By: Paul Giambrone, III

I bet this title has your full attention.  I have worked with hundreds of students the last few years and about 80% of them tell me they have a “problem” with one of these two targets or maybe both.  Why is that?  I think a large part has to do with all of the “fear” that other shooters have passed on to the new shooters.  Granted, both are very fast outgoing targets that flash right in front of us at a close distance.  Add in some nerves on these targets and it makes matters that much worse.  I am not immune to the normal fears of these targets; I have had my fair share of difficulties with both of these targets.  For almost a full year, I wasn’t comfortable with High 2.  I fought and fought with it over that shooting season and luckily I only let a couple get away, but it still wasn’t comfortable.  I was stepping up in fear instead of with confidence.  BIG PROBLEM!  So let’s discuss some ways to help alleviate some of the fears that we face on these targets or any “problem” target for that matter.

First, let’s dive into the fundamentals of this shot and have a plan.  Assuming that you have a good turn and the gun fits you properly, let’s take a look at the setup for a High 2.  Right-handers, I recommend standing in the front corner of the station closest to the low house with your belly-button facing the low-house window.  Left-handers, same spot on the station, except you should be facing the high-house window.  This is where I like to start shooters; I have moved shooters to the back corner of the pad (still on the right hand side) and it helps them see the target better or make it seem slower.  Not for everyone, but it’s a start.  Next, get in your stance (shifting your upper and lower body forward on your lead leg), and position your hold point or gun hold at 1/3 of the way out (or around 21 feet away from the window in the direction of the center stake) and at the bottom of the window.  Think of your hold point like a grid; we have a horizontal point and a vertical point.  The horizontal is the distance out away from the house and the vertical height is the bottom of the window.  This is a great starting point to get some feedback; we may need to adjust this based on your skill level and reflexes.  Let’s stick with plan A for now and move onto our look point or the position where your eyes need to be in relationship to your gun.  From your hold point, shift the center of your vision (eyes away from the gun barrel) about ¼ of the way back to the house, or about 5 feet left of your gun barrel, and elevate your eyes above the gun barrel in the flight path of the target (most important concept here).  Think about it, if your gun is at the bottom of the window and you shift your eyes left of the gun, the center of your vision will be at the bottom of the window as well.  When the target comes out, it rises.  Therefore, we need to be sure that our eyes are elevated above the gun barrel IN THE FLIGHT PATH.  Also, it is very important to have your eyes in a soft focus (or relaxed focus) to improve peripheral vision; which will help you pick up the “streak” as quickly as possible.  Keep in mind, when you look back for this target, to keep your head firmly on the gun.  It is very common to look back too far (especially right-handers) and the head comes loose and peels away from the stock. It is very important to have your head on the stock, with your eyes and gun in the correct position for this target.  Once you are here, take a ½ second for everything to settle, your head to clear and then call “pull.”

Now, you are going to see a streak or a flash and it will be pretty quick, don’t panic!  Simply move with the target on the flash, stare really hard at the front edge at your break point (which should be at least 10-15 feet before the center stake, preferably at 2/3 which is 21 feet before the stake) and fire.  The key to a successful turn on this target is rotating your lower body and upper body together as one unit.  If you are able to use your legs and hips appropriately, this will help slow this shot down because you can generate very fast gun speed in a short amount of time.  Notice, I never said anything about looking for lead or checking for lead.  This is the biggest problem that I see with shooters is they try to be too precise on this target.  Just get slightly in front and pull the trigger.  I have had some students not even see a “perceived lead” but shot at the front edge of the target.  Everyone’s sight picture is going to vary to some degree so do not try to get 6” or a foot in front of the target and focus on the lead, keep your focus on the target!  Another common issue I see is that shooters are constantly changing; looking for that “quick fix” solution.  There is no quick fix on High 2 or Low 6.  It is a shot that takes time to develop, so what you need is a CONSISTENT setup, not an ever-changing setup.  Start with the setup listed above.

Ok coach, it has been a couple of weeks since working with this setup and I find myself consistently in front of the target, any ideas?  Yes, make sure you are not moving early.  Sometimes shooters are so anxious for this target that they leave on their call instead of waiting for that streak or flash.  Assuming you are waiting for the flash, and you are still in front, your look point is probably too far back.  Easy fix, do not look as far back as stated above, maybe look just off the gun barrel to the left and up in the flight path and see how that goes.  I had a student recently that had such great reflexes, we actually had to setup his eyes straight above the gun.  And he has only been shooting for 3 months!  That is not typical, but he didn’t have fear, he trusted his coach and his eyes.  That is why it worked.  On the flip side, say you are consistently getting beat by this target, we have a couple of solutions for you.  Start with making sure your eyes are high enough above the gun and in the target flight path to ensure you are seeing the “streak” soon enough.  Once your eyes are high enough, make sure you are moving on the streak and not waiting to see a target.  When I look back for all of my shots, especially a High 2, all I am looking for is a streak.  I do not see the entire target right in front of me, contrary to what some shooters believe.  I am human just like you guys!  Quite frankly, all I want to see is a streak…  I don’t want to see that clearly defined target until my break point.  Back to the topic, eyes up, moving on the flash, but still getting beat…  Try one of two things, holding a little outside of 1/3 (no more than 2-3 feet) or looking slightly further back towards the house (but don’t do both at once).  If you choose to look further back, be sure those eyes do not look more than ½ way back.  Any further, that target is going to look extremely fast!  Not only will it look extremely fast, but your eyes, brain, and gun will be disconnected.  Think about it; looking that far back would be a huge strain on your brain to keep everything together.  When this happens, it is really hard to keep our focus on the target because part of our brain will want to know where the gun barrel is.  When our brain wants to know where the gun barrel is, it will send our eyes to go find it, and when that happens, we lose focus on the target.

Overall, we need to step on the station with a plan and focus on executing that plan to the best of our ability.  Before you think there is a “problem” with High 2, start with the plan listed above and give it a couple of weeks of solid practice to set in.  If you are not comfortable, take a look at the small adjustments listed in the paragraphs.  Keep in mind, this article is no substitute for having a qualified and experienced coach behind you helping you with this target.  Stay tuned for the plan and setup for Low 6…

If you have any questions or comments, please email me directly at info@gsclinics.com and visit breakmoretargets.com for more information!  Please check the website for upcoming tournaments and clinics in your area and keep in mind that GSC is now in the DFW area!  GSC will be available to teach in the Dallas/Fort Worth area all year-round!  Please call for lesson availability today!

Tip of the month:      Start with a solid setup that we discussed.  Give it some time to work before starting to change this and that.  However, if you have given this significant time to work and the setup is still not feeling comfortable, change one thing at a time.  I would start with the eyes and make sure they are high enough in the flight path.  If you feel your eyes are good, you can move your hold point slightly (1-2 feet at a time).  Again, when you make the change, give it time to work and only change one thing at a time!  If you change one thing and it is clearly not the right solution, go back to the old setup first before changing something else. Your brain has to recalculate every time you change so give it time to process.