things to work on. Reloads, transitions, movement, etc.

I started shooting with some better shooters and my speed was close, but the lack of accuracy was really holding me back now. Re-committed to calling each shot. Read in the bible that you have to learn how to shoot accurately and the best way was shooting groups off a rest. Went to the range and started shooting 25 yard groups off the rest. Frankly the first ones were bad. 6” to 7” 5-shot groups off a rest. My long range eyesight is not that good and the target is fuzzy, but I can see the serrations on my front sight and ought to be able to do better off a rest. A little practice and a lot of concentration on sight alignment while pulling the trigger brought the groups down to 2” to 3”. Not great, but much better and I was starting to understand what it took to break an accurate shot. Still couldn’t call my shots off the rest. For some reason, the concussion from a single shot off the rest really made me blink. Then I started working freehand at 25 yards. I won’t tell you how bad the first groups were, but I go them down to 4” to 5” pretty quickly. Obviously still work to do, but again I was starting to understand.

In the meantime, I was dry firing an hour a night working on all the gun handling skills. These were all now becoming automatic and didn’t require any thought to execute other than the thought to begin. We finally get to yesterday. I shot a local match the previous Sunday and missed 6 WHO head shots where the sights appeared to be aligned when I broke the shot. That was the proverbial straw. I had to fix this problem. I went to the range to work on a number of drills, mainly focused on accuracy. I got a set of big muffs that really cut down on the sound. SHO and WHO head shots. 25 yd groups off a rest and freehand. Running stages my old way and then slowing down until I was shooting 90% of the points and really watching the sights and comparing the final results. The old way lost every time. The big muffs helped.

I ended the day shooting 3 – 8” plates at 10 yards. Two shots each. I couldn’t get a decent run without one or two misses. I kept slowing down, but still couldn’t get a clean run. Finally out of frustration, I shot them in slow motion and proved I could hit the plates. Back to the basics – sight alignment and trigger pull. Then I started to speed up, really focusing on the sights and trigger pull. I eventually hit the wall and couldn’t go any faster. Thinking about what was holding me back, it was exactly what Brian has said in the forum and in the bible multiple times. You can’t wait for the sound of the bullet striking the steel. You have to know when you break the shot, if the bullet hit or not.

With that understanding, I focused on the sights, maintained alignment and really concentrated on good trigger pulls while I sped up. All of a sudden it happened. I KNEW when I pressed the trigger if I had a hit or not and was transitioning immediately. I cut my splits and transitions down by 0.2 sec from my previous best times. If I missed, I knew exactly how I missed and where the bullet went. What a great feeling. Shot all the ammo I had. Hated to leave the range. I just hope I can repeat the experience tonight.

For those trying to call their shots, don’t give up. I think it happened for me once I didn’t have to think about all the gun handling skills anymore and I really made up my mind to get the hits and not worry about the time. Understanding what it took to break an accurate shot and cleaning up my trigger pull also contributed to the process by eliminating most of the flyers. I think it happens once you put all the building blocks in place and you finally really believe calling each shot is necessary. I mean really believe in your bones by getting beat by people who are no better than you other than for accuracy. It took me about 4 ½ months from first thinking about it to finally making it happen. Hope this helps someone else.

[GorillaTactical]

Last night it finally happened. I was able to see my sights clearly and call all my shots.

And then the angels sang!!!

Good work sir, prepare to move up in classification haha

[Jerome]

Very nice post...

[JCH]

great post

[shovel919]

excellent post, im hoping to get to that point someday, i started shooting earlier this year as well, and im progressing very much like you are, just havent reached calling the shot consistently, once in a blue moon right now.

[JimM]

Great post! Thanks for the insight.

Jim

[Joe L]

Great post!

I've found that, once I could see the sights and call the shot, it only took a few rounds to get back to good trigger control and to shoot good groups. I went to a unfamiliar range with my sister on Friday and shot unfamiliar targets at 15 yards with her. Shot high left first few rounds but I knew it when the gun went off. Too many distractions. Stopped worrying about everything else, observed the front sight and was shooting all holes touching again in less than 20 rounds.

I take Brian's book with me any time I leave town and reread sections of it again and again. It always helps me get my mind right for shooting.

Thanks for taking the effort to explain your efforts and results. I bet it helps a lot of people.

Joe

[jeep45238]

One thing that helped me tremendously (and that I'll have to revisit, since I haven't shot since july) was attending an Appleseed shoot and using a aprature iron sight rifle.

The sight alignment and focus was more natural, and using a sling gave a very stable shooting position. That let me focus on my trigger manipulation and calling the shot very well.