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Nimitz's Journey To Shooting Greatness


Nimitz

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This morning I finally got to do something I've been planning to add to my training regiment for some time .... dry fire stages. Every other Fri I can't get to the range until after lunch & am stuck at home while our house cleaners do their thing. I've been wanting to use this time to run dry fire stages in my back yard and finally this morning I did. The link is some video I took of the run. The first part is a POV walk thru so you can get an idea what the stage looks like & then the remainder is of me running the stage. Best time was just shy of 18 secs ... sorry there is no cool music in the background ... maybe after making GM I'll add music to my videos ... :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SPkb9XIFLVs&feature=youtu.be

The biggest thing I noticed is that I don't get my reloads done within the first step of moving out of a position. I'm stepping off and then starting the reload which seems to get me behind. I need to try hitting the mag release button just before stepping off so that I'm reloading as I move. Currently it looks like I'm moving first and then starting the reload. Next dry fire stage session I think I'll set up some shooting boxes within a couple of steps of each other & force myself to be done with the reload before entering the box so that I can be shooting as I enter the box ...

tomorrow is our monthly 3-gun match and since I have a couple of boxes of Russian 223 I've decided to just go have fun and shoot my Benelli M2 & CQB rifle and compete with all 3 guns ...

Edited by Nimitz
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Nice setup. I see what you are saying with reloads. The other thing that jumped out at me... move hard! Some of those boxes have pretty good distance between them and your just sort of trotting along at a consistent pace regardless of whether you're reloading or setting up or just covering ground.

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yeah I've noticed that too after watching some match videos but during the runs it 'feels' like I'm pushing it. Probably need to take some video and really sprint and watch that so I can feel & see what it looks like to move fast ...

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Go one handed and sprint, keep the gun up where it is in your field of view. There is a time to move to a shooting position with the gun in both hands, usually when it is within a few steps. If you are going to run, your balance and speed will be hindered by keeping both hands together in front of you. RUN

I know you are not shooting open, but the running concept is the same.

-A little constructive criticism: you are practicing field courses, which is exactly what you need to be doing. However, your course has nothing but fixed shooting positions, box to box. You need field course practice to incorporate shooting on the move. If you are trying to get better at reloading between boxes, then place two or three boxes 5-10 yards apart, enter the box shooting, reload to the next box, then reload back. Or, set up a line and cross back and forth reloading as you go.

Edited by wes777
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That is a lot of running, you could probably get more work in without so much running. To see how fast you can really do it, run it without the pistol, just go from box to box as fast as you can focusing on getting set up in the box quicker and more stable, focus on the waist down. As soon as you are set up in your shooting position, explode out of the box to the next.

The speed gains will carry over once you add the pistol once again.

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Yeah those are all good suggestions. I do need to learn to shot on the move when possible however this session was specifically for working on getting into and out of boxes while shooting at the earliest opportunity and then leaving at the earliest as well.

Since this was my first one of these which I threw together at the last minute I didn't establish any training goals, I just set up a stage. From now on I'll be designing each stage to work on certain things .. Reload between positions, shooting on the move, entering and exiting positions while shooting, etc.

For this stage I purposely set up a short distance to practice shooting while entering a position. I picked and awkward distance that was not just 2-3 steps where you obviously keep both hands on the gun and not 5 or more steps where you obviously run with one hand.

I didn't video every run and I did try some where I let go of the gun with my weak hand and although I may have been slightly faster getting to the position it took longer to shoot the target then when I kept both hands on the gun and planted my left right in front of the box so I could begin shooting as soon as my left foot entered the box while my right foot was still in motion ...

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Didn't make it to my monthly 3-gun match on Saturday as my car wouldn't start as I tried to head for the match ... oh well, it was 98 deg & 95% humidity that day ....

on a brighter note I set another personal best this morning for the STD Bill Drill: 2.27 secs with a 1.01 draw & splits of .21/.18/.21/.22/.44

Trigger freeze on the last shot kept me from making a potential sub 2 sec run. Followed that up with 2.15 & 2.16 sec 3 yd runs. Also had my first .18 split, slowly inching my way to a .15 ....

My Blake Drill runs were .26 - .31 splits with .27 -33 transitions. Splits and transitions were running within .02 of eachother as required by this drill and a good .1 sec faster than last time I ran this drill 2 weeks ago. Hits were as good if not slightly better as well.

Had a little difficulty with the 30 yd plate rack missing on the first three shots but a decent run on the 10 yd rack, decent for me anyway at 5.86 secs, still a pretty slow 1.71 draw ...

Today's classifier was Bang & Clang which I couldn't manage any faster than 6.01 secs.

Looks like this current line of training is beginning to pay off as I'm slowly getting faster but maintaining my accuracy. A solid dry fire regiment is also helping. I've committed to doing at least 15 mins 5 times a week no matter what and I think I'm starting to see the results in live fire.

Of course the ultimate litmus test will be 5-6 Oct during my class with Ben Stoeger ....

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Well today's training certainly started out ugly. In fact it was so bad that I almost decided to just pack up and head to work vice reinforcing bad habits ... of course if I had done that I would not have ended up shooting a personal best on El Pres of 70.1% ... The session started with The Accelerator and after the first rep I had 2 Mikes on the 25 yd target ... couldn't believe it as I haven't done that in like 6 months. Even my 15 yd target hits were Cs/Ds with a C on the 7yd as well. Decided to stick with it and just slow down so on the next rep I went into what Steve Anderson calls Accuracy Mode where your only goal is to shoot 2 alphas. Shoot 6 As on the next rep with the 25 yd target having 2 holes in the a zone side by side 1/2" apart ... ok, at least I know I can still shoot accurately if I focus ....

I also shot the Dot Drill and while I'm still not close to going 6/6 in all 9 circles my groups were getting better even though I was pushing the speed as compared to last time I shot this drill.

The 30 yd plate rack was also a disaster where I missed my first 6 shots at the rack ...

I finished up the session with El Pres where my 1st run was the 70.1% mentioned earlier. Hits were only 46 pts including 1 D but the time was my fastest yet without any mikes at 6.34 secs. transitions and splits were all in the .25 sec range with a 1.98 sec reload and 1.85 sec draw ...

At least the session ended on a high note...

Part of my issue may have been that my weak hand is a little sore from my increased dry fire regiment plus my normal grip strength program & I shot yesterday as well. I normally don't shoot back to back days but I can't make my normal session tomorrow so I decided to do back to back days. I need to be a little careful not to abuse my weak hand too much and end up with an injury ... my next live fire is not until Mon so I'll get a little rest in.

Edited by Nimitz
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Slide lock release level replacement finally came in so I may be able to get back to the range tomorrow ... Been a long time since I went an entire week without shooting .... It was a nice little break. Enabled me to make about 4,000 rds as well to try and stay ahead for a little while, I'll need a 1,000 at the beginning of Oct for Ben's class and then another 1,500 in the beginning of Dec for Seeklander's 2 classes ...

Also going to try a different trigger spring and see if I notice any difference. I've been using the reduced pwr trigger spring from Glockworx which is supposed to offer a light trigger pull and fast reset. The heavy trigger spring according to Glockworx reduces trigger pull by .5-.75 lbs over the reduced pwr trigger so I'm curious to see which I like better ...

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hmmm, good for him but bad for me ... :) however, did he take up shooting after he turned 50? If not, I can still be the first to make GM in production after age 50 while picking up a pistol for the first time after age 50 ....I need my goals ...

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I've been working with Mike Seeklander literally since I started USPSA in Jan 2012 so I can tell you anything you want about his classes. This will be my first class with Ben ....

One thing I can tell you is that Mike is easily the best instructor I've ever taken a class from, regardless of the material. I credit my current skill state to his instruction. If you can't take a class from him his videos are the next best thing. I remember after watching them I said to myself that it was like being back in class with him.

If you are struggling with setting up a training program because you don't know what to do when, his book is setup as a complete 3-phase 16 week program if you train 3x/week. All you have to do is follow it, no thinking required ... Once you finish it you assess where you are and adjust the program accordingly. It's very effective.

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Fair enough. Given Ben's course outline I suspect the first day will be very similar, working on USPSA fundamentals. Day 2 however, is one of the 2 main reasons I wanted to take a class from Ben since it is all shooting full up stages. The other reason is Ben's reputation for telling it like it is. I want an unvarnished assessment of where I am now and more importantly, what I should focus on the next 6 months.

Don't get me wrong, Mike will also tell you where you are and what you should be working on but always focuses on the positive. I'll be thrilled to hear what I'm doing well but what I need to hear is where I'm weak that is holding me back .... I tend to get more motivated when someone I respect tells me I'm falling short ...

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gun is back up and running and after playing around with the trigger springs I've decided to stay with the reduced power spring from Glockworx. I don't really notice the increased pull weight from the heavy spring but the extra force applied to trigger reset makes a difference in how quickly I can take follow up shots ...

My dry fire regiment is starting to pay off in some areas but not others. On Monday's training session I set a new personal best for a draw to a 7 yd target at .93 secs and then this morning I set another personal best at .91 secs. Not sure my draw mechanics are that much faster as opposed to getting a good start after hearing the timer go off. I realize that's part of a fast draw but I think to ever get to a .8 or .7 draw my mechanics will need to get better as well.

On the downside I'm not really seeing any improvement in my live fire reload times even though I'm working on them in dry fire. I'm going to go back and reassess what I'm doing to see if I can't figure out what the problem is.

during my last 2 sessions I noticed the following start to creep back into my shooting ... A-C hits with the alpha being center A and the 'C' being a center, left C zone hit. Most of the time you can also draw a nice horizontal line between the two ... given this pattern of hits I assume this is not a visual patience issue but rather a weak hand grip and/or trigger finger issue? It also doesn't matter whether it's from the draw on a single target or transitioning between 2 targets.

The two fundamentals I'm currently focused on are weak hand grip and elbow position. When I get the palm of my weak hand flat against the grip, squeeze hard with my weak hand fingers and kept my elbows bent at about 30 deg I can shoot alphas as fast as I can pull the trigger all day. As soon as I get sloppy with either of those I start seeing center left and/or high left shots. I'm having to slow down some to ensure I focus on this but I think it's important to get this fundamental technique developed as a subconscious skill ...

I good example was when I was running El Pres reps this morning. When I slowed down enough to ensure my grip & elbow position was correct I shot 10 As & 2 Cs; when I didn't the result was 6A/4C/2D. There was a 1.19 sec difference in these runs.

I need to continue to work on this in dry fire as it clearly is not yet a subconscious skill ...

My top micro level skills to focus on are:

- weak hand grip

- elbow position

- trigger press

My top macro level skills to focus on are:

- shot calling

- reloads

- entering/exiting positions

10 live fire training sessions left before Ben's class ...

Edited by Nimitz
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Continued to work on my weak hand grip during Friday's training session with focusing on squeezing the fingers of my weak hand as I extend the gun. When I do it right the sights go straight up and come back straight down vice drifting slightly left. Also, as long as my elbows are slightly bent the recoils taken up straight back and the muzzle moves very little. Since I'm also making this a dry fire focus it appears to be progressing on a good pace.

Saturday I accomplished one of the major goals I'd set for 2013, to win a local match. It was our monthly Steel Chalenge match and although I was only shooting rimfire open division I came away with the overall win and the rimfire division win ... Last month I finished 2nd by 1.5 secs even with 3 penalties on one stage which had me shoot the stage 7 secs slower than normal so I knew if I could just shoot a clean match I'd be right there ...I expect to start shooting center fire in SC in Oct.

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Shot The Accererator and Plate Rack Heads drills yesterday. 5 & 15 yd targets had good hits although still too many center left hits on the 15 yd target. The 25 yd target had a lot more scatter than in the past and included a couple of mikes which I attribute to pushing the speed and a poor weak hand grip. When I slowed down I had 2 Alphas so I know the accuracy is still there I just need to keep pressing. I was having some issues with the PRH drill which required me to slow down to get 3 good hits. My misses were always left and since I was shooting left to right I was pulling the trigger before I had fully transitioned on the target. I assume this was due to not snapping my eyes to the next target and letting the gun follow but instead just moving everything all at once ...

Tomorrow will be Bill Drills and Blake Drills to continue working on my grip mechanics

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sounds like you are off to a good plan to make gm . i'am 54 this sept 29 made master early this year in production . warning the older you git the harder to shoot at 100% all the time . i travel 1-2 and half hours one way to shoot matches . If you can stay in good shape and stay with your plan and seek help from better shooters when you can. best of luck

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congrats on making master. I've got a ways to go to catch up to you ...:) just curious, how much experience did you have prior to taking up USPSA and how long did it take you to make master? Other then needed to lose 10 lbs I'm in good shape with no heath issues. I get to train with Mike Seeklander once a year for 4 days plus other classes when I think it will be useful like the class with Ben in a couple of weeks ....

Manny Bragg is only about 85 miles away so at some point I expect to take a class from him as well ...

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Time to change out my stand and drills for a different set of stand and shoot drills. Had another training session this morning that I was less than pleased with. I think I may be getting bored just doing thecsamecdrills over and over again as I'm not showing any progress and if fact have started to shoot some worse than in the past. If I can't find any others I'll drag out Seeklander's collection of micro drills which for the most part are stand and shoot. I just need to se which of them focus on grip and trigger control and start shooting them for a while.

I also expect to get plenty to work on after Ben's class in early Oct ...

I've also decided to shoot the Florida Sectional in late Oct. Going to be shooting with 2 buddies which will be the first time I know anyone on my squad at a Level II/III match. All 9 stages are long field courses which is something I'm comfortable shooting since that is how our typical monthly local match is done. There are no classifiers or short courses. Wouldn't have minded a classifier since all I need is one classifier over 60% to make B.

We're going to be shooting all in one day so I'm hoping the weather will have cooled a little by then too.

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had a good dryfire session last night. I'm starting to see some gains since I went to 5x/week which helps keep me motivated. Just did basic draws & reloads. Although I've only gotten my reloads down to 1.4 repeatably I did push my draws to under .8 last night. Couldn't quite make it to .7 with a good grip & trigger prepped but it was close. I was hitting .8 pretty consistently though so my best times were probably somewhere between .75 & .8. The actual number is not that important except as a benchmark for where I stand. I then finished off the session with some draws at 1.2 just to see how much time I had since 1.2 is not unusual for my live fire times.

One thing was very obvious in my draws. In order to have any chance in executing a draw under1 sec my upper body had to be absolutely still. the only thing moving was my hands & arms. If I introduced any other movement I would never make the time. It was good to finally see this work in actual practice. I will be a lot more aware of upper body movement now during draws since I have confirmed it as the technique for reducing time. The draws also feel so much smoother and in control when there is no upper body movement.

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well after having my best match ever last week this weekend's match was my worst performance since Nov 2012. Unfortunately, during the match I knew what I was doing wrong but was unable to focus enough to make the appropriate corrections. My weak hand grip was almost non existent as well as trigger jerk. the fact that we had some of the toughest stages I can remember didn't help but that was no excuse. For example, one stage had a 20 yd Texas Star right after the draw which I knew would be an issue once it got moving. However, I should have been able to take out the first 2 plates without issue since there would be nothing moving. If fact my stage plan was to hit the first 2 plates and then come back to the Star after shooting all the paper since I knew hitting moving 8" plates at 20 yds would be an issue. After taking 3 shots at the Star and hitting noting I abandoned it and completed the stage, then finished the Star. We had another stage that was laid out like the infield of a baseball field with a PPP 10 yds beyond "2nd base". The PPP had only the bottom 4 plates and you could only shoot 1 plate from each of the 4 bases. the rest of the paper targets could be engaged anywhere inside the diamond. Again, 20 yd PPP was going to be an issue but the 1st [plate should have been easy since it wasn't moving .... 5 rds later I hit the first plate ... I had 5 mikes which hasn't happened since last Nov and I only shot 79% of available points. Given how my training had been going the last 2 weeks I guess I shouldn't be surprised. I decided to take off yesterday & tomorrow from live fire to clear my head and put this behind me. I still have 3 weeks before Ben's class to get back on track & the Florida Sectional isn't until late Oct. Nothing I can do about it but accept it and move on. I'll use the short down time to make more ammo, chrono my load for the Sectional & continue to dry fire. I've also selected some different 'stand & shoot' drills to work on to regain my focus & to shake things up a bit while still concentrating on grip, trigger press and target transitions.

Edited by Nimitz
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