From completely new to hopefully GM?

[Edmooberry]

1 hour ago, SlvrDragon50 said:

Yea, I don't really want to do those larger matches at my current skill level since it seems like a waste for me. The CISS matches are really nice since I run the stage over again and can experiment with speed vs accuracy and other things. It allows me to really work on fundamentals rather than having to worry about strategy and planning. I was told that there is an outlaw 3 Gun match over in Danville as well which I'm interested in, but I'd have to borrow equipment since I don't have anything other than my CZ.

 

All of the matches I mentioned are Level 1 club matches.  There isn't anything too intricate about any of them.  Mark puts on some good stages at CISS; so its pretty much just 4 or 5 more of those.

 

That being said, do take things at your own pace.  Just feel free to stop by any of those clubs for their matches.  Everyone is very welcoming to new shooters wanting to learn.

[SlvrDragon50]

55 minutes ago, Edmooberry said:

 

All of the matches I mentioned are Level 1 club matches.  There isn't anything too intricate about any of them.  Mark puts on some good stages at CISS; so its pretty much just 4 or 5 more of those.

 

That being said, do take things at your own pace.  Just feel free to stop by any of those clubs for their matches.  Everyone is very welcoming to new shooters wanting to learn.

Oh yea, the stages have been pretty challenging for me being a complete newbie to firearms. Not too challenging to completely discourage me other than the Texas Star a couple of weeks ago. Maybe once I start scoring in the upper 50/75 percentile I'll head out to the level 1 matches, but my shooting is just too inconsistent at this time. I'd definitely be more likely to go to the matches during the summer.

[SlvrDragon50]

Went back today on an easier stage, but I really messed up my first two rounds. I was pushing myself too fast and ended up with some terrible scores. My first round I forgot to load a mag into my gun again, and I think that pretty much ruined the rest of the run. I think I felt pressured to speed up to make up for lost time.

Place	Name	No.	Class	Div	Points	Pen	Time	Hit Factor	Stage Pts	Stage %

5

Hua, Andrew

U

P

86

10

27.97

2.7172

87.3277

87.33 %

16

Hua, Andrew

U

P

66

40

32.22

0.8070

25.9360

25.94 %

20

Hua, Andrew

U

P

57

80

24.25

0.0000

0.0000

0.00 %

Name		Squad	Class	Div	PF	A	B	C	D	M	NS	Proc	AP	Time	Hit Factor

Hua, Andrew		6	U	P	Min	13	4	3	-	-	1	-	-	27.97	2.7172
Hua, Andrew		3	U	P	Min	9	5	2	-	4	-	-	-	32.22	0.8070
Hua, Andrew		4	U	P	Min	10	2	-	1	7	1	-	-	24.25	0.0000

 

I slowed down just a bit for the last run, and it made a huge difference. I also changed up my strategy going for the open target 10 yards away rather than the head only 5 yard target on the first shot. I'm starting to pick up my sights a lot faster now, and I think I did okay with transitions. Unfortunately I didn't record my good run, but I'll upload my terrible first run. With my last run, I'm pretty happy with 87% match score (production) even though there aren't any A shooters. I learned quite a bit from this match though which is big.

 

 

This run had a HF of 0.8070.

Edited February 15, 2017 by SlvrDragon50

[taxil343]

These things happen. Modify your make ready routine to include a step for verifying that there is a mag in the gun. By doing this and forcing it to become muscle memory you ensure you won't make the same mistake again. Step one of make ready for me is to pull my start mag off of my belt and verify that it is indeed my start mag before loading the gun. I did not always visually check this and one time it bit me when I made ready with mag 5 that only had 10 rounds in it.

[Edmooberry]

Are you shooting the match this Sunday at CISS? 

[ArrDave]

9 hours ago, SlvrDragon50 said:

Went back today on an easier stage, but I really messed up my first two rounds. I was pushing myself too fast and ended up with some terrible scores. My first round I forgot to load a mag into my gun again, and I think that pretty much ruined the rest of the run. I think I felt pressured to speed up to make up for lost time.

Place	Name	No.	Class	Div	Points	Pen	Time	Hit Factor	Stage Pts	Stage %

5

Hua, Andrew

U

P

86

10

27.97

2.7172

87.3277

87.33 %

16

Hua, Andrew

U

P

66

40

32.22

0.8070

25.9360

25.94 %

20

Hua, Andrew

U

P

57

80

24.25

0.0000

0.0000

0.00 %

Name		Squad	Class	Div	PF	A	B	C	D	M	NS	Proc	AP	Time	Hit Factor

Hua, Andrew		6	U	P	Min	13	4	3	-	-	1	-	-	27.97	2.7172
Hua, Andrew		3	U	P	Min	9	5	2	-	4	-	-	-	32.22	0.8070
Hua, Andrew		4	U	P	Min	10	2	-	1	7	1	-	-	24.25	0.0000

 

I slowed down just a bit for the last run, and it made a huge difference. I also changed up my strategy going for the open target 10 yards away rather than the head only 5 yard target on the first shot. I'm starting to pick up my sights a lot faster now, and I think I did okay with transitions. Unfortunately I didn't record my good run, but I'll upload my terrible first run. With my last run, I'm pretty happy with 87% match score (production) even though there aren't any A shooters. I learned quite a bit from this match though which is big.

 

This run had a HF of 0.8070.

 

 

I added emphasis to what you're saying because I think you're thinking about it wrong.  Shooting is vision.  If you don't do a walk through and define on every single target what acceptable sights/trigger are going to be to engage that target for AA or AC you're hurting your performance.  Everything else needs to be done as quickly as you can do it correctly  in a match - the running, reloading, swinging the gun in transition.  In theory you've practiced that stuff so you don't have to think about it either.  The sprinting from spot to spot is something I'd recommend practicing too.  The shooting is confirming you are seeing what you need to see for that target.  Don't sweep the shooting into everything else or as you've observed, it goes poorly.  

Edited February 15, 2017 by ArrDave

[Alaskan454]

I'm going to agree with ArrDave's comment and elaborate on some things I've noticed recently in my own shooting that might help.  The best in this game are going fast but it's not the time on target that they're usually worried about, it's everything else.  Top shooters are able to hit around 95% of the possible points you can earn which works out to 1 Charlie for every 7 Alphas shooting minor.  Even if you push that ratio to 2:6 you're still getting 90% of the possible points which is pretty good.  In general you only want to shoot as fast as you are reasonably certain you can hit the A zone and absolutely certain you will at least hit the target.  Do all of the non shooting functions (transitions, movement, reloads, etc.) as fast as you can safely manage, shooting speed will come with practice and familiarity.  Another thing to consider is how the scores are calculated since Mikes and No Shoots are both a -10 penalty and in the end it's the points earned over your total time.  I recently zeroed my first classifier by trying to shave around .3 seconds off my total time, had two of my rounds impacted just slightly closer to where I wanted them that 0% would have been around 70% on that stage.  

Edited February 15, 2017 by Alaskan454

[SlvrDragon50]

2 hours ago, Edmooberry said:

Are you shooting the match this Sunday at CISS? 

I am not. I'm still a little too green to convince mysellf to wake up at 5 AM on a Sunday

 

I definitely see myself becoming more comfortable with shooting faster now. I might be trying to work on too much at the same time since these Tuesday shoots are my only time to practice them in live fire. For now, I've been watching more Max Michel videos, and I've been trying to wide my stance and bend my knees more. I think it is helping with reacquiring the sights faster. I just don't remember to do it at every position. The other thing I'm working on is keeping my reloads higher up in the air. I still have very little confidence on my DA shots unfortunately, but at least I can work on that at my indoor range.

[Edmooberry]

10 minutes ago, SlvrDragon50 said:

I am not. I'm still a little too green to convince mysellf to wake up at 5 AM on a Sunday

 

Ha!  I hear ya. 

 

It sounds like you're going through all the right steps to get where you want to be. 

 

PS, if you're into shotgun shooting, The Old Barn sporting clays is about a half hour south of you.  That's a real good time, too!

[SlvrDragon50]

32 minutes ago, Edmooberry said:

 

Ha!  I hear ya. 

 

It sounds like you're going through all the right steps to get where you want to be. 

 

PS, if you're into shotgun shooting, The Old Barn sporting clays is about a half hour south of you.  That's a real good time, too!

Can you rent shotguns? I only have my CZ. 

[Edmooberry]

35 minutes ago, SlvrDragon50 said:

Can you rent shotguns? I only have my CZ. 

 

That I'm not sure of.  You may need to call down there to check.  Or................you could justify another gun purchase 

 

 

[SlvrDragon50]

Just now, Edmooberry said:

 

That I'm not sure of.  You may need to call down there to check.  Or................you could justify another gun purchase 

 

 

Ahhaha. I'm already waiting for the CZ Shadow 2 to come out. I'm having trouble reaching the mag release reliably so it's really enticing. Unfortunately I don't think it's going to be released in large numbers for a few months.

[SCTaylor]

Andrew - are you dry firing on a regular basis yet? With a defined routine? If not, you really need to get a dryfire book and some scaled targets. It'll change everything!

 

You're coming along well, keep up the good work.

Edited February 15, 2017 by SCTaylor

[SlvrDragon50]

18 minutes ago, SCTaylor said:

Andrew - are you dry firing on a regular basis yet? With a defined routine? If not, you really need to get a dryfire book and some scaled targets. It'll change everything!

 

You're coming along well, keep up the good work.

I try to dry fire daily or every other day, but sometimes my schoolwork just gets in the way. I have scaled targets, but I can only dry fire in my bedroom so I don't have much practice on long range dry firing. I think I'm using 1/4 targets at approximately 2-3 yards away. I usually just practice draw + reloads down the belt, but now  I'm working on trying to reaquire sights faster after reading CHA-LEE's tips on another person's thread.

[ArrDave]

Start with hammer back, gun pointed at corner of the room, finger on trigger / trigger prepped.  Transition eyes then gun onto target and pull trigger as soon as you register a good sight picture.  This is a great mini drill. 

Edited February 15, 2017 by ArrDave

[SlvrDragon50]

1 hour ago, ArrDave said:

Start with hammer back, gun pointed at corner of the room, finger on trigger / trigger prepped.  Transition eyes then gun onto holster and pull trigger as soon as you register a good sight picture.  This is a great mini drill. 

Sorry, a little confused. Transition eyes then gun onto holster. Do you mean onto target?

[ArrDave]

Yeah that's right.  Sorry.  

[SlvrDragon50]

My reloads are getting smoother I think, and my transitions are faster I think. Today was my first time shooting from a kneeling stance, and it wasn't too bad, but I felt my grip wasn't as strong in this position, not sure why. My first two runs I struggled since my hands were really sweaty and didn't have a good grip. My last round (best score) I remembered to put on pro-grip,  and my score reflected that. My NS came from shooting for the A zone, but I think I was aiming too close to the NS. I should have aimed a bit further away and taken a possible C.

 

Full scores: https://practiscore.com/results/html/42a1f4a0-2ed6-46d2-8b0c-71e712445f67?page=stage0-production

1

Johnson, Neil

U

P

101

0

18.40

5.4891

115.0000

100.00 %

7

Hua, Andrew

U

P

96

20

24.25

3.1340

65.6592

57.09 %

9

Hua, Andrew

U

P

96

10

30.68

2.8031

58.7267

51.07 %

13

Hua, Andrew

U

P

94

40

28.53

1.8927

39.6532

34.48 %

 

 

 

 

[Hi-Power Jack]

You say that you "think your reloads and transitions are getting faster" ...

 

Not too much money to buy a timer - then you'll know.     

[SlvrDragon50]

33 minutes ago, Hi-Power Jack said:

You say that you "think your reloads and transitions are getting faster" ...

 

Not too much money to buy a timer - then you'll know.     

Haha, well at home they're definitely faster. I don't miss my magwell that much and can get a pretty smooth insertion. I haven't really bothered timing them though because my I don't really ever practice moving reloads whcih I know are quite a bit different

 

And I'm saving up for the new CZ Shadow 2 + Dillon XL650 first!

[superluckycat]

On ‎2‎/‎22‎/‎2017 at 10:53 AM, SlvrDragon50 said:

Haha, well at home they're definitely faster. I don't miss my magwell that much and can get a pretty smooth insertion. I haven't really bothered timing them though because my I don't really ever practice moving reloads whcih I know are quite a bit different

 

And I'm saving up for the new CZ Shadow 2 + Dillon XL650 first!

 

Buy a shot timer first.  It will help you improve more than a shiny new gun.

[SlvrDragon50]

1 minute ago, superluckycat said:

 

Buy a shot timer first.  It will help you improve more than a shiny new gun.

I've been using my phone at home, and I don't see much purpose in using a shot timer at matches I guess. I might see times improve and whatnot, but I imagine I can see those in watching my videos anyways?

Edited February 24, 2017 by SlvrDragon50

[superluckycat]

2 hours ago, SlvrDragon50 said:

I've been using my phone at home, and I don't see much purpose in using a shot timer at matches I guess. I might see times improve and whatnot, but I imagine I can see those in watching my videos anyways?

For live fire it will tell you your draw, split, transition and reload times.  All good stuff so you can set goals and track your progress.

[SlvrDragon50]

Did pretty well today. They brought back the Texas Star, and it didn't completely run me over this time around. Granted it was a whole lot closer this time, but I'm still pretty happy with it. I struggled with the poppers because when I'm transitioning, my sights aren't perfectly aligned, and I rush my shot before they're aligned. As a result, it cost me quite a few seconds. I also reloaded twice when I didn't HAVE to reload because I was not confident in my ability to hit the targets. 

 

Hua, Andrew		5	U	P	Min	17	-	1	-	-	-	-	-	27.56	3.1930
Hua, Andrew		6	U	P	Min	14	-	2	-	2	-	-	-	30.62	1.8289

9

Hua, Andrew

U

P

88

0

27.56

3.1930

55.4212

61.58 %

21

Hua, Andrew

U

P

76

20

30.62

1.8289

31.7444

35.27 %

 

 

 

Edited March 1, 2017 by SlvrDragon50

[SlvrDragon50]

I won my match today! Because I was the only one competing in L10.

 

Place	Name	No.	Class	Div	PF	Category	Match Pts	Match %
1	Hua, Andrew		U	L10	Min		90.0000	100.0000 %
2	Hua, Andrew		U	L10	Min		69.7987	77.5541 %

 

It was my first time shooting my CZ S2 in competition. I had a few issues. On my first run, my gun wouldn't draw out of the holster for some reason. It kept catching. It was also my first time shooting a classifier.

 

Run 1: 11A, 6C, 1M, 25.42sec, 2.4784 HF

Run 2: 10A, 6C, 2M, 1NS, 19.77sec, 1.9221 HF

 

Unfortunately I think Run 1 could have scored a lot better since it took my about 2 seconds to even draw my gun. Looking at the Production scores, I would have scored 3rd out of 9 shooters coming behind 4.17, 3.47, and 3.11 HF. I definitely think my DA has improved with the S2 with the higher grip. I need to get rid of the SA creep though.

 

 

Edited April 5, 2017 by SlvrDragon50