What are your goals for USPSA shooting?

[tanfoglio1911]

My goal is to stick with my plan, move fast, shoot accurately and have a good time...

[Salsantini]

My current goals are to move faster & be more efficient with my movement. I also shoot too slow trying to make the perfect shot..

1: move faster/ more efficient

2: shoot faster.

[a matt]

Keep it fun and stay competitive in what ever class I'm classified in.

[Youngeyes]

Veni, Ego Iecit, Ultimo Loco Non Consummasse

[johniac7078]

My goal is to see the sights on every shot.

[IronicTwitch]

Have fun and get out of the house!

[theWacoKid]

#2 seems like an 'after-the-fact' kind of goal - good, but what is required to get there?

- See an acceptable sight picture for every shot

Beastly,

I think he means get 90% of the available points on the stage before you divide by time. Not get 90% of the winner's HF and thus match points.

I like the 5 goals, but #4 is a poor one. As has been stated, focusing on what you don't want to do is a sure way to do it. It's why a good caddie never mentions where the trouble is, just where the ball is going to go.

[Bigbadaboom]

1) Call every shot.

2) Perform a good stage breakdown and walk through. (Prep)

3) Stay smooth with every movement. (Economy of motion)

4) Help a new shooter.

[valerko]

my goal is to beat Max Michel

[GunBugBit]

OK then so my goal is to beat you!

[Gunnar]

Live fire practice once a week and dryfire everyday.

[a matt]

Win, and all it takes to achieve this...from calling shots to DryFire daily live fire at least 3 times a week. Enjoy the process.

[hankdiesel]

Safety is always #1...followed closely by running on the ragged edge...shooting a clean match...and winning!

[CHA-LEE]

I think that many people think that setting a goal and defining a strategy on achieving a goal are the same thing. They are not. I can set a generic goal such as Winnning a match. But if that goal isn't backed up by a clearly defined action plan to better my skills then it's nothing more than useless lip service.

[Nimitz]

amen ...

Mike Seeklander's book "your competition handgun training program" has the most comprehensive write-up I've ever seen on how to accomplish goal setting including a step by step process ... setting a goal of "I want to win XYZ" or "I want to make GM" is pointless. Setting a goal of "I will live fire X/week & dry fire Y/week" is much more useful as long as you also establish the enabling parameters which will allow you to accomplish those things.

If you're truely serious about getting better Mike's chapter on goal setting is worth the price of the entire book ...

[BeerBaron]

I don't see the 90% of the points thing as a valid goal for most shooters.

many top shooters will tell you 'you should be hitting 90% of the available points' but that's more a result than a goal.

for most newer shooters focussing on big points just slows them down.

I look at say a 160 point stage. typically the stage winner has around 135-145 points. but what's important (obviously) is the points divided by time.

I look down the back of the list and often see the highest point scorers are the guys with the lowest hit factors. someone has told them they need 90% of the points and they get hammered as they spend way too long on each sight picture, way to many backups etc.

There is no point shooting 90% of the points, if it's taking you 20% extra time to do it in.

you need to find the correct balance between speed and points for your current set of abilities and number of skills in your toolbox. that will maximise your HF. anyone can shoot 90% or 100% of the available points if I can stand there all day and take my time. but IPSC is a hit factor sport. it's points per second.

as you progress you'll find the balance will ultimately end up that you can hit 80-90% of the points at your max speed to get your personal best possible HF. in practice sure spend time on accuracy and likewise spend time pushing speed too.

my (longwinded) point is, don't get hung up on accuracy or max points in the beginning. it's a false economy. if you really just care about accuracy take up ISSF.

[thermobollocks]

You should be pushing your ability to hit A-zones at whatever distances they present themselves. I have had plenty of runs where I'm a full second or second and a half slower than someone, but with 10% more points I get better HFs. It's not about "taking forever" -- if you take forever doing anything, you're probably doing it wrong.

Transitions, movement, reloads, and position acquisition will all dwarf split time in terms of how long it takes you to complete the course. Even a long course with 32 rounds, an extra .05 on my splits and transitions to acquire an excellent sight picture yields a mere 1.6 seconds on the time. For me that's the difference between warp speed and 20y popper.

[GunBugBit]

I don't see the 90% of the points thing as a valid goal for most shooters.

Why? I am able to achieve that with factory .45 ACP out of a 1911, especially if I don't push my speed, with uncorrected vision at age 56 and no special talents.

[motosapiens]

I look at say a 160 point stage. typically the stage winner has around 135-145 points. but what's important (obviously) is the points divided by time.

I lost looked at our last match results. out of 4 field courses, the winner dropped less than 10 pts on all but one of them.

For sure, some people start out accurate and speed up, and some people start out fast and get more accurate, and it's possible for both to get to the same place, but in the matches I've attended, you won't be winning much dropping 20 pts on a field course.

[CHA-LEE]

Don't fool yourself about the thought process of "Shooting 90% or more" of the available points. The on target hits goal should be to always strive to shoot as many of the available points as possible within a reasonable amount of time. Donating 5% - 10% of the available points by accumulating a few C/D Zone hits is still DONATING points to the competition. Some times donating points by pushing the envelope of shooting and movement speed is acceptable enough to win a stage given the shooters you are competing against. But the more on target points you donate will always be an opportunity for others to take advantage of.

The top shooters of this game are usually separating their stage performances by the amount of available points they shot and not so much the time it took them to do it. Look at most of the stage results at the Area and National matches. The bulk of the "Top Shooters" results will have a stage time that is within a second of one another. The primary differentiation in that scenario is the amount of points they are shooting in that same stage time.

Is there a balance between taking too much time to shoot all A's vs going hoser crazy and dropping a lot of points, Yes. You need to find the proper balance of speed vs accuracy that will yield the most consistent High Hit Factor result for any stage. But thinking that if you are shooting 90% of the points is the "GOAL" is the wrong mentality. I want to shoot 100% of the available points. If my stage performance can only achieve the accumulation of 90% of the point that may be "Good Enough" but I am still leaving 10% of the available points on the table for others to take advantage of and outperform me on the stage.

Edited September 23, 2015 by CHA-LEE

[JoeyMac]

For me, a successful stage is the following:

1) Executing my plan and reload points in the proper order on-time.

2) No mikes or no no-shoots...

I usually shoot a fairly high % of max points so if I shoot clean I'll have a good HF.

My biggest killer, since I'm not a speed-deamon, are NS and mikes killing my HF.

[BeerBaron]

GunBugBit, I didn't mean it's not achievable to shoot 90% of the points. my point was 'shoot 90% of points' is not a valid goal to me. for the reasons I mentioned and also I agree with what Charlie pointed out above.

I'd also say for a new shooter they often get hung up on shooting the tiny centre out of the A zone and neglect other parts of their game for far too long. For a top shooter it's also not valid for the reasons Charlie mentioned. I can't presume to be a top shooter or to speak for them but I think this goal misses the mark a little both for newer guys learning and for the top guys sharpening their game.

As you said, you can shoot 90% of the points if you don't push your speed. But this game is timed. the ultimate macro goal is maximum points per second. Shooting as many A's as is possible is a micro goal or a step that gets you there. It's meaningless if it's not coupled with a goal to shoot with the most efficient use of your body on the stage and with the minimum of extraneous actions (and a bunch of other things).

Simply strolling from place to place, posting up, then slowly shooting A's will not improve your game. The level of difficulty of probably 95% of the targets we face is so low that given no time limit even a new D grade shooter will be able to hit A's on that 95% of them and possibly drop a couple points on the odd long distance partial or fast swinger. As you said, you have no problem hitting 90% of points a a slow pace with less than perfect eyesight etc..

For shooters who are coming up through the ranks the fact is it may not be the best use of their time to make shooting 90% or 100% of the points their goal. For development in practice? Yes, you need to practice for accuracy. but for performance in a match to win their grade? probably not. they need to find the best balance between speed and accuracy that their current skill level allows.

Charlie, I agree there's often only a second between the top few guys, however I'd say on a 10 second stage that's 10%. A 10 second stage may on average have 80 - 100 points. On a stage like that time is at a premium. Even on a 20 second, 160 point field course one second is 5%. I think you can argue that point both ways and say that often the top few competitors shoot very close on points and that whoever among them can accomplish the stage faster will come out on top. I think it depends on the particular stage a bit too. Hoser stage with open targets at 3 yards but lots of movement and most of the shooters regardless of level will be 95% of the points, more difficult target arrays and that changes. At the end of the day it's a point per second game. Nothing more than that. Fastest time doesn't necessarily win nor does getting 100% of the points. Getting the most points per second does.

[GunBugBit]

As you said, you can shoot 90% of the points if you don't push your speed. But this game is timed. the ultimate macro goal is maximum points per second. Shooting as many A's as is possible is a micro goal or a step that gets you there. It's meaningless if it's not coupled with a goal to shoot with the most efficient use of your body on the stage and with the minimum of extraneous actions (and a bunch of other things).

I'm not a very experienced competitor, but in my mind, accuracy is more than a micro consideration. I think I know what you mean, though. It's only one component of doing well on a stage.

I watch a couple of very slow shooters who are slow due to physical limitations. They are as accurate as anyone on the range, but will never have winning scores.

I also watch some very quick guys who aren't getting the best scores they could because they sacrifice accuracy for the sake of speed. Watching them in action is impressive because they look like real athletes. But when you walk up and score their targets, their occasional mikes and no-shoots can really destroy a magnificent athletic performance.

Most of us are somewhere in between the two extremes I mentioned. Each of us has to find that happy balance of speed, efficiency and accuracy.

As you said, getting the most points per second wins. However one gets his best score with his personal package of skills is up to him to manage.

[S&W686]

My goal in shooting USPSA and IDPA is to reach as high a level as I can, but my ultimate is to have fun.

[Nibbles]

1. Be safe

2. Have fun

3. Find the bloody dot!

4. Get faster

5. Get much faster