Spotters

[derskeeter]

Hello all. I am just getting into silhouettes. I am seeing how important the spotter is to the shooter. Anybody have some advise or tips to help me learn this part of the game. I really don't want to mess up another shooters day by not knowing what I am doing.
As a little background, I am an old highpower shooter so I know about mirage, wind, and watching traces. But with these slow bullets and rainbow bullet paths it all looks completely different through the scope. That makes me hesitant about what I am supposed to be doing.

[Kurt]

Just transfer your highpower knowledge into this game and you will do fine. The drift can be farther and instead of seeing the traces you will see the bullets in flight.
Flags seem to lie a lot and don't compare with the mirages many times, no different then high power

[derskeeter]

Yes, I have learned to wait for the bullet. In highpower coaching is illegal. You can only call the shot value. In this game I hear all kinds of instruction. I'm having problems calling high shots because they are dropping behind the animal. At the last match my spotter called one four minutes low and when I made the correction it went over the top. When I went down to reset I realized that I had hit the beam just under. These are the things I am trying to learn. I really don't want to mess up someone else's score. I don't worry too much about my own because I'm still at the giggle if it falls over stage.

[Kurt]

I sooner take a whoopen then spot for a shooter because I blame myself for his missing.
If a shot hits way off the iron I tell him/her where it went, They should know if they made a bad break or if the break was good and it went way over or under that it was a load problem. If I have one go way over or under and the rest hit I don't make any changes, but if the light changes for me this is a problem looking through heavy floaters and cataracts starting and my shots change high or low I make a change.
The shooter I been shooting with during the 5 matches I been to and also the group I have shot with for the 17 years of gong shoots and long range we pretty much talk the same language when we see conditions change. That is why you see the high scores on the leader boards when guys always shoot together. I know that my scores are higher when my wife spots for me. I trust her call and she will not say your starting to walk when she did not see the hit on the iron. Telling your shooter you hit left when you did not see the hit and he corrects and the next shot is off the right side. Don't guess tell the shooter you did not see the hit. I don't see all hits when the irons are all shot up.

[Old Jim]

Gosh, I hope all the new shooters/spotters, and a few of the older ones reads these words of wisdom from Kurt.

That's what I like about this place, so much info without asking for it!

Thank you,


Jim

[Don McDowell]

The most important part of spotting silhouette is to accurately call and mark the bullet strike. That way the shooting can make up his/her mind if they want to change. The second most important thing is skip the rolling weather report some are prone to give. Keep a close eye on the conditions and if you see a change, then tell your shooter.
Learn the size of the animals, know the trajectory of the bullets, those combined make it easier to give your shooter corrections.
And lastly keep in mind that conditions that would not even make a 168 gr. SMK flinch will make a 500 something 45 cal bullet puke it's guts out.

[derskeeter]

Very good info, thank you. So until I get this down I should just try to call the impacts and let the shooter decide what to do. I know I listen to the other spotters and try to see what they are seeing but don't let that confuse me. One question, should I have the target centered in my scope or should I keep the target low in the lens and try to watch the bullet all the way? I was thinking that maybe I could see it pass in front of the target to call a low shot.

[Old Jim]

I set the power ring on the scope where I can see an area a few feet all around the target, then indicate the impact on the target-board, for the shooter to make adjustment, if needed. Some shooters don't talk much, they want to see the board. The shooter (should) know where he had that rifle sight when he pulled the trigger.

Jim

[Kevin Alexander]

If your shooting and your spotter give you instructions and you follow them and you miss, it's your fault and you feel bad.

If your shooting and your spotter gives you instructions and you DON'T follow them and you miss, it's still your fault, you REALLY feel bad and you feel REALLY stupid.

[Dave Roelle]

Simply discuss with him how your shooter prefers the info-----typically i call "hit"----mark the shot on the spotting board and if he likes to see it, show him the board ----if its a good hit "same shot" lets the shooter focus on shooting and not have the distractions of a stream of info including studying the board-----if its a "miss" just say Miss and if he wants it give him a correction-----------its when conditions are changing that things get a bit more complicated but still that discussion before the first shot is fired is the critical part