Another Video Critique

[Rob D]

I can use as much advice as I can get, so If you notice something that could use improvement, PLEASE take the time to point it out to me. Thanks in advance.

In chronological order, here's me shooting stage 5 at the OKC Gun club monthly match the first saturday in march.

I actually did pretty well on this stage because a lot of other guys tried less effective ways to carry the baby-doll through the first part of the stage. I probably got more germs though. The first thing I really notice about this one is that in some of the standing positions my weight is completely on one foot instead of being balanced in a proper shooting stance. I also noticed I could have been a lot more fluid with taking some of the close targets on the move as I approached the baby-basket.

Here's me shooting stage 1 at the DTC last weekend:

My most obvious problem here was losing my balance while leaning to the left to get two targets. I actually called a mike on one of the targets, but by the time I thought about making it up, I had already regained my balance and was on my way to the the next position.

and here's stage 2:

I shot this one fairly well (for me). The only obvious mistake I really noticed was between the second and third port, I hit a target on the move, and instead of hitting on while moving between the two ports, I sort of veered off toward the target so I had to change directions and take a few more steps back towards the port I was trying to get to.

[High Lord Gomer]

Great thinking with the baby!

[Rob D]

Great thinking with the baby!

Thanks. I wish I could take credit for it. Stole the idea from one of the guys that shot before me on our squad. He's a Wichita, KS shooter who's actually the RO in the video.

[Bigpops]

Nice job!

Remind me to never ask you to baby sit!

[Bigpops]

one more thing.....are those handloads? Sweet "pop -pop" and little recoil. Would love the recipe.

[SA Friday]

From what I saw in the three vids, you are losing a lot of time in your take off's from a shooting position. You can almost see to the split second you decide to move a second after you complete shooting in that location.

Second, run. Once moving get low and haul ass. Stick the next shooting spot with the gun up and on target.

That's were I saw a lot of extra time you could shorten out of the different stages.

[Ron Ankeny]

You do know where babies put their hands? I would have stuffed one of the arms down the front of my...on second thought, you did a good job of carrying the baby. On the first stage you are correct in that you should learn to shoot on the move, shoot with the gun moving, etc. Shooting as you get there and while you leave is a very valuable tool.

On the second video, I too noticed you struggled on the targets in the third array when you leaned way out. I don't want to second guess you on that one because I don't know about your body type, the position of the targets and so forth. It could be you did the best you can with the tools you have in the tool box at the moment. The first thing that really jumped out at me was the second array right after the reload as you came around the wall. You took a step toward the targets and stopped. Again, without seeing the actual placement of the targets I am only guessing. Could you have had the gun in front of your face sooner as you came around the wall and taken both targets on the move without closing the distance?

Then there is that pesky activator for the movers in the last array and the reload. That looked really cumbersome. Could you pull the activator then do the reload while moving to the final position? For that matter, did anyone activate the mover before shooting the next to last array, shoot that array while backing up, then hustle to the final position and shoot the movers as they came into position?

[maineshootah]

From what I saw..

In the baby stage, it appears that you are riding the front sight to the next target as opposed to "SNAPPING" your eyes to the next target and driving to the gun to follow. In the vid, the gun looked like it was "wandering" to the targets not driving towards them.

+1 on SA Friday as well.

"Second, run. Once moving get low and haul ass. Stick the next shooting spot with the gun up and on target."

[Rob D]

one more thing.....are those handloads? Sweet "pop -pop" and little recoil. Would love the recipe.

Yeah. I love them. It's a 147gr Berry's plated on top of titegroup. I can't remember exactly how many grains. I have a sweet deal in that my dad lives across town and has a 550 and shoots an XD9 so I just have to pay him for materials and load the rounds. I'll PM you the details when I get a chance to ask him.

From what I saw in the three vids, you are losing a lot of time in your take off's from a shooting position. You can almost see to the split second you decide to move a second after you complete shooting in that location.

Second, run. Once moving get low and haul ass. Stick the next shooting spot with the gun up and on target.

That's were I saw a lot of extra time you could shorten out of the different stages.

Thanks. I've suspected stage movement is a big time waster for me. I've gotten better lately, but I still have a lot to learn about moving fast and keeping things smooth. I'm taking a class with a local GM next weekend and I think he'll have a lot to teach me about movement. I'll have to practice more movement drills in dry fire.

You do know where babies put their hands? I would have stuffed one of the arms down the front of my...on second thought, you did a good job of carrying the baby. On the first stage you are correct in that you should learn to shoot on the move, shoot with the gun moving, etc. Shooting as you get there and while you leave is a very valuable tool.

On the second video, I too noticed you struggled on the targets in the third array when you leaned way out. I don't want to second guess you on that one because I don't know about your body type, the position of the targets and so forth. It could be you did the best you can with the tools you have in the tool box at the moment. The first thing that really jumped out at me was the second array right after the reload as you came around the wall. You took a step toward the targets and stopped. Again, without seeing the actual placement of the targets I am only guessing. Could you have had the gun in front of your face sooner as you came around the wall and taken both targets on the move without closing the distance?

Then there is that pesky activator for the movers in the last array and the reload. That looked really cumbersome. Could you pull the activator then do the reload while moving to the final position? For that matter, did anyone activate the mover before shooting the next to last array, shoot that array while backing up, then hustle to the final position and shoot the movers as they came into position?

Thanks. Leaning out to the left on the second video was a total accident. I intended to lean slightly while taking those two targets moving forward, but I was moving forward a little too fast and nearly lost my balance. I had to lift my leg to keep from falling over. On the activator, the guy who had the best time in our squad shot the last array before the movers, then pulled the whip while reloading and moving into position to take the movers. The production reloads for that stage lined up perfectly for that, and I had intended to do so but by the time I remembered to pull the whip I had already dropped my mag and grabbed a new one so I pulled the whip with a mag in hand then inserted it while moving into position. A guy did take the last array while backing into position, but he had to reload before doing so anyway, so it didn't save him that much time.

Thanks to all of you guys for your comments, and please keep them coming.

[CHA-LEE]

I also wanted to point out that you circumvent your movement path to engage targets. You advance on the targets when you are engaging them even though it makes you have to double back for the next shooting position. If there are targets that can be engaged when moving from one shooting position to another then don't deviate from your movement path to engage the targets. Transition your foot movement from forward to side or backwards steps to keep your body moving directly to the next shooting position as you are engaging targets.

I also wanted to point out that any time you stop moving during a stage it is a HUGE time wasting. Always try to keep moving towards the end of the stage even if its a slow movement while engaging targets. The sooner you can get to the end of the stage the faster the stage will be over. Doing a run, stop, run, stop, run, stop target engagement plan kills a lot of time because it takes you at least a second to stop and get going again after engaging targets. Of course some stages force you to stop in a shooting position, but you shouldn’t be stopping to shoot when you can shoot on the move.