Any articles on spotting in this sport?

[Jeaux]

Me and a couple of members of our local group have been working on spotting at the monthly matches for a few months prior to the southern nationals so that we could get used to having a spotter prior to the big match. In years past that was the only match we really ever used spotters or spotted for each other and many of us found that it was a bit awkward having a spotter and being a spotter. Our few months practice seems to have paid off a bit as most of us that have been working on it felt much more comfortable shooting with the spotters this year.

Am I correct in assuming that the learning curve is a slow one for both the shooter getting comfortable with a spotter and a spotter learning the skills involved in spotting? We did manage to learn what seemed to work for each of us from our limited experiences with this prior to the SN match last weekend and applied this at the match. I personally like a spotter to be there mainly on turkeys and rams to tell me where the shot went if I did not see it in the scope myself. If I see the impact, then I learned all there is to know from that, because I knew where I touched the shot off and saw the result. During tricky conditions, I tell my spotter to tell me when things switch or change. My spotter is very good at reading changing conditions and we worked well together this past weekend on the long animals. I am not so good yet at seeing the changes. I can see a wind flag and pretty much figure out what is going on, but I imagine it just takes time and experience to have the confidence to tell a shooter where to try to break the shot for a center hit on the animal.

Could some experienced shooters and spotters please share their spotter/shooter methods and what works for them and what doesn't. It is impressive to watch the good shooter/spotter teams at work on the line at the big matches and I'm just trying to get some advice on how to develop that teamwork concept to help improve my scores and also to help me help other shooters with theirs, especially newer shooters.

One thing that really convinced me to really try to put this into practice was a young lady shooter from S. Louisiana that came to Winnsboro as an A class shooter and almost left Sunday as a AAA shooter. She bumped into AA with a 31 in Sunday mornings match and followed that with a 26. The only thing different on Sunday was that she was being spotted by Jerry Tureau who has many years experience in the sport and knows how to read the conditions very well. This young lady responded to that coaching/spotting like a fish to water. I have seen Mary work with another young lady from the Houston area over the past year or two at Winnsboro and that was also something very impressive to see.

[Innocent]

Jeaux...I was working with jjp through most of this last match, I will try to put together some of the things that I pointed out to Jason, one of the best ways I know to learn spotting is to sit behind some fo the top shooters/spotter teams
with a scope and listen/watch them. Also, finding a local to the range is a big help as they have learned the prevailing winds etc.
Have a few things to catch up on, including getting the air rifle data in electronic format, but I will put on paper some of the details to watch for.

Jerry Tureau is an excellent spotter( as well as a fantasic shooter), his biggest drawback is his hearing problems that limit his attention to the range officer, which probably cost the young lady a first place...but it has happened to me as well at a national championship. The shooter becomes to focused on the spotter and forgets to listen to the range officers commands, I know some have never seen me such a 'hard ass' as I was in the shoot off, but I do have to play by the book in this type of a match where the prize values were significant, local club matches can be by match directors call.


Mary

[Dee]

I'll be looking forward to your spotting info Innocent. That is something Jeaux and I have been talking about needing to add to our game on a regular basis. We have essentially made it to where we are reading conditions on our own with no spotters. Jeaux being a solid AAA and good Master shooter and myself now AAA in everything we sell ourselves a little short I think in our current ability to see the conditions. Having the confidence to tell someone else where to shoot is a bit different as is getting adjusted to interacting with someone in between each shot as a shooter.

As for your "hard assedness" I didn't think that at all and no one else did either. You just called it like it was and that is how it always should be. I talked to Jacie after the shootoff and being her first time at a big silhouette match and not having shot off before she said she thought it was the best of a whole 5 shot bank. She didn't realize it was shot for shot sudden death and after she missed the 1st available animal on the 1st shot she thought she had to move on to the next animal in the rack. Jerry was very upset with himself for not making it clear to her and was probably focused so much on the shot that he didn't think twice about making sure she understood to shoot #1 again. I can tell you this much she will never make that mistake again, lesson learned in the hardest way.

Looking forward to you other spotters input as well.


Dee

[Jeaux]

Thanks Mary. I too look forward to reading what you have to say, and second Dee's comment on your doing exactly what you had to do during that shoot off. The young lady shot great, had a wonderful time and will be back for more next year with some valuable experience under her belt. I think everyone that was there felt bad for what happened, but you made the only call that would have been acceptable under the circumstances. I'll bet even the guy that eventually won that shoot off felt a bit hollow over the way it turned out, but it is what it is.

[Innocent]

Jacie did well, and perhaps the most important lesson to learn from this was to tune into the range officers commands, while I listen to the my spotter there is always the other voice that needs to be heard at all times, and even more important repeated by the spotter so that the shooter does understand.
She is going to be quite a shooter, and anyone that has the opportunity to shoot with and spot for Jerry Tureau should learn from his experience. My voice is very difficult for him to hear while on the line, short of being quite loud, we have worked a system of point and call where I point to where he needs to shoot on the spotting board, the real difficulty with that is that when conditions change rapidly, it is almost impossible to get that information to him, in time.
A tip on learning to call where to hit in mirage is to take the scope slightly out of focus and watch the direction of movement. I believe there are some posted remarks about how to determine wind speed from that, this truly applies to humidity caused mirage. Roughly boil is less than 4mph, 4 to 6 mph starts to show a difinitive direction, 6 to 10mph tends to be very uniformly wavey, over 12mph the mirage will suddenly disappear. True heat caused mirage (dry climates) can be a little different. I would bow to Lone Ringer or Joaquin's remarks reading this mirage. I have shot in this type of mirage several times, and can tell you that I find it to be different on how to read, but have not shot it enough to be comfortable commenting on it.
As I pointed out to Jason, when at a new range, always walk down to set targets while sighting in, so you can get a feel of the inclines/declines of the layout, and where any wind tunnels( ie a utility line clearing that crosses the range), canyons etc. may be present.

MARY

[atomicbrh]

Jerry Tureau started teaching us about spotting and how to spot at our second monthly Match in the parking lot of Coast Rifle and Pistol Club in Saucier, MS. I think that was in the year 2000. Joel was about 3 feet tall. He is now over twice that height. Our Silhouette experience would not have been the same if we had not shot beside many of the great spotters of our time: Tureau, Watkins, Massey, Winstead, Tello and many others. When I have not spotted for someone before I simply ask them details about how tight their hold is that day and what they want to hear from me. I spotted for a young man in B class at the Spring Break Regionals in Arkansas one year who had never shot with a spotter before. When I found out the Match Director wanted me to help this new shooter, I sat down with him away from other people before the Match and asked him if he wanted me to give him all I had. He said yes. Do not hold anything back. I want all the help you can give me. We then formulated a plan of what we would communicate to each other during the Match and the simple strategies we would use. He won B and shot his lifetime high score that day. I won that day also but as a spotter not as a shooter. It must always be remembered that if the shooter "wins" not only the shooter wins but the spotter "wins" also even though the spotter's name does not go in the books. Of course it always helps if the shooter can hold a 2 MOA group at the Ram in any conditions and can break the shot smoothly even with the spotter rattling away.

I have gleaned spotting hints from movies(Forest Gump was a good one), Doctor's offices, sailing enthusiasts, house painters, and all kinds of situations. I have learned more from just watching nature and everyday life than special shooting books. Spotters think about the conditions all the time, every day. I just wish I had better vision to see more and started this great sport earlier in life.

Bobby R. Huddleston

[jjp]

I was very fortunate to shoot with Mary, Coates, Jerry Tureau and Bruce Finley. They are all very good shooters and spotters. I learned alot this last week. Spotting is a big part of this sport. I am looking forward to learning the art of spotting.

Mary, Thank you so much for putting up with me. I am honored that you took the time to spot for me and make me feel so welcome. I made alot of new friends. Already looking forward to next year.

[nomad]

Mary,

You have a PM.

[BCloninger]

I was very fortunate to shoot with Mary, Coates, Jerry Tureau and Bruce Finley. They are all very good shooters and spotters. I learned alot this last week. Spotting is a big part of this sport. I am looking forward to learning the art of spotting.

Oh wow - you fell into bad company fast!

[jjp]

I was very fortunate to shoot with Mary, Coates, Jerry Tureau and Bruce Finley. They are all very good shooters and spotters. I learned alot this last week. Spotting is a big part of this sport. I am looking forward to learning the art of spotting.

Oh wow - you fell into bad company fast!

I jumped in head first. No easing into the pool.

[Innocent]

BC...careful jjp is sharp at reading situations and conditions, he will sail circles around you.

Innocent

[Jerry G]

I think one of the most important things in shooting/spotting is trusting the spotter on where the bullet went. Spotters need to be close to the shooter to cut down on the angle at which you see the impact on the berm if the shooter misses the animal.

Some shooters want a spotter to pick a mark on the animal for them to shoot at. Some want the spotter to keep their mourh shut and just mark the spotting board. Some spotters just can't keep quiet under any conditions. In a switching wind, a spotter needs to keep the shooter informed on changing conditions.

A spotter can learn a lot about a hit if they film a shooting session and replay the hits in slow motion to watch how the animal reacts to hits in different places. You can also learn a lot about wind by shooting paper targets off the bench in the wind.

[Jetmugg]

Great stuff here.

Jeaux: Are you the guy who was spotting for the young lady who ended up in a shootoff for the AA class on Sunday? If so, congratulations are in order, I saw you giving her tips while you were spotting. Excellent job on your part and her part. That was a great performance.

Steve M.

[Jetmugg]

Ooops, I just re-read the original post, and the answer to my question was there. Jerry Tureau did an excellent job coaching and spotting for that young lady. I complimented her on her performance and composure during the match and the shoot-off. She handled it very well.

SteveM.

[Innocent]

http://www.flssa.org/MC1208.pdf
an article i did a few years ago for the FSSA in the Dec 2008 newsletter.

mary