When assessing shooters on the firing
line, coaches need to position themselves at such an angle that they get
feedback as to what the pistol and shooter are doing. Here the shooter
lines up to fire a shot the coach should align themselves in such a way
that they can "line up" the pistol with a distant object to gauge any
movement before, during and after the shot.
This video shows the shooters pistol
settle in his area of aim and begin the process of firing the shot. As
focus and trigger pressure is increased, it is noted the shooter sways
slightly left which can be seen in the head position and indeed the
pistol. This may be due to stability problems (most likely), fatigue,
footwear used, stance? Either way it will need to be addressed as to
which way the coach approaches each option.
In this case the shooter had
not fired any precision events for many months but concentrated on
Service Pistol (2 handed events). Should the shooter go back to training
precision events, he would need to develop stability through specific
training modules as laid out by the coach.
The above picture shows two
positions of evaluation of any movement. Use this as an overall
assessment. The circled area over the front sight is for specific
movement of the pistol and particularly the front sight as the shot is
fired.
The above picture also used in an overall assessment for movement.
This series of pictures and videos show live fire. Again the coach aligns the pistol with a distant object, in this case the vertical pillar and the horizontal joint of the wall. This is used to evaluate the shooters hold and any excessive "wobble". It also assesses the shooters ability to maintain position from shot to shot.
The picture to the right, shows the pistol in recoil with the sights "stopping" at the end of recoil. Again this area must correspond with the holding area. If at any stage the recoil pattern differs from the holding pattern may show that trigger movement may not be as smooth as desired and/or follow through is not present.
Either way it will need to be addressed through a dedicated training programme as set out by the coach.
A series of videos are here to look at to see the holding and recoil of the pistol from two angles.
Videos showing pistol before and after shot
firing. Shows the area where the shooter settles into an area on the
target as seen by the coach by the location of the pistol on the back
wall. Note this position.
Then as pistol recoils, note the area/position
the front sight "stops" against the same back wall. Is this position
the same for each shot? If not, then a trigger fault is evident along
with a lack of follow through.
This picture shows live fire pistol .22 calibre. Again an area is located in the distance from the front sight and aligned by the coach for evaluation for consistent positioning of the pistol and noting any excessive "wobble".
The shot has been fired and and area is located again in the distance. A consistent recoil is desired for each shot. The coach can see if the recoil is in the same "area" for each shot and is in a consistent movement. Any movement out of this area generally is a trigger problem and/or a lack of follow through.