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New USPSA shooter


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I've got my gear ready to shoot USPSA and I'm going to a match next month for my first time ever.

 

I have fired handguns etc off and on for years. Never really taken anything serious though. I want to use USPSA etc to improve my shooting skills.

 

I have a shot timer and would like to know if anyone could provide me any good drills or par times to use for dry fire practice.

 

Today was my first "practice session" and I simply worked on drawing and breaking the first shot on target (dry fire). I was using a 2 second par time and I felt like that was making me really get it right to get the shot off.

 

I've noticed a lot of my issue is getting to the gun, grip, and then the presentation. Found myself searching for the sights / dot while presenting to the target.

I want to make the most of my time and efforts and I'm sure you guys could lead me in the right direction.

 

I can shoot right out by the house and I have steel plates placed from 15 to 25 yards and beyond.

I have a shot timer

My full belt setup for competition

I also bought an airsoft gas blowback replica of my pistol to add a little fun factor to the dry fire training.

 

Any and all advice is welcome. I'm hear to learn and improve!

 

Thanks guys!!!!!!!!!!

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A clean smooth draw and a clean smooth fumble-free reload are very helpful things to learn. Lots of videos on each on YouTube from top USPSA guys if you search, so you can work on building a good technique you won't have to un-learn later on.

 

I'd also suggest learning to aim at a dryfire target or two, turn and move across the room (as if around an unseen wall) and acquiring an aim at another target smoothly.

That is - without either pointing the gun up high in the air like a 70s TV cop, or swinging it down at your own feet and legs like a typical new shooter. Tuck it back against your chest when moving but keep the muzzle roughly horizontal and aimed downrange.

 

Swinging the gun straight down or straight up into the sky, and breaking the 180 when you have to turn around and back out of a tight shooting position? Those are the most common huge mistakes novices make.

 

And obviously, make it a habit to keep your finger off the trigger unless you're actively firing a shot. 50% of out new shooters think they do that religiously. They're surprised when I video them moving and loading with it on the trigger.

 

Edited by MemphisMechanic
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Steve Anderson and Ben Stoeger both have great books on dry fire.

 

One of the most important things I can tell you about dry fire is to be honest with yourself when it comes to the front sight focus.  Be sure to have plenty of light so you can see the front sight.  Otherwise,  you're just training yourself to shoot without the proper front sight focus which can have a very negative effect on your live fire shooting.

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I started shooting 64 years ago, and shot all wrong until I took a few courses

and joined BE.    :ph34r:

 

NOW is a great time for you to learn the basics, for the first time, correctly,

so you don't have to make a LOT of changes later.

 

- grip

- stance

- draw

- setting up your gun and ammo

etc

 

Read all you can, take a course if you can, while you're a virgin.    

 

HUGE  benefits, as The Donald would say.    :) 

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Just to give you guys an idea of where im at i practiced live fire today. First 50 was just grip and figuring out what worked and what didnt. Next 50 i spent working on getting a 1st shot hit on a 16" steel plate at 25 yards from holster. 

 

I averaged around 2 seconds and dipped into the 1.90 range when things went well. 

Making the shot wasnt hard but getting the dot on target quickly was. I was always hunting the dot or having to drop the site onto the target. 

 

Will keep working dry fire daily. The stoeger dry fire reloaded book will be at my house monday. 

 

Should i buy snap caps or dummy rounds as well as his mini targets. Figured i would buy the 1/3 targets and set up my garage as a little range. 

 

Might also be important to note i will be shooting open until i get a new barrel. I had a m&p pro core performance center so the barrel porting out me in open anyways. 

Plan to buy a semi fit apex barrel and loose the dot and run limited. 

 

I have the apex ffs trigger with comp springs, 3 mags with tt 140mm basepads, esp magwell, and a blade tech belt, holster, and mag puches. 

Lots of info i know, just trying to include everything 

Edited by Outcrydrummer
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On a side note

After looking at my grip and adjusting it per some pro shooter videos....man is my strong hand middle finger pad sore. 

Not sure if thats a sign of right or wrong but i think my support hand is squeezing those fingers into the grips and its a littke raw from the sand papery talon grips. 

 

I plan to shoot a video of my draw and grip tomorrow to share with you guys to let you pick me apart lol. 

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Your hands will be sore.  You will also quickly build up some blisters.  To quickly build up good gun handling skills that encompass a lot of what you see at a match I would get this book and run through the first 12 drills....a lot.

 

http://www.andersonshooting.com/products/refinement-and-repetition/

 

Once you have those drills down and your starting to get some good par times you can look at mixing it up.  Stoegers books work well for the fundamentals of shooting USPSA stages.  The Anderson book works well for the fundamentals of gun handling and shooting specifically USPSA classifiers.

 

For live fire depending on where you are skill wise, the dot drill or simple group shooting is a good place to start every session.  Then work on one or two skills.  I like to focus live fire on things that I cant replicate well in dry fire.  If I was just starting out I would focus on things in live fire like the dot drill, a transition drill such as accelerator, and some simple movement drills to get comfortable moving from position to position with the gun pointed in a safe direction.  Make learning to call your shots a priority.  Drawing fast and shooting fast are cool but if you cant call your shots none of it matters that much.  

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Great choice on the barrel.  That's what I did when I started, but I did Production because I didn't have any trigger work.   If I could do it over again, I would've done Limited.....  When you're first getting the hang of the sport, to me, all the mag changes actually hurt your learning curve.   Get yourself some Dawson sights or some other combo with a FO front sight and black rear.  Like everyone else said really practice you're safe handling skills, especially with movements.   In my opinion, before you enter a match, make sure pulling your finger out of the trigger guard when you're moving and reloading is automatic… you don't have to think about it.  Also when you dry fire, set up mock stages that make you almost have to break 180 as well as move backwards so that you can practice never breaking 180....again, make it so routine you don't have to think about it, it just happens.

Be prepared, once you do your first match, life is never the same.

 

Also, make calling your shots your number two priority after safe gun handling.

Edited by B585
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Thanks for the tips guys. I will definitely incorporate all that into my training. I have about 3 weeks before my first match. I will check out the dawson sights and probably order them with the barrel. 

 

I feel like i have good finger discipline, finger out of the well while not actively shooting but film will tell me more. 

I have an array of 5 steel targets at 25 to 34 yards i typically shoot at. 

 

I know for sure i need work on calling shots while shooting for speed, movement, and faster aquisition of targets. 

 

Ill post a link of slow motion live fire drills tomorrow. 

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Ok so the camera and software was a nightmare. I didn't really do any editing just gonna post it up. If you guys dont mind taking a look and giving me any pointers I could incorporate into dry fire training etc I'd appreciate it. Grip, stance, draw, etc. 

 

Video:

 

Your going to notice that I miss a lot this video. That's my first time with this pistol shooting those iron sights, the supressor height factory sights, and was shooting this in between storms here. I never took the time to actually paint targets or set paper out to see where it shoots, one because of the storm and two because I just ordered the apex barrel and I'm sure POI is going to shift with that anyways. 

 

I'm probably also going to order the dawson precision sights becuase, well, these suck haha. 

 

Anyways shooting 147 grain cci lawman speer here. 

Pistol setup:

apex ffs trigger with comp springs

talon grips

esp magwell

tt baseplates

springer extended mag release

blade tech black ice holster

 

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Eye pro is critical & you will not be allowed to shoot at any organized pistol match without it for the main reason because your eyes do not grow back!  Lose 1, its gone forever.  Ive taken 3 solid hits to my glasses, any one of which would have done irrepairable damage to an eye.  If your eyepro is not comfortable, try another brand.  Please.

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Looking at your left shoulder I noticed that it moves back (however slightly) after every shot. I'd suggest moving the center of your gravity a bit more forward in your stance. In regards to searching for the sights as you are presenting to the target, I'd train to bring the gun up to the target with the sights aligned.

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1. Eye protection. I've been hit an inch below the eye and again in the neck with fragments from 9mm non-jacketed ammo off of good steel (supposedly safe setup from frags). Twice in 10 years, but enough. Two friends have had their glasses knocked clean off and one was shooting into a dirt berm! If you shoot without eye protection long enough, you WILL eventually lose one. Keep them wherever you keep your belt and ears, so you have no excuse not to grab them.

 

2. You drop your chin on the draw. Bring your gun up to the natural position of you eyes. Right now you're moving eyes AND gun and trying to get both aligned, which is less consistent. On the draw nothing should move except for your hands/arms.

 

3. Replace those sights with a plain black rear, fiber optic front from Dawson or Warren Tactical. I've been shooting M&Ps a long time, and those are the best options. Everyone at USPSA will run back rear & FO front, there's a reason for this.

 

4. The semi-drop in Apex barrel is a good choice. Don't go with anything else.

 

5. You have really slow hands on the draw. A half second is eaten just in the time required to grip and present compared to a guy whose hands move in a blur... but that's a good thing. It keeps missed grips from causing you to get a finger on the trigger or dropping a loaded firearm. Accept that speed until the form and muscle memory is built, then work on really getting those hands moving. Safety before speed. But speed nonetheless. Eventually.

 

Edited by MemphisMechanic
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Thanks memphis. I will work on those for sure. I got my ben stoeger dry fire reloaded book today and started working on the drills.

 

I feel really slow on the draw haha. 

My apex semi fit will be here wed and the dawson precision competition sights thurs. 

I will work drills all week and work on what you said. 

 

I will do another video sunday and see if i have made any improvements at all lol. 

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You'll improve over the course of months. 

 

Tying to pick up noticeable speed within a week of learning to build your grip on the draw, in order to impress guys on the internet? That a recipe to become *that guy* at the shooting range.

 

The one who wants to look like a rockstar so bad he scares the beejezus out of us longtime shooters because he's running and gunning at a near panicked pace and oh! did I just look down the barrel of a gun for a split second?

 

Just focus on building clean smooth fundamentals and try to shoot this first match almost painfully slow. You've built it up into too much of a big thing and you're trying to walk before you run.

 

Be safe. Learn the rules. Get the localscto critique things in person that video doesn't show.

 

*THEN* go home and practice like mad. Learn to do it right. Then work on doing it faster.

 

I didn't listen to this advice and ingrained all kinds of bad habits that took years to truly fix

Edited by MemphisMechanic
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I here what your saying memphis. Im just working on very key elements like the draw, reload, and aquiring sight picture. 

The dryfire book is pretty awesome so far. 

 

And no worries ive seen lots of unsafe shooters at the range and steel challenge etc. I definitely wont be pushing myself past what is safe. Im very muzzle and trigger conscious with firearms. Always had that beat into me lol

 

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