In many shooting competitions when you see a small shooting box demarkation on the ground you know, this is the spot from which I will shoot. These boxes are usually about two feet by two feet. Shooting from anywhere outside this box is is a really bad idea. But in 3gun this is not exactly the case. Shooting boxes are often huge and they give the shooter a lot of freedom. As I began learning about 3gun and attempting to combine running, shooting and thinking, this freedom began to confuse the heck out of me.
When running with your gun there are a bunch of things to remember: don’t flag yourself, the 180 degree rule, where is my next target, don’t trip, where does the shooting box end… That’s a lot to keep in mind when the buzzer sounds. Here is where the pre-stage walk-threw can come in especially handy. Many pros walking through a stage while miming sighting in their gun, but if you look carefully they may also be looking very carefully at their feet.
That’s why I was grateful for this simple pro tip from James Casanova of the Noveske Shooting Team: as I walk through the stage I should position myself at each point where I plan to shoot at a target. The target isn’t going anywhere, so if I pay attention to the ground when I’m running and head for a certain spot with a certain foot position, when I get there and look up, there will be the next target! Memorizing where to run and how I will place my feet when I get there, will allow me to focus on shooting as soon as I look up. I think this compartmentalizing of the tasks at hand will really help me in certain maze-like stages and the others as well.
Thanks for the tip. I’ll keep it in mind as I practice this weekend. Just picked up my rifle today and my first 3GN match is in 2weeks
You can do the same with hand placement on barriers. Another pointer is to have your gun 90% up before you get into position. Most shooters wait to get into position before raising their gun.
You don’t want to watch the ground all the way into position. You want to have the gun and the sights in view just as you are getting done decelerating.
Basically you shouldn’t have to wait to shoot. Stop, break the shot, if not before depending on the size of target.
Jesse is right, but the way to do what they are talking about is catching a sight of the spot you want to plant 3-5steps away, then mount the gun and find targets as you slow down.