Shot placement on Hostage, Half covered target

[Howe]

Not sure what is the technical name on this type of target, but here is an example:

So the question is

If I need to engage T1, do I go for the head shot or body shot?
Head shot I might miss - penalty for FTN
Body shot I might hit non-threat, or score lower points

what's my point of aim?? Which one is the lesser evil?
What do you guys do?

 

[Kingjamez]

Vickers? Go for the headshot. Limited vickers? I'd go for body shots. But I'm far from qualified :-)

-Jim

 

[Blaster229]

Real life.....head shot

 

[BerettaMan]

I am by no means an expert, but I have seen this in competition. You have to find the balance between accuracy and speed. The torso is a larger area and gives you the best chance of getting a hit. If you are good enough and fast enough you can go for the head shot but it will probably slow you down. Depending upon the scoring, if you do hit the no shoot target and can recognize the errant shot fast enough you can place another shot on target and minimize your penalty. Most people I have shot with will usually go for the torso. Hope this helps.

 

[mwelliott]

It would depend on the distance to the target, your skill level and the type of scoring for that stage.

Generally I would aim at the 1 on your example on the left side and cheat a little bit right on the right target. If I was going to pull a shot at speed I would pull it left and into the non threat so I give myself a little wiggle room. Even in your example right across the middle you have 4 inches of the down zero and then 2 more inches for a down 1 shot which is as wide as the head. You could argue all heads but that is generally an all or nothing proposition if you choose that path.

 

[Buddy]

I would take the body shots. It takes less time. Your hit factor would be higher shooting a C or two then shooting at the head because the A zone is so small. You would end up with one in the B zone or take to much time shooting two A's on the head. B and C zone are both worth 3 points. Just my thoughts

 

[Howe]

I took a break for a few months, on the recent matches, I had A LOT of FTN... my grouping is off.

So I figure this,
Going for the head shot, I have a bigger zero area (torso is half covered), but a greater chance for FTN (-5).
Aiming for torso zero, it is even a smaller zero, and greater chance for HNT (-5)

In this case, might as well play safe by aiming between -1 and -3 so at least I will get something on the target. That's what seems logical, but is it the right thing to do?

Any advise and discussion is welcome!

 

[lx1x]

body shot.. on the left side.. head on the right..

in stress most people shoot low left.. just my 2 cent

 

[mwelliott]

If you are having issues with your accuracy I would aim for the middle of the down 1 area. If its a little left or right you are still OK. I would not split the targets with one body and one head. The transition from body across the non-threat to the other much smaller head is adds far too much movement and thinking into this game.

I'm not sure of your skill level but you may want to work on the mental game aspect of practical shooting. If you go into a stage thinking you will have a problem with FTNs or HNTs then you most certainly will. I am no expert on the mental game side but there are lots of resources available out there.

 

[alucard0822]

For me, if the -0 chest area was mostly covered, I would take headshots deffinitely, unless there was a real good reason, lighting, round count, foot position, targets leading up to this, and targets after. I am confident in my accuracy, a bit moreso than my speed, I just don't think a body shot would be 1-3pts or .5-1.5 seconds per shot slower than taking my time and drilling the head in most cases. In most matches that I have done well, it was reducing points down, and shooting clean stages at a decent speed that put me ahead, trying to shoot faster, and taking more points down might improve my speed a second or two, but the points down added more time than I could ever make up through speed.

 

[Bigpops]

Are you in the open? Behind cover? LH or RH?

I ask because....if right handed shooting behind tight cover (from the right side of the barricade/wall) I would take head shots.

If I was in the open, no lean involved, I would probably take opposite corner A zone shots. (IDPA 0 zones) Right handed shooters will tend to pull to the left, especially if shooting right to left.

Either way I would be consistant. I would not mix head shots with A zone body shots. Dont give the brain any more ammo to screw up!

Steve

 

[Bigpops]

MWELLIOT - is giving you some great advice on the mental side (he should...hes a great shooter)

When it comes to NT and no-shoots - identify them and move on. Once shooting don't even look at them. Focus on your aim point and nothing more. Sounds simple...too simple...but it really is.

I equate it to the football coach that calls a time out with 5 seconds left in the game. He looks at his wide reciever and says "dont drop the ball"! When he should say "when you catch it".

 

[Kimerazor]

I would train as you plan to fight. With that said, a body shot will allow the BG to fire into the NT. Only a head shot, and one into the medulla oblongata will stop the BG's functions. Basically, you need to shoot the BG in the mouth. You can't miss fast enough to win in either IDPA or real life.

If you are just gaming, then aiming for the body is sufficient enough allowing you to score a -1 and not getting a FTN. Again, in real life, the BG can discharge his weapon or stab the NT.

 

[CrawfishStu]

Saw this exact target setup at a match last month. Most of the people in the group wound up shooting for the body and catching one shot on the no shoot and down 5ish per target.

We had to put 3 shots in each target. With that many rounds, i wish i had just taken the headshots at that range. I was bound to get at least one hit on each target and only be down the misses but no ftn and it would have been the "right" thing to do considering all the holes in the friendly.

If I was gaming it, i would have just launched rounds at them. You can only hit the no shoot once and through shots count.

 

[hdatontodo]

...one into the medulla oblongata will stop the BG's functions. Basically, you need to shoot the BG in the mouth....

Learn something new every day here

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Medulla_oblongata.gif

 

[Kimerazor]

I just successfully completed MAG-40 with Massad Ayoob. His knowledge on this subject is amazing and very useful.

 

[HumbleEinstein]

Nice thread. Very educational.

 

[tball]

We were taught head shot.

 

[tball]

We were taught at Front Sight to stop a hostage taker by shooting the Cranial Ocular cavity: the area of the eyes down to the nose. It is about the size of an index card.

 

[photoracer]

If you are having issues with your accuracy I would aim for the middle of the down 1 area. If its a little left or right you are still OK. I would not split the targets with one body and one head. The transition from body across the non-threat to the other much smaller head is adds far too much movement and thinking into this game.

I'm not sure of your skill level but you may want to work on the mental game aspect of practical shooting. If you go into a stage thinking you will have a problem with FTNs or HNTs then you most certainly will. I am no expert on the mental game side but there are lots of resources available out there.

Ditto with Mike on this. Best tranistions are shots taken at the same level, just like on steel. Shot some of these at TCSC on Tuesday. Had no issues doing 2 head shots, even with my HK USP-C. easier than on USPSA because in IDPA the entire head is a -0 zone while in USPSA the A zone is a smaller area in the center.
I watched some excellent shooters end up with No Shoots on some of those targets because they lit off the 1st round too fast and did not have their target locked. That can happen regardless of how you shoot it. But if you are transitioning from side to side I think it is much easier to end up with a penalty because you have to transition over the hostage to get to the side of a 2nd perp. A slightly hasty shot can get a penalty. With the head shots if you miss it should be a round off the target so doing 2 followups (depending on the round count) would get you a better score than one with a penalty.