To shift, or not to shift that is the question

[fisherdawg]

Seriously, my POI does contain a "time to first shot drill"

...you don't learn the precise application of marksmanship by shooting fast and then becoming accurate...

'Tis an excellent point sir, and well taken.  When teaching prone, or seated, students should not be hurried; they should be impressed with the ideal positions, and how best to achieve stability within them.  Graduation from static positions to transitions should not occur until proficiency in the position has been achieved.  I set the bar at 3/5 hits in the black of a 4 MOA square from a static position.  Unless the preponderance of students have achieved this minimum standard, the line does not progress to transitions, and certainly not to the AQT.

[jmdavis]

What's the prize for finishing a stage first?

Time to first shot means absolutely nothing if the students aren't in good positions, don't have sight alignment, and don't have good trigger control. There is no prize for being the fastest.

On the other hand if that student takes the time to get a good position, align his sights, use good trigger control and fire the rifle without disturbing the sights, he may earn a prize. And that prize is a Riflemans patch.

There is a time for one shot drills. But I'm not sure that time is at an Appleseed. Remember crawl, walk, run.

[fisherdawg]

Our results speak for themselves JM.  Time to first shot must be accomplished with all the sound fundamentals you describe.  If a student cannot achieve sufficient hits in stages 2 & 3, there is no prize.  As we well know, a 210+  can be achieved with less than 10 shots on Stages 2 & 3 because only hits count and points can be picked up on Stages 1 & 4 where time pressure is not an issue.  We teach our students that fact.  However, if no shooter on a line is getting a first shoot off with 12 to 14 seconds on a transition stage, it is clear to me that the transition itself needs to be drilled. This is what time to first shot drill teaches, not that there's a prize for finishing first.
I think I learned this drill from Fred or maybe ItsanSKS, I don't remember.  But it does work.

What's the prize for finishing a stage first?

Time to first shot means absolutely nothing if the students aren't in good positions, don't have sight alignment, and don't have good trigger control. There is no prize for being the fastest.

On the other hand if that student takes the time to get a good position, align his sights, use good trigger control and fire the rifle without disturbing the sights, he may earn a prize. And that prize is a Riflemans patch.

There is a time for one shot drills. But I'm not sure that time is at an Appleseed. Remember crawl, walk, run.

[jmdavis]

There is no prize for finishing first. The prize is for meeting a standard and that standard doesn't care if the first shot comes in 15 seconds or 30 seconds. It only matters if the stage is shot well and completed in 55 or 65 seconds.

I do a lot of 1 and 2 shot drills. But my goal is to shoot my shots well. Well means and X, a V, a 10 or a 5 depending on the target.  Once the student is shooting well, speed will come. On the other hand I have seen a lot of shooters stressed to shoot fast, or follow a cadence or even fire a shot every 3 seconds. Any guesses on how those worked out?

If shot 1 takes 25 seconds it takes 25 seconds. You still have plenty of time to do well. But you need to have your position, sight alignment, sight picture and trigger control to do well.

Note what National champion and record holder Sherri Gallagher spends her time on, aiming and good shots. The rhythm and speed are determined by your speed gauge, and that is your sights. You don't shoot faster than you can make good shots. She shot a 100 with 8x that day and used 52 of 55 seconds to do it starting from position. First shot was a 10+ seconds.

http://youtu.be/bI3CNcLDvTs

[ItsanSKS]

JM & fisherdawg, you guys are talking past each other, with both saying the same thing.

The whole goal of the time to first shot drill is to illustrate that it is possible to make a first round hit inside of 14 seconds.  Those who fire the round, yet miss, are chastised, (only hits count, misses are wasted shots) and must repeat the exercise (with individual coaching to help them identify and overcome hurdles).  Those that hit the target inside of the time constraints are commended, and encouraged to continue with the exercise as practice- with the goal to improve accuracy, or speed, or both.