Second outdoor USPSA match- help me grow!

[ArrDave]

https://youtu.be/Q88riVxY2pk

I am keenly aware of the belt situation, I will have one by the end of the year, for sure.

Sent from an iDevice. Please forgive any grammatical or spelling errors. If the post doesn't make sense or is not amusing then it is technology's fault and most certainly not operator error.

[MemphisMechanic]

Belt:

I've used a Shooters Connection, a CRSpeed, and a DAA Pro. If money or whatever is tight enough that you're going to wait to have one "by the end of the year" just get the SC belt now. It's not as nice as the other two (DAA Pro is my favorite currently) but it damn sure gets the job done very well at that price point. They're only $40.

Stage breakdowns:

First stage: Poor plan. When you stop in the middle (your second position out of three) you shoot three center rear targets as well as some unseen stuff on the left. I'd have shot the rear targets 5 yards closer, with the last magazine, from the last position, instead. You'd have fired 10 rounds from the last position instead of 4, and done so much faster than from farther back, and with better hits.

I'm pretty sure that two of the targets you shot from the first position were things I'd have been shooting from the second one for the very same reason. The two on the left facing the camera right next to the wall. I can't tell if you can see them from the second spot or if the wall hides them. Tough to tell.

A's through GM's sometimes take things on the move. Or shoot them from further back to avoid an entire shooting position. Don't shoot their plan. Shoot one that your skillset will allow you to cleanly execute 100% of the time.

K.I.S.S.! Even GMs choose the simpler plan whenever two similar ones are worth considering. When you've been doing this just a few months you should be choosing nothing BUT the simplest plan, even if it means running a few more seconds. In this case it was even more obvious: You had to run up there anyway.

Transitions:

At 0:46 seconds listen to your shots on those two shoulder-to-shoulder classic targets. There's no reason you couldn't snap the gun to the second target between shots resulting in bangbangbangbang, instead of bangbang... bangbang with a half second pause. For new shooters, transitioning the gun to a fresh target more quickly is almost always some seriously low hanging fruit you want to begin plucking. You fit that mold.

Splits:

You shoot nearly the same split at 4 yard as you do on a 20 yard target that's 50% hardcover. That means you're either shooting too slow up close or you're shooting too fast in the back. My suspicion says you're doing better in back than you are up front - burning more time up close with slow splits than you should. Watch an experienced shooter and listen, don't look. Railing on close targets? it's pop-pop as fast as he can work the trigger. The splits then slow down in direct correlation to how distant (or how tight) the shots get. Learn from that. Practice hosing down multiple targets close and dirty - you'll be surprised how much faster you can go if you don't tense up, and learn that a pretty lousy sight picture is still in the A-zone.

Draw:

Watch the stationary draw at 1:02. Look at your hips. Those should be completely stationary when you draw. Only your arms will move. Not your head and not your hips. You're rolling your hip toward your hand instinctively to get it closer to your hand. What you're really doing is giving yourself a moving target to try and pluck from the holster. Move your hands as fast as you possibly can. Freeze everything else.

The good:

Everything. For a newcomer you're one of the better ones I've seen. You're sure you've only shot two matches? Wait... how long have you been shooting INDOOR matches and/or some IDPA stuff?

Edited July 5, 2016 by MemphisMechanic

[ArrDave]

Thank you for the feedback. With respect to IDPA, etc, yes I've been shooting an idoor IDPA match for about the past 3 years, I've "taken it seriously" for the past 18 months or so, but didn't realize quite how to "take it seriously" with out the context of actually having shot USPSA. To this point I've shot 4 IDPA outdoor matches (all sanctioned), a bazillion indoor IDPA matches, 2 indoor USPSA matches and 2 outdoor USPSA matches. not looking for pats on the back moreso making sure my analysis of where I need to be directing my efforts line up with more seasoned folks.

RE: the belt - when I say the belt I mean the whole shooting match (DOH hanger, mag pouches, I/O Belt) - I'm going to order the $270 boss belt from the BSP by EOY. I might get the I/O belt you mentioned to have on hand to build my single stack belt too if I decide to play around with it again.

On Stage 4 (first one in the video), the M who won production that day shot the same array first like I did, he reloaded, took the two targets on the left on the move, then finished up as you describe. Another squad mate did this (he shot after me) and I immediately realized the error of my ways because my accuracy was not what it needed to be (like 3 targets were 2 charlie)

Noted on transitions, that was my very first stage shooting at classics, ever, wasn't super confident with where my hold needed to be so there was a lot more visual confirmation on each transition than was probably necessary. That was one of my big takeaways from the video as well.

Splits - again I'm about 4 live fire practice sessions into using USPSA tragets so i'm still figuring out what I can get away with, in IDPA you get so heavily penalized for missing zeros it behooves you to do more aiming.

Thanks for taking the time to comment. I appreciate it.

[MemphisMechanic]

I basically run the BOSS kit, minus that specific belt. A cluster of "bullets out" ghost pouches and the Bladetech/BOSS hanger ordered from BSPS. It's terrific gear. Worth the $$$. Switching to bullets-facing-out takes about three weeks of diligent dryfire to truly own, but rocks for production.

Splits - again I'm about 4 live fire practice sessions into using USPSA tragets so i'm still figuring out what I can get away with, in IDPA you get so heavily penalized for missing zeros it behooves you to do more aiming.

I've shot a lot of IDPA too. Until 2016, I shot four times as much of it as USPSA. Most IDPA shooters flat out suck at burning down close, wide-open targets with any kind of speed. With a hard grip on the gun and a few month's worth of practice, you can hit the -0 as fast as you can work the trigger at 2-6 yard distances.

Set out five targets (the most you'd engage with one mag in Production if you have a choice) and shoot them static and moving inside of five yards. You'll be susprised just how much faster you can go if you let yourself try. And how little sight picture you need, along with just how misaligned those sights can be and still result in an A hit.

Edited July 6, 2016 by MemphisMechanic