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Broski's Quest


Broski

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I'm going to start a thread here to keep up with the progress through my USPSA journey. Just si we have some background, I'll start at the beginning.

 

I bought my first pistol in Oct, '16. I decided on a Springfield XD Mod2 9mm w/ a 3" barrel. I certainly did not buy it for competition. I got it as my carry weapon, and in Nov. took the MS enhanced carry class. While thinking about and researching ways to practice and improve, I ran across some info on Steal Challenge. I decided that I would give it a go, and shot my first match in Dec. Hooked immediately. Another steal match in Jan '17, and it wastherethat i got invited to a USPSA match. I figure, what the hell? I can't make myself look any more like a fool than I already had. So,I signed up and shot that match in the last week of Jan. Another match in Feb,and met some people.i lucked upland found this forum, and started reading and trying to learn a thing or 30. Just finished reading Stoeger's Practical Pistol Reloaded and started the dry fire book. Shot another match today, and trying to get my classifications in before the MS State Championship Series matches get here. I will be doing some video of my dry fire training and matches as I shoot them. I'm going to try to keep this things up to date as I can with how things are going. Hopefully I will be able to see some pretty significant improvements in the near future. Anything you guys see that would help a rookie out, don't hesitate to tell me. Thanks for reading this long thing. Now on to the videos.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Dude, welcome.  Keep the journal, keep a list of goals and always find a positive (something that you did well) for everything you find that needs improvement.  You'll have a ton of fun.   My advice for now is, straighten out those arms to almost locked so you can control that muzzle flip better.  Also, stand like you are expecting someone to try to knock you over and you don't want to get knocked over.  Lower, aggressive, stable platform.  From the feet, all the way to the gun.  You'll find that you can watch your sights better, and move better. 

 

Have fun!

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Mosher, I hate I missed it but I had to get back to the house... That match took way too long. I'm looking at going to the BnA match the last weekend of the month if you wanna ride together. Just let me know.

 

Glock26Toter, thanks for the advice. I am trying to get myself lower and more aggressive in my stance. That is exactly why I have someone run video on my at the matches. I actually felt like I was getting in a lower stance but the video proves otherwise.

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Started doing some dry fire this week, and I can see some little improvements just in that process. Took some time out tonight to make up some targets. Broke out my vinyl plotter and below is what I came up with (1) 1/3 target (2) 1/6 targets (2) 1/10 targets (not in the picture... Have been able to get pretty consistent with draw to first shot on about 12yd target in right at 1.5 sec... Now I know that isn't blazing by any stretch of the imagination but at the beginning I was struggling to get under 2.5 so for me that is a little battle won. Any suggestions on some of your favorite dry fire drills?

image.jpeg

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11 hours ago, Broski said:

Mosher, I hate I missed it but I had to get back to the house... That match took way too long. I'm looking at going to the BnA match the last weekend of the month if you wanna ride together. Just let me know.

 

 

That match did take long, when we got home it was dark.  Not sure if I'm going to bna this month yet.  Want to, but I'm running the 2gun state match next day.

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Shot steel challenge today... I can definitely tell the difference between before I started dry fire and now... Still have a lot to learn but gettin better.... Finally broke under 4 sec on smoke and Hope, and almost broke into the 2's... Let me know what you guys see

 

 

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22 hours ago, SlvrDragon50 said:

Fairly new myself, but it looks like your grip is inconsistent? Your faster times your weak hand looks like it is gripping a lot harder. The ones where you're struggling, it looks like your weak hand is barely holding on.

 

Now that gives me something to think about... I'm gonna have to go back and watch again looking for that... Thanks

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Just now, Broski said:

 

Now that gives me something to think about... I'm gonna have to go back and watch again looking for that... Thanks

It's something I notice in my own shooting, especially if I'm struggling in my arrays. It's usually my nerves and frustration getting the better of me, and I forget to keep a firm grip! Dry fire helps substantially in turning grip into a subconscious action.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Well I haven't been doing much practice lately like I should, but I have shot a couple more matches. I've moved to open with the purchase of a Glock 17 currently running minor power factor. Still trying to get use to using a red dot. Below is the steel challenge I shot today. Not a great day, but did see some things I like. Just going to have to get back to the dry fire practice.

 

 

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  • 3 weeks later...

Shot another local USPSA match this weekend, and even though life has been keeping me from putting the training in that I should be doing, I feel like I am seeing some pretty good improvements. I ended this match with appx. 78% alphas, and my first ever division stage win. Only 5 open shooters, but it's still encouraging. Please let me know what you guys think.

 

 

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Looked pretty good to me (I'm a B Open shooter).    :bow:

 

One USPSA stage you seem to have forgotten to rack a round into your chamber - that will hurt.

 

Your mag didn't drop on one stage ...  I'd get that fixed.

 

You brought your gun down as you were moving a few steps on another - I'd keep the gun up

(oops, just saw it again on another stage).

 

You may wonder why you did so much better (relatively) on the Classifier    :ph34r:  

 

There are,

apparently, a LOT of shooters who Always Shoot Worse than they usually shoot when they

hit a Classifier.

 

You, apparently, are so new that you have NOT developed the habit of shooting Classifiers

differently than any other COF.    :huh:

 

I'd suggest you work on that the most, or you'll be classified Way Beyond what other shooters

of your ability are classified (you'll become a B and be shooting as well as many C's around

you).    :huh:

 

Looks like you're having a ball - so, enjoy - and good progress.

 

Welcome to OPEN    :D

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Didn't forget to rack... light primer strike... still sucks and costs time. I actually tanked the classifier in bot open and production Saturday. I'm not sure what to do about the mad dropping. Maybe you have some suggestions 

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1.  Light primer strike - high primer?    I check the primer height of each round before loading into a mag ...

 

2.  Mag dropping - depends on reason for drop    a.  weak mag latch springs  or  b.  inadvertently hitting the mag release with your hand    :) 

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Not sure what press you have, but if it's a Dillon 1050, the primer depth adjustment will change over time.  I keep an allen wrench stuck in mine and just move it back every few hundred rounds when it drifts.  Of course, there's Loctite too!

 

If you chamber check (YES you should) then you can just turn the round(s) over and lift the chamber checker off of the round on your bench top.  Providing it's like formica or something flat and hard, a wobbly round will tell you the primer is high.  Then you knock the round off the counter top into your bin.  That makes it pretty non-labor intensive. 

 

Anyways,  all that will ensure you don't have a high primer.  If you still have issues you can move onto other troubleshooting but in my experience the only problems I've ever had with "light strikes" was that darn 1050 backin out and leaving high primers.

 

On the mag thing... polish the inside of your magwell.  I don't mean it needs to it be all super shiny, but make darn sure you don't have a loose or otherwise jacked grip screw.  The grip screw "nut" can get out of whack and cause problems.   Also make sure there's not some burr, rough spot or something inside there causing extra friction.  And make sure it's super clean.  Gunk, dirt, and stuff can make that sticky in there.  Use your mag brush to scrub it out.

 

Anyways... good luck.  And have fun!

 

 

Edited by Glock26Toter
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  • 4 weeks later...

With respect to Steel Challenge: There were two bits of advice from high level competitors that really helped me:

 

1) Go 1-for-1

I used to blaze away and felt fortunate if I was able finish all 8 stages with 300 rounds. The reason "Go 1-for-1" helped me was because it allowed me to interpret it in my own way. It wasn't the usual "Slow down" or "You can't miss fast enough to win". It was a simple idea: Do what you have to do to ensure that you hit what your shooting at. A make-up shot can be very costly both in time and money. 

 

2) Listen to the rhythm

When you commit yourself to a stage engagement order you'll begin to hear a cadence/rhythm. I would recommend continuing the match footage compilation and pulling your best run on each. This gives you an idea of what you can be capable of. From there, it's all about consistency and practice. Listen to the rhythm over and over. Kind of like "muscle memory". In the office, I call it "damn good music". Just keep in mind that you really have to commit to each shot.

 

Of course there will be times where you simply don't go 1-for-1. I find that stopping to try to make up the shot messes with me more than finishing the engagement order and going back. I feel that it has to do with the way that I try to swing to the next target. Something about processing the miss and swinging back tends to kill my focus and times. It's a tough habit to break, but it might help.

 

As for course specific stuff:

I think you could probably transition harder towards the stop plate on 5 to go.

It's nice to see that I'm not the only person who shoots Accelerator back to front ;). I think you would be surprised just how fast you can get if you swing through the front plates. A hit is a hit, after all. It doesn't matter if it's close to the edge or the dead-center.

 

Here's what I usually listen to when I'm trying to get back into Steel Challenge mode from USPSA. I'm just an "Aggregate" M in Production struggling with consistency issues. But sometimes, just knowing that you're capable of doing something can go a long way.

 

Best of luck and keep us posted.

 

 

Edited by Rez805
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