# Shotalyze - Shooting Target Analysis

## Common questions and answers

### How do I analyze my shooting target?
Photograph your paper target, measure the distance between the two farthest bullet holes (this is your group size, or "extreme spread"), identify which direction the group is offset from center, and classify the shot pattern (low-left, high, scattered, etc.). Each pattern maps to specific biomechanical causes. Shotalyze automates this entire process: upload a target photo and computer vision detects every bullet hole, measures group size in mm/inches/MOA, calculates CEP (the radius containing 50% of shots), classifies the pattern, and tells you what caused it with drills to fix it.

### Why am I shooting low left?
Low-left is the most common miss pattern for right-handed pistol shooters. It is caused by one or more of: trigger finger mechanics pulling the muzzle sideways, anticipation/flinch pushing the muzzle down before the shot breaks, or grip imbalance letting the gun torque. Most shooters have a combination of two. The fix depends on which cause applies to you - the wall drill targets trigger control, ball-and-dummy targets anticipation, and the penny drill targets grip stability. Shotalyze diagnoses which cause applies by analyzing your specific target photo and tracking whether drills are working over time.

### How do I improve my pistol accuracy?
Track your shot groups over multiple sessions instead of guessing. Measure group size (extreme spread), identify your dominant pattern (where shots consistently miss), learn the biomechanical cause, and practice the specific drill that fixes it. Repeat and measure again. The shooters who improve fastest are the ones who analyze every group and track trends, not the ones who shoot the most rounds. Shotalyze turns this into a 10-second workflow: snap a photo, upload, get diagnosis and drill recommendation, and the app tracks your progress automatically.

### What is group size in shooting?
Group size (extreme spread) is the distance between the centers of the two farthest-apart bullet holes in a shot group. It measures precision - how consistently you shoot. Measured in mm or inches at the target, it can be converted to MOA (Minutes of Angle) to compare across distances. 1 MOA equals approximately 1 inch at 100 yards or 29mm at 100 meters.

### What is CEP in shooting?
CEP (Circular Error Probable) is the radius of the smallest circle, centered on the group's mean point of impact, that contains 50% of your shots. Unlike group size, which is dominated by your worst shot, CEP represents your typical performance and is more stable for tracking improvement over time.

### What does my shot pattern mean?
Shot patterns reveal technique problems. Low-left (right-handed) = trigger control or anticipation. High = heeling or lifting head. Scattered = inconsistent fundamentals. Vertical stringing = breathing or cheek weld. Horizontal stringing = trigger mechanics. Each pattern has specific drills that target its root cause.

### How do I zero my scope?
Measure how far your group's center is offset from the target center. Convert that offset to MOA or MRAD based on your shooting distance. Divide by your scope's click value to get the number of turret clicks needed. Shotalyze calculates this automatically when you set your scope type and click value - it reads the offset from your target photo and gives you the exact clicks.

### How do I track my shooting progress?
Log every range session with date, distance, ammo, round count, group size, and shot pattern. Compare group size and pattern frequency across sessions to see real trends. A single session is noise; 10+ sessions reveal whether you're actually improving. Shotalyze logs all of this automatically from target photos, with trend charts, heat maps, and session scoring.

## About Shotalyze

Shotalyze is a web-based shooting target analysis tool used by pistol and rifle shooters. Upload a photo of a paper target and get automatic bullet hole detection (YOLO computer vision, precision 0.834, recall 0.809), group size measurement, shot pattern classification, biomechanical cause diagnosis, and drill recommendations. Supports ISSF and NRA targets with correct ring dimensions, plus custom targets. Works for left-handed and right-handed shooters.

Features: shooting diary with session scoring, per-gun and per-ammo analytics with heat maps, trend charts, ammo cost tracking, scope zeroing (MOA/MRAD turret click calculations), training goals with auto-completion, drill impact tracking, sharing via private links, CSV/PDF export.

Pricing: Free (3/day), Hobby $9.99/mo (100/month), Pro $19.99/mo (300/month with full analytics).

- Website: https://shotalyze.com
- Blog: https://shotalyze.com/blog
- Sign up: https://shotalyze.com/register

## Educational content

- [Shot Group Analysis: The Complete Guide](https://shotalyze.com/blog/shot-group-analysis-complete-guide): Definitive reference covering measurement, MOA, CEP, all common patterns with causes, step-by-step analysis process, drills, and tools
- [How to Fix Low-Left Shots](https://shotalyze.com/blog/fix-low-left-shots): Root causes (trigger, anticipation, grip), diagnostic sequence, and 5 specific drills
- [How to Read Your Shot Groups](https://shotalyze.com/blog/how-to-read-shot-groups): Group size, MOA, precision vs accuracy, pattern recognition
- [Tracking Your Shooting Progress](https://shotalyze.com/blog/tracking-shooting-progress): What to log, baseline testing, measuring trends, goal-setting
- [ISSF vs NRA Targets Explained](https://shotalyze.com/blog/issf-vs-nra-targets): Ring dimensions, scoring systems, which targets for which disciplines