Training to hit the A zone

[Esther]

I'm new to IPSC and thus far have only shot at PPC targets. Does anyone have suggestions for how to train myself to index on the A zone of an IPSC target? (Did you draw a mark on the part of the A zone that you were aiming to hit, or just aim at the center of a regular IPSC target?)

Thanks!

[yoshidaex]

Dry fire....

Aiming at the center of the Classic (turtle shaped) and Metric (humanoid shape) targets isn't really the center of the A zone.

Pick a distance you can still make out where the A zone is. Dry fire a ton. Eventually you'll train yourself to aim at the center of the A zone, which is NOT the center of the target.

[Steve Anderson]

What if you simply decided to always hit the a-zone?

Would that not teach you what is required?

Sorry, I'm sipping Polite Zenfindel tonight...

SA

[spanky]

What if you simply decided to always hit the a-zone?

Would that not teach you what is required?

Sorry, I'm sipping Polite Zenfindel tonight...

SA

[lumpygravy]

What if you simply decided to always hit the a-zone?

Would that not teach you what is required?

Sorry, I'm sipping Polite Zenfindel tonight...

SA

The Zen is strong with this one...

Shoot the A, you decide. Hit the A, you will.

Sorry. There was a Star Wars marathon on recently and I'm stuck in Yoda-speak.

[lumpygravy]

OK - got that out of my system.

Short answer: What Yosh said.

How to train yourself to shoot the A zone?

In practice (dry and live), some find a contrasting mark or black tape on the target to help. Some guys cut out the A zone so that anything other than an A hit is recorded.

When you get a chance to examine a target, you'll see the perforations that mark the scoring zones: Upper A/B, A, C and D. Each zone is also labeled with the zone i.e. a perforated "A" roughly centered within the A zone, and similarly a B, C and D in those respective scoring zones. Look at Appendix B of the USPSA rule book for an example. The perforated labels on a real target are not exactly as shown in the example, but you'll get the idea. You'll also see what Yosh said: the center of the A zone is not the center of the target.

Assuming an open target, I visualise that A label and make it my point of aim.

Aiming for a spot on the target as opposed to simply aiming at the target, commonly refrred to as "blasting at brown", refines your focus and with practice should lead to more consistent accuracy.

[Glock26Toter]

YES. Only shoot at the A. And I mean the letter A, on the target. Not the zone. Making your point of aim a single spot on the target will help quite a bit. On the occasion that I practice, I just make a little black square on a peice of cardboard... no shapes, no zones. I just make about a 1" square and shoot at it. Also, during walkthrough don't look at each target. Look at each point of aim. It's the same idea. You are envisioning a little spot where you'll aim and not just looking at the whole target.

[kevin c]

As noted above, don't aim at the whole A zone, aim at a specific point within it ("aim small, miss small").

An important thing to remember is that you don't always have the whole A zone to shoot at. With an overlying penalty target or hardcover, a shot made precisely enough to end up in that ~ 6"x11" rectangle may not get the hit, or worse, can earn a penalty. I trained for years with precisely centered dots in the middle of full A zone targets, and now I routinely throw mikes or NS hits into what would have been the lower half of the A zone, but was actually covered.

Better, I think now, to train to snap to a small dot that is NOT on a target. Alternatively, have different partial A zones on your dryfire targets and center the aiming dot in the AVAILABLE part of the target, so you get used to adjusting to the specific partial target pattern, not a generic whole target/A zone.

My two cents...

BTW, come out to Richmond to shoot. Big, active club with lots of good shooters willing to offer free advice.

[davisjarrett]

I custom made a steel swing plate the size of a post it note and mount it behind a standard target with the A zone removed. Now I am shooting an actual target but only the little square I really want to hit. Paint it cardboard brown and instant clarification to your shot. Seems to work decent for me at least.

[Jaxshooter]

I use to dry fire at a target with a paster on top of the letter A . Get a new target and put the paster right on top of the A and dry fire every day. You will soon automatically align your sights on that part of the A zone.

[Esther]

Thanks for the replies, guys!

Kevin - that's a very good point about not conditioning myself to aim at a specific point in the A zone that might be covered by hardcover or a no shoot in actual competition. And yes I definitely plan to visit the Richmond range soon!

Edited November 25, 2012 by Esther

[toothguy]

I use to dry fire at a target with a paster on top of the letter A . Get a new target and put the paster right on top of the A and dry fire every day. You will soon automatically align your sights on that part of the A zone.

It works and doesn't cost anything except your time.

Edited November 25, 2012 by toothguy

[mudman]

When I was first starting out, I used to put a paster on the center of the A zone (on a turtle target, it's just above the letter "A") to use as an aiming point. You can also outline the A zone on the target with a marker, which will help your mind/eyes figure out where the A zone is in relation to the entire target.

As you progress, you'll want to train yourself to aim at a specific spot on the target - not just "the A zone". Where that spot is depends on the target. If you've got a full open target, then your point of aim should be the center of the A zone. If the A zone is partially covered (by no-shoots or hard cover), then you want to aim for the center of the available portion of the A zone. If it's a tight partial target with a no-shoot on one side, I tend to nudge my point of aim further away from the no-shoot. It's better to hit a C than a NS.