We were talking to several shooters about scorecards and what they could tell us about what a shooter is doing, what is causing their misses, and what they need to work on to improve. We took a sample scorecard and broke down the results this way: 11 out of 18 misses occurred after the first pair, 7 last targets were missed, and 14 of the missed targets were the second birds.
Here is how we analyzed the card, knowing the shooter and the shooter’s history: either you are not moving your eyes first to the second target, or you are not hitting your breakpoint on the first shot consistently. You need to put more emphasis on finishing the shots like your preload and control your pace between pairs and stations. Keep practicing single targets, finishing every shot the same way you preloaded the shot before you called “pull.”
The shooter whose scorecard we analyzed is new to the OSP system and the Knowledge Vault. He had previously had lessons from different shooters and instructors but was blown away by how he could make the targets slow down with our system. In fact, he was so impressed that he bought a trap to practice at home. He had been shooting two to three boxes several times per week and shooting at his local club on the weekends. But he had only been in the OSP system for about five to six weeks.
At this stage in his game, he needs to shoot more singles so his actions at the end of the shot are consistently the same without thinking. He also needs to control his pace between pairs and between stations when he shoots a tournament. We explained to him that now his misses are just something he must go through to know what needs to be done to correct them after the first miss. And through self-correction, they will eventually they will work themselves out.
While missing 14 of the second birds could be a result of not practicing pairs, his time would be better spent finishing the shot like the preloaded movie and learning to self-correct then practicing shooting pairs at this stage. We were not worried about him scoring well, but his ability to consistently score well has everything to do with how little he must think about the end of the shot and what the gun is doing during the shot. That is something that’s learned from shooting singles with a detailed preload and making the shot the same as the preload!
This is where most shooters would self-diagnose and tell themselves to shoot more pairs to score better. This would probably work in the short-term, but not the long-term – because remember: skill is what happens when you are not thinking!
A self-diagnosis like this would short-circuit building the move and ingraining the sight pictures. It would create more thought while performing, but possibly better scores short term. Our long-term thinking would be to build the mount, move, and sight picture flawlessly, and then begin to gradually work on scoring. Improved scores will be the result and they will be consistent.
This is the difference between learning from an experienced coach and trying to self-coach, asking your buddy, or even reading articles about shooting. While all advice is well-intended, it usually comes from shooters that will try to get you to score better instead of knowing what is best for your overall game in the long term.
Everyone is looking for the quick fix and the secret to becoming a world champion. And they think if they could just get the last club champion to share the secret with them, they could automatically be just as good as them. News flash: there is no secret.
We did suggest to this shooter while doing his singles practice to shoot the bird and shoot the piece to work on eyes first then the gun. This would best be done on a high crow-type target at 35 yards with a skeet choke in the bottom barrel and a modified in the top. But this comes with one caveat: Don’t just shoot any piece; you must shoot only the largest piece!
