Target transition tips?

[J.P.]

Michael,
Can you give us any tips for improving targret to target transitions?
Thanks,
j.P.

[Michael Brown]

There are two schools of thought on this issue.

1) Zip from target to target as fast as you can.

2) Move smoothly to the center of the target and use economy of motion.

I fall into the second group. The first group has proponents at our matches who do quite well.

I believe that my particular strategy works because it never leaves me totally out of a match because I never have a train wreck stage. It may not place me first on any given stage but consistency wins in IDPA. Not so much for IPSC where different stages really are worth different amounts of points.

The best thing to do to practice this skill is dry-fire.

Use two scaled down targets (I use 1/3 size at about 6 yards which really equates to about 15 yards despite the math) and practice both directions. Isolate the skill and make every single repetition count.

If your practice is imperfect, your performance will certianly be so I would rather spend five quality minutes than an hour of sloppy crap.

I have a 17R so I pull the trigger on both targets but if you have a standard pistol you want to pull the trigger on the first and move the pistol a fraction after the hammer falls. Getting this timing down is absolutely critical to good transitions otherwise you will have bad shots on or between targets. The only way to develop this is experience.

Then you must learn to stop the pistol on a dime in the center of the target. This is why I do not prefer the first method. You must see the sights in a complete sight picture on every target in dry-fire. This will also condition your eyes to move faster.

When you can perform these skills effectively, your target transitions will improve.

Outside of these concepts, there are no secrets. From there its all about practice. The good thing is that it does NOT have to be live-fire and probably shouldn't be 80-90% of the time. Dry-fire should comprise the bulk of your practice.

Hope this helps.

Michael Brown

[J.P.]

That helps a lot,thanks!

Settling down after a transition is what really kills me.
I've noticed Tams doing the same thing but I think shes faster than me sometimes.

I can get there reasonably fast but then I either:
a)spend time trying to get a sight picture on the new target.
or
b) Play that game in my mind that says "Hey a-hole.... how long are you going to take here...c'mon...just shoot!" and start blasting even though I know my picture is less than perfect.

Sometimes it all just clicks and I do pretty well but when I try to think about the elements of what made it work right,I come up empty handed.

I find dry-fire practice uninspiring with a standard Glock.
I think I need to buy one of the trigger reset kits that Glockmeister sells for around $65.
Have you tried these? If so,how do they compare to the trigger in your 17R? (which I've tried)

Thanks again for the tips.
j.p.

[Michael Brown]

That helps a lot,thanks!

Settling down after a transition is what really kills me.
I've noticed Tams doing the same thing but I think shes faster than me sometimes.

I can get there reasonably fast but then I either:
a)spend time trying to get a sight picture on the new target.
or
b) Play that game in my mind that says "Hey a-hole.... how long are you going to take here...c'mon...just shoot!" and start blasting even though I know my picture is less than perfect.

Sometimes it all just clicks and I do pretty well but when I try to think about the elements of what made it work right,I come up empty handed.

I find dry-fire practice uninspiring with a standard Glock.
I think I need to buy one of the trigger reset kits that Glockmeister sells for around $65.
Have you tried these? If so,how do they compare to the trigger in your 17R? (which I've tried)

Thanks again for the tips.
j.p.

Settling down is the problem for 95% of people. QUALITY dry-fire will help a great deal.

Everyone has that idea of how long they're taking on a target. Myself included, although you might not guess that. Its all relative.

Reference it all clicking, that is a direct issue related to shooting with the subconcious mind. If you shoot in your concious mind, you can only think about one thing at a time and shooting requires you to do dozens of things at the same time. The subconcious has to do the shooting.

This is a topic that bears far more discussion than I could type on the internet. I offer a shortened version in my pistol class relating to human performance. The best thing to do is buy a copy of "With Winning in Mind" by Lanny Bassham, former Olympic Gold Medalist in rifle shooting. He also has a set of audio tapes that are mandatory if you are serious about winning.

Most people disregard mental training and I can tell you with confidence that it is 90% of competing. That is why I find that I can lose local matches rgularly and always do well at the state match. That is a personal aspect and not true for everyone but it should illustrate how powerful mental training is.

It is what allows me to go from not firing a round for a six months to going right back to winning in a few weeks.

Do not take this post as a giant pat on the back for myself. Take it as an admonition to seek out mental training if you want to win.

Reference the Glockmeister trigger reset kit, I've got one that I don't particularly care for. Some people like it but I wanted a particular feel that only the 17R provided me. Its too hard to describe in words but I found the Glockmeister kit unsatisfying. Some completely disagree with me on this and they're certainly not wrong. Its just a preference issue based upon some really nebulous and peculiar requirements.

You are welcome to borrow mine and buy it if you like it.

Michael Brown

[J.P.]

Thanks again,Michael.
I'll look into those tapes.....and hit you up about the reset trigger. ;)

[RDS]

Is this the most effective/efficient sequence: look, shoot (once or multiple), look to next target, and move weapon to next target before/as it settles from previous shot's recoil?

I've found there's a tendency to over-run the target if you try to chase the gun with your eyes.

[Michael Brown]

Is this the most effective/efficient sequence: look, shoot (once or multiple), look to next target, and move weapon to next target before/as it settles from previous shot's recoil?

I've found there's a tendency to over-run the target if you try to chase the gun with your eyes.

That's pretty much it.

The old magician's saying that the hand is quicker than the eye is largely true so you want to get your eyes moving first. You should take advantage of the slight amount of lag time as the gun settles down to transition.

Ideally what you want is the ability to shoot six shots on one target or one shot on six targets in the same time. I haven't gotten it yet but I've come within a few hundreths on targets spaced two yards apart. If you can make the difference half a second or less, you've got the concept.

Michael Brown