Enter or exit on hard target

[EliteGuard]

I have heard people say you should enter a shooting position and shoot the hard target first, but I have also heard people say you should exit on the hard target last. Hard target could be a paper target with hard cover or no shoots, small steel plate, or something far out. Which is faster?

 

Stage where I heard the disagreement was a shooting position with a large steel plate and a small steel plate at the same distance. I have also heard it on a stage with a target requiring you to learn around a wall and the other targets didn't.

[Sliv2]

There's way too many variables to give a universal answer. I find it almost always best to shoot things in a simple order, rather than consider their difficulty. Essentially, decide you're going to shoot an array left to right, or vice versa. 

 

Which target you enter or exit on will depend on which you can see first and at what time, body positioning, level of skill*, etc. 

 

*(meaning some shooters may be not able to, or comfortable with, shooting a headbox while entering a position and would rather leave on it while they're still stationary)

Edited February 23, 2018 by Sliv2

[Jake Di Vita]

I like to enter and exit on the easier targets because it means I can usually start leaving the position earlier or shooting earlier before I'm set up. Ultimately you need to be able to enter and exit on all targets whether they are easy or crazy difficult, but when the option is available it tends to optimize the speed at which I can leave a position.

[StuckinMS]

5 hours ago, Sliv2 said:

There's way too many variables to give a universal answer. I find it almost always best to shoot things in a simple order, rather than consider their difficulty. Essentially, decide you're going to shoot an array left to right, or vice versa. 

 

Which target you enter or exit on will depend on which you can see first and at what time, body positioning, level of skill*, etc. 

 

*(meaning some shooters may be not able to, or comfortable with, shooting a headbox while entering a position and would rather leave on it while they're still stationary)

Great answer! I do try to exit when I am not reaching around a wall/barricade or through a port though.  

[scroadkill]

I'm a new B class limited shooter and I discovered yesterday that there is plenty of time to think about "what is next" while finishing the array I'm working on - including shifting weight, loading back foot and visualizing the entry into the next array.  before yesterday I worked  step by step through my stage plan, but didn't make good use of the time while still shooting. It is a bit strange letting half of my brain shoot while the other half thinks.

 

[motosapiens]

2 hours ago, scroadkill said:

I'm a new B class limited shooter and I discovered yesterday that there is plenty of time to think about "what is next" while finishing the array I'm working on - including shifting weight, loading back foot and visualizing the entry into the next array.  before yesterday I worked  step by step through my stage plan, but didn't make good use of the time while still shooting. It is a bit strange letting half of my brain shoot while the other half thinks.

 

I would suggest that perhaps you would do better thinking of that stuff while you are visualizing the stage, rather than while you are actually running it. All that movement stuff can be entrusted to the subconscious, leaving your conscious mind with only 1 task; calling every shot.

 

Regarding engagement sequence..... whatever..... I would recommend setting up some different scenarios and running them different ways and seeing if there is a difference in time. i tend to take an easy target coming in if it is a real hoser target, but honestly it's more important how the targets present themself relative to my movement.

[StuckinMS]

Moto is dead on.  Focusing on calling the shots is the only mental work that should happen during the run.  Everything else should be subconsciously active.  Shooting targets in the order they appear is usually the most efficient, but not always.  That's why you should always be aware to practice right to left and left to right, near to far and far to near in order to be equally effective no matter the target appearance. Just always try to avoid getting trapped unnecessarily in a port or tight in on a wall or barricade.

[scroadkill]

12 hours ago, StuckinMS said:

Focusing on calling the shots is the only mental work that should happen during the run.  Everything else should be subconsciously active.

I think we are saying the same thing.. My brain is on auto-drive doing the shooting - but I must interject conscious thought as I start to move the next array. I'm thinking my visual queue for this is the last target in the array.. -- see last target, start shooting - meanwhile brain says "load back foot - start reload as I break away - keep gun up in work space... NOW BREAK!.. enter on target" - L to R pew pew pew.

[Jake Di Vita]

3 hours ago, scroadkill said:

I think we are saying the same thing.. 

 

3 hours ago, scroadkill said:

see last target, start shooting - meanwhile brain says "load back foot - start reload as I break away - keep gun up in work space... NOW BREAK!.. enter on target" - L to R pew pew pew.

 

You are not saying the same thing. The conscious thought you describe is not what you should be doing during a stage. Everything that you are saying to yourself during the stage needs to be pre-programmed in your practice/visualization so that it happens automatically.

[Chris iliff]

Generally, for me, it’s easier to speed up the process than slow down the process. 

 

If all all things are considered and i can get the array with an easy set up and no shuffling,...Then I would engage the hard target first, ramping up the speed of shooting over the easier targets and leaving on an easy. 

 

YMMV

 

 

[rowdyb]

i will admit to almost always entering on an easy target. but i was doing it out of fear of not being able to shoot well at a hard target when entering. but now i've changed that up a bit.

 

1. i work at no longer having the difficulty of a shot make a decision for me. a target gets the proper respect in sights and trigger, but hard shouldn't mean anything to me.

1A. i work on shooting from a point of confidence. i decide what i'll shoot and how.

2. if i have to come to a full dead stop upon entering, if the hard target is first, i'll shoot it first rather than finding an easier one and adding a transition

3. i work more on entry stuff that doesn't have the gun and sight so destabilized i can't do what i want.

[tanks]

Usually I wish to go either left to right or right to left and minimize the dwell time at a shooting position. So, whichever target fits the flow the best is the one I shoot first.