In my post yesterday about my return to GSSF, I talked about how I felt my extra time on Glock the Plates was probably because that was my first shots of the day, with no warm up. Butch Barton commented that I shouldn’t shoot the plates first, but rather 5 to Glock, them Glock M, then the plates at the end. I have to admit, I agree with Butch, and, in fact, that’s normally the way I shoot it. However, when I showed up at the GSSF match, I let convenience get the best of me, and when I saw I could shoot second at the Plates, I took it. Bad call.

This led me to think about my strategy for shooting the GSSF stages, and how I have tweaked them over the years. So, here are my strategies for shooting the GSSF stages.

5 to Glock

Strategy: Shoot the farthest targets first, then work my way to the nearest.

Why: I have found I can shoot 25 yard targets well, if I take my time and line up the sights correctly. Closer in, I can almost double-tap them and do well. But if I start close in and work my way out, I don’t take the discipline to line up the sights on the farthest targets, and this leads to the Dreaded Mike.

Glock M

Strategy: From right to left, shoot the paper targets in order, then shoot the steel target(s).

Why: Consider – I have 11 rounds loaded, and it takes 8 rounds to engage the paper targets. This leaves 3 for the steel. I have found that, on a bad day, I can miss the plates with the first few shots. So, worst case scenario, if I go left to right, and take 4 shots on the steel, that means I am out of ammo by the time I get to the last paper target. So I make sure I have shot all the paper, then I have 3 rounds for the steel. If I miss with the first one, I take a concerted moment to line up my sights and hit it on the second shot.

I will admit, I am much better shooting steel at the Glock M distance of 11 yards than I used to be, and I haven’t missed the steel in quite a while. But this strategy still works best for me.

Glock the Plates

Strategy: Treat each plate as a separate target, and use the recoil energy to move me to the next target. If I miss, I come back to the standing targets once I am done with all 6.

Why: What can I say? There are maybe a hundred YouTube videos on how to shoot plates. My favorite is by Rob Leatham. The last half is a commercial for his plate rack, but the strategy is good:

So, in summary, be strategic, be committed, and be safe.