One of the more difficult things in teaching junior rifle is to get these kids to do well in standing. Given that each kid has a gun that matches his/her physical size and stamina what do you find works to keep them from getting discouraged? Most can see improvement in Kneeling and Prone in a reasonable time frame but Off Hand can be very challenging and difficult for them.
What have you use to keep the interest alive and disappointments few? Most of the kids I work with are less than 15 years old. Standing is very tough for them and some get very discouraged. What works well to allow them to see some light at the end of the tunnel?
Ideas needed to teach Standing(Off Hand)
Moderators: pilkguns, Marcus, m1963
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Coach Don
Standing for youths
It will help if you let them know when they do well and at the beginning, they can keep all shots in the black. Then, as they progress, be sure to praise them for advances, even small ones.
Then, make sure that they relax!!! and let the position settle down before working on their final sight picture and shot release. This means that they have to have a good natural point of aim to begin with. Also, work on them taking one of the first good sight pictures, instead of waiting and trying to get it perfect. Refinement can come later when they are more consistent.
Contact me at bawilli@attglobal.net offline for more ideas and info that may help.
Then, make sure that they relax!!! and let the position settle down before working on their final sight picture and shot release. This means that they have to have a good natural point of aim to begin with. Also, work on them taking one of the first good sight pictures, instead of waiting and trying to get it perfect. Refinement can come later when they are more consistent.
Contact me at bawilli@attglobal.net offline for more ideas and info that may help.
Standing
Ah Yes....
From what you wrote it sounds like you are teaching standing after the shooters have already learned prone and kneeling. Even if that is not the case, that is one of the reasons that we recommend teaching standing first (after some bench or supported prone shooting to make sure the shooter understands the rudimentary ideas of trigger control, aiming and follow-through).
Learning the sling positions first can make it tougher to learn standing because you can "get away" with making some errors in prone and still get a "reasonable" score for the experience level. But, when you switch to standing those same errors result in some pretty wide shots!
OK, how can we make this process easier. Firstly, everybody will move and wiggle, so accept that. Accept a shot in the black as a good shot. Tell the shooter what their goal is. Praise them when they meet the goal and offer encouragement when they fall short. If you need to black out the scoring rings or even make the black bigger, do it. anything inside the outer black ring scores 10. As the shooter progresses mark out fewer of the inner rings. This will "even" the playing field for those of various skills.
Second work on holding still. If the shooter cannot seem to improve this, it may be that the front sight aperture is too small. What is the correct size for prone with its limited wiggle will probably be too small to contain the movements of the standing hold. If it is too small, as the black ball zooms around the shooter will try to correct the movement to get it in the middle. They have little coordination at this early stage in their development and so the use of muscle causes an over-correction and the bull zooms back the other way in a seeming random motion.
Increase the size of that aperture to whatever size it takes so that when the shooter is aiming in the last second before the shot the entire path of the black ball is contained inside the front ring. This has two advantages: their hold "looks better" in that it doesn't zing through the front ring from one side to the other and they can execute better trigger control since it doesn't appear to be moving so fast and it stays in the ring. If the aperture is too small the sight picture may look great for a very brief time and so the shooter is tempted (that is a nice word) to yank on the trigger when it looks right for that brief moment in time. This poor trigger control unfortunately results in wide shots that the less experienced shooter is able to explain. "It looked good when I shot it, coach."
There is no question that the movement is greater in standing and ALL shooters have the same difficulties when they first start. As a coach, you can help them through this time by helping them develop technically sound positions and keeping expectaions within reason. It takes months and years of training to get the hold small enough to shoot real 10s on a regular basis. If the shooter develops good trigger control at the same time they may not shoot all 10s, but the 9s and 8s will still make for a good score overall. Poor technique will likely make some of those shots 7s, 6s or worse.
Something to do is to play games like tennis or trump or whatever you can make up to help keep the young shooters' interest while practicing in the standing position. Boring training is more likely the cause of shooters dropping out of the sport than just because the standing position is tough to score high in initially.
BTW, I know from where I speak, since I learned the positions in the order of prone, kneeling, standing. Changing bad habits learned early is very difficult indeed. I am not really sure I ever fixed some of them, even after 36 years!
This is where I am obliged to suggest that you take the Shooting Coach School, if you have not already done so. In that course you will learn the correct positioning and technical ideas needed to help beginners and intermediate shooters improve. Check out the website at
http://www.nrahq.org/education/training ... chools.asp
The site has been re organized to mke the finding of information easier (I hope).
Good luck and good shooting,
Marcus Raab
National Coach Trainer
From what you wrote it sounds like you are teaching standing after the shooters have already learned prone and kneeling. Even if that is not the case, that is one of the reasons that we recommend teaching standing first (after some bench or supported prone shooting to make sure the shooter understands the rudimentary ideas of trigger control, aiming and follow-through).
Learning the sling positions first can make it tougher to learn standing because you can "get away" with making some errors in prone and still get a "reasonable" score for the experience level. But, when you switch to standing those same errors result in some pretty wide shots!
OK, how can we make this process easier. Firstly, everybody will move and wiggle, so accept that. Accept a shot in the black as a good shot. Tell the shooter what their goal is. Praise them when they meet the goal and offer encouragement when they fall short. If you need to black out the scoring rings or even make the black bigger, do it. anything inside the outer black ring scores 10. As the shooter progresses mark out fewer of the inner rings. This will "even" the playing field for those of various skills.
Second work on holding still. If the shooter cannot seem to improve this, it may be that the front sight aperture is too small. What is the correct size for prone with its limited wiggle will probably be too small to contain the movements of the standing hold. If it is too small, as the black ball zooms around the shooter will try to correct the movement to get it in the middle. They have little coordination at this early stage in their development and so the use of muscle causes an over-correction and the bull zooms back the other way in a seeming random motion.
Increase the size of that aperture to whatever size it takes so that when the shooter is aiming in the last second before the shot the entire path of the black ball is contained inside the front ring. This has two advantages: their hold "looks better" in that it doesn't zing through the front ring from one side to the other and they can execute better trigger control since it doesn't appear to be moving so fast and it stays in the ring. If the aperture is too small the sight picture may look great for a very brief time and so the shooter is tempted (that is a nice word) to yank on the trigger when it looks right for that brief moment in time. This poor trigger control unfortunately results in wide shots that the less experienced shooter is able to explain. "It looked good when I shot it, coach."
There is no question that the movement is greater in standing and ALL shooters have the same difficulties when they first start. As a coach, you can help them through this time by helping them develop technically sound positions and keeping expectaions within reason. It takes months and years of training to get the hold small enough to shoot real 10s on a regular basis. If the shooter develops good trigger control at the same time they may not shoot all 10s, but the 9s and 8s will still make for a good score overall. Poor technique will likely make some of those shots 7s, 6s or worse.
Something to do is to play games like tennis or trump or whatever you can make up to help keep the young shooters' interest while practicing in the standing position. Boring training is more likely the cause of shooters dropping out of the sport than just because the standing position is tough to score high in initially.
BTW, I know from where I speak, since I learned the positions in the order of prone, kneeling, standing. Changing bad habits learned early is very difficult indeed. I am not really sure I ever fixed some of them, even after 36 years!
This is where I am obliged to suggest that you take the Shooting Coach School, if you have not already done so. In that course you will learn the correct positioning and technical ideas needed to help beginners and intermediate shooters improve. Check out the website at
http://www.nrahq.org/education/training ... chools.asp
The site has been re organized to mke the finding of information easier (I hope).
Good luck and good shooting,
Marcus Raab
National Coach Trainer
As much as I respect Marcus and HQ, I felt when I took coach school, and still feel compelled to move my younger shooters in the order of Bench -> Prone -> Kneeling, and then finally Standing.
I too teach very young shooters in a 4-H program with many of my new shooters in the 9 & 10 year old age range.
I've felt that by moving them off the bench and then into standing I've lost shooters due to the fact that they are physically small for the best sporter airgun we shoot (in my opinion the 888) ... they get discouraged and quit. Success breeds success.
Even small stature 13 & 14 year old young men and women can have trouble with that rifle. I prefer to use our 3 XSV40s for these smaller kids and save the standing position for when they are excited about progressing and basically they ask me to move into it. Then we shoot it a lot .... almost exclusively.
I also feel that I must have one or two other competent range officers on the line so that I can devote all my attention to the new/progressing standing shooter(s).
My formula here:
1) have an offhand stand so that they can rest.
2) teach them to pass up the wild shots early in their training.
3) Dave's comments on sight picture and release are right on the mark (another reason I do prone and kneeling first .... thay have to know what looks/feels right)
4) The practice session that they get points an all ten bulls ... even one's deserve huge praise ... I call all my older shooters over to praise that target! These kids MUST be praised for any small accomplishment for them to stay interested. .... And they will stay interested with praise
5) Finally I must stress to them that this takes a bit of work, and if they are only going to practice occasionally, they will not see as rapid of progress as someone who makes three times as many practices as they do (We shoot 3 nights per week)
That said ... when I do have a new shooter that is 15-16, with good motor skills, good muscle development, (male or female), I do exactly as Marcus mentioned ... but again, my program (4-H air rifle) usually attracts the younger crowd.
Also ... the National Coach school is a fantastic learning experience ... highly recommended!
I too teach very young shooters in a 4-H program with many of my new shooters in the 9 & 10 year old age range.
I've felt that by moving them off the bench and then into standing I've lost shooters due to the fact that they are physically small for the best sporter airgun we shoot (in my opinion the 888) ... they get discouraged and quit. Success breeds success.
Even small stature 13 & 14 year old young men and women can have trouble with that rifle. I prefer to use our 3 XSV40s for these smaller kids and save the standing position for when they are excited about progressing and basically they ask me to move into it. Then we shoot it a lot .... almost exclusively.
I also feel that I must have one or two other competent range officers on the line so that I can devote all my attention to the new/progressing standing shooter(s).
My formula here:
1) have an offhand stand so that they can rest.
2) teach them to pass up the wild shots early in their training.
3) Dave's comments on sight picture and release are right on the mark (another reason I do prone and kneeling first .... thay have to know what looks/feels right)
4) The practice session that they get points an all ten bulls ... even one's deserve huge praise ... I call all my older shooters over to praise that target! These kids MUST be praised for any small accomplishment for them to stay interested. .... And they will stay interested with praise
5) Finally I must stress to them that this takes a bit of work, and if they are only going to practice occasionally, they will not see as rapid of progress as someone who makes three times as many practices as they do (We shoot 3 nights per week)
That said ... when I do have a new shooter that is 15-16, with good motor skills, good muscle development, (male or female), I do exactly as Marcus mentioned ... but again, my program (4-H air rifle) usually attracts the younger crowd.
Also ... the National Coach school is a fantastic learning experience ... highly recommended!
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Sawyer
standing first?
I will back Marcus on the standing first model. I will also suggest that you chop down (stock and muzzle weight) the 888 for a small kid, so that they can in fact "handle" the gun. Use the bench JUST long enough to confirm that they understand sight picture and trigger squeeze, and then go to standing for at least six weeks or six sessions, and longer is better. I will maintain that if you use a large aperture, a generous target, and teach good technique, kids will not fear it; rather, they'll shoot in or near the black with increasing consistency in just a few weeks. Rewarding every shot that hits black will help the process.
I learned the "old way" over 30 years ago. It's a flawed system. I've taught the new way for 15 years. It works. Teaching the old way adds years to one's learning curve.
I have a pretty decent understanding of what it takes to shoot well. (Take a peek at the '05 USAS National championships results for men's smallbore rifle.) Having seen the scores the old system produced, and what the new system produces, I don't even think it's a contest. In the long run, the new (standing-first) system is much more effective.
Larry Sawyer
USAS/NRA Advanced Int'l Coach
I learned the "old way" over 30 years ago. It's a flawed system. I've taught the new way for 15 years. It works. Teaching the old way adds years to one's learning curve.
I have a pretty decent understanding of what it takes to shoot well. (Take a peek at the '05 USAS National championships results for men's smallbore rifle.) Having seen the scores the old system produced, and what the new system produces, I don't even think it's a contest. In the long run, the new (standing-first) system is much more effective.
Larry Sawyer
USAS/NRA Advanced Int'l Coach
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Albert B
standing juniors
Although I have little experience with juniors and the fact that in The Netherlands we do not have sporter air rifles like you have, we use an adjustable rope to give additional support to the juniors. (We only have the normal 'heavy' air rifles like the Feinwerkbau 300 and the Anschutz)
Swown in the attachment, a kneeling junior with the rope attached to the upper side of the shooting bay. This gives a 'natural' non restricted movement but takes away the weight of the rifle.
Just my 2 Eurocents worth...
Albert
(The Netherlands)
Swown in the attachment, a kneeling junior with the rope attached to the upper side of the shooting bay. This gives a 'natural' non restricted movement but takes away the weight of the rifle.
Just my 2 Eurocents worth...
Albert
(The Netherlands)
Re: standing first?
Larry ... I'm willing to listen here ... What do you do to keep the 888 obscenely muzzle heavy after you lop it off ... if you move the the sight/barrel-weight back you get a way too small sight radius ... this does increase the apparant aperture.Sawyer wrote:I will back Marcus on the standing first model. I will also suggest that you chop down (stock and muzzle weight) the 888 for a small kid, so that they can in fact "handle" the gun.
Larry Sawyer
USAS/NRA Advanced Int'l Coach
Even my more experienced 9 & 10 year olds (65-85 lbs) get worn out trying to keep a lopped off 888 up for 15 seconds off the stand..... with an XSV40 with the buttplate removed they can shoot in the mid-high 70's, but with a lopped off 888 only the best of them can get into the 60's.
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Sawyer
standing first?
Chop off a good portion of the barrel weight that also serves as the base for the front sight. Leave just enough for the sight base. Then, remove the buttplate, shorten the stock, and replace the buttplate with something inherently more "grippy".. like hard rubber, etc.
Doing these two things in combination will reduce the feeling of barrel heavy-ness.
Finally, focus your teaching on breaking the shot very early in the hold. For one, it's almost always the best time to break it; second, it reduces fatigue.
If you teach the concept of NPA and drill it's importance, AND teach them to abandon a poorly set-up shot, the kids will see that they can manage the weight quite nicely for 5-10 seconds. They'll be challenged, but they can do it.
Hope this helps,
Larry S.
Doing these two things in combination will reduce the feeling of barrel heavy-ness.
Finally, focus your teaching on breaking the shot very early in the hold. For one, it's almost always the best time to break it; second, it reduces fatigue.
If you teach the concept of NPA and drill it's importance, AND teach them to abandon a poorly set-up shot, the kids will see that they can manage the weight quite nicely for 5-10 seconds. They'll be challenged, but they can do it.
Hope this helps,
Larry S.
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xs pro-comp
- Posts: 3
- Joined: Thu Jan 26, 2006 10:52 am
All good sugestions and I would like to add that in our club we start the beginners on the CMP beginners target. Larger black and most shots are kept in the black. After they get to where they understand SA, SP, TC, and BC and most importantly NPA we move them to the standard reg. target. As was stated above one can only expect but so much improvement we a shooter only practices an hour a week. We also have little contest each practice with the giving of inexpensive prizes that they can choose if they reach their goal for the night.
Biggest thing I've found for new shooters is to keep it fun.
One of the best ways is to mix in some fun targets with the normal practice, sort of a reward for the hard work. The favorite among our kids is shooting clay pigeons, it's messy, but the kids love it. One of our coaches found some plastic clips that will hold a clay pigeon to a piece of cardboard. As the kids get better you can switch to the smaller 2 1/2" pigeons.
We've also had some fun matches by glueing Life Savers candies to the targets. When the kids get better only count the shots that go through the center of the Life Saver hole.
One of the best ways is to mix in some fun targets with the normal practice, sort of a reward for the hard work. The favorite among our kids is shooting clay pigeons, it's messy, but the kids love it. One of our coaches found some plastic clips that will hold a clay pigeon to a piece of cardboard. As the kids get better you can switch to the smaller 2 1/2" pigeons.
We've also had some fun matches by glueing Life Savers candies to the targets. When the kids get better only count the shots that go through the center of the Life Saver hole.
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isuguncoach
- Posts: 99
- Joined: Wed Nov 16, 2005 1:49 pm
- Location: central illinois
- Contact:
An other fun game is to use the NRA Qualification classifications. Everyone gets one target, Pro marksman get 10 shots, Marksman get 9 shots, Marksman 1st class get 8 shots, and so on thru any Distinguished Expert get 5 shots. Everyone shoots their target and the winner gets a bag of Gummy Bears. Am always amazed at how hard the kids will work for a small bag of Gummy Bears.
Great thread. I have not digested it all yet so I hope I am not overlapping what others have said.
What you do is also somewhat age dependent too (based on my observations). We start them in rested prone as well and then move them right to standing. Based on what I have seen of 9-10 year olds I don't think they typically have the motor development to shoot good offhand at that age. Still, I think it is the best time to get them hooked on shooting. So with that age we are using either P70jr's or the Walther Jr's. We try to focus them on just hitting the black yet use standard air rifle targets since in the end we need to score them to use the scores for the NRA Marksmanship program. Also, they learn to score their own targets. Even though their performance may be limited by their physical development they can still learn good positions and habits. Then at about age 12 or so it seems like things kick in and they really make some good progress.
What you do is also somewhat age dependent too (based on my observations). We start them in rested prone as well and then move them right to standing. Based on what I have seen of 9-10 year olds I don't think they typically have the motor development to shoot good offhand at that age. Still, I think it is the best time to get them hooked on shooting. So with that age we are using either P70jr's or the Walther Jr's. We try to focus them on just hitting the black yet use standard air rifle targets since in the end we need to score them to use the scores for the NRA Marksmanship program. Also, they learn to score their own targets. Even though their performance may be limited by their physical development they can still learn good positions and habits. Then at about age 12 or so it seems like things kick in and they really make some good progress.
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Jim Morrison
- Posts: 30
- Joined: Fri Dec 16, 2005 8:50 am
- Location: Nebraska
I agree with just about what every one is saying about teaching off hand to 9 to about 12 years or so.
What I’ve found works the best with young shooters of this age is the Daisy 499 BB gun at 15 feet or 5 meters.
The 499 is light weight and very accurate at these distances.
At the NE State Games, competitors can shoot the BB Gun prone and 4P matches through their 14 birthday.
After that, they can enter the sporter &/or precision off hand match.
There they shoot in the NRA classes of Sub, intermediate & Jr.
Is not unusual in the sporeter class for sub to shoot equal to the intermediate.
Jim
What I’ve found works the best with young shooters of this age is the Daisy 499 BB gun at 15 feet or 5 meters.
The 499 is light weight and very accurate at these distances.
At the NE State Games, competitors can shoot the BB Gun prone and 4P matches through their 14 birthday.
After that, they can enter the sporter &/or precision off hand match.
There they shoot in the NRA classes of Sub, intermediate & Jr.
Is not unusual in the sporeter class for sub to shoot equal to the intermediate.
Jim
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LawBlur_91
My experiance
I'm not sure if any of this has been said yet, but I felt compelled to imform you guys. I am a high-schooler. I am just about 16. This is my first year to shoot on a team. I wouldn't say i'm the best, but the feed back from my teamates and other teams tells me that I am fairly decent as a "first year". I am consistant in the high 260s (we shoot out of 300 the standard three position ten target stuff). I quickly have gotten my kneeling to mid 90s and prone to 97+, but my off-hand needed some work. I tried many different things. It wasn't to long ago that I discovered a break trhough. Here is what I thought helped, and maby you can pass this amatuer advice on to other, well, amateurs.
1.RELAX, don't think. thats right, don't think. You are here to shoot, not think and worry. If you can clear your mind of everything but your current shot then you have passed the first barrier.
2. Take it one shot at a time. Every shot is important, but nothing can be more distracting to a first year than a bad previous shoot. Make sure they don't beat themselves up for a louzy shot.
3. Breathe! Breathing is VERY important, and alot of times first years get to nervous to control their breathing, thus their pulse beat sky rockets. Take many deep, full breaths in and out of your nose ( your mouth is to rapid and uncontrolled). DON'T HOLD YOUR BREATH FOR LONGER THAN 5 SECONDS! 5 is pushing it for some kids (mainly the overweight ones).
4. Let the shot happen! 10 don't happen when you are trying so hard it hurts. Take your time and WAIT for the shot. Don't worry if its not a 10. If you wait to long, you will either A:run out of breath and get shaky, or B: be to tense to make that 10, either way you will end up with a 6 even a 4. I believe this to be the hardest thing to learn. Because untill it happens, it doesn't make much since.
again, this may have already been said. Or it might be totally a bad idea. But it works for me. And as a 16 year old, it aplies well to my peers.
1.RELAX, don't think. thats right, don't think. You are here to shoot, not think and worry. If you can clear your mind of everything but your current shot then you have passed the first barrier.
2. Take it one shot at a time. Every shot is important, but nothing can be more distracting to a first year than a bad previous shoot. Make sure they don't beat themselves up for a louzy shot.
3. Breathe! Breathing is VERY important, and alot of times first years get to nervous to control their breathing, thus their pulse beat sky rockets. Take many deep, full breaths in and out of your nose ( your mouth is to rapid and uncontrolled). DON'T HOLD YOUR BREATH FOR LONGER THAN 5 SECONDS! 5 is pushing it for some kids (mainly the overweight ones).
4. Let the shot happen! 10 don't happen when you are trying so hard it hurts. Take your time and WAIT for the shot. Don't worry if its not a 10. If you wait to long, you will either A:run out of breath and get shaky, or B: be to tense to make that 10, either way you will end up with a 6 even a 4. I believe this to be the hardest thing to learn. Because untill it happens, it doesn't make much since.
again, this may have already been said. Or it might be totally a bad idea. But it works for me. And as a 16 year old, it aplies well to my peers.
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mikeschroeder
- Posts: 488
- Joined: Tue Mar 02, 2004 10:56 am
- Location: Kansas
Re: standing first?
Hi Joeljhmartin wrote:
Larry ... I'm willing to listen here ... What do you do to keep the 888 obscenely muzzle heavy after you lop it off ... if you move the the sight/barrel-weight back you get a way too small sight radius ... this does increase the apparant aperture.
Even my more experienced 9 & 10 year olds (65-85 lbs) get worn out trying to keep a lopped off 888 up for 15 seconds off the stand..... with an XSV40 with the buttplate removed they can shoot in the mid-high 70's, but with a lopped off 888 only the best of them can get into the 60's.
If a kid can't hold an 888 in standing we hand them a BB-gun. We have a small kid who would have probably quit, but we had a BB-gun available. I have to take it home and CUT IT DOWN now. By the time most of the BB-gun kids can hold an 888, they're ready anyway.
Another thing to try is air pistol. We have several Tau-7's and are having some of the smaller kids shoot them. We also have a slightly disabled boy shooting air pistol. He has a fuzed neck so he can't turn his head far enough to get in to a decent offhand position for rifle. Air Pistol works fine.
Mike
Wichita KS
I agree that the Tau-7's with the small grip are good for the younger kids to learn on. I find they are so light though, that they have a large muzzle flip. I also NEVER let the kids fill the pistols. I've had some of the piercing pins hold the 12 gram cylinders and don't let them discharge completely .... then when you remove the cap, the cap and the cylinder go rocketing off. I have to be VERY careful with these pistols.
RE the smaller kids and rifle offhand .... I've pretty much moved all my older shooters (11 and up) to 888's and 887's. I reserve our 3 XSV-40's for our smaller shooters (9-11 pretty much). We also use those for silhouette.
RE the smaller kids and rifle offhand .... I've pretty much moved all my older shooters (11 and up) to 888's and 887's. I reserve our 3 XSV-40's for our smaller shooters (9-11 pretty much). We also use those for silhouette.
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Guest
honestly, they must have determination. standing is very hard to start of with, they just have to know what they want at the end of the day.
it would help immensely to have a great goal to work for. it started out hard for me too, coach helped me sort my priorities out and what i really wanted from shooting.
it would help immensely to have a great goal to work for. it started out hard for me too, coach helped me sort my priorities out and what i really wanted from shooting.
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Guest
Seeing as how this thread is going for a year, here are some of my ideas.
Start them shooting at 10m AP targets. Yes I said air PISTOL targets. The AP target is much LARGER than the AR target. This gives them a much bigger target to shoot at. The idea is to first keep all their shots inside the 1 ring. The goal is over time to keep the shots inside higher and higher rings.
When they get to putting most of their shots inside say the 7 or 8 ring, then switch them to the AR target.
Think of the AP targets as "training wheels."
This is a mental thing. If they can't even hit the target, they will get discouraged fast.
Alternatively you can use the NRA TQ target.
"Targets with "TQ" designations are training and qualification targets. TQ targets usually have larger bullseyes and scoring areas than competition targets. "
http://www.nrahq.org/education/training ... /index.asp
Here are a couple links to TQ targets. I have not seen them, so I don't have a feel for how they compare to a 10m AP target.
http://www.nationaltarget.com/cgi-bin/m ... y_Code=TQS
http://alcotarget.com/osb/showitem.cfm/Category/11
You can also use a "handicap" system, similar to golf.
Take their average score of the last X matches, and subtract from either a max possible score (e.g. 400), or 90 or 95% of the max score, (e.g. 360 or 380/400). That would be their handicap. This handicap would be added to their score. In theory, this evens out everyone.
As in golf, someone will try to "sandbag." But you can usually see that when they shoot a low average then shoot a high match. To adjust for that, if the match score is more than 10% over their average, you can weight the match score say 2x higher.
gud luk
Start them shooting at 10m AP targets. Yes I said air PISTOL targets. The AP target is much LARGER than the AR target. This gives them a much bigger target to shoot at. The idea is to first keep all their shots inside the 1 ring. The goal is over time to keep the shots inside higher and higher rings.
When they get to putting most of their shots inside say the 7 or 8 ring, then switch them to the AR target.
Think of the AP targets as "training wheels."
This is a mental thing. If they can't even hit the target, they will get discouraged fast.
Alternatively you can use the NRA TQ target.
"Targets with "TQ" designations are training and qualification targets. TQ targets usually have larger bullseyes and scoring areas than competition targets. "
http://www.nrahq.org/education/training ... /index.asp
Here are a couple links to TQ targets. I have not seen them, so I don't have a feel for how they compare to a 10m AP target.
http://www.nationaltarget.com/cgi-bin/m ... y_Code=TQS
http://alcotarget.com/osb/showitem.cfm/Category/11
You can also use a "handicap" system, similar to golf.
Take their average score of the last X matches, and subtract from either a max possible score (e.g. 400), or 90 or 95% of the max score, (e.g. 360 or 380/400). That would be their handicap. This handicap would be added to their score. In theory, this evens out everyone.
As in golf, someone will try to "sandbag." But you can usually see that when they shoot a low average then shoot a high match. To adjust for that, if the match score is more than 10% over their average, you can weight the match score say 2x higher.
gud luk