Nimitz Posted September 17, 2014 Share Posted September 17, 2014 (edited) Visualize, visualize, visualize .... You must learn how to do this like trigger control, transitions, reloads or any other skill. Unfortunately there is no drill to practice this either. It's something you learn by a lot of experience. However, what does help is how much visualization you do before it's your turn to shoot. If you can't close your eyes and run the entire stage in your head, every target, every position, then you are simply not ready to shoot. Unless the stage is a very simple short course or classifier you should be visualizing CONTINUALLY until it's your turn to shoot ... That's what the top shooters do. I'm not exactly the most 'fun' person to shoot which at matches. Unless I happen to be first or second in the rotation, I'm usually off by myself to the side with my eyes closed visualizing the stage over and over. I take a break to paste like everyone else but once I'm in the hole I do not get involved with stage resetting until I've finished my run and prepped my mags for the next stage. Not very social but very effective for executing good runs. It's also kinda mandatory given the level of difficulty and sophtication of our stages ... Our MD hates the typical hoser type stages you see at so many local matches. Our matches are usually 150 rd count matches with 5 stages. You can do the math to figure out what kind of stages you'll likely see if you show up to onecof our matches ... Edited September 17, 2014 by Nimitz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grapemeister Posted September 18, 2014 Share Posted September 18, 2014 As a stage builder, not very often, but on occasion I'll forget to place one target. If I don't catch it myself, it's always the experienced shooters that notice the missing target. The experienced shooters know the round count and number of targets before doing the walk through of the stage, and then they are counting targets while doing the walk through. Like others have said, it gets easier. I find that it helps to break the stage down into groups of targets, especially since I'm a production shooter. And the general rule of thumb is to not break up arrays of targets or groups of targets. Shoot the array or group of targets and then move on. If several targets are close to each other but separated by a wall other barrier, I'll put them in the same group. That also helps with planning reloads. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slabbie Shooter Posted September 18, 2014 Share Posted September 18, 2014 I'm not exactly the most 'fun' person to shoot which at matches. Unless I happen to be first or second in the rotation, I'm usually off by myself to the side with my eyes closed visualizing the stage over and over. I take a break to paste like everyone else but once I'm in the hole I do not get involved with stage resetting until I've finished my run and prepped my mags for the next stage. Not very social but very effective for executing good runs. It's also kinda mandatory given the level of difficulty and sophtication of our stages ... Our MD hates the typical hoser type stages you see at so many local matches. Our matches are usually 150 rd count matches with 5 stages. You can do the math to figure out what kind of stages you'll likely see if you show up to onecof our matches ... Nimitz you are not kidding about the Malabar matches. I shot the one this last Saturday. That one with all the hard cover targets at the back.. it's still bending my brain! Hope to run into you there or Volusia one day! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cody6477 Posted October 22, 2014 Share Posted October 22, 2014 Appreciate all the suggestions. I almost always shoot with a buddy with more experience than me and it's helpful to map out the stage with him. I still forget stuff once in a while and my plan still evaporates once in a while, but with practice I'm getting better at executing a more or less rational and effective plan. In the local clubs where I mostly shoot it is pretty much understood that the shooter on deck is exempted from pasting and such to get ready. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris iliff Posted October 22, 2014 Share Posted October 22, 2014 Listen to Nimitz and motosapiens. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackhawk Posted November 27, 2014 Share Posted November 27, 2014 Visualize, visualize, visualize .... no tricks. And then walk it just before you actually shoot it... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cobra99 Posted November 28, 2014 Share Posted November 28, 2014 Experience. Those HUGE field courses with eleventy billion targets will shrink the longer you shoot. Before long you will know where every target is, hidden and not. Break the stage down into sections. Trust me, this part gets easier. "Break the stage down into sections" - GREAT ADVICE Especially shooting production. If you can break it down to 8 rounds per position, it will make it easier to know which you have and haven't shot. You may have to tweek that with misses or when it just makes better sense to go to 10. It does become easier with experience and consistency. If you don't visualize well and often, it is tough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corey Posted December 9, 2014 Share Posted December 9, 2014 Shoot a lot and gain experience! You have to have a good plan during the walkthrough and really burn it in so you know what you are shooting from where. If there are two targets visible at the end of the stage but you have planned to shoot one earlier, then you need to know that and your plan will be "...move to the last position, shot the RIGHT target of those two, then shoot these other targets over here, etc". As others have said. Close your eyes and visualize every shot you are going to take on that stage. If you can make it through the whole stage in your mind, you are ready. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
t0066jh Posted December 14, 2014 Share Posted December 14, 2014 During Level 1 club shoots it's a good idea to become an RO so you can rotate in and help run the stage before you shoot. Seeing it shot a few times by shooters (especially the good ones) will help. You'll get a shooter's eye view and it helps me visualize the targets. If they make me go first and I haven't had my coffee I'm toast. LOL This is not quite true. Mark is usually the one we all want to watch shoot.. Mark is being his humble self but he has the desire and determination to develop a plan, rehearse it and then execute it. For me, rehearse the plan is the most important part. See you tomorrow Mark................Joe H Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mgardner Posted December 14, 2014 Share Posted December 14, 2014 During Level 1 club shoots it's a good idea to become an RO so you can rotate in and help run the stage before you shoot. Seeing it shot a few times by shooters (especially the good ones) will help. You'll get a shooter's eye view and it helps me visualize the targets. If they make me go first and I haven't had my coffee I'm toast. LOL This is not quite true. Mark is usually the one we all want to watch shoot.. Mark is being his humble self but he has the desire and determination to develop a plan, rehearse it and then execute it. For me, rehearse the plan is the most important part. See you tomorrow Mark................Joe H Joe, now they'll expect too much out of my wrinkly old carcass. You're no slouch yourself. It's not easy being a senior or super senior. You need desire just to get out of bed. LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just4FunLP Posted January 1, 2015 Share Posted January 1, 2015 I have a huge problem with memory stages. Some aren't so bad, but I shot one that must have had 12 targets and 6 different shooting positions. It just blew my mind. Staying on track while moving fast takes all the visualization I can do on a normal stage, but this one was so bad I really never had a good plan. It was imbarrasing. Afterwards I thought it may be helpful to sketch it out on a piece of paper first so that when I was practicing it in my head over and over again I'd be doing it right. Anyone ever done this? I believe that the really good shooters can usually work out their plans faster and execute them better than the average Joe, so I just have to work at it harder on each stage. But these kind of stages are just a little too much for my processor to handle. I need a fool proof method. It's also difficult to practice. Another problem for me is that I have poor eyesight. My dominant eye is able to see my sights ok, but my other eye can't focus on squat. It works well in most situations. I just aim for the center of the blur. Some guys actually put film over their nondominant eye, and you aren't supposed to be wasting time looking for wholes anyway! So maybe it's an advantage. But, it's a huge problem on a memory stage. I must be able to completely memorize every shot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newmexicocrawler Posted January 2, 2015 Share Posted January 2, 2015 Just plan your stage, perfect your plan with walk thru taking note of what to do where then get up there and do it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IHAVEGAS Posted January 13, 2015 Share Posted January 13, 2015 It is a problem for me, so I cheat . Get there an hour early & make a plan for each stage. You may not remember your plan by the time you get to shoot that stage, but you will be confident that there is a good plan & you will likely remember enough to jump start the process. I need to be thinking about my shooting 2 shooters ahead. I try to be one of the best helpers on my squad, but I'm selfish about the 2 shooters ahead thing. Folks are understanding if you feel you need to let them know what the deal is. As others have noted, it does seem to be getting easier. What I really hate is when you execute your plan just the way you wanted to & then learn that you missed a target when making your plan. Shouldn't ever happen, but I did it twice last year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just4FunLP Posted January 14, 2015 Share Posted January 14, 2015 Me too. Someone said to walk around the back side of the stage to make sure you don't miss anything, and it seemed to help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IHAVEGAS Posted January 14, 2015 Share Posted January 14, 2015 Me too. Someone said to walk around the back side of the stage to make sure you don't miss anything, and it seemed to help. I like that. Thank you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nimitz Posted January 19, 2015 Share Posted January 19, 2015 no one is any good at just walking up to a field course and in the 5 mins you get developing a great plan .... do whatever is necessary to see it ahead of time. I always check out the stages the week prior to my local match during my training sessions, then on match day I get there an hr early and finalze my plan for each stage. when my squad arrives at a stage I take one more quick walk thru and then I'm off in a corner visualizing until its my turn to shoot ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeerBaron Posted January 19, 2015 Share Posted January 19, 2015 It is a problem for me, so I cheat . Get there an hour early & make a plan for each stage. You may not remember your plan by the time you get to shoot that stage, but you will be confident that there is a good plan & you will likely remember enough to jump start the process. I need to be thinking about my shooting 2 shooters ahead. I try to be one of the best helpers on my squad, but I'm selfish about the 2 shooters ahead thing. Folks are understanding if you feel you need to let them know what the deal is. As others have noted, it does seem to be getting easier. What I really hate is when you execute your plan just the way you wanted to & then learn that you missed a target when making your plan. Shouldn't ever happen, but I did it twice last year. one thing to defeat that is always add up how many shots are in your stage plan (like 6 at position one, then 8, then 6, then 2 - total 22) then check how many rounds it says in the written stage briefing. if you don't have a match you need to make sure you've seen everything. I also always walk round the back of the stage, get down range and find all the targets. this also can sometimes help in discovering a new angle where I can shoot targets. if I'm standing down range right beside a target I might see up range a gap between props or something that I can shoot it from that I might have missed when I was up range looking towards the targets. doesn't happen a lot but it can happen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atbarr Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 Get there early enough to help set up the stages. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Youngeyes Posted January 23, 2015 Share Posted January 23, 2015 Get there early enough to help set up the stages. Hardcore, AT! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shws Posted March 27, 2015 Share Posted March 27, 2015 Remember by shots fired, magazine, or position. It's all about that plan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bkreutz Posted March 27, 2015 Share Posted March 27, 2015 Don't shoot the targets that already have holes in them? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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