Calling Your Shot.

arnisandyz

Master Black Belt
Joined
Feb 22, 2002
Messages
1,346
Reaction score
37
Location
Melbourne, Florida
Brief definition: Calling a shot is mentally identifying the exact location or orientation of the sight picture the moment the gun fired.

When I first started competitive shooting many senior shooters gave the advice of dryfire practice. So I did it, a lot of it. It help immediately with my draw, reloads, body alignment and movement but I was still struggling with shooting fast AND accurately. I could do one or the other, once in a while both at the same time but not consistantly. It wasn't until I was able to "call my shot" that my shooting actually started getting better. Once I realized the hows, whats, and whys of calling the shot my dryfire practice took on more significance. In dryfire it was like shooting without ammo! With live ammo it was like tracer bullets only I could see!

I can't really recall WHEN it happened. I can't say you have to shoot 10,000 rounds before it happens. I think its process of awareness of seeing your sights and the results afterwards and logging that data in your brain. Eventually the pieces come together and you make the connection. Best advise I got from a fellow shooter was to be aware. A good training drill to develop calling your shot is to set a row of targets up far enough away were you can't visually ID your hits. Have a piece of paper on your shooting bench with a sketch of the target. After you break a shot mark on the paper where you 'think" that shot went, then verify.

In closing, calling your shot is a fundamental skill that must be developed in order to progress further in your shooting. Its a hard thing to get a hold of and something that is easy to leave you if you don't keep in practice. Its not the final answer but an important piece to shooting fast AND accurate.
 

bydand

Senior Master
Joined
Feb 6, 2006
Messages
3,723
Reaction score
32
Location
West Michigan
A good training drill to develop calling your shot is to set a row of targets up far enough away were you can't visually ID your hits. Have a piece of paper on your shooting bench with a sketch of the target. After you break a shot mark on the paper where you 'think" that shot went, then verify.

Wow, I hadn't thought of this is a LONG time. Years ago when I was just a kid starting out shooting for points, I shot with a group of guys who were much older than myself. (I was about 10 and the "old" guys were around my age now - early 40's) One of the guys used to feed me hints and tid-bits about improving my shooting all the time and this was one of them. I think he got a kick out of a "little kid" showing up to the club and clobbering most of the older more experienced guys at the range with the scores. I will have to revive this technique with my boys when I take them out this week shooting. My oldest is 9 and is already showing good form and is quite a good shot with both my .22 rifle and pistol. The old .270 and Marlin .44 is just a tad too much for him right now, but I know that kid would give them a try if I let him.
 

Latest Discussions

Top