Shooting The Texas Star?

What is it you're talking about? Please describe.

Most of the clubs I shoot at stage the star with the plates at the 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10 o'clock positions like the picture below (though this gent doesn't quite have it there yet).



Staged in this manner, when you pick a side and start high, the plates will rise, and depending on the star (they all have their own "personality"), you won't have to chase them, or at least chase them much.

I shoot it the same way every time and always start with the 2, then nail the 4, 6, etc... If you want to get a smoking fast time, you can't wait for them to rise, and will have to chase your shots, as you can actually nail the plates before they move much when you start high.

Never start low though, as the movement that ensues does not facilitate a smooth transition from one plate to the next.

I think this will get more attention in Competition than in ST&T... moved, and bumped.

lpl

The general best practice is to shoot it head, arms, then legs. Though this vid shows a different way.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLxvv4oIAX0

Depending on how they are set up, any other order, and it will start spinning, making hits very difficult. DAMHIK

http://www.brianenos.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=127227&hl=texas star&st=0

Top down is the way to go for sure. If you start at 2 all of the others will "come to you" somewhere between 2 and 6 as stated and the star never has a chance to gain a lot of speed.

I didn't like stars when they first started showing up so I built several and shot them every possable way then made them harder and shot them more. Practice, of course is the way to master them.

This one looks hard but I have put it in a match and not a single shooter missed a plate. Only thing I can think of is that they were worried about hitting a no shoot so they took the time to aim, a novel idea that seems to work well with steel.



On this one I connected a windshield wiper motor to the shaft so the shooter places his pistol on a pad that powers up the star until the shooter picks up the pistol after the buzzer. You either hit the plates at high speed or sit there burining the clock until it slows down.

I start at the top and work my way down the star going clockwise. If you imagine the numbers above as plates, then I shoot them in the numerical sequence indicated. The top plate won't get it moving yet, so your second shot is still at a relatively stationary plate, so you really only have to hit 3 plates while its moving (and from personal experience, if you knock 2 off at that point just 1 will settle down to to the bottom relatively quickly ).

If you do it right the plates will all rotate into your sight picture - don't chase them.

I'd seen videos of the texas star online and was terrified to shoot one, but having shot several, I can honestly say that now I look forward to them. Whether the run is good or bad, you're unlikely to fun a stage prop that's more FUN to shoot than the star .

Starting at the top and working your way around is probably the easiest way to run a Texas Star, but it's not the fastest. If you're editing for the plates to come to you, you're burning time.

The super-fast way to work a Texas Star is to shoot it in a kind of 'Z' pattern.

- Shoot the top plate. Make a note of whether the top plate is leaning left or right.
- Transition to the upper plate on that side, and shoot it.
- QUICKLY transition to the upper plate on the opposite side, and shoot it. You have to get this one quickly.
- Transition to the opposite side lower plate.
- Transition to the last plate.

With some practice, you can shoot a Texas Star so fast that the plates barely have time to wobble.

-C

Shooting and waiting for the plates to rotate, even chasing them, is old school and slow.

If starting with the star at 12 (vice 6); shoot it 12, left arm, right arm, right leg, left leg.

The idea is to minimize any rotation by moving from upper right to upper left then the lower 2.

Of course you could switch left/right.

David E.

Chris beat me to it!

I'm with Chris. Start at 12, shoot the rest as theweight determines, from top to bottom. You should be able to clear it before it starts moving.

Doubletap

gregj said:

Though this vid shows a different way.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLxvv4oIAX0

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This is a very good video and is what I try to do every time; very solid technique which in a perfect world requires very little (if any) movement of the gun and position for the entire star. In my experience though, the trouble starts with these things when you happen to miss a plate....then all bets are off, lol ! :banghead:

If you want to see some fantastic shooting of one (with not quite the standard technique!) the vid in this thread is well worth a watch:

http://www.brianenos.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=19199

often where I shoot they require you to start bellow the axis of rotation, so no way you can start up top.

often where I shoot they require you to start bellow the axis of rotation, so no way you can start up top.

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Covering up the top with hard cover? Texas stars (at least loaded to full capacity) aren't legal in IDPA and I'm pretty sure you can't enforce an arbitrary target order in USPSA.

Not legal but they are a worthwhile challenge.

I've seen many people empty several mags at them because they were not able to maintain their composure. Texas stars help to build up a winning mindset.

otoh, re-setting them eats up squad time.

They're not ilolegal in IDPA, you just seldom see them. Not exactly a self-defense exercise. What? A spinning pinwheel of terrorists? LOLOLOL

Cross timbers trophy match last week (IDPA) had one with 3 plates and hard cover from about 3' off the ground on up, the plates started @ 5,7 and 12 no way to shoot it with out it moving fast and you could not wait for it to slow and stop before reversing directions because of the hard cover. Made all of that practice with my powered one worth while.

They're not ilolegal in IDPA

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Fully loaded they are. You can't make a legal idpa stage with 5 steel targets.

At Double Tap (? maybe Colorado) I saw pics of a star that "SWUNG"!!!

The guys I know that shoot it very fast, use the 12:00, 2:00, 10:00, 7:00, 5:00 method that Dr Rob mentioned. Once in a while I get lucky with 5 shots, but the fast guys barely rotate the star at all.

This works well when the star starts with close to a 12:00 plate. Sometimes, they aren't balanced at that set-up.

I think a Rocket Propelled Grenade aimed for the axle would be the best way to "shoot" it!!

glockgod said:

I think a Rocket Propelled Grenade aimed for the axle would be the best way to "shoot" it!!

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Have to say, I do enjoy taking them out with a shotgun

Any time I've seen a texas star at a 3 gun match, clearing it by hitting the center with a slug has been expressly forbidden.

I've seen 30 cal rifles knock more than one plate off of a texas star.


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