CARUSO PRECISION

AFTER ACTION REPORT

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Caruso Precision

Advanced Competitor Class @ Twisted barrel Precision, little rock, ar

Dates: June 27-28, 2026

Instructors: Matt Caruso & Thomas Crosson

Student: Layton Robinson

Purpose: Assess performance, provide live critique, feedback, corrective actions, and develop personalized training plan

SUMMARY:

This report provides a comprehensive review of the recent training class 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. It is a standalone tool by itself, but I have also integrated links to relevant training within my Virtual Instructor Program where it would help correlate and add direct context. If you don’t have a membership yet, it would help, but is not required. If you’re interested, everyone from class will receive a 50% off opportunity to get access to that program along with notification of this report.

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. Time Management

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

Layton, coming into this class you have been handed a golden goose egg of opportunity! Designed for experienced match competitors, I normally wouldn’t have had shooters like yourself come in, but I’m really glad you did. Great work in advance with the drills and videos — the remote tips and coaching served you well, and you showed up in a high gear ready to go! Throughout the training and subsequent match weekend at Scorcher, you exceeded expectations! We’ll break down everything I saw between the two events in the rest of the report.

STRENGTHS AND SUCCESSES

Self-diagnosed Pre-Training Survey:

  • Target Acquisition

    Absolutely a strong suit for you. Watching the videos you sent me I was thinking you were pretty solid in that department, but also curious how much of it was due to familiarity with your property there. After watching you for two weekends now I’d say you are most definitely efficient in getting on target. This is a HUGE asset, and without it most shooters will have a lot of troubles as they burn valuable time on the clock. This allows you to focus on the shot sequence more and not worry as much as you feel the pressure building from target hunting.

Instructor Observations:

  • Attitude

    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 generally solid fundamentals with few cracks. There are a few clean up items here and there, we’ll address those later on.

  • Spotting

    By the end of the match weekend, I genuinely felt like you didn’t need our help! You were making great corrections off your misses. Sometimes a few would get you, but at this stage of the game, even if you’ve been shooting for years without matches, as soon as you put people on the clock, they typically will miss in the same spot 5 times in a row. You were able to see and correct a lot of shots, and you still kept the pace up. This is very good at this stage and honestly I’m impressed. I think this is the most important skill in the game after you know how to pull the trigger right.

REFINEMENT OPPORTUNITIES

Self-diagnosed Pre-Training Survey:

Instructor Observations:

  • Fundamental Clean Up

    The overall positions behind the rifle were pretty solid, I didn’t see a lot of big mistakes. The only one that jumps out to me every time is the bent legs. When you’re standing for a shot, you really want the knees to be locked, and feet wide enough to allow for your torso to be upright as much as possible. You have a strong tendency to keep the knees bent, and bend forward/downward into the rifle. This will not give you the most stable body as the muscles are still engaged. Muscle engagement will lose to bone stacking every time, unless you’re splitting so wide that your ligaments are upset. I’ll also tie in that you should keep an eye on how much you’re blading. Video taping yourself will help see that. During video footage, call out what your muzzle jump actually was, and if it’s laterally jumping and you see you’re bladed, it’ll be easier to correlate what is wrong and how to fix it. That’s honestly the only fundamental issue I saw that’s worth really looking at.

  • Bag Manipulations

    This is an easy one I could point out about almost everyone. Just plopping into the bag and running with it is robbing yourself of extra layers of stability, comfort, confidence, spotting ability, and easy decision making for a miss. We talked a lot about it and even in the match I saw a few times I think a more settled bag position would’ve helped you a lot. Make sure you are sawing and shimmying a couple times from when you place the rifle down, until you close the bolt for the shot. A full drill is below, and the details we discussed heavily in class. The big picture is just working the muscle memory into your drills so that you do it naturally every time.

  • Gear Management

    Overall Equipment - Your rifle is a very nice set up, but here are a few things I would be mindful of. I think you already noticed your front plate bag is a little cumbersome in size, and I would recommend the Wiebad or Armageddon Gear plate bag and Gray Ops Mini Gamer Plate. If you see an Area 419 thinner style plate bag, don’t do it - it’s not stable enough and tends to roll. You can go light or heavy fill, but typically I see very little benefit in most situations with the heavy fill. Most of your rifle is supported by the tripod, so the front is a simple rest; light fill works great and it’s easier to carry.

    The big one was the suppressor end cap upside down. Glad we caught it, but let’s use that as a good reminder that there can easily be small but detrimental glitches in your gear. Now that you’ve seen more equipment, take your time and really look everything over. If you gun doesn’t practically shoot itself (meaning stable, consistent, predictable, naturally recoils pretty flat, nothing catching or getting hung up when cycling action, etc…), something can probably be improved. The big thing is just acknowledging the fact that you’re at a point where your abilities go beyond your knowledge, so it’s easy for little things to go undetected. You’re a very capable shooter, but need a bit more guidance on the technical side of things. I’m here for that anytime you have a question!

    The tripod is ok, and certainly not your first concern, but the Radian is a pretty lightweight and wobbly tripod for rear support. If you get on that and then compare to my Two Vets, Fatboy, or Leofoto Juggernaut, they are all much better at minimizing that side to side flex on target. Again not something to chase and spend money on, but in your case, if you are shooting in a match and someone else has one of the more rigid set ups, I would say use theirs. Always check the tensioners on the leg height, and tensioners on the leg hinges, making sure it’s sturdy.

    Spotter is also ok, but not ideal. Bending your neck all day in the angled spotter isn’t great, and you could class up in quality — but again, much later! Not a problem by any means.

  • Safety Procedures - Another small but significant snafu is just not knowing or having a really good muscle memory with how we run the safety protocols. We’ve touched on it a few times already, but multiple little things happened like chamber flag was out, mag was in, muzzle was a little too casual, etc. This will come with time, but just remember that you’re supposed to stay completely cold and unloaded right up until you are TOLD to load and make ready. That will address that pretty easily. The muzzle control also just comes with time, but just remember, UP and FWD is best. If it's tilted down, it better be forward toward the range, not tilting down toward the other shooters on the firing line. And in my opinion walking with the barrel down by your feet is less safe than muzzle up.

  • Pace

    I WAS going to write this up, but honestly you made big strides by the time I saw you in the actual match environment. In training, between your videos and the class, you have a long pause before the shot. I would prefer this over rushing, every day! But, it seemed a little less necessary for that long. I think it had to do with your level of stability and confidence, requiring more time to really settle in. At this point you seemed pretty healthy on speed, and I’m very happy with your acceleration — I watched you start a little slow, but then start hustling toward the second half of the stage. This is perfect by the way I teach, and I think you did a really good job there. Just be very careful when you start to pick up the pace. If there are a few misses in there, you should keep it on the slower side. If it’s still your first few shots and you’re building confidence, keep it on the slower side. There were a few times I thought you went too quick, but for a first time match that was better than expected. Overall I think it’s more of a strength than an area of improvement at this point, but keep an eye on it. Most people start to go too fast once they feel they’re getting the hang of it all.

VIDEO REVIEW

This video will help correlate what I’ve discussed in some of these topics. By this point we fixed

your suppressor end cap so recoil starts out pretty good. Your feet are nice and wide, but knees

still slightly bent. It may not feel like a huge difference, but practice locking them back, and see

if you gain the feeling like you could stand there forever. Your cadence is nice here, waiting for

the impact to run the bolt. Once you move to the lower position things open up a little. First, I can

see the recoil starts to take you for more of a ride. I know you switched to a brake now, but this is

still worth looking into more at home. I think you could work more of a drop-shoulder to help stop

the buttstock from dropping down under recoil, and/or implement the roll-down technique when

shooting a low position. Knowing this in advance can help you plan a better engagement. Last

little thing is flatten the forward foot. Toeing up is almost always a negative; you’re not

connecting the elbow to the knee or gaining anything, and the calf is one of the fastest muscles

to start fatiguing/trembling.

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. You come into this in a fantastic position - you’re a natural, learn quickly, have a great attitude, and no physical hurdles in your way. This is such a great combination for success I think I’m jealous. For a new competition shooter, you are doing really well, and 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