Do you shoot better when you are with better shooters?

[Brooke]

 

Yes! Shoot better, focus better (so as not to embarrass myself), and learn something every time. 

[DD78]

Absolutely.  The best part is watching how they break down a stage, and how they actually shoot it.  Most are also willing to share their plans with you, and explain why they're going to shoot a stage a certain way.  The flip side of this is if you're a good shooter who constantly shoots with shooters who aren't good.  I've seen this with a few local shooters who are good, but kind of stalled out at a certain level because they're not shooting with people who will push them to step up their games.  

[Chris51080]

Without a doubt, I shoot better when I am on a squad with better shooters. 

I watch how they lay out the stage, pick up ideas on how to better play the game, and have zero thoughts about being competitive. 

 

I think that the best way to improve is to constantly push yourself. Its tough to do that when you don't know how much better you could get. Watching a Master or GM take down a stage is not only a learning experience, its motivation. 

[RH39]

I do assuming I keep my head together.  If I try to push it to keep pace, meaning above my skill level, it’s an absolute s@&t show.  I do love seeing how different people break down stages and seeing the little things adding up to huge gains in time and points.

[Doge]

Yes, steel sharpens steel and most are very good at helping you out and learning. Makes everyone push each other to do better. 

[AzShooter]

I think better shooters shoot better when they are with me.  They get to show off and do extraordinary things.  I only shoot Steel Challenge these days and run the board for almost every shooter on the squad so they can concentrate on their shooting.  

 

I've seen some amazing results.  BTW I've been shooting better as well.  I wonder if they have anything to do with it (Ha..Ha).

 

[joshdub84]

I much prefer shooting with people above my current skill level.  Observing their approaches to stages, watching how they prep out for their run, and often annoying them with small questions seems to help me a lot.  When I shoot with people of my skill level or lower, I tend to slow down to their pace and while I feel better about my runs - Practiscore tends to show me that I'm not performing as well as I'm able.

 

 

[Ccampo1129]

100% 

Being super competitive forces me to try to be as good/better than those around me. If you are just out there to shoot and care less about what place you come in then its probably irrelevant. If you want to win you will push yourself to be the best and being surrounded by better shooters will motivate you!

Just my opinion

[Jory45acp]

Shooting with others whose skill levels are above your own has many benefits. You might watch and catch certain details of their stage performance that you didn't think of or maybe seeing them perform leads you to approacha nd ask why they did something different. I had a stage at the Single Stack Classic with Leatham forever ago and I remember him breaking it down how he was going to shoot it but then he said now here's how a B or C class shooter might have better score doing it differently. Different skill levels, different approaches. As the old saying goes, You become like those who you surround yourself with. 

[dorisdelaney]

Thanks !

[S&W686]

Yes I believe that shooting with someone that is better than you can make you a better shooter.  I am a A shooter and  shoot with several GM's and Masters.  One of the GM's I shoot with is a 7 Gun GM.  At our local matches I try to be the first shooter.  That is not hard to do since not too many people don't want to be first.  After shooting first I can watch the better shooters run the rest of the stages ahead of me.  This help's me move through a stages much smoother and quicker.  Also shooting with better shooters pushes me to get the best performance out of each stage I shoot. 

[Triggerslapper999]

I tend to shoot better with higher level shooters.

[trsrt8]

Yes, if I'm recording myself I also like to record the significantly better shooters for comparison. At nationals I recorded myself and the Champ, christian for my own comparison. 

[Ben53]

I've always found that shooting against or with better shooters will help improve, shooting against shooters of lower ability doesn't push you at all.

[mule169]

Glad I’m not alone with most of the folks here, yes I get timid and yes I try to match their energy. I don’t like shooting with good shooters which is weird but that is maybe something I need to work on to squad with them and continue to shoot at the best of my ability and not worrying about them. 

[bludog]

I try to watch and learn from better shooters.  There is always something I will focus on when an A, M or Gm shoots before me.. The bad news is those folks shoot so fast that when i follow next in line I think I can match their speed and the stage does not go well for me. The experienced shooters stage plans are often better than what i have come up with.  Though simplicity in stage plan is currently my favorite way to go.

 

[X5SigChris]

Seems to be a trend here for the most part. I’m a C class and normally end up with a few guys that’s A and up. My scores show that the one time I squaded with people in the C/B range I did better. I can’t say I’ve ever paid attention as to why but I could see myself “rushing” and making poor choices. 

[Pmatte1]

Think it varies. If you just pay attention to see if maybe they have a better order/plan or how they move around a certain edge might be beneficial. If you just try to copy speed/style of someone else don’t think that’s ever gonna work out terribly positive 

[Npoulson]

This depends

shooting with a guy thats better but you can come close to makes it worse for me

however shooting with someone above that is a huge help

you can see what they are doing differently than you

if you always shoot with alike guys you will never push yourself 

always pushing speed is a good thing

you push enough get enough bad hits and penalties your eyes will catch up you are going to suck for a while but one day it will just click

to do better you have to do a very hard thing

one work hard

stay focused

the very hard thing is the second

putting your ego aside for the betterment of your overall goal

[99mpower]

I tend to shoot better. Allows for the free flow of communication, observe them being better, and how they break things down differently. Also allows immediate feedback from them, if you know them well enough to ask for tips/tricks/advice, after your run. 

[LibertySpam]

I shoot much worse when I'm paired with college girls in yoga pants..... That much I know!

[99mpower]

On 6/30/2023 at 11:42 PM, LibertySpam said:

I shoot much worse when I'm paired with college girls in yoga pants..... That much I know!

 

hahahaha... 

[GunBugBit]

Definitely shoot better with good shooers.  Have been fortunate to shoot Steel Challenge matches with an Open GM who dispensed many practical tips I had not thought about.

[99mpower]

On 7/13/2023 at 10:01 PM, GunBugBit said:

Definitely shoot better with good shooers.  Have been fortunate to shoot Steel Challenge matches with an Open GM who dispensed many practical tips I had not thought about.

 

for sure, even nicer when higher ranked people are willing to share and help others out!! makes for a better day for everyone

[Bigzona]

For me, it helps with getting a good sense of how to modulate my aggression. When I first started, I'd get in trouble with lots of Mikes because I was a natural hoser. Then I'd over correct and be way to conservative when I really should've been aggressive.  Nowadays, that approach has deepened to improving educated guesses on what the hit factor should be on a stage, and letting that define my aggression. The joy of our sport is that the learning is literally perpetual. More advanced shooters are a wealth of knowledge....and there's always somebody better than you.