Target Analysis Guide

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natural marksman

natural marksman

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Hi all

I'm on my way to getting my pistol license (at long bloody last), and I was studying for safety and what not. I came across this picture of a target, and it was labelled "Target Analysis Guide".
The concept is pretty straight forward. The target is divided into arcs to show why you might have hit inside those arcs as opposed to hitting the centre.

But some of the terms it has written in the arcs are words I've never come across before in the world of shooting, and I was wondering if anyone knew that these terms mean?

I'll post the picture below so you can see what I mean:
 

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Seems pretty self-explanatory to me.

But we don't spell "center" centre either. :D

Like HK Dan said, list which terms are giving you trouble and we can probably help.

rc
 
Use that only as a guide. Most problems will be resolved by just focusing on the front sight and maintaining good trigger control. If you are shooting poorly with a pistol, dry fire until you can clearly see the front sight and until the pistol doesn't move even after the trigger breaks.
 
I probably should have read more before I initiated this thread

The PDF I was reading where I found the target analysis explained later on what I was confused about...oops :D

Terms like "heeling" the gun, "breaking' the wrist, I understand now what all that means.

p.s. thanks for the translated picture edSky, made things easier as well :)
 
I don't like that chart because it causes people to focus on what they are doing wrong, rather than what they are doing right.

If you're thinking "Don't heel, don't heel, don't heel," guess what you are going to do!

Just practice the fundamentals until everything clicks. The fundamentals are sight alignment, and a smooth trigger squeeze. Those are the only two things you should be thinking about when you are working on marksmanship.
 
Natural--that's what I thought ya meant by 'terms', and that was an excellent response by Ed.

Remember that those charts ONLY work with slow fire, and the whole equation changes with subsequent shots during rapid fire.
 
the issue i have with this is that if you dont align the front sight correctly into the rear sight, the bullet will fal into those places.
 
owen said:
I don't like that chart because it causes people to focus on what they are doing wrong, rather than what they are doing right....
Click to expand...
I agree.

The first principle of accurate shooting is trigger control: a smooth, press straight back on the trigger with only the trigger finger moving. Maintain your focus on the front sight as you press the trigger, increasing pressure on the trigger until the shot breaks. Don't try to predict exactly when the gun will go off nor try to cause the shot to break at a particular moment. This is what Jeff Cooper called the "surprise break."


By keeping focus on the front sight and increasing pressure on the trigger until the gun essentially shoots itself, you don’t anticipate the shot breaking. But if you try to make the shot break at that one instant in time when everything seem steady and aligned, you usually wind up jerking the trigger. Of course the gun will wobble some on the target. Try not to worry about the wobble and don’t worry about trying to keep the sight aligned on a single point. Just let the front sight be somewhere in a small, imaginary box in the center of the target.

Also, work on follow through. Be aware of where on the target the front sight is as the shot breaks and watch the front sight lift off that point as the gun recoils – all the time maintaining focus on the front sight.

Also, while practice in very important, remember that practice doesn’t make perfect. It’s “PERFECT practice makes perfect.” More frequent practice shooting fewer rounds, but concentrating hard on what you’re doing, will be more productive than less frequent, higher round count practice.


Practice deliberately, making every shot count, to program good habits and muscle memory. Dry practice is very helpful. You just want to triple check that the gun is not loaded, and there should be no ammunition anywhere around. When engaging in dry practice, religiously follow Rule 2 - Never Let Your Muzzle Cover Anything You Are Not Willing To Destroy." As you dry fire, you want to reach the point where you can't see any movement of the sight as the sear releases and the hammer falls.

Think: front sight, press, surprise.
 
Nice.

I will be sure to remember the advice next time I go to the range. Last weekend I did a pistol saftey training course. It was necessary for me to do it in order to get my pistol license, and now I have a trainee permit for shooting at my local range. YAY! I've been putting it off for far too long, but now all I have to do is send off my license application. They make it a requirement that we enter at least 3 shoots before our license application passes, so I'll be revising this stuff very soon.

Thanks again guys :D

By the way HK Dan, what do you mean about the whole equation changes with rapid fire? I only ask because rapid shooting is one of the competitions I will be participating in in the near future for training. I though I might ask what differences there are between slow-fire techniques and rapid fire, because I've not tried rapid fire yet...
 
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I have read (and believe) that those targets really only apply to bullseye pistol shooters. They shoot one-handed. Once you wrap your second mitt around the grip everything on the analysis target goes out the window.
 
A lot of it doesn't seem to apply to two handed support but then a lot of it does. The too much or too little trigger finger sure does as well as the slapping the trigger and anticipating with a flinch/push. I've seen people that pull the trigger with all their fingers as in a total hand tightening, They seem incapable of moving one finger without the others moving. So while the finer details or single hand specific issues may not apply to two handed there's no doubt that the broader issue parts of those charts can help identify a trouble area.

But as mentioned it's good to concentrate on achieving an excellent supportive grip in the first place than to try to keep all those issues in mind at the same time. In that light I once again offer the two links that have helped me the most during my newbie days.

An excellent description of the two handed thumbs forward semi auto pistol grip. This write up ties in well with the next link.
http://www.handgunsmag.com/tactics_training/combatg_100306/

Todd Jarret in a trailer for a video on pistol gripping and shooting. Lots of good hints.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysa50-plo48
 
I hate that chart. The answers it gives are not always correct, and sometimes reversed even when dealing with just a right handed shooter.

They also don't translate well to varying styles of shooting (one handed, thumbs down, thumbs forward, ect). Whatever usefullness they may have served when they were made and spread around to the world, I think its over. I wish they would die, but whenever someone asked a marksmanship question, someone always says "its easy, just look here" and posts a link.

The trick isn't looking at your target and saying "OK, I'm low right, so it must be ......."

The trick is to be focused enough on your front sight to see any movement from your intended point of aim as you press the trigger. Call your shot the instant the gun goes off, not by looking for the hole in the paper, but by seeing where the sights were aligned to the very last instant before you lost them in recoil. If it wasn't a good shot, build the pressure on the trigger more gradually next time. Dry fire until you can press the shots without the front sight moving, then use those same presses in live fire.

There is only so much error you can impart with a poor trigger press. People harp on trigger control, but the big errors come from body control. Flinching into the shot with your hands and arms, gripping harder as you press the trigger, leaning into the gun at the waist or even the shoulders.......all of these things cause greater errors than too much pressure on the trigger, or having your finger in the "wrong" spot on the trigger.
 
RobMoore said:
...People harp on trigger control, but the big errors come from body control. .. leaning into the gun at the waist or even the shoulders......
Click to expand...
I have to disagree. In the action pistol disciplines, or in defensive shooting, one may need to shoot from all manner of unconventional or awkward postures.

RobMoore said:
...There is only so much error you can impart with a poor trigger press. ...the big errors come from body control. Flinching into the shot with your hands and arms, gripping harder as you press the trigger,...
Click to expand...
I disagree again. One can impart enormous error by jerking the trigger. It takes only a small deviation at the gun to cause a significant deviation at a target 5, 10 or 20 + yards away. Jerking the muzzle 0.15 inch will cause a 10 inch deviation at 10 yards (assuming a 5 inch sight radius).

A flinch with the hands and arms starts at the trigger, because everything is connected. If one can achieve a good, smooth surprise break, he won't flinch with his hands and arms.

Gripping harder as one presses the trigger is a failure of trigger control. Good trigger control is a smooth press straight back on the trigger, with only the trigger finger moving, until the shot breaks by surprise.

...greater errors than ... having your finger in the "wrong" spot on the trigger....
Click to expand...
Actually, I don't think it matters much where your finger is on the trigger, or where the trigger contacts your finger, as long as you can consistently achieve a smooth press straight back on the trigger, with only the trigger finger moving, until the shot breaks by surprise. It's just that with most people finger placement can help facilitate a clean trigger press.
 
^ Why do you think I put "wrong" in quotations? Because I don't think it matters as much also.

I also think you're really only disagreeing with me because I'm wording things different from what you're used to. I'm not proposing anything radical here.

Forget your preconceived notions for a second and think. If your entire body except your trigger finger is frozen solid, how much error can you REALLY impart with just your trigger finger. Now, compare that to how much error you can impart with your body movement. I know conventionally it all falls under the heading of "trigger control", but a good number of new shooters I've taught need more specificity than that. You can't just say "stop jerking the trigger, be smooth". They don't get it until its broken down into detail. I teach 24 new LE recruits every couple weeks, and their training is 6 months long. They don't all fall into one neat package that can be described by the "wheel of errors" or any one book on shooting.

I have to disagree. In the action pistol disciplines, or in defensive shooting, one may need to shoot from all manner of unconventional or awkward postures.
Click to expand...

That doesn't have anything to do with what I'm saying. Whatever position you're shooting in, you can still keep your body steady as you press the shot. If my signature line wasn't a hint, I've shot a few action pistol sports. Even shooting on the move, you try to keep your upper body as steady as possible so you can hold the gun on target. That is what I mean by body control.
 
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RobMoore,

I teach shooting too, and have shot a good deal of USPSA and SASS. I'm writing from my experience -- both shooting and teaching. I don't find the "wheel of errors" at all helpful and never use it. I don't find it helpful to dwell on errors at all. I find it most helpful to keep students focused on doing things correctly.

I also find that the completely inexperienced shooters I teach have great difficulty dealing with too many concepts at one time. They also don't have trouble keeping their body still. What they have trouble with is the trigger.

They tend to jerk the trigger, to anticipate recoil and/or try to make the shot break at one instant in time when everything seems lined up. They have difficulty accepting the natural wobble of the sights on the target.

When we get our students to focus on the front sight while exerting a steady pressure straight back on the trigger, they get good hits. Everything else falls into place.
 
That Target Analysis Guide pertains to shooting one handed.
Who does that besides bullseye shooters?????????


Not me
 
Handgun Target Analysis for all to see

Oops, my bad. :eek:
I have removed the security from the page. Anyone going to the link (Handgun Target Analysis) should be able to see the diagram and the associated Cause/Solution tips.

BTW, I have found this guide to be useful for two-handed shooters.
 
Looks very similar to the old and worn-out version passed around and complained about.

Its like trying to diagnose a headache with webMD. "It might be a Tumor".
 
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