High 2 and Low 6
Part 1
By Paul Giambrone III

I bet this title has your full attention. I have worked with hundreds of students the last few years and about 80 percent of them tell me they have a problem with one of these two targets—or maybe both. Why is that? I think a large part has to do with the fear that other shooters have passed on to the new shooters. Granted, both are fast outgoing targets that flash in front of us at a close distance. Add in some nerves on these targets and it makes matters that much worse. 
I am not immune to the normal fears of these targets; I have had my fair share of difficulties with both of these targets. For almost a full year, I wasn’t comfortable with High 2. I struggled with it over that shooting season and, luckily, I only let a couple get away—but it was still uncomfortable. I realized I was stepping up in fear instead of confidence. BIG PROBLEM! Let’s discuss ways to help alleviate some of the fears that we face on these targets—or any problem target for that matter.

The Set-up
First, let’s examine the fundamentals of this shot and have a plan. Assuming that you have a good turn and the gun fits you properly, let’s look at the set-up for a High 2. Right-handers, I recommend standing in the front corner of the station closest to the low house with your belly-button facing the low house window. Left-handers, same spot on the station, except you should be facing the high-house window. This is where I like to start shooters; I have moved shooters to the back corner of the pad (still on the right-hand side) and it helps them see the target better or make it seem slower. It’s not for everyone, but it’s a start. 
Next, get in your stance (shift your upper and lower body forward on your lead leg) and position your hold point or gun hold at one-third of the way out (or around 21 feet away from the window in the direction of the center stake) and at the bottom of the window. 
Think of your hold point like a grid; we have a horizontal point and a vertical point. The horizontal is the distance out away from the house and the vertical height is the bottom of the window. This is a great starting point to get some feedback; we may need to adjust this based on your skill level and reflexes but stick with this plan for now.
The ensuring step is the look point or the position where your eyes need to be in relationship to your gun. From your hold point, shift the center of your vision (eyes away from the gun barrel) about one-quarter of the way back to the house, or about five feet to the left of your gun barrel, and elevate your eyes above the gun barrel in the flight path of the target. Think about it—if your gun is at the bottom of the window and you shift your eyes left of the gun, the center of your vision will be at the bottom of the window as well. When the target comes out, it rises. Therefore, we need to be sure that our eyes are elevated above the gun barrel in the flight path. 
It is very important to have your eyes in a soft focus (or relaxed focus) to improve peripheral vision, which will help you pick up the streak as quickly as possible. Remember when you look back for this target to keep your head firmly on the gun. It is very common to look back too far (especially right-handers) and the head comes loose and peels away from the stock. It is vital to have your head on the stock, with your eyes and gun in the correct position for this target. Once you are here, take a half second for everything to settle, your head to clear and then call “pull.” 

The Flight
Now you are going to see a streak or a flash and it will be pretty quick. Don’t panic! Simply move with the target on the flash, stare really hard at the front edge at your break point (which should be at least 10–15 feet before the center stake, preferably at two-thirds, which is 21 feet before the stake) and fire. 
The key to a successful turn on this target is rotating your lower body and upper body together as one unit. If you are able to use your legs and hips appropriately, this will help slow this shot down because you can generate very fast gun speed in a short amount of time. 
Notice that I never said anything about looking for, or checking for lead. A big problem that I see with shooters is they try to be too precise on this target. Just get slightly in front and pull the trigger. I have had some students not even see a perceived lead but shoot at the front edge of the target. Everyone’s sight 
picture is going to vary to some degree, so do not try to get six inches or a foot in front of the target and focus on the lead; keep your focus on the target! 
I am also concerned when shooters are looking for that quick fix solution. There is no quick fix on High 2 or Low 6. It is a shot that takes time to develop, so what you need is a consistent set-up, not an ever-changing set-up. Start with the set-up listed above. 

Follow up
If you work on this set-up for several weeks and still find yourself consistently in front of the target, here is a suggestion. Make sure you are not moving early. Sometimes shooters are so anxious for this target that they leave on their call instead of waiting for that streak or flash. 
Assuming you are waiting for the flash, and you are still in front, your look point is probably too far back. Easy fix; do not look as far back as stated above—maybe look just off the gun barrel to the left and up in the flight path and see how that goes. 
I had a student recently that had such great reflexes, we actually had to set-up his eyes straight above the gun. And he has only been shooting for three months! That is not typical, but he had no fear; he trusted his coach and his eyes. That is why it worked. 
On the flip side, if you are consistently getting beat by this target, here are a couple of solutions for you. Start with making sure your eyes are high enough above the gun and in the target flight path to ensure you are seeing the “streak” soon enough. Once your eyes are high enough, make sure you are moving on the streak and not waiting to see a target. When I look back for all of my shots, especially a High 2, all I am looking for is a streak. I do not see the entire target right in front of me—all I want to see is a streak.  I don’t want to see that clearly-defined target until my break point. 
Perhaps you are moving on the flash, but still getting beat. Try one of two things—hold a little outside of one-third (no more than two to three feet) or look slightly further back towards the house (but don’t do both at once). If you choose to look further back, be sure those eyes do not look more than one-half way back. Any further, that target is going to look extremely fast and your eyes, brain and gun will disconnect. When this happens, it is really hard to keep our focus on the target because part of our brain will want to know where the gun barrel is. Our brain will send our eyes to go find it, and when that happens, we lose focus on the target. 
Overall, we need to step onto the station with a plan and focus on executing that plan to the best of our ability. Before you think there is a problem with High 2, start with the plan listed above and give it a couple of weeks of solid practice to set in. If you are not comfortable, take a look at the small adjustments listed in the paragraphs. Keep in mind, this article is no substitute for having a qualified and experienced coach behind you helping you with this target. Stay tuned for the plan and setup for low 6.

Tip of the month: Start with the solid setup that we discussed. Give it some time to work before starting to make changes. However, if after several weeks the setup is still uncomfortable, change one thing at a time. Start with the eyes and make sure they are high enough in the flight path. If you feel your eyes are good, then move your hold point slightly (one to two feet at a time). Again, when you make any change, give it time to work and only change one thing at a time! If you change one thing and it is clearly not the right solution, go back to the old set-up first before changing something else. Your brain has to recalculate every time you change, so give it time to process.

If you have any questions or comments, please email me directly at info@gsclinics.com and visit www.breakmoretargets.com for more information! Check the website for upcoming tournaments and clinics in your area and keep in mind that GSC is now in the DFW area and available to teach in the Dallas/Fort Worth area all year round!