How to be a better spotter

[dgcie]

To keep a long story short. I was shooting yesterday with a buddy who was spotting for me. Any time I was off he was able to tell me "come up 2 clicks" then when I was spotting for him all I could say was "you hit low and left", or even worse, a lot of times I didnt see where the shots went at all.

So any tips for me? Ive been looking on youtube, but Im not finding a whole lot there to be honest. And Ive looked on amazon to see can I find any decent books and again, nothing there. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[JSTARSZ]

Re: How to be a better spotter

I always talk to my shooter as if I am looking through his scope so I can direct him on his next shot - go 1/2 MOA or .2 MIL right left or whatever. As long as you can talk the same language and you practice together it will come together. It is hard to get a good combination sometimes and it takes time and practice. You also need to get familiar with wind calls.

The spotter has a wider angle of view and can see more vice you looking down a narrow tube. They should pick targets, the environment, and situation awareness issues.

There is a lot to being a spotter for the shooter and it is not just a pick up game at the range. You have to work with your spotter-shooter combination. The only way to negate this is to have gone through the same training whereas you can at least talk the same language; then all you need is time to workout the specifics.

 

[dgcie]

Re: How to be a better spotter

Well I guess that makes sense. THe guy I was with yesterday has been shooting for about 20 years and Im pretty new to this whole thing.

But I still cant understand how he (or anyone) can look through a spotting scope and then by watching where the bullet impacts you just know how much elevation/windage to adjust. If there was a reticle or some other way of measuring the distance from POI to POA then I could understand.

I dunno lads, I feel like Im missing something here.

 

[Cserv]

Re: How to be a better spotter

You have heard of Mil-dots haven't you?
Eric

 

[WhiskeyWebber]

Re: How to be a better spotter

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Danny408</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Well I guess that makes sense. THe guy I was with yesterday has been shooting for about 20 years and Im pretty new to this whole thing.

But I still cant understand how he (or anyone) can look through a spotting scope and then by watching where the bullet impacts you just know how much elevation/windage to adjust. If there was a reticle or some other way of measuring the distance from POI to POA then I could understand.

I dunno lads, I feel like Im missing something here. </div></div>

If you know the size of the target and the distance you can do some beer math calcs on the fly and come up with mil based corrections. It takes a little practice.

 

[milo 2.0]

Re: How to be a better spotter

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Danny408</div><div class="ubbcode-body">
I dunno lads, I feel like Im missing something here. </div></div>
Honestly, you're not missing a thing, just a new experience, it will come to you. Sooner than you think you'll be blurting out dopes for him, but the shooter has to trust your calls.
Distance, target size it all comes into play, have fun.

 

[turbo54]

Re: How to be a better spotter

First things first:

NEVER call out the miss, such as "low left". That's worhless.

Rather, call the CORRECTION. If you've got a reticle, call it out - 3/10s up and 2/10s right! If you don't have a reticle, then speak in terms of your target. If he's shooting at a steel plate, perhaps "hold one plateheight higher, and right edge" or similar.

Practice on a UKD range. Instead of milling or using a laser, just guess the range and have him send one - focus on getting him to hit with his followup shot. If possible, choose targets with a nice dry dirt impact area, for good splash. With practice, you'll start seeing trace better and better, and can go off it.

When you didn't see Jack Schitt, don't waste time. Either say "no call" and have HIM (hopefully) try something different based on his gut, or use your gut and make a call. Just be sure ONE of you is going to DO SOMETHING DIFFERENT.

If I don't make a call, my partner is sure to send another one into the same spot, so I ALWAYS make a call for him.

Practice, it'll work out.

 

[leadbullet]

Re: How to be a better spotter

I like to give hit direction as in 4 O'clock and distance to center of target. My shooting buddies and i have worked up our own lingo to make fast accurate corrections.