The Super Shoot flag rotation thread is starting to get a little twisted sideways. I can honestly say that it amazes me how some shooters get so wrapped up about their personal types of flags. I set mine at the Super Shoot because I have five full sets and I have quite a few guys who have asked me it to do this because they like the type of flag and the fact that it is similar to what most of the field is using. I, personally, would rather stand back and watch the Show when it comes to setting flags. I do know that many top-caliber group shooters in this sport don't even own a set of flags. They just watch the field and tune the gun. I truly believe that tuning the gun is much more important than what type of flag you use. If you can judge direction and see changes in that direction and intensity, that is all you really need.
I would like to give a personal perspective and whoever reads this can chose to delete it and move on. But, this is what has helped me move up the learning curve in regard to group shooting.
I started shooting score. I shot slow, watched the minute changes in the flags intently and tried to hit as many dots as possible. I started out shooting a windage top front rest. Accuracy is paramount in score shooting; and the small changes in the flags are important. The guys who shoot score well are great flag readers and shooting fast has no impact whatsoever. In shooting score I truly believe that knowing what the minute changes in the flags will do to your bullet flight is very important.
I started shooting group in 1996. I remember driving back from a group match in Holton after finishing dead last and saying to myself that this group shooting stuff is not for me and I better stick to what I can do halfway decent. As I look back on that humbling experience, I remember trying to watch the flags and shoot as accurately as I could. I also remember Phil Sauer's grimace as he watched me shoot a 3.XXX plus group at 200-yards in the switchy, whipping conditions that we get at Holton quite often. And I accomplished this monster train wreck by intently watching the flags and shooting as precisely and deliberately as I could. What works in score shooting quite often doesn’t do so well in group shooting; and vice versa.
A few years later I decided that I wasn't going to quit shooting group matches. During that same time I determined that the best way to get better was to do what the guys who were winning did. Most of the top group shooters at that time used the rear-bag squeezing technique (pre-Farley era) and shot fast. I continue to ues a windage top because I have small hands and it is hard for me to use the rear bag to steer. I still do use a windage top, but I believe that I can do this successfully in group because I pay very close attention to how the gun rides the bags and how it points up and acquires the target again after a shot. And my stock fits my bag set up well.
The other thing that I did was practice using one row of flags by myself; at that time I didn't realize that this isn't a completely positive way to practice. I spent a great deal of time watching the small changes and what it did to the bullet. I even tried every type of wind flag out there. Single vaned with no daisy wheels. Double-vaned. Different tail materials. You name it. But, at that time I believed that the minute changes in the flags were what were important to watch.
In 2003 I went to Tony's school. There was quite a bit of information that he relayed and quite a bit of it I already knew (he simply confirmed). I learned four things there that stick with me to this very day. First, shoot hard to the last shot; don't ever quit. There are so many things that can happen to those guys in front of you until that match is over.
Second, keep things simple. Not all variables impact shooting with the same weighting. Concentrate on only those things that matter and try not to clutter your brain with stuff that won't help you shoot better. Tony's genius in shooting is his simplicity and minimizing variables; especially those that don't matter.
Third, tuning the gun is very important. You can tune a gun to cut conditions; but you need to stay on top of what the tune will do as the day progresses. A well-tuned rifle will shoot through all those small changes in the flags that most of us concentrate way too much on. A poorly-tuned gun will have those small changes amplify the affect on the target. Knowing when to start a group is very important. And you can determine that by watching the entire field of flags to determine patterns either before your relay or during another relay’s match. One very important pattern to see is how long a weak period in the conditions lasts and whether your shooting style allows you to get all five off in one of those weak periods.
The fourth thing I learned was to not be mesmerized by one flag or one row of flags. Watch the field. When Tony set up the range to run his school he set three rows of flags; each ten yards apart on each side of the row in front of the target we were shooting. And without using all three (meaning just concentrating on one flag or row) you get surprised when your flags don't react fast enough to a change. When you scan the field from the predominant direction where the wind is coming from, you get a better feel for what is happening on the range. Concentrating on just one flag or row isn't really much better than not using any flags.
In the school Tony sat beside me as I shot and watched where I was looking between each shot. He told me that I closed my left eye right before I pull the trigger and I never took my eyes off the farthest flag between shots. I never realized that I was doing that. His methodology is to scan the field between shots as he pushes the rifle back to battery. It is a very quick scan, but he does it every shot. He also told me that you can’t shoot any faster than you can think.
I took me most of 2003 to understand and then assimilate this into my shooting technique. I can honestly say that it didn't happen overnight and I often lapse back into my old habits during a group match. But, I can honestly say that whenever I shoot well in a group match, I see the entire field and try to see patterns that develop.
When I go to places I normally don't shoot, I'll stand behind the hot local shooters and watch what they are looking at and what condition they decide to shoot in. In Phoenix, for example, I watch both Gary Ocock and Lester Bruno to see what they look for. Quite often out there those guys are watching the left side of the range and when it lets off there they put their head down on the gun and get ready to see that let off as it develops in front of them.
Sometimes it is hard to break our paradigms and try something outside of our comfort zone. But, I can honestly say that I didn’t get better in group shooting until I started watching the entire field instead of being mesmerized by the flags directly in front of me. That along with learning how to tune a gun has helped me get up the learning curve faster than anything else in this sport.
Once again, you can disagree with this as much as you wish, but I didn't shoot very well until I started to assimilate what I wrote above into my group shooting process.
I would also recommend that you get a copy of Tony’s book and use it. He is the best that ever was and what you will learn will help you get better. His success is a combination of being a superb tuner as well as a superb flag reader. Any success that I have experienced in group shooting has come from working these two aspects of the game as hard as possible.
I would like to give a personal perspective and whoever reads this can chose to delete it and move on. But, this is what has helped me move up the learning curve in regard to group shooting.
I started shooting score. I shot slow, watched the minute changes in the flags intently and tried to hit as many dots as possible. I started out shooting a windage top front rest. Accuracy is paramount in score shooting; and the small changes in the flags are important. The guys who shoot score well are great flag readers and shooting fast has no impact whatsoever. In shooting score I truly believe that knowing what the minute changes in the flags will do to your bullet flight is very important.
I started shooting group in 1996. I remember driving back from a group match in Holton after finishing dead last and saying to myself that this group shooting stuff is not for me and I better stick to what I can do halfway decent. As I look back on that humbling experience, I remember trying to watch the flags and shoot as accurately as I could. I also remember Phil Sauer's grimace as he watched me shoot a 3.XXX plus group at 200-yards in the switchy, whipping conditions that we get at Holton quite often. And I accomplished this monster train wreck by intently watching the flags and shooting as precisely and deliberately as I could. What works in score shooting quite often doesn’t do so well in group shooting; and vice versa.
A few years later I decided that I wasn't going to quit shooting group matches. During that same time I determined that the best way to get better was to do what the guys who were winning did. Most of the top group shooters at that time used the rear-bag squeezing technique (pre-Farley era) and shot fast. I continue to ues a windage top because I have small hands and it is hard for me to use the rear bag to steer. I still do use a windage top, but I believe that I can do this successfully in group because I pay very close attention to how the gun rides the bags and how it points up and acquires the target again after a shot. And my stock fits my bag set up well.
The other thing that I did was practice using one row of flags by myself; at that time I didn't realize that this isn't a completely positive way to practice. I spent a great deal of time watching the small changes and what it did to the bullet. I even tried every type of wind flag out there. Single vaned with no daisy wheels. Double-vaned. Different tail materials. You name it. But, at that time I believed that the minute changes in the flags were what were important to watch.
In 2003 I went to Tony's school. There was quite a bit of information that he relayed and quite a bit of it I already knew (he simply confirmed). I learned four things there that stick with me to this very day. First, shoot hard to the last shot; don't ever quit. There are so many things that can happen to those guys in front of you until that match is over.
Second, keep things simple. Not all variables impact shooting with the same weighting. Concentrate on only those things that matter and try not to clutter your brain with stuff that won't help you shoot better. Tony's genius in shooting is his simplicity and minimizing variables; especially those that don't matter.
Third, tuning the gun is very important. You can tune a gun to cut conditions; but you need to stay on top of what the tune will do as the day progresses. A well-tuned rifle will shoot through all those small changes in the flags that most of us concentrate way too much on. A poorly-tuned gun will have those small changes amplify the affect on the target. Knowing when to start a group is very important. And you can determine that by watching the entire field of flags to determine patterns either before your relay or during another relay’s match. One very important pattern to see is how long a weak period in the conditions lasts and whether your shooting style allows you to get all five off in one of those weak periods.
The fourth thing I learned was to not be mesmerized by one flag or one row of flags. Watch the field. When Tony set up the range to run his school he set three rows of flags; each ten yards apart on each side of the row in front of the target we were shooting. And without using all three (meaning just concentrating on one flag or row) you get surprised when your flags don't react fast enough to a change. When you scan the field from the predominant direction where the wind is coming from, you get a better feel for what is happening on the range. Concentrating on just one flag or row isn't really much better than not using any flags.
In the school Tony sat beside me as I shot and watched where I was looking between each shot. He told me that I closed my left eye right before I pull the trigger and I never took my eyes off the farthest flag between shots. I never realized that I was doing that. His methodology is to scan the field between shots as he pushes the rifle back to battery. It is a very quick scan, but he does it every shot. He also told me that you can’t shoot any faster than you can think.
I took me most of 2003 to understand and then assimilate this into my shooting technique. I can honestly say that it didn't happen overnight and I often lapse back into my old habits during a group match. But, I can honestly say that whenever I shoot well in a group match, I see the entire field and try to see patterns that develop.
When I go to places I normally don't shoot, I'll stand behind the hot local shooters and watch what they are looking at and what condition they decide to shoot in. In Phoenix, for example, I watch both Gary Ocock and Lester Bruno to see what they look for. Quite often out there those guys are watching the left side of the range and when it lets off there they put their head down on the gun and get ready to see that let off as it develops in front of them.
Sometimes it is hard to break our paradigms and try something outside of our comfort zone. But, I can honestly say that I didn’t get better in group shooting until I started watching the entire field instead of being mesmerized by the flags directly in front of me. That along with learning how to tune a gun has helped me get up the learning curve faster than anything else in this sport.
Once again, you can disagree with this as much as you wish, but I didn't shoot very well until I started to assimilate what I wrote above into my group shooting process.
I would also recommend that you get a copy of Tony’s book and use it. He is the best that ever was and what you will learn will help you get better. His success is a combination of being a superb tuner as well as a superb flag reader. Any success that I have experienced in group shooting has come from working these two aspects of the game as hard as possible.
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