Mig01

That difference between looking and seeing reminds me of a documentary I saw about a year ago on the discovery channel, about how the brain functions while accomplishing certain tasks. The guy they filmed was playing table tennis (ping pong). The narrator was explaining that things were happening too fast for the conscious mind to process. The player was acting and reacting at that pace of play without conscious thought. Practice creates neural pathways that enable the brain to control the action without intervention of the conscious mind, whose role become only strategic (such as aim for right corner since competitor is weaker from right side) . I believe that speed shooting involves developing the same kind of skills where driving the gun, recognizing the acceptable sight picture and breaking the shot do not require involvement of the conscious mind anymore. The downside is that countless correct repetitions are required to reach that skill level.

Adjustment welcomed. Seeing everything is essential to awareness

Indeed. I came to the realization that I can only shoot as well as I can. Any effort to shoot beyond my current ability leads to tension and fumbling, which reduces both accuracy and speed. So, I have to improve my ability to move efficiently, drive the gun efficiently, and see all that I need to see and only what I need to see. The key for me is dry fire practice focused on perfect form, increasing the speed of what I do only as long as I can still execute with perfect form. That comes from repetition and accepting to slow down when I go too fast to keep doing things smoothly and accurately. The only thing that I should try to improve on while live firing are things that are impossible to practice in dry fire (such as grip for best recoil management)

Tonight at IPSC practice I was doing a simple drill on two targets a yard apart at ten meters. Draw and shoot at left target twice, transition to right target and shoot it twice. After doing it 5 times i noticed something. On the left target I had 8 alphas and two charlies, and the Aphas were spread out in the A zone. On the right target I had ten alphas, all clustered in a 3 inch group dead center in the A zone. I made an effort to recall exactly what happened. At the beep, I tried to draw and fire at the target to the left as fast as I could. I was tense, trying to go fast, and although I hit mostly alphas, I do not recall calling my shots. I do recall consciously pressing the trigger, almost forcing the shots on that first target, not trusting myself. Transitioning to the right target, I just looked at it and my gun went there. I recall just seeing the sight picture appearing in the center of the A zone and the shot breaking. I recall seeing the sights lift and return, with the second shot breaking as soon as the sights went back to the center of the A zone. I have no recollection of consciously pressing the trigger for my shots at that target. How did I achieve that pure shooting experience on the right target but not on the left? Placing a second target was just to make it more interesting than a simple draw drill. What I wanted to achieve was a fast draw and a good score on the first target. I did not care about the second target, so I just looked at it and shot it, without thinking. That was my Zen moment I believe. I did not retrieve that same Zen experience when we shot a stage later on during practice, but I hit my best hit factor in months. Now if I could only shoot a match like that...

Thanks for the tips, Nimitz. Speaking of shooting subconsciously I was at a match today where many targets had hardcover. We also had mini targets (half the size of the classic targets). I had no problems with the mini targets at ten meters (equivalent to a full size at twenty meters) but the regular size ones with hardcover really slowed me down, even at five meters. Because of the unfamiliar geometry, I had to think about a point of aim, especially for the ones where the hardcover black was applied diagonally. I got my sights on the visible part of the A zone, but I had to mentally double chack check that I was aiming at the right spot. On a regular shaped target, I do not have to think. I look at the target and align my sights on the center of the A zone without thinking. Guess I will have not only to practice with a timer, but also practice more with partials.

You guys are fast. My draw time to first shot for IPSC is around 1.8 s in dry fire practice and 2 seconds at a match, for a first target at ten yards. When I try to push it faster, I fumble my grip and then I have to readjust my grip after the first shot and loose time there. I definitely need to practice my draw. Is it normal for the draw to be slower in a match context? I would tend to think so because of the nervousness and adrenaline, but your views on that would be apreciated, Is there a way to relax so that the draw time and accuracy remains as accurate and fast during a match as in practice?

I am 56 and my close vision is not too good (I need +2.25 reading glasses). This means that if I shoot with only safety glasses on (non prescription), it is impossible for me to see a clear front sight. I always shoot with both eyes open. I see one target and two guns, but I have no problems aligning the sights on the target with my dominant eye (the right eye). When I shoot, bullseye or ipsc, I always see the target clearly, with a blurred front sight and a blurrier rear sight notch. Even though only the target is in clear focus, I have no problem centering the blurry front sight within the blurry rear sight notch. I have tried shooting with prescription glasses, but it takes me more time to get a correct sight alignement as I have more difficulty acquiring an aiming point on the target. So, I gave that up. When I shoot, my visual attention is on the front sight, even though it is out of focus.

Today, dry fire at home using one of the web draw fire drills. Draw at the beep, one shot, target at 20 meters equivalent, no par time for 10 first minutes of practice. Then similar drill for another ten minutes, this time with a 1.8 second limit (slow but I want to do it with perfect form before going faster. Went to the range for group shooting at 20 meters. Drill: from low ready mount the gun and fire one shot, call the shot. One hundred rounds. Then similar drill both but fire two shots, call them. One hundred rounds. Shot calling is improving, was able to call correctly 80% of the shots. Then, IPSC practice: at the beep, draw and fire 4 shots (2 on each target), freestyle, then same drill but strong hand only, then weak hand only (targets at ten meters). Will have to work on trusting my shot calls, as I have the tendency to check visually on closet argets (10 meters or less). Plus, will have to check my stance and grip for one handed shooting: surprisingly, I was just as fast but more accurate with weak hand than with strong hand.

The indoor range where I go has a maximum target distance of 20 meters. When I pratice IPSC drills or shoot an IPSC COF there I do not notice any differences in my accuracy or my speed. On bullsyeye targets however, I usually do not group as well at the indoor range as I do when I shoot outside. The gun blast is more annoying to me inside, even with double protection. On the lighting, I get eye fatigue when shooting inside under the fluorescent lights indoor, and on top of that it takes me more time to aim indoors.

Two trips to the range today. First one: shooting groups only bullseye targets, 150 rounds total, 25 meters927 yards Goals: trigger control, shot calling and recoil management. Method: fire a shot and calling it, track sight as it returns, then look through scope to verify if shot landed where it was called. Occasional grip and stance adjustment when sights did not return to original sight alignment after shot. Last four groups of 10 shots all within 4 inches Second one: IPSC practice fundamentals on draw and fun stage all through ports. Method (practicing with friends); on beep, draw and fire two shots at one target. Then same drill but fire two shot each at two targets. We then put together a stage of 14 targets and took turn through the COF. On first attempt, had a supposedly good plan good plan but realized as I went that I could shoot one target earlier than planned (was visible from a point where I had not noticed during the walkthrough). Almost shot it again when it became visble for the second tiime. Acquiring ithen realizing that I had alrady shot it cost me precious seconds. Did better on second attempt. Observed other shooters, took note of good strategies and efficient moves

Good evening everyone, I have been a member of Brian's forum for a little more than a year. I do not post much (as a relative newbie in the shooting sport I do not have much useful things to say). Recently I read most of the range diaries and found it very interesting. There is a variety of people with different goals, experiences, skills and equipment. So I thought this is a sub section of the forum I could contribute to. First, a little background on me. I am 55 and retired a few months ago. I started to practice bullseye shooting with a .22 pistol when I was 18 and also started to practice archery at the same time. I did both for about 2 years but with school, work, etc., I gave it up. Then, eight years ago, a friend suggested to try archery again. I took an archery class, got myself a good compound bow and was hooked. I found it very relaxing. A lot of the guys at the archery club are avid hunters and a few are other into other shooting sports as well. So, I went to a gun club with a friend, shot a .22, then a 9mm. I went back and became a member. Later on, I got a Sig P226 Sport II SL (9mm) and shot bullseye targets. That was fun. I went to the range every 2 weeks or so, but after a while it became a tad repetitive: at that time I was also doing 3d archery, where you have to shoot hard foam animal targets at unknown distances, a lot more challenging that shooting round targets at fixed and known distances It just happens that our gun club had an IPSC section. I enquired about it and went to see a match. I liked it. So, I took the Black Badge course (mandatory full weekend class to become a IPSC shooter here in Canada) and shot my first match. I was slow but accurate, getting over 90% of the points. I practiced regularily, went to a lot of local matches for about two years, slowly improving my speed, got my RO certification, enrolled in advance shooting classes with a GM. Then, illness in the family struck, and there was increased pressure at work, so shooting was put on the back burner. Now, with our kid in university, my wife working only 4 days a week before her own retirement 2 years from now and her parents having recovered, I have the time to shoot again. By the way, my wife and my daughter both like shooting, although not as much as I do. I offered my self a great retirement present, which I recently got: a SVI Sight Tracker 5", in .40 S&W. Needless to say, that thing will be my main IPSC gun from now on. I got it two weeks ago and got it to the range twice. No IPSC practice yet, just group shooting to get used to the gun. Not only am I a bit rusty but I have to relearn some skills, the SVI being a single action while the Sig is a DA/SA. Also, the SVI has the thumb safety while the Sig has the decocker. The Sig has a long pretravel and a 3.5lb pull in single action, while the SVI has a short pretravel (1mm) and a 2.2lb pull. Plus, the grip contour and size are different as well, so I am still experimenting to find my best grip on the SVI. On my second trip to the range with the new gun, I was fortunate to go with a friend of mine who is a firearm instructor with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, who was kind enough to give me a few helpful tips. Will go to the range again this next weekend. In the mean time, I am concentrating on the basics with no live ammo: draws, reloads, dry fire. Today, I practiced draws for half an hour, just the basics, as if I was starting from scratch. I noticed something positive despite being rusty. I always had a tendency to drop my head as I was raising the gun towards the target. Now, I am wearing progressive glasses and cannot focus on the front sight if I drop my head (with my head lower, I look through the upper part of my glasses, focused at infinity). So, I have to keep my head straight and bring the gun to eye level to see the front sight clearly thorugh the lower part of my glasses. I should also indicate what my overall goals are: 1) be safe always; 2) improve my skills and my performance on a continuous basis (which means for me improving slightly on accuracy but mostly on speed). Another long term goal for me is to get as many people as I can interested in shooting, or at least get them to try and go beyond the fear of firearms that is so common in Canada. My short term goal is to get back where I was before in terms of speed and efficiency: 1) draw; 2)reloads; 3) transitions: 4) stage planning and COF execution. That is it for now, will update as I go. Comments and suggestions will always be welcome.

Shooter57, I do not mind needing up to a thousand rounds to break the gun in perfectly. Also, as another member pointed, the first time I shot the gun was in subfreezing temperature and a gun lubrified with Slide Glide (which is what I use) may malfunction in the cold. I went to the range again yesterday, shot 200 rounds with only one failure to feed. On that one, I clearly felt the slide rub my left thumb and that is most likely what caused it. Yesterday temperature was in the mid forties at my outdoor range. I had invited a friend to shoot with me. He is a firearm instructor with the RCMP (Royal Canadian Mounted Police). He also shot around 200 rounds with my gun and experienced no malfunction whatsoever. Moreover, he shot two ten round groups each under 2 inches (from 20 meters, standing, freestyle unsupported, 15 secondsfor for each 10 shot string starting from low ready). I was impressed with his shooting and he was impressed with the gun. He helped me correct my grip a little. My own best 10 shot group yesterday was 2.5 inches, which is the best I have ever done with any handgun. Mind you most of my groups were between 3 and 4.5 inch. The ammo we were shooting was Blazer Brass .40 165gr FMJ, far from the best but very affordable. The next gun I buy will definitely be another Infinity... although I will need to save my money for quite a while before I can afford to purchase another one.

Great looking gun. Hope that you progress to GM with it

RH45, Thanks for the tip. I shoot mostly indoors at this time of the year, so I did not think of it.

Yep, grip safety was pinned at the factory at my request. Hope you get yours soon