Posted by R.M. on December 07, 2001 at 11:23:13:
John
I've been shooting rapid for about 6 months now and am having a blast.
For now, my training is just the 8 second string. You have to learn to walk before you can run.
I was lining myself up with the centre target, but yesterday, I switched to the first target. My first target results are better, but target 5 sucks now.
What I'm finding, is that by the time I get to #5, I have canted the pistol over quite a bit.
Is this a common problem? If so, what can I do to correct it.
Thanks
R.M.
Posted by john bickar on December 08, 2001 at 13:02:12:
Bob,
I normally line up on the first target as well; I stand in the middle of the array but align my NPA so that the gun is centered on target #1 (the one on the right since I'm right-handed). Some shooters line up on the middle, and some line up on #5 and twist their body all the way around so that the "spring" is tightly coiled at #1. But I've found that, since the first target is so important, it works best (for me) to align on #1.
Things to check if you're not straight by the time you get to #5:
1 )Make sure you're pivoting from your ankles, not your upper body. A common mistake people make when starting out is rotating from the shoulder--this makes a different relationship between your eye, the sights, and the target on each shot.
2 )Keep your stance straight up as you pivot; sometimes you have a tendency to lean forward as you transition from shot to shot, making the sight picture hit lower on the target as you get to #5.
3 )Practice just swinging the gun through the targets, driving from your lower body, and watching the sights to make sure you keep them level.
If you can start to isolate what's causing the cant (wrist? upper body? whole body lean?), you can target it with training drills to smooth out that specific part of your technique. It's fun when you can do that, because then when you get back to shooting live strings, suddenly you're not worrying about falling over anymore and you have time to think about the sights and the trigger.
Keep up the training with the 8 seconds; you'll soon start to be able to identify multiple places where you can pick up a fraction of a second. It's a gradual progression from 8 to 6 to 4--you start out doing it right and making it quicker, rather than starting out doing it quickly and making it righter.
HTH
JB
Posted by David M on December 09, 2001 at 02:55:30:
Moving at your arm and not at the ankles and hips is the main possible cause.
Also try dry firing on the 6th target so that the transition is continued past target 5 and does not drop off.
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