If you remember Part 1 of this article I covered general principles of all types of activator targets, and how to shoot swingers. This article will cover sliders and bobbers. (taken from Your Competition Handgun Training Program)
The Bianchi mover. Shooting moving requires that the shooter lead the target based on speed and distance. (Thanks to Julie Golob for the picture.)
- Speed
- How fast does the target move? This will determine if we have to lead the target.
- How far away will we shoot it? Once again target lead.
- How much exposure does it have (how long does the shooter see the target before it disappears)
- Does it disappear? If not, can we simply shoot it at the end of its movement?
- Timing
- Are there more than one, if so we must time our shooting to engage the one that disappears first, or possibly the one we can see first.
- Techniques for shooting
- Gun movement. Sliders are nothing more than moving targets similar to what we shoot at matches like Bianchi. This is the one time in our shooting that we MUST keep the gun moving to some extent.
- Target lead will be based on the speed the target moves, and the distance away the target is (bullet speed is also a consideration, but will rarely come into play in USPSA/IPSC distances)
- For even the fastest targets, shooters will rarely have to lead any farther than the A/C line. Remember the key is to keep the gun moving (which is VERY hard for most shooters since we always stop the gun when shooting)
- A good aiming point is to lead the target and place the front sight just inside the A/C line, keep the gun moving and press the trigger. Remember to be careful not to track the target into a no-shoot if one is there.
Bobbers –
The target on the right is a swinger, and on the left is a bobber. They are shot much the same, by waiting for the ambush point.
- Speed
- What can we get done after activating them? Typically, bobbers are slow to activate.
- TimingTechniques for shooting
- Timing is everything with bobbers. We need to know the amount of time that elapses between the bobber being in full view, disappearing, and returning to full view.
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- Tracking-Typically we wont be able to track bobbers, most of the time they will be behind metal targets and sometimes behind no-shoots.
- Ambush-Bobbers have a natural pause at or near their high point very similar to swingers, this is typically where we want to be shooting at the target just like swingers as follows:
- Just prior to the target entering the ambush point we have prepped and begin to press the trigger.
- Press the trigger with a keen awareness of the front sight recoiling off brown (if you don’t see that you may have missed.).
- The second shot can go off as the target begins to exit the point again, but be careful to ensure that the front sight lifts from the target, not after it left (when in doubt shoot at the target when it returns…if the hit factor warrants it)
- Remember that the shot may be hard to call, since bobbers disappear below the gun (out of the vision line).
In part three of this blog, I will cover the rest of the moving targets you might encounter! And remember, the best way to learn to shoot them is to find them at your local club and practice on them.
Until Then – Train Hard!
Mike S.
