I've often heard "footwork" mentioned when reading about practical pistol shooting and shooters. I never gave it much thought though. Okay, you run to the next shooting position and open fire. That's all there is to it, right? It's not rocket science, right?
Well um, no, not really. You've got to
plan. Where does your lead foot need to land when you arrive at the next shooting position? Doesn't it make sense to have the gun up, at eye level,
before leaning out from behind a barricade? Maybe even have it up there
before you arrive at the next position? And shouldn't you have an idea where the first target is in relation to the barricade
before you lean out? Maybe picking out landmarks on the barricade itself to help orient yourself? It's a whole new world!
Body mechanics are obviously important if your goal is to shoot at a high level. It's important even if your goal is to simply improve your match performance and scores by shaving time off your runs.
To my shame, I never gave any of this stuff much thought.
(Maybe I was just too wrapped up in simply learning to hit targets.)
The spring started to leave my legs by the end of the morning and executing the split step wasn't pretty to watch. But now I have a pretty good idea how to practice the move and improve.
Handgun shooting.... seems there's an infinite amount of things to learn, practice and improve. And one can never ignore the basics either, like a good trigger press (which can always be improved IMHO.)
What I learned this morning will definitely improve my times. All I have to do is practice.
I highly recommend this class to anyone looking to improve.
