Practicing Stun Shots

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Neil said:

Practice stop sots at different distances. Then you will have down pat exactly how to stop the cb at different distances and different speeds. Once you have that down pat, you have stun shots down also. What changes the angle on a stun shot from what you predicted it would be is the accuracy of the hit. If you cheat the pocket, you change the angle of the tangent line. You simply have to learn to hit the ob accurately.

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And in the center,,,,,,,,alot of people hit the cue ball too high when they think they are hitting the center,,,,,,,,,

mr5994 said:

It seems like the stun shot demands a more precise hit on the cue ball than I am able to visualize.

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Not really. You too inconsistent with either speed or spin, or both.

Take a stripe and shoot it down the table with draw. Watch as the draw wears off and the ball slides before picking up forward roll. Depending on conditions, the ball will slide the better part of a diamond. Your job is to cause that slide to occur at contact with the object ball at whatever the distance is between the two balls.

There are two variables you are trying to control: Speed and Spin (tip position). Without good speed control you will struggle, so start there first. Also make sure your mechanics are solid so you know you are hitting the cue ball where you want to.

Once your speeds are consistent, practice the stop shots with a single speed and make adjustments to your tip position. Setup the shot with the balls at one diamond apart so that the object ball will bank off of only the end cushions and stop on the table. Shoot keeping your speed consistent. If your speed is consistent, the ball will stop in a consistent area. Once you are consistent at one diamond, go to two diamonds, then three... Now you will be able to cause that slide to occur at any distance you want.

One small piece of advice I was given and have used for years is to anchor the cueball with just a touch of inside english when trying to produce the 90 degree stun angle.... I use what I think is enough to counter the contact induced english for the angle and have always had better results keeping the ball on the tangent than by just trying to hit center ball...

I will qualify this with the following statement... Left or right english should not have an effect on the angle that the cueball takes after contact.. I have no idea why this trick works for me or for anyone I have shown it to over the years.... I may need to go back and do a study on center ball but I have never used true center to move the ball since I was shown this.....

mr5994...Place the OB on the spot. Set up the CB 1-2 diamonds away, with the line of centers going into the center of the corner pocket. Try to scratch the CB in the side pocket. This is a 90 degree tangent line. When you can scratch the CB 5 times in a row, shooting center, move the CB farther away. You can also increase the cut angle of the shot...but the tangent line doesn't change. Remember, your goal is to pocket both balls consistently. This will give you a good idea of where you're actually striking the CB on the vertical axis.

Scott Lee
www.poolknowledge.com

mr5994 said:

This is kind of what I was getting at with my post.....I have a difficult time visualizing points of aim along the vertical axis of the cue ball.

It's hard for me to, for example, visualize 1/8 tip or 1/4 tip below center on a white sphere. For some people this may come more naturally, but I really struggle with it. I suppose the answer is to keep shooting and it will develop on its own.

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The Renfro said:

One small piece of advice I was given and have used for years is to anchor the cueball with just a touch of inside english when trying to produce the 90 degree stun angle.... I use what I think is enough to counter the contact induced english for the angle and have always had better results keeping the ball on the tangent than by just trying to hit center ball...

I will qualify this with the following statement... Left or right english should not have an effect on the angle that the cueball takes after contact.. I have no idea why this trick works for me or for anyone I have shown it to over the years.... I may need to go back and do a study on center ball but I have never used true center to move the ball since I was shown this.....

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Your cueball is rolling straight on it's axis after OB contact. I do this on side pocket cut shots when I want the cueball to go straight up and down the table.

One question I would ask is this....

mr5994 said:

Recently, I've been practicing stun shots. I'll set up a marked shot on the table.....mark the point on the rail where the tangent line hits.....then shoot the same shot multiple times trying to achieve a perfect 90 deg stun shot. Then I'll change it up a little......change the shot angle, speed, CB/OB distance, adjust the CB path above or below the tangent line, etc.

In doing this, I'm finding that I'm terribly inconsistent. At least I think I am hitting the shot with the same speed and vertical cue ball hit on multiple shots....but the cue ball often follows different paths. I suspect that the vertical hit is more the culprit for the inconsistency than the shot speed.

Is there a good method to visualize the exact vertical location on the cue ball? It seems like the stun shot demands a more precise hit on the cue ball than I am able to visualize.

Also, are there any good stun shot drills out there?

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How do you adjust for follow or draw???

Do you lower/raise your bridge? Or do you elevate/lower the butt of the cue?

If you don't lower/raise your bridge to maintain as straight a line as possible when stroking through the CB, you raise the amount of swerve that takes place, this can make your shot inconsistent.

Try raising/lowering your bridge and maintain as straight a stroke as possible, that way when you stroke through the ball, you're used to stroking straight straight.

To stun, you have to draw a little depending on the distance and speed of the shot, so if you elevate your butt, it's more difficult to estimate the amount that you need to adjust for a stun shot.

Jaden