How to remember stage

[TheDude27]

So I started shooting 3-gun and tactical shotgun matches this year. I've made some good progress so far, I'm actually pretty pleased with my shooting progress and shotgun reloading I'm making up time on many competitors(down to around 6sec for 8 using load 2 method). However, after analyzing numerous stage videos, I'm realizing I really need to come up with a more solid plan to make sure I can find all the targets and not fumble around as much. On the walk thru I generally do something like "go to this mark shoot everthing I see, move to next mark shoot everything..etc". Many times at my club they have targets hidden behind barrels/etc and Ill forget one or see it on my way out of the area and have to come back/etc which kills my time. What techniques do you use to smooth out this process and try to remember everything on those longer stages?

[Bart Solo]

I don't shoot three gun, but I do shoot cowboy which is a multigun disipline that involves learning stages on the day of the match. I have always found visualization to be a good tool when learning a stage. Simply plan how you are going to shoot the stage and visualize successfully executing your plan in your mind over and over again in the minutes leading up to your turn. That requires you to spend a lot of pre-shoot time focusing on your plan, but it is unavoidable.

When I don't visualize and simply go and shoot what I see, I tend to miss something, shoot something out of order or simply shoot slow as I find myself thinking about my next step. When I visualize (rehearse in my mind,) my stage times drop dramatically.

Read Brian's book.

Edited August 21, 2013 by Bart Solo

[Nimitz]

You must learn visualization techniques if you want to succeed. Visualization is the process of memeorizing where every target is on a stage and in what position you will shoot it and with your eyes closed run the entire stage (see it in your mind) and shoot every target. When it's your turn to shoot if you can not run the entire stage in your head with your eyes closed then you are not ready to shoot.

Have you ever watched an olympic ski jumping competition where you see the competitor just prior to their run moving their head and arms around and obviously doing something? They are actually visualizing their jump one last time before they go ... every turn, twist and flip in the exact order they need to perform it.

It sounds daunting but with a little practice it's not very hard. Every top competitor in the world, no matter what the sport, uses some form of visualization.

Do some searching here on the forum and/or pick up a book from someone like Brian or Mike Seeklander ...

[TheDude27]

Ok thanks for the help, I'm actually familiar with visualization from way back when I used to swim, I never thought about doing it for shooting but that makes a lot of sense.

[C130Mech]

I use the same visualization technique only I use numbers for each set of targets. ex. 3Left followed by 6Right, RELOAD, popper with flying clay. Transition to pistol 4 center etc...

Also to keep count with the shotgun, I will load one right away if I miss a shot. Helps me stay on track for the longer stages.

[Goldenmotors]

Walk 3 times,

1 Count Rounds

2 reloads

3 Put them together

[BlueOvalBandit]

Walk 3 times,

1 Count Rounds

2 reloads

3 Put them together

4 LMR

5 Beep

6 Forget entire plan

[markhawkeyeordnance]

I took some of the advice from this thread and put it to use at yesterdays 3 gun match. I found just by being repetitive and viewing each stage the same way it really helped my focus. My new practice is:
1) Walk through and count shots
2) Walk through and identify transitions, mag changes, shotgun reloads, etc.
3) Walk through as though I am shooting the stage
Past - Set - Paste - Talk Smack - Paste - etc.
4) In the hole - Take a few moments to breath, settle down and focus (I get over excited before I shoot)
5) On Deck (during the reset and being respectful of the shooter that is up) - Walk Through as though I am shooting the stage again

6) Let her rip!

[02doooce]

Walk 3 times,

1 Count Rounds

2 reloads

3 Put them together

4 LMR

5 Beep

6 Forget entire plan

Lol - That's totally what I do!!!

[Sean Gaines]

take advantage of the off time to rehearse the stage in your mind, like everyone has mentioned. Its like a practice drill, the first time you run it, its slow, then you keep shooting the drill over and over and you see your times increasingly get faster.

When you visualize your plan, your actions become more deliberate and your not thinking through the stage which takes too much time. When the buzzer goes off, you push play and let your body and your sub-conscience mind play. Unfortunately/fortunately your sub-conscience mind is that little voice that's telling you to go faster or slower, so you must be able to have control over it, because your sub-conscience mind's urges doesn't know the true reality of time, only the buzzer does.

for example: How many times have you shot a stage, and your mind was telling you to shoot faster because you are going slow, and you wind up shooting faster, and you miss steel or get shoot sloppy hits, well your sub-conscience just sabotaged your run.

Your conscience mind must be able to evaluate what the sub-conscience is saying and make a split second decision to do what its saying or not. Your SC is your biggest critic and biggest contributor to your success or failure.

[Chris iliff]

Can you close your eyes while sitting in your favorite chair at home and mentally see every thing you would see if you got up and went to the kitchen to grab a beer? This is VISUALIZATION. It is a movie in your head, no words. The whole counting this and counting that is gonna play out too slow as it is WAY too much thinking. No fluidity, too herky jerky.

1st person visualization is best, this is exactly what you'd see if your eyes were the camera. 3rd person works, but not as good, this would be visualization that would look like it was a video a buddy took of you.

Now during walk through, or before the match, figure out how you are going to shoot the stage. Do this until you can SEE everything. It's like a film in your head, NO WORDS, a silent film. Walk or run the stage until you have this down solid. Now every second you are waiting to shoot you should be running this film in your head. Run your mental film in real speed. The more realistic you can make it the better. It helps me if I can actually move through the stage during a walk through at match speed. Then, I recall what I saw in my mental film.

The problem is that this can be mentally exhausting. But, I've found that a person can do this fairly quickly in a short amount of time with some practice. As long as I run it in my head 7-10 times I am gonna shoot the stage to my ability.

Good luck, read Lanny Bassham, With Winning in Mind, for the real mental breakdown and how to do it.

[Nimitz]

One of the keys to visualization is to do it constantly until it is your turn to shoot the stage. You'll hear a lot of folks tell you to do it "X" number of times and then you're good. The problem with this is everyone is different and the number of visualizations is not important, the ability to close your eyes and "run" the entire stage in your head is all that matters. I've asked a couple of super squad shooters about this and they all told me the same thing. In big matches they visualize constantly until it's their turn. The complexity of the stage was never a factor.

It seems hard at first but like every other skill in this sport with a little practice you can do it. It may seem a little anti social at first, going off to the side and not talking with your buddies but once you are done shooting you can social and have fun to your hearts content. Because 'when' you shoot a stage changes with each stage no one will really notice what you're doing because sometimes you shot early, sometimes late. And pretty soon folks will notice why you never seem to forget a target, no matter how complex the stage was and you never hesitate or look back to see it you shot something because you KNOW the stage cold. And they'll start asking how you do that ...

It's also a tremendous confidence boost to walk up to the start position and not have to think about the stage because you know where every target is and what every shooting position looks like. Your conscious mind is now quiet allowing your subconscious to take over ...

[Andreas]

Prior responses cover the essentials. Something else to consider is you mention is just started shooting 3-gun and shotgun matches this year. Having to consciously think about anything related to marksmanship or gunhandling will bump your stage plan out of mind. As you get more familiar with your tools and handle them subconsciously, you'll find executing your stage plan much easier and smoother.