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Bruce
Piatt’s “Top 10 Shooting Tips”
1. TRIGGER CONTROL
Without
a doubt, the most important element needed
for accurate shooting. The trigger should be pressed
with enough pressure to go straight back until the
gun fires and go no more. Sounds simple, doesn’t
it? It is actually easy to do if you are not aiming
at anything and you just watch your trigger finger
move. Once we add the elements of maintaining a
steady hold and aiming at a target, that simple
finger motion goes out the window. In 90 percent of
all shooters having trouble with their trigger
control, they are trying to “time” their shots.
They are looking for the perfect sight picture then
they are trying to make the gun go off at that
instant. The fact is that no one can do that.
Another fact is that no one can hold a sight picture perfectly
still. Maintain steady pressure on the trigger as
you continually correct your sight picture. This is
commonly called your “wobble zone”.
During that wobble time, you’re on the target more than you are off
it. Accept it and have the guts to pull the trigger correctly,
no matter what your eyes tell you.
2. CONTROL YOUR BREATHING
Each
time you breathe, your body moves. During accuracy
shooting, we are trying to minimize movement. While
most instructors tell you to “hold” your breath,
I like to think of it as a momentary “pause.”
When your lungs are just beginning to exhale,
“pause” your breathing long enough to make a
good trigger press. If your trigger takes too long
to break and your thoughts go to your labored breath
pause, then you have “paused” too long. Breathe
normally and start the process again until your shot
is made.
3. VISUAL FOCUS
Depending
on your discipline, your visual focus will vary.
I’m not just talking about focusing your eye but a
mental focus as well. As a rule, good shotgunners
will undoubtedly tell you to focus hard on the
target. Accuracy iron sight shooters (rifle &
pistol) will want to focus on the front sight.
Scope shooters will vary between target and
reticle focus.
4. BE Firm…from the smallest of rimfires to the largest of
centerfires
Grip
firm, pulled firm into your shoulder, maintain a
firm cheek weld. The combination of these three key
points will keep you on target while you execute the
trigger pull, increase your recoil recovery time and
put you back on target for a quick following shot.
5. RECOIL CONTROL
Every
firearm recoils when fired and that is a fact. You
can keep it to a minimum with some equipment and the
use of proper technique, but everyone still has to
accept it, do not fight it.
Practice to find the balance between a firm
grip and being relaxed enough to allow the gun to
recoil and return to the initial point of aim. Put a
death grip on the gun and you will lose that
delicate control of your trigger finger and induce
trembling at the same time.
6. FOLLOW THRU… Don’t forget to
Whether
you are shooting rifle, pistol, or aerial shotgun,
proper follow thru is vital.
Pistol and rifle shooters need to maintain
the same grip tension, body position, and visual
focus long after the shot is made. The gun should
fire, recoil, and come to rest before you even think
of moving. For shotgunners, a sure way to miss a
target is to stop the gun when it fires. Track your
target, make the shot and keep that gun moving as if
you are going to shoot again. A good practice for
skeet shooting is to move your gun the entire
distance from house to house, even if you have
already broken the target.
7. BE PATIENT…when it comes to making an accurate shot
Executing
an accurate shot takes time. The harder the shot,
the more time it takes. Get on target and accept
your wobble zone. Keep correcting your sight hold
while slowly increasing trigger pressure. Don’t
make the gun go off, BE PATIENT…she will fire and
you will have executed your best shot.
8. BE SMOOTH, BE RELAXED
Relaxed
muscles will react faster and move smoother than
tense muscles. If you are looking to increase your
draw speeds, learn to be very relaxed and your draws
will be faster. If you are trying to track a
crossing clay bird, being relaxed and balanced will
help you swing better and break more birds.
9. PRACTICE SMART
Have
a purpose to your practice. Rehearsing the same
course of fire repeatedly gains you little. You
should continue changing one thing each practice
until you find what works best for you. Remember,
what works for you one day, may not work the next.
Continue to experiment and keep your shooting
interesting and fun.
10. BEING PREPARED
Know
your gun, know your zeros, and most importantly,
know yourself. Have no doubts in your head when it
is time to step up to the line or walk onto the
field. Being totally prepared with the physics of
shooting will allow you to stay in the moment and
focus solely on executing good shots.
+
+ +
The "TURN
& DRAW" in Detail
I've spent
the week reading what all of you as Range Officers
would do if someone screws the pooch during a
"turn and draw start". Continue batting
the issue around if you will but I personally don't
RO. I'm posting this to the shooters who want a tip
on how to perfect their "turn and draw" so
they won't screw the pooch and have a lonely ride
home from the range. (or get someone hurt in the
process)
You all know your
normal draw. Your hand goes to the gun and it clears
the holster. A Master Class shooter should break his
first shot around 1.0 seconds. Shooters of lesser
class will be anywhere from 1.2 to ???. The point
here is the slower you draw, the less chance you
have to break the 180!! Here's why. Don't stand on
the line thinking of all the motions of the draw AND
all the motions of the turn. If you're thinking
about your turn and do it the way I'm going to
detail, you will be finished with you turn before
your normal draw time has lapsed.
THE TURN.....Stand
with your feet NO FURTHER than shoulder width.
Unlock your knees and put your weight on the balls
of your feet. I tend to have slightly more on my
strong side foot. When the timer beeps, the first
thing you want to do is SNAP your head to your
strong side and look for your target. THIS IS VERY
IMPORTANT. Your head/eyes should be the first thing
to turn and line up with your target. If the RO
allows you to start with your head turning over your
strong side shoulder, do it. The stage description
usually doesn't allow it. Your body will follow by
TWISTING your hips. Your weak side foot will do some
pushing off but don't try to have your feet do all
the work. You hips do more than your feet. You
SNAPPED your head around and found your target.
You'll begin to notice that your head will be STILL
looking at the target AS the rest of your body does
the spinning. When the beep went off, you began your
turn and your hands went for your gun. If you turned
quickly and you did your normal draw, there's no way
to break the 180.
SYNOPSIS.....I
feel my head snap around, find the target and
remains still, my gun comes up to the line of sight,
as the rest of the body follows. I find myself
finishing my final sight alignment as by body is
still moving and my feet are getting settled.
FINAL THOUGHTS
WHEN WAITING FOR THE BEEP.....think about your body
position as outline above. Think about SNAPPING your
head around, the body will follow. Don't wait for
your body to stop before you shoot. As with any
shooting, GET TO THE SHOOTING AS SOON AS
POSSIBLE..don't play with position or props.
PRACTICE....before
you attempt this with a loaded gun, practice this
EMPTY during your dry fire sessions. It's winter so
you won't have any excuse come spring time. Be
Careful.... Practice, Practice, Practice!"
What
I have outlined here applies to all types of 3-gun
shooting. That
means Rifle, Pistol, and Shotguns used for IPSC/USPSA
matches, SOF/ Tactical type matches, IDPA matches
and Defensive/Offensive applications for our CCW,
Police, or Military shooters.
Rules and requirements vary with each
discipline and it is impossible for me to outline
every rule in this article.
I strongly suggest that you obtain official
rulebooks from the hosting organization before you
start building your equipment list.
I’d hate for you to show up at a match
saying “but Bruce Piatt said it was OK” when
they tell you that your equipment is illegal
EQUIPMENT
NEEDS……… ON A BUDGET.
I
know of only a handful of people with an unlimited
budget for guns and equipment for the occasional
weekend of match shooting.
What I’m going to do is outline some ideas
that I’ve used myself to narrow down your
equipment needs and make your guns multi-discipline
legal.
RIFLE:
Scored
Major/Minor for most disciplines, meaning larger
caliber (.308, .30-06, etc.) gets higher values for
peripheral hits on targets.
Center hits score equally for any caliber.
Even though major caliber scores higher on
targets, the vast majority of shooters prefer .223.
In fact, none of the major matches have been
won with a major caliber rifle since the early
‘80’s. Just
for the experience, I would love to attend the SOF
with a .308 but I fear it would be too much of a
handicap, taking me out of contention for the win.
The decreased recoil, increased magazine
capacity, speed of reloading, and flatness of
trajectory, makes the M-16/AR-15 variants far
superior at SOF.
So what do you buy?
Reviewing the rules will show you that you
can assemble one rifle that will not only be legal,
but very competitive at both SOF and USPSA.
Limited
or Open, it’s your choice.
A standard HBAR configuration with iron
sights will be just fine for Limited Division in
USPSA and IRON Division at any SOF/ Tactical match.
In fact, this is the basic configuration I
used to win all four of my SOF Championships.
If you are in need of optical assistance, you
want to run with any one of your compensated guns,
or you want to expand your rifle for use at long
range use, a flattop receiver is the way to go.
An ACOG, ELCAN, LEUPOLD CQT, COLT, or US
OPTICS scope are legal for SOF SCOPE Division.
Switching to a Holosight or a standard
optical scope will make you competitive in USPSA
OPEN Division, and finally dropping a high power
scope on the same gun will allow you to compete in
Sniper competitions or just put a dent in your local
Prairie Dog population.
A word of caution that SOF has a total weight
limitation and specific criteria for compensator
size. Refer
to official rules and regulations before ordering
your parts.
SOF
also has some stringent criteria for magazine
pouches, requiring more protection and security than
USPSA. Magazines
feed lips must be protected and the magazine
exposure can only be 2 inches for 20 round mags and
3 inches for magazines over 20 rounds.
Similar rules apply for pistol magazines as
well.
Most
every hosting organization has similar rules
prohibiting steel core or steel alloy jacketed
ammunition. This
ammunition does considerable damage to steel
reactionary targets and are therefore prohibited.
A word of caution to those of you buying
surplus or bulk ‘bargain’ ammunition.
Many of these sources, while not labeled as
such, contain steel alloy in their jackets and are
therefore prohibited.
Simply check your ammunition with a common
refrigerator magnet.
SHOTGUN:
All
SOF shotguns must be 12 gauge buckshot and slugs.
No optics, no barrel porting, no speed
loaders, 22-inch max. barrel length, magazine tube
cannot extend more than one inch beyond the barrel. That’s simple to comply with.
A Remington 1100 Competition Master is
specifically designed for the 3-gun competitor.
If you already have an 1100 slug or turkey
gun, add an 8 shot magazine tube and your done.
The turkey gun comes with a 21” vent rib
barrel with Rem-Chokes installed.
Maybe install an E-Z Loader on your loading
port so you don’t have to push the button and you
have a very competitive gun for SOF, USPSA Limited
Division. If
you are planning on using light loads or tactical
buckshot and slugs, you will probably have to
enlarge the gas ports a bit.
A simple job but you may want to have a
professional gunsmith do this.
Another option is the, ready to rock right
out of the box, Benelli tactical guns.
A little more expensive for the initial
purchase, as well as any after market products but
well worth it if you don’t want to tinker
yourself. Just
like Ford and Chevy, Remington and Benelli have the
same type of loyal followings.
Personally, I prefer the Remington for it’s
lower cost, heavier weight, softer recoil, and
availability of barrels and parts.
For
those of you inclined to shoot USPSA Open division,
take the same gun, install a longer magazine tube,
speed loaders and maybe have Clark Custom install
their scope mount on the barrel, flush with the vent
rib and you’re all set for a red dot installation.
If you are set on having barrel porting,
either use a screw in choke-compensator or buy a
second barrel and have it professionally ported.
Anyway
you cut it, with the cost of extra barrels around
$170, one shotgun can take you from the hunting
field to any competition you choose.
Pistol:
Like
the rifle, Pistol is scored Major/Minor giving
additional points for a major’s peripheral hit.
Center hits are scored equally Major or
minor. SOF
allows only stock pistols.
5” barrel for autos with a specific weight
limit. Basically
the same as a stock USPSA pistol with no extended
magazines in the gun to start a course.
For both disciplines, .40 caliber is the
minimum allowed for Major scoring, however they
differ in power factor.
USPSA is now 165 PF while SOF is at their
standard of 180 PF. (bullet speed x bullet
weight)/1000= Power Factor.
Because of their course design, round
capacity at SOF is not too critical.
Generally SOF courses contain a lot of steel
knock down targets, giving little benefit to
shooting major.
However, when SOF have paper targets,
accuracy is paramount.
SOF scoring is usually set up as 1 point = 1
second. Misses
score a 20 second penalty.
On the other side of the coin, USPSA rewards
speed but not accuracy, often allowing shooters to
have multiple misses yet still win a match!!
Go figure.
For my 2000 SOF win, I shot my Caspian Wide
Body in .38 Super Comp w/ Caspian Fiber-Optic front
sight. Sierra
125 gr. JHP’s @ 1250 fps that scored minor.
I was in the minority shooting minor but I
shoot it better than my .40 and that’s what counts
for me.
For
USPSA Open division, any gizmo you can mount on a
gun is legal. An
optically sighted, high capacity, extended magazine,
compensated race gun in .38 Super Major is the norm.
Holsters
and magazine pouches differ from each discipline.
SOF and IDPA are more restrictive than USPSA
who allow any holster that holds the gun at belt
level and covers the trigger guard.
SOF and IDPA have guidelines written to
basically have the shooter use holsters normally
used for continuous carry, duty, or tactical use.
Magazine pouches, likewise, require more
security and protection than the standard
skeletonized units used in USPSA.
Details can be obtain from match officials.
Conclusion:
Whatever
equipment you decide on, remember, Reliability is #1
paramount concern.
#2 is that you are totally comfortable and
confident with it and #3 that it be accurate enough
to accomplish the task at hand. You can have the most accurate gun possible but if you mash
the trigger, you’ll still have a miss.
Most people can’t shoot above their
equipment capabilities.
Chances are you aren’t missing targets
because your gun isn’t accurate enough, it’s
because you didn’t do your part.
See
you on the range.
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