SUMMARY:

This report provides a comprehensive review of the recent training class and match weekend, drawing from multiple sources of insight and performance data. Trainee feedback was actively collected and analyzed to understand their individual perspectives, challenges and takeaways. Additionally, I’ve incorporated my own instructor observations gathered throughout our time together, with particular focus on engagement, progression, and skill application during drills, exercises, and match conditions.

Performance in the match setting was critical to assess how effectively the trainee executed learned skills under pressure, and to identify any recurring gaps or strengths in real time. Taking this all into account, I’ve developed a personalized training plan for each individual. These plans are informed not only by the data collected during the course, but also by my own personal experience as a competitor and an instructor.

The goal moving forward is to ensure that each trainee continues to build on their strengths while systematically addressing areas for growth using methods that are practical and tangible. All training elements have been tested and yield a form of measurable results. Training means more than identifying problems but offering no solutions. This plan is a practical guide for the next steps in achieving your goals. If anything in this report is not clear or requires further explanation, please reach out.

OVERVIEW:

Thank you again for joining this class! It was very rewarding to watch you connect the dots and make progress throughout our time together. Each trainee comes to the event with varying levels of skills, abilities, strengths, weaknesses, and how much room they have to grow. In addition, everyone learns at their own pace. That said, you may have walked away with one little insight, several huge breakthroughs, or something in between. No matter what, this training was not an ultimate solution, but a place to better equip yourself as you continue on your journey. Everything you picked up, changed, validated, or completely rebuilt will need to be practiced and worked to get the results you’re striving for; the work is not done!

We reviewed basics, enhanced fundamentals with advanced techniques, refined sophisticated skills such as movers and tripod operation, as well as dissected deep cerebral topics such as spotting and wind reading. We exercised drills to lock in specific muscle memory, and also to expose you to new concepts. Topics the class asked for and were covered were:

1. Wind

2. Spotting

3. Positional Techniques

4. Tripod Techniques

5. Mental Planning & Stage Prep

6. Smart Corrections

After each topic was covered in class setting, we took it to the firing line to hone in on the physical skill and techniques behind each topic. I was happy to see everyone participate even when the guidance didn’t necessarily make sense or seem significant at first. As an advanced shooter, there are some philosophies and simple concepts that are staples for progress, for ALL. A few of the mantras throughout the training were:

1. “Small changes can make large improvements” – lots of the teachings are subtle differences that can significantly clean up your execution, giving you better first round impacts, spotting, consistency, etc.

2. “Pause” – As simple as it is, this is often the critical missing piece to consistent performance. Rushing through the process may work for a while, but eventually you will face an issue and likely moved too fast to properly manage it. 

3. “Slow down and process what just happened” – Similarly to the one above, this focuses on the follow through in the shot process. Are we actually watching with an attentive brain as we make the shot? Or are we just waiting for the bullet to land so we can quickly cycle to the next shot?

We covered a LOT of material. As we discussed in class, not every insight needs to be incorporated into your process, but take as much as you can and see what yields the best results. No matter how our 2 days unfolded for you, the goal is to take what we covered, combine it with some pointed critique, and propel you on a guided path forward toward your next goals. Let’s get into your personal report!

SHOOTER GENERAL:

Jerry, between you and me, you might be my favorite student! No joke, I REALLY enjoyed watching you progress throughout the weekend and connect all the dots. You are at a disadvantage geographically for exposure to top shooters and new techniques, but I think you saw enough with the class to carry a lot forward into your area. You are probably going to be paving the way up there, so don’t settle for good enough - remember what we cover, and keep moving the needle forward regardless of who you’re up against in that region.

You have a great attitude, a collected mental approach, and no significant physical hurdles. With that combo of attributes, there’s nothing in your way, as long as you stay focused and put in the time, you will continue to improve.

STRENGTHS AND SUCCESSES:

Self-diagnosed Pre-Training Survey:

• Stability and Target Acquisition -

  a. I was not able to see your true stability through the reticle, but whenever we discussed your engagements I would check on this. You did always seem to be pretty happy with your stability, or at least didn’t mention it as an issue in those moments. At this point you have my online course and can see my trigger cam for stability comparison. If we look similar, then you’re probably doing pretty well.

  b. Target acquisition was certainly a solid attribute. You never seemed too distracted on the picking up the targets, so this is also something I would agree with.

Instructor Observations:

• Attitude -

  As previously mentioned, you have a positive and attentive attitude that is ready and willing to receive information. As simple as it sounds, this is HUGE. People who are frustrated, or mentally on a cliff will not learn well under that pressure. Your head is on straight, even under pressure, and you had a great demeanor the whole weekend. This will help immensely.

• Basic Fundamentals -

  Again another simple but crucial piece. Fundamentals in a good shooter are usually not as good as they think. We are able to get away with murder with the great equipment we get to use. Unfortunately this usually will be exposed as things get tougher, and in your case you were able to show solid fundamentals with few cracks. There are a few clean up items here and there, like snatching or snapping off a trigger, but you can address those as you slow down during the shot process as we discussed in the class.

• Mover!

  As much as this is something you don’t get to practice on, for a first timer - you killed it! It was such a highlight of the day to see you repeatedly hitting that mover with zero prior experience. I have some suggestions to get you more opportunity to practice later.

REFINEMENT OPPORTUNITIES:

Self-diagnosed Pre-Training Survey:

• Positional Speed –

  This is a tough one, because as Dale said, don’t worry about the speed, just do everything right, and the speed will follow. So as much as you see it as a problem, it is a good thing to have that lagging in priority at this point. Guys who are fast but can’t think, or fast and can’t hit, have a way harder time slowing down.

  That said, there are things we will discuss that will help you pick up pace without compromising or reordering priorities. More ahead…

• Wind Calls -

  I don’t recall you having any more issue with this than the rest during the class, but I understand it is the common factor among most experienced shooters wanting to improve. I think we covered a lot of ground in the presentations on wind theory and principles, and then hit a lot of details on the range looking through glass. I hope that was a good gain for you, but either way, wind proficiency is a product of practice over time. Simply put, you need to work on this probably more than everything else to get the improvements. Other things may be tough to master, but are more easily achieved. Here are a couple videos from the online training that will reinforce what we covered together.

  • VIP VIDEO SUGGESTIONS:

  • https://www.carusoprecision.com/vip-core-skills/v/wind-pt-1

  • https://www.carusoprecision.com/vip-core-skills/v/wind-pt-2

  • https://www.carusoprecision.com/vip-core-skills/v/dopedata-cards

Instructor Observations:

• Equipment–

  I would consider switching out the thumb knob on the forend and adjust your grip to clamp the bag and rifle together. The Sampson has a nice flat shelf there, and that grip will be more natural, and use better physics to keep a nice balance of pressures without rolling the rifle. Several times I saw that knob getting in your way, or not being in the right spot for your given position. Worth a try, but at the end of the day you have to feel comfortable.

  Ultimately the things we want to be mindful of are not blading too far to find that set spot where the thumb rest is, and conversely not committing to a spot where it’s too close and your arm/hand is loose with no purpose. There were a few times when your support arm was bent and limp because your body was more on the rifle, and your arm was just hanging out. If the thumb knob wasn’t there, I think you would’ve reached to wherever was natural, and done more to support the position.

  • VIP VIDEO SUGGESTION:

    • https://www.carusoprecision.com/vip-core-skills/v/fundamentals-shooter-interface - Review the portions of the video where we support arm connection and getting square behind the rifle.

    • https://www.carusoprecision.com/vip-core-skills/v/positional-shooting - There is a section that similarly breaks down how I join up to the rifle while paying attention to my support hand.

• Time Management/Efficiency of Movement –

This is a big one and it’s exciting because there’s a lot of easy adaptations you can make. The gains here can be rapid (pun slightly intended). As much as I wouldn’t make it a top priority, there’s a bunch of low hanging fruit here that you can easily grab.

a. Closing the bolt as soon as you get the target environment in sight, and stabilized. You would find the target quickly, but then sit for 3 seconds, thinking, waiting, etc… To do that for 10 shots, or even a few - it’s costing you 10-20 seconds per engagement! I personally build that position and stabilize onto the target quickly, and then close my bolt in one smooth cadence. I’m not saying you have to close the bolt before you get the rifle stabilized, because I don’t want you making big manipulations with a closed bolt (dangerous!). Get on target swiftly, shimmy into the bag, and close the bolt, all in a little 1-2-3 dance. Then drop a nice breath as you mentally prepare, and shoot.

b. Bag settling technique - this was beat up big time in class. I can make fast shots and follow ups because I get the rifle buried into that bag, like a vice, and do it quickly. Now there’s no hesitation on a wobble zone, little recoil movement, very little correcting back onto target for follow up, and if I miss, there’s usually only one variable to address (wind), so the mental processing is quick and easy.

If you can nail down those two small technical changes, I see you finishing stages with higher confidence, and in much smoother times.

• Positional Perfection –

  Not always completely achievable but usually pretty close! Multiple shots I watched in person, confirmed with video review later, reveal that you’re simply building too relaxed of a position with the rifle. It’s not necessarily that you aren’t connected well with your body – it’s the bag game!

  • Too Relaxed Looks Like: setting the bag and just placing the rifle on top is NOT maximizing the set up. Most of the shots I watched were built this way – and it’s not just you, most of the class is too casual about it. That’s why we spoke so much about it all weekend! You can see that the muzzle is swirling around as you close the bolt and get on target. Then under recoil, the muzzle whips all different directions, almost in a circle. This is because there is nothing holding the rifle in place.

  • Perfection Looks Like: the ultimate goal is to give the rifle ¼” to slide from moderate skin contact, to a stop in your muscle, with the target right in your crosshairs still, AND for all that movement to be finished quick and crisply. Sounds like a lot, but if you set it up right, it’ll do it almost perfectly every time.

    • Biggest thing is after you place the rifle on the bag, as you slide your body down behind it you should be sawing and shimmying the rifle AGRESSIVELY into that bag, feeling it grab really well.

    • By the time you’re in the glass, the biggest part of the job is done!

    • If you’re not on target, you slightly muscle it over, and then RE-SHIMMY to get it to hold the new position (NPA).

    • Now when you close the bolt, nothing moves, and the rifle is channeled deep in a track/groove, giving it one path to go under recoil

    • The last piece is based on how much you personally and situationally need it – the muzzle-down onto POA technique. IF you have a tendency to jump up multiple mils under recoil, you should fine-tune your combination of how much shoulder pressure you’re putting in, along with settling that point of aim slightly high, and shifting your NPA down onto target for your final control pressures. This will help control where the rifle tracks under recoil. Play with it to see if you need it a lot, a little, or not at all, also playing with light, medium and firm shoulder pressure.

    • With recoil that is MINIMAL, PREDICTABLE, AND REPEATABLE, spotting will become significantly easier!

  • VIP VIDEO SUGGESTION

    • Review the portion of the video where I highlight the bag settling and maximizing recoil benefit.

    • https://www.carusoprecision.com/vip-core-skills/v/positional-shooting

• Mover Options -

  I know you don’t have access to a true mover at this point, so here are a few options. There is an Indoor Dry Fire System that you can buy into, and I can shortcut you a little here. They sell posters and a diopter adjuster, that allows for focusing at super close distances. You can get the posters if you like, but for a mover specifically, you can just buy the diopter cap, and then get creative with an iPad. The posters require high volume light for the restricted diopter, but the iPad can be turned full bright and boom - it’s all set without setting up lamps and such. A full size TV may work, but brightness may be an issue.

  You can download, video tape, or create a moving object on screen, and play it back on loop. PowerPoint has animation features where you can make a shape traverse the screen back and forth for a minute or so. I can also make one for you in my video editor if you need some help. I haven’t done it yet but it would be good to have. If I get to it first I will send it to you!

  The most ideal scenario, is to purchase a .22 target mover system, and practice with a .22. These are WAY cheaper and more manageable than a full scale/full distance centerfire target system. You can beat it up for pennies per round and get really comfortable breaking clean shots.

TRAINING PLAN:

Your overall skills are solid and at this point it’s all about a defined path forward. Aimlessly going to the range to just shoot more, will only get you so far. Let’s target specifics, and put your energy in the right places to get you measurable results. The class is over, but your climb has just started!

The following section is a combination of range-day timeline AND items to work on. Take these things and try to incorporate them in a compounding way that will stack benefit on top of benefit. This is designed to give you maximum results in the areas of improvement you need.

RANGE DAY ITINERARY:

1.      Review forecast before going – come up with a guess of min-max wind hold you’ll need at say 800 yds.

2.      At Range - Check zero/chrono/adjust kestrel.

3.      Drills – start with the cold wind call at distance.

4.      Work through other drills in this plan, and don’t be afraid to add/substitute what you need.

5.      Mid day, when the wind has the most potential, stop your other drills and repeat a full wind analysis, ending in another semi-cold call at a farther target.

6. Take notes!

DRILLS:

• Cold Wind Call:

1. EVERY TRIP OUT, make this your first plan after checking zero. The hard part of this drill is that everyone loves the satisfying feeling of hitting every hundred or so, validating data. But you can do that later! The other challenge is that there’s nothing on the line, it’s not a match, so it’s easy to jump the gun and get impatient.

2. Don’t rush, take in every detail, study the area, and average your wind across the field of fire.

3. Finalize your call, and take a poke.

4. Hit or miss, reverse out of the shot and analyze what you could have seen better.

   • See if there is a single indicator you could’ve used during the shot sequence that would’ve been the best source of information.

   • DON’T SKIP THIS STEP - This is where the learning happens!

5. It’s a long term gain, sow progression drill. Things won’t necessarily change overnight, but it’ll take the already solid wind calling you have, and help you start to hone in on more specific details. 

   • A second level drill would be to switch to only doing this on the rifle

   • Give yourself a few minutes tops, then one minute, then make your first shot within 20 seconds.

   • 800+ yards is fine, does not have to be 1000…

• Efficiency Drill 1:

  Using this standard drill mainly to iron out your bag stability improvements and check for complete equipment control throughout…

1. Think of the build and break drill from the class

2. 15 seconds, then 12 seconds, then 10 seconds…

3. Pick a standard target - .4 wide, non-painted steel preferred

4. Sturdy prop, different positions available. Pipe fence was a great example

5. On the clock, build a swift and complete position, and shoot 2 shots on target

   • Bag down, rifle down

   • Drive it forward while lining up barrel to target

   • Settle QUICK AND FIRM into the bag as you acquire target in scope

     • Mag well buried into bag for rudder support

     • Forcefully and abruptly sawed/shimmied into position in target area

     • Finish building connection behind rifle

     • Make final shimmy onto exact POA

   • Push out a breath as you close the bolt

   • Hyper focus on target, make the shot!

   • Spot, RESET in the bag, cycle another round, make second shot!

6. Evaluate your progress on building an effective position quicker without compromising fundamentals.

• Strive to have a solid grip, saddle the rifle against your body when making big movements, and be aggressive with your strength in managing the rifle – You are in charge, not the rifle!

7. Choose another time limit, and repeat

• Spotting Drill 1:

Do this for the first several shots, until you have lost the element of surprise on your wind call. Once you know confidently know where your shots are landing and where the next ones are GOING to land, you move to drill 2. Next phase will allow you to re-introduce the element of surprise to make your brain have to analyze the point of impact again from a fresh perspective… But for now:

1. Start on completely sturdy props and use un-painted steel

2. Use a big/small array, maybe a KYL Largest and then Smallest (or one of the smallest)

3. Make perfectly stable and bag-settled position

4. Take several seconds before the shot to study the target and backdrop

5. Prepare for expectations of what you’ll see with a hit or a miss

   • Depending on your vision, consider more emphasis on plate movement and statistics (how likely you expect to be over or under on your windage).

6. Take a shot, and freeze to see everything you can, and take a few seconds to process.

7. Make a measured call, not “a little left,” but “0.2 left of center…”

8. Take that call to a small plate and test your call.

9. If it hits – SUCCESS… If it misses, repeat the drill on the big plate and see if you see it better;

   • You will likely have a better expectation the second time because you just saw a miss in the dirt. That’s ok!

   • Let that guide your brain to better interpret the information down range this next shot

10. To reset the level of challenge, take the drill to a significantly different distance and repeat the drill.

• Spotting Drill 2:

Taped Turret, with a buddy or alone, re-introduce the element of surprise and get yourself working hard to spot again once you’ve pretty much figured it out for the current conditions…

1. Have a buddy spin your windage off by up to double what the actual wind conditions call for, and down to zero wind. For example, if it’s roughly 1.0L of wind, allow for anything within 2.0L-0.0.

   • This simulates a big gust or a big lull in wind; a bit much, but still reasonable and good for this drill

2. If you’re alone, it’s less calculated

   • Without looking, spin your own windage a little one way, reset your grip and go the other way. A few clicks this way, that way, this way, etc… Once you feel lost, you’re set!

3. Cover the turret with some painter’s tape - if alone and it’s on the support side, just don’t look!

4. Shoot, spot, measure, correct – analyze results

5. Reverse dissect what you thought you saw versus what actually happened

6. Contrary to the fun speed stage in class, take your time. Accuracy over speed here!

7. Repeat this drill until you can’t miss your second shot, or you’re completely sick of it! At a minimum, do this for 5 cycles.

• Free Time:

1. HIGHLY recommend reverting back to more scope based wind work in second half of day

   • Mirage is up, changes more frequent, challenge accepted!

   • Build a tough panning long distance stage, and put in the time to get a specific plan

   • Make sure you have a plan A, and a simplified plan B using simple additives per target.

   • Test it out and reverse engineer what you needed, vs what you saw or could improve

2. Obviously feel free to do anything else that needs work – don’t skip the tough stuff!

CONCLUSION:

             There are always more drills and beneficial methods you can use depending how you want to attack your focus areas. These are my observations and best ideas for you, but certainly not the end-all-be-all; don’t be afraid to try other things. As I said, you’re in a great spot with a great mentality, and I truly believe your future is very promising in this sport! If you definitively approach each of these little ideas, I know you’ll be able to pick up several points every day you’re out there. That could be a big chunk in a 2-day match whenever you decide to go. For a relatively new shooter, you are doing really well. If you stick with it and become more efficient, you’ll be crushing it.

             I’m open for a follow up if you have any questions. See below for a bonus list of highlighted items from the curriculum that I want to emphasize before your next trip out. Please stay in touch, share your victories big or small, and let’s shoot together again down the road. Thank you and God bless,

Matt Caruso

Caruso Precision

CLASS HIGHLIGHTS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

1.      Get out and train sooner than later, lock in what you learned

2.      Keep your attention within your thirds, G.O.D.

3.      Stick to your processes, in every phase of the day/match/stage/shot sequence; don’t cut corners

4.      Drill your weaknesses even if it’s less fun – “don’t skip leg day!”

5.      First shot = most important shot… make it perfect!

6.      Don’t settle for bad wind angles, use an azimuth or good compass for exact numbers

7.      After a stage, reverse math the wind to derive true wind conditions to carry forward

8.      Other than checking DOPE, don’t shoot clean steal because it makes you weak

9.      IMO spotting is the most important skill beyond having good fundamentals

10.  Prepare spotting expectations based on target environment BEFORE you’re on the clock

11.  Know your min. correction for edge miss (½ target) and blind miss (¾ target) BEFORE on the clock

12.  Plan your toughest target, toughest position as a primary driver of your plan development

13.  Review EVERYTHING on your rifle end to end before saying you’re ready for the clock

14.  Make mental snapshot of last shot before stepping off. Finish process before chatting with buddies

15.  Pause, process, plan, then execute… Do NOT rush downrange analysis

16.  Corrections should have a number, not just a direction… “I was left,” vs “I was 0.4 left”

17.  Move the bag and rifle separately from position to position

18.  Saw into bag before every shot, it becomes muscle memory, costs no time, yields good benefit

19.  Confidence = efficient time management. Take the time before the shot, or you’ll struggle afterward

20.  Move quick, shoot slow