IZH35 Rapid Fire

[stubbicatt]

Guys. Sometimes I can shoot the IZH35 ok slowfire. Rapid fire is an issue for me.

Huge newbie question, but any tips or skills for rapidfire success?

[diopter]

Very firm grip.
Take your time lining the sights on the first shot.
10 seconds is lots of time for 5 shots. Positive thinking and fact.
Practice getting 5 well aimed shots off in 5 seconds, no jerks.
See how stable your stance is.
Sights can be very narrow on dark indoor ranges.
Sub six hold will do wonders in that case by aiming in the white.
Over travel in the trigger helps keep you from bottoming it out.
Longer first stage gets you used to squeezing the trigger as you're refining your aim.

A good setup for slowfire might not be the best for rapidfire.
Compromise might be in order.

YMMV

[solomon grundy]

stubbicatt what do you think that you're doing wrong?

Are your errors consistent, or are your shots just all over the place?

The funny thing is that timed and rapid are easy for me - it's SF that's the challenge.

[stubbicatt]

Well. The long answer is I'm all over the place. Either that or the lady in the next lane was crossfiring. I'm usually pretty good about calling shots, but not this time, not with this pistol, not doing this routine.

I guess it is refining grip and stance. I don't know.

I think she may have been crossfiring as there were more bullet holes than bullets fired.

I mean one was off the edge of the paper in the tape! This at 16.5 yards on a standard 50 foot rapidfire target.

Isn't there a stage where you have to get 5 shots out in 4 seconds? Just work on it I guess.

[diopter]

Isn't there a stage where you have to get 5 shots out in 4 seconds? Just work on it I guess.

That's in ISSF Rapidfire. Five targets, one shot in each target in 4 seconds.
Is that what your trying or is it NRA Bullseye?

ISSF Rapidfire:
Course of fire
The centers of the targets are 75 cm apart, and the 10 score zone has a diameter of 10 cm.
When paper targets (as opposed to electronic scoring systems) are used, thin scoring rings are printed on the target. The thick aiming lines are present in both versions.

Traditionally, RFP competitions use paper targets that are able to turn 90 degrees to appear to the shooter and then turn back to disappear when the shooting time is up. During the last few decades, these targets have gradually been replaced by electronic devices which use red and green lights to indicate the beginning and the end of the shooting time, and which automatically handle late shots. As these systems are expensive, they are normally only used in international competitions.

A series (or string) consists of five shots fired at one target each within a limited time. The targets stand next to each other at a 25 m distance from the shooter. When the targets appear, the competitor must raise his arm from a 45 degree angle, and fire his five shots. If a shot is too late, it will score as a miss.

There are three different time limits for the series: 8 seconds, 6 seconds, and 4 seconds. A stage consists of two series of each type, and a full course of fire comprises two such stages, or a total of 60 shots. Since the targets are divided into concentric score zones with 10 being the most central part, the total maximum score is 600.

In major competitions, the top six shooters qualify for a final round of four additional 4-second series, using decimals of points. The results of the qualification round and the final are added together, and any ties are broken by firing an additional 4-second series.

[solomon grundy]

stubbicatt it seems like you're pretty new to BE - and yes it's likely that someone was cross-firing onto your target, unless your pistol is cutting your bullets in half ;)

So I wouldn't assume that you have a 'problem'. You probably just need to become accustomed to the course of fire. Beyond that, success in timed and rapid relies on the same fundamentals as does slow-fire. But you need to be able to execute these under the constraints of the time limits of these stages.

A few things that might help..

Here's an audio recording of the range commands as an MP3 file that you can train with - http://www.bullseyepistol.com/rangecmd.htm

And here's the USMC Pistol Team Workbook, which has a lot of useful drills - http://brianzins.com/downloads.shtml

Lastly don't psyche yourself out. IMO it's better to execute a good series and to potentially lose the last shot, at this point, than to get into the habit of rushing your shots in a panic. You'll develop a sense of each stage's duration as you get more experience.

[jrmcdaniel]

I find that pre-aiming before the targets turn helps for me. At our club, I can see where the bull is -- roughly -- with the targets turned. Even if I could not, I can estimate its location in the frame. (I don't know if one can put a spotter on the frame edge to mark the center of the bullseye?)

Ultimately, it is practice, practice, practice.

Best,

Joe