04-05-2013, 06:26 PM
Buck2732 Wrote:LR1955,
Thanks that looks like a really great way of getting him to grasp the idea. Before I left the RAF I was a firearms instructor and coach for 13 years, he is proving by far the hardest pupil I have ever had.
The thing is we both shoot clays, birds and practical shotgun. He shoots all these better than I (a life long rifle shooter). He is the other way around. Although he has had some training on the use of the rifle, he has never had the same amount of training on marksmanship I did had during training.
He has never shot over 100 yards so the lack of follow through has not had much impact on his shooting. I want to get him to Bisley, on the longer ranges there in an attempt to show him that it will double the error. Thus spoiling his acceptable groups at 100 yards. We could then get on to the 1200m point with his .308 rem 700 and my Grendel, with some confidence that he will have some fun. As I say he has great potential, if only he could become consistent. It may even help him if he gets involved on the two way range again.
Buck:
Something I thought of while training today. How well a guy does positively correlates with the degree he is motivated to be good. Some guys are highly motivated to improve their marksmanship, believe strongly that they can improve their marksmanship, and so dedicate sufficient time and resources to train towards their marksmanship goals. Other guys like shooting and may even like competitive shooting but have other priorities for their attention, time, and resources. Their goal may be to just go out and have some fun shooting. If they score well, they are happy. If not, they are probably indifferent but view their shooting as something exciting and fun anyway.
About follow through. To me, it isn't the most vital thing a guy must do to shoot well. Certainly, it probably helps in consistency but is not the most important thing a guy must do. Like breathing, follow through is often used as a reason for poor performance when something else is really causing the problem or problems.
A couple of questions you may want to ask him.
1. What is his motivation when involved with marksmanship activities?
2. What are his outcome and process goals (if any)?
3. Where is his attention focused when he is shooting?
One to ask yourself is: How did you conclude his problems are due to 'follow through' and not something else?
I don't need to know your answers to these questions unless you want to send them to me. I do think they will help you if you continue to work with him. Remember that he must do the same thing shooting clays as he must do with a rifle, pistol, machinegun, in order to perform well.
LR1955