Match Book (and what to do with its content?)

[CDRODA396]

Ok, the check's cleared the bank, email confirmation is in, Match Book with stage diagram printed out, rules read through twice, and as if the God's are smiling on me, the announcement for the local match this weekend says the classifier will be the same one as the Georgia match, 03-18! Only thing between me and my first Big(ger than local) match is time.

So what do the Big Dawgs do with the Match Book? Do you just review the stages to be familiar with them? Memorize them completely and pre-plot your plan? Spend the next week and a half mentally running through them, or just read through it, relax and shoot'em as you see'em!

Thanks for any and all advice in advance, I'm stoked and cant wait!!!

[Flexmoney]

The stages won't look too much like the diagrams in the book. So, don't dwell on them much.

Just notice if there is anything that might trip you up a bit, and strengthen that. Then relax and have fun with it.

[John Heiter]

Key on types of shots rather than the layout of the stage. Is there any strong/weak hand stuff? Prone? Do the shots look up close and fast or long and tight? Practice your shooting and work on the strategy once you see the actual stages.

[Micah]

Flex is dead on. Coming from a former matchbook obsessive-compulsive, just look over it all, notice the level of stuff that you need work on, and WORK on it. Strong hand, weak hand, movers, weird starting positions...these are the things that will be a constant.

[shred]

Save the match book and bring it with you. Then when you bone something up (or shoot really well), you can notate it right there, so you have it for practice-use (or in-bar bragging) later on. After a while you get a little collection of books and notes that can come in handy.

[XRe]

Saul has a fantastic discussion on what to do, and not to do, with a match book in "Thinking Practical Shooting".

Basically - note any strange start positions, procedures, or shooting challenges. In a generic sense, practice those fundamentals ahead of time. Note the stages that may present challenges that are best observed ahead of time, and make plans to check them out first if you have limited amounts of time before you shoot (ie, stages w/ lots of moving targets, etc).

Otherwise, an "old" proverb applies - he who aim at written match book course description... miss.

[Flexmoney]

I did (used to) print out the stages and go over them a bit. I'd note how many points the stage was worth, what some of the keys to shooting the stage successfully were, if there were in 'distractions from the shooting' (goofy props and such).

Just don't obsess on what might go wrong. Picture things going correctly.

Better than the stage diamgrams...get to the range early and go through the stages. At some matches, the 5 minute walk-thru isn't really enough. Then, draw the stages out yourself. I'd strongly suggest using Anderson's STAGE ANALYSIS AND OWNERSHIP PLAN (free). http://andersonshooting.com/

[Ron Ankeny]

I'd strongly suggest using Anderson's STAGE ANALYSIS AND OWNERSHIP PLAN (free). http://andersonshooting.com/

When I design a stage, I range lawyer the thing to death, to the point of being overtly anal. Unfortunately, that same mentality rears it's ugly head at the most inopportune times. When I go to a match, my single biggest problem is "analysis paralysis". Unless the stage is absolutely straight forward, a 5 minute walk through is only enough time for me to get confused, pissed off, and frustrated. The Stage Analysis and Ownership Plan really helps to put one's focus and attention back where it belongs. I would suggest you try it out. If you don't need it, count your blessings.