Practicing Actual Cof Before The Match

[Clay1]

Do you practice the actual COF before the match if you know what it will be? Do you run the classifier before the match? I was wondering how many actually practice the particular COF that will be shot at the match vs. practicing components that will allow for all challenges.

Thanks,

Rick

[alma]

If something will be there that I don't normally do like odd shooting positions or 50 yard + shots I will go practice that. Setting up a stage that will be shot at a major match usually won’t help because it wont look the same once you get there.

I have heard of people grand-bagging by practicing the to-be-shot classifiers before a match but we frown on that here.

[Jake Di Vita]

If the stage is published before the match and I feel I can set it up in a way that will be very similar to the match (ie standards) I will absolutely practice it.

[Loves2Shoot]

Most classifier's are very straight forward, so I'm not sure there much good praticing them before hand. Ditto on the setting up of stages that you think will be at a match somewhere else because they probably won't be the same. If you practice a stage at your club before a match, well that isn't something I would think to be right, especially if it has "circus" props.

Come, see, conquer

[lynn jones]

it's still just practice!

[Clay1]

I get some of that "we frown on that" feeling by actually practicing a COF. If they are made public, posted on the club's web site - why not. If for some reason you are one of only a handful of people who know what is going to be shot and you practice it and no one else has access to it, then I feel you would be cheating. If everyone has access to the COF a week before the shoot and you practice, I feel like it is just another step in the right direction if you are so motivated.

On the classifiers and grand bagging - I sure don't want a classification that I will never live up to so practicing the classifiers might be another story. I am just starting to try and shoot them like any other stage instead of putting so much emphasis on that particular stage. I shoot OK on sections of the match and then when it comes to the classifier I try to shoot above my ability level and just blow it so badly that some of them were embarrassing. We actually shot an El pres at one of the matches. I was the fastest shooter in production, but I had a mike and I would have shot much better if I just shot at a rate that was 95% of my max and got my hits. It's a long learning curve sometimes with this thick skull of mine.

Shooting a league night on Tuesdays and another league on Thurs and dryfiring and shooting a match on the weekends. I got to get better at this stuff one of these days.

Rick

[JFD]

Around here we don't know what classifier will be shot.

I tend to practice classifier stages as part of my regular routine. When the new COF book came out I started practicing the easy to set up classifiers, knowing they would be the first to appear at our local match.

So far I've never practiced a classifier that happened to be at a match within a useful time frame. No big deal, as I look at classifier practice (the stages I practice anyway) as a chance to force myself to practice strong and weak hand shooting. This ends up helping quite a bit on most of the easy to set up classifiers.

If I knew the upcoming classifier you can bet I'd set it up the week before. I'm slow, so my only chance of a decent finish is to tear up stages that don't require much movement. Our local classifiers fit that description 99% of the time.

[GuildSF4]

I practice the odd parts, and normal practice. Don't have a lot of time to set up stages. I get more practice on small setups.

[folsoml]

It never fails. If you trry to set up a stage to practice, you will get there on match day and find your plan will not work. The slightest difference will make one target not visible from where you practiced and you will have to change your whole plan.

Generalities, you can plan for. Long shots, weak hand shots, stuff like that. But the stage as a whole--no.

[Ron Ankeny]

The only classifier I have ever practiced is the El Pres. Afterall, it is a routine drill. There really isn't any reason to practice a classifier because most pf them are B-Flat Box A blasting. I am with Jake on the standards deal. If I could set it up before a big match, why not?

[kimel]

Just break down the various elements and practice those. Long shots, shots through low ports, shots around barricades, table draws, etc.

Practicing the actual COF is pretty much a waste of time because it will change just enough at the actual match to screw you up and then you are actually behind.

Besides, a set of skills that can be employed for a variety of situations is far more valuable than knowing how to shoot 99-12 (just picking one at random).

My 3 cents anyway.

[Ben Stoeger]

If I knew in advance, I would practice it, but there are some pitfalls. You don't want to shoot a stage with any sort of expectations. When I shoot with expectations, I often crash and burn.

[MikeFoley]

It is usually so different when you get there. A lot of local clubs set up last years Nats stages, and each one was different than the others and Nats. The only time I ever practiced a stage before the match, I setup long range standards before TN last year, then when we shot it in the match, it was underwater! I will usually re-check my rifle zero before heading out to a 3Gun match. The actual skills behind the stage are far more important IMO, especially since it will be different anyway. If there is time to practice in the next two weeks, it will be fundamentals only, that is for sure.

[Al Capizzo]

I will try and practice any specific skills I notice in pre-published stages, but don't try to actually set up the stage.

If there are long range stages, I'll work on that, we don't do them much at club matches.

Table starts? I'll work on that. You get the idea.

There no shortage of skilla we can improve on, this just gives me a focus for a while.

Al

[Harmon]

practice the draw

practice the reload

practice the target transitions

SHOOT the stages.

the small things like seated in chair facing uprage with gun on table can be practiced too....

[Singlestack]

The only time I ever practiced a stage before the match, I setup long range standards before TN last year, then when we shot it in the match, it was underwater!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I can't say that this was the only stage/classifier I ever practiced, but it was my last. I swore I would never, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever do it again.

[Merlin Orr]

At my home club the guys setting up don't know 30 min befroe the match starts what will be set up fo the COF....Mix the ideas of whoever is there and there they ( the COFs) are! As to knowing what classifier we are going to shoot - Never in a million years.

[ErikW]

I'd say no, but then I realized the pre-published standards stages from a couple nationals. I would practice those to see if I could meet the par time with mostly As, especially the reload strings.

And if that first Infinity Open match stage were pre-published, I'd shoot it to determine whether it's better to stand and deliver, shoot on the move, or run up before shooting.

[Clay1]

Thanks for all of the comments guys. I see that some of you are gamers like me and want any edge that is possible. I see others talking like you are trying to cheat and still other that say that things will change too much. All valid points depending on how your club does it. If no one else knows the COFs and you practice them that isn't cool. If everyone knows and they are stds that are easily duplicated, I can see some advantages, if it is a complex stage with many barrels etc to hinder your view of different targets I can see duplicating that will be a waste of ammo.

If you have never practiced a stage before hand try it, you might like the results. Just don't expect to totally burn it down the same in the match as you would in practice. 95% of practice speed is my personal goal. If I try and do 110% because I have previously practiced it - I go down in flames. That's just my take on it.

Rick

[Kyreb]

As an RO, if I set up a COF the day prior to a match I'd sometimes shoot it before leaving the range if it was a really complex stage. This was done more to make sure everything worked as expected, there were no shoot through possibilities, safety issues etc... Sand bagging was not the intention. Most times I could tweak things afterward to make it a better stage.

However, this was something I did not do if I had to set up the day of a match. That did seem to cross the line.

As far as practicing a stage, it has been rare when I would go to the time and trouble to set up a duplicate stage. Seems to me time would be best spent working on fundamentals rather than set up and tear down of a practice stage.

On the rare instance I did practice a COF, I'd always shoot from several feet further back from the targets to make up for the changes you see in the actual vs. published COF.

[AikiDale]

There I was, walking through an empty field, when all of a sudden 16 drug crazed gun wielding psychos started shooting at me. There was no time to take cover, there was no choice but to rip out my trusty blaster and put two well placed rounds in each as I startled them by running right through the middle of the pack. They never expected that!

[\tongue in cheek]

[XRe]

There are other dangers in practicing a specific course ahead of time. I find I get complacent on the real run - assuming that I already know how to shoot it, and I tend to lose that sharp edge required to put in a maximal perormance.

What I generally do w/ published courses of fire is examine them for unusual skill requirements, or for specific start or shooting positions, and any sort of special props. I'll try to set up drills around those skills, and hone them a bit before the match. Because you generally don't get exact specs on the course of fire, I find it more useful to continue to use drills and small stages to practice things up before the match, and then just go do it.

I don't have an ethical problem with folks practicing published stages ahead of time. If an "elite few" are the only ones who know about the courses, and they practice them, I would probably consider that something I'd frown upon...

[Carlos]

We not only publish diagrams of all stages most months (including the classifier) we even have had video taped walk throughs playing on the TV in the shooters lounge with a description of the stages to go with the video. This helps to show the shooters which targets are part of a stage & which are not, as well as describing the stage procedure (as there really is no time for walk-throughs at our match). Granted, we have not done the video in a while, but we should.

As for seeing the stage diagrams ahead of time, its done at most of the sectionals and area matches around here (area 8) so I do not see a problem. As for classifiers, anyone could practice those right now just by going through the whole list;- and would they have an advantage? With that much practice, I should hope they have an advantage over those who did not practice. Seeing & practicing ahead of time is appropriate for USPSA. This sport is not IDPA after all.

What we frown on around here is shooting classifiers over & over again & then only sending in the ones you like. Each shooter gets only one crack at the classifier and its for the record no matter what mistakes are made.

[Flyin40]

I think its fine to practice before hand if you know the courses of fire. How many other sports do it and its not considered cheating or anything. Plus how many people will actually get lucky enough to set it up exactly. Classifiers can be done but other CoF's its almost impossible.

I kind of do it backwards. If theres a stage I really had trouble on from a match I like to set up the the part of the stage and work on that.

I think if you want to make the effort and set up the course before hand go ahead.

Flyin40

[tightloop]

HELL YES !!!!!!!