Fun wasn't part of the discussion, because it's a given that black powder shooters have the most fun! We were talking about strategies for shooting a stage that keeps our times down. As part of the discussion, we talked about wind (or the lack of it), the smoke, moving around to be able to see, memorizing target locations so you don't have to see, and other topics. It was interesting enough that I decided to round up all the ideas I could and compile them for other black powder shooters.

The first obvious problem that black powder shooters have to deal with is…smoke. The loads we shoot put out large quantities of white smoke. On a day when there is no breeze and the humidity is high (as is often the case here in the East), the smoke can pile up and the targets disappear in a cloud of white. When the targets vanish, the problem with shooting a fast stage becomes: missed targets. As each miss adds five seconds to your time, you want to minimize the number of missed targets.

So, if there isn't any breeze, how do you deal with the smoke? The easiest thing to do is to move. SASS follows the basketball traveling rule. As long as you keep one foot planted and maintain muzzle control, you can move around. The first thing I try to do is to move down. I start standing as tall as I can and as the targets become obscured, get lower and lower until I am in a crouch as low as I can get. If that doesn't do it, there are two other things to try. The first is to just wait for the smoke to clear enough that you can see again. I reserve this for the most extreme cases. The second technique requires a much higher degree of concentration. Before the starting the stage, take a moment to memorize target locations. As the targets become obscured, shift your vision to where you know the next target is. Bring your sights in line with your vision and fire. If you remembered the target location correctly, you'll hear a clang. This is particularly useful on stages where you have to dump a number of shots. Just keep your eyes focused on a tight spot on the target, bring your sights in line with your vision and fire. As long as you don't change the point at which you are focused, you'll hit the target every time.

The next scenario is when there is a little bit of a breeze. For the sake of example, the breeze is blowing today from left to right, but very gently. The stage description gives the shooter discretion as to target order. The general order that most of us will use is to shoot the targets from left to right. The problem is that the smoke is blowing to the right. By the time you get to the last two targets, you can't see them. So, what's a shooter to do? Shoot the targets from right to left. This way the smoke is piling up where you have already shot, leaving the targets that haven't been engaged, clear.

Some other suggestions are:

• When the shooting order is left up to the shooter - Instead of double or triple tapping targets, single tap sweeps or "staggering" the engaged target may leave the targets less obscured by smoke.
• Look for the target stands and use these to help located the targets.
• Look for straight lines, or even curves through the smoke. These don't appear in nature and will be the target.