little_kahuna

I shot a match today. I have been pretty busy growing up and working this week, so i haven't been able to practice much. It shows. I don't think there was a stage today that I didn't have a no-shoot, mike, or standing reload on. My stage plans, and fundamentals were pretty good, but i forgot how to shoot. Got lots of practice to do this week, next match will be better. I didn't see enough. -Nick

I wonder what the time penalty is for accidentally decapitating a no-shoot...

I've been using Bladetech's holsters since I started, and I love them. The stingray is fast and secure. I just broke one though, bladetech replaced it. My dad and I have destroyed a couple, but they just keep sending us more. I definitely recommend it to anyone just getting into the sport. Unless you plan to draw a couple hundred draws a night, 5 days a week, for a year, then you shouldnt need to replace it anytime soon. -Nick

I started using the "up and down" method as described in the 3GM video. I still use the "up and down" for any draws where my hands start above my gun. But, with hands relaxed at sides, I found that a modified "rise and wrap" is faster and more consistent for me. I'll explain the "rise and wrap" in a sec. The only difference in the draws is how you get your hand to the gun. Here goes: Note: I use a Kydex DOH holster in a straight drop format (no angle). This would probably work with a CR speed or any holster that has a long-enough smooth bottom that runs under the trigger guard. Might not work with a Ghost or other short gun-clamp type holster body. The draw starts with my hand relaxed at sides, trigger finger more-or-less straight and the other fingers slightly curved. Step 1: Find the bottom of the holster. At the beep, my hand "rises" until my curved middle finger finds the bottom edge of the holster. This takes milliseconds. Step 2: Find the frontstrap. Once I find the bottom edge, my hand continues rising up to find the grip, middle finger riding up the bottom of the holster as you would with a "scoop" draw; trigger finger is extended straight to keep it out of the way. Hand rises until the middle finger touches the frontstrap of the gun. A few more milliseconds. Step 3: Grip the gun. Once contact is made the entire hand wraps around the grip. As I establish the grip I press forward and down to wedge the web of my hand into the beavertail, then firm up the grip. Step 4: Draw straight up aggressively to clear the holster. The rest of the draw is pretty standard. Here is a vid of me practicing, but the angle isnt too perfect for checking out the draw. Here it is anyway. Nick's Practice Vid This is what works for me. Going for pure speed, the fastest I've ever cranked a draw at a 7 yd target was .52 sec, and I think it was a close "C" or a really lucky "A". The closest I've been since then was .56, but that was only in practice, trying only to draw really fast lol, I'd never pull one of those in a match. Going for consistency, I can draw for "A" hits to 10 yards in .8 sec. For longer shots I take some time to settle the sights more, prolly .9 to 1.0 sec. Probably the biggest time-saver for me would be a fast, yet *secure* grasp and presentation to in front of your chest, and then a really fast extension. I slow down the last 15% of the extension to create a little coushin to settle my sights (in lim.) The most important thing is that no matter how fast you can move, good hits are the key, like shred said: at a multitide of ranges. "You can't miss fast enough to win." Nick

...wow... hm... mall ninja He definitely needs an action figure...

Welcome, this forum is the most complete body of knowledge regarding Practical shooting. There is much to learn...get reading! -Nick

Hey, welcome to the sport! My pal is going through the whole initiation phase right now. He is deciding on gear and division and reloading and ALL that stuff. I started (1½ years ago) with a Glock 35, in Limited. I'll say from experience, you will be at a slight disadvantage to shoot Lim./L-10 at Major PF with a glock, because the gun is 22-24oz vs. 37+oz with a 2011. Only through practice will you get better in any division anyway. Production is cheaper to shoot, but as far as the shooting goes, it is both more and less challenging. Due to the Minor PF, it is easier to control recoil. The multitude of reloads and limited rounds per magazine add some difficulty, but you will get good at planning stages. With a g35, you can shoot multiple divisions, and depending on what your long term plans are, it will probably be more efficient to get a g35 especially if you start reloading, because you'll be able to tune your ammo and gear. With a g35, you can reasonably shoot: Production, L-10, Limited. The ammo component cost will be more overall, but more efficient if you plan to shoot multiple divisions, because you wont have to buy another gun. hope your not burned out already I think the real key to success, with any gun platform, is to PRACTICE. I drypractice about a half hour to an hour each night, about 4-5 days a week, and try to livefire at leats once a week. The livefire, depeding on cal., can get expensive, thats why staying sharp through drypractice is so important. I'd definitely pick up a copy of Steve Anderson's Refinement and Repetition, and of course, the Practical shooting Bible: Brian Enos' Practical Shooting Beyond Fundamentals. Definitely watch a couple matches, talk to as many competitors as you can, get everyone's opinion just to weigh your options, because that is what this is all about, options. If you plan to stay in the sport, there is about a 99.9% chance you will make a gear/division alteration. In all honesty, anyone can be completely competitive with what most shooters would consider low-end gear. The biggest factor, in my opinion is how much you are willing to prepare and practice. You of course dont have to listen to ANYTHING that i just said, because its all just opinion. There are a bunch of other guys on the forums who have 10X my length of experience and who may disagree. That is just what i have learned in the (short) 1½ years my dad and i have been involved. Remember, keep it fun! My name is Nick, i'm 16 years old, and welcome to the greatest sport on earth.

Those are straight legit... too legit to quit, keep at it lol -nick

ONE DAY LATE last night i practiced simple static drills. 6 reload 6, 6r6 hands above shoulders, and el prez. During the drill i tried to reload differently (in reference to another thread about reloading) but it didnt quite work out. They way i reaload seems to work fine for me. All drills went smoothly. The magazine draw is getting softer and smoother every time i draw it. I am not really injuring myself drawing my mags anymore lol. planning on some more dryfire drills today, then livefire later this week. Looking forward to it -Nick

This is especially tough when my teachers, people i was supposed to look up to for years of life experience and wisdom, were the ones hounding me about this crap. Like they have a right to nitpick me for using firearms *responsibly* (the part they dont understand) some of my "peers" and teachers at highschool tried telling me that i was unfit to own a firearm, and they were baffled when i asked them, if not i, who practices hours daily (i never said i was any good), and is safer than most cops on the street, who should be able to own and use firearms. They would have a hissy fit i someone restricted their right of free press, as they way they are restricting our rights to "own and bear arms". *rant complete -Nick

I haven't seen too much of this at our range (probably because the only other shooters besides my dad and i are either on an oxygen tank *no kidding* or using a walker *had that before too*) I can really see it being a problem at some larger matches though. Especially if someones takes precious time to mark their brass, they should get it back. I can see why these people want some brass, but getting it all is just more work, sorting is not a quick chore. They oughta just grab their own, and even if they dont want it they should help pick it up. I've been paid to brass for someone before, its not like its fun or anything, but financially worthwhile. It just reveals a massive flaw in character to steal brass, especially if your not shooting The club brass bucket sound like a good idea though. gunna hafta try it sometime with our whopping 11 shooters at a local match ...by the way, theives in some other countries get their hand chopped off... I'm not sayin' anything, I'm JUST sayin'... -Nick

I have the Rudy's Rydon with impactx lenses also photochromic and polarized, and i love mine, they are just gray in color. The main reason i got them though was for the rx insert system, which i like. i think they are pretty top notch. Here's where to get em: http://www.e-rudy.com/index_inner_detail.p...tem_id=SN798606 Here's what they're about: http://www.rudyprojectusa.com/technology/impactx.htm http://www.rudyprojectusa.com/products/sun...tyles/rydon.htm

Well finally got out for some livefire practice (right before i went to see Iron Man AGAIN! ) Worked on transitions. Two boxes, two paper from one box, two steel from the other. 15 yrds I did a whole bunch of runs, in both directions. It seems like i do better if i start on the steel. I felt more calm during the beginning of my run, but i had good ones in both directions. I think in the runs i had i only had a couple "D's" which is a couple too many, but after i got settled and "in the zone" i did really well. not too many make-ups on the steel either Right before cleaning up, i did some really close transition drills. the two paper were like 2" apart, at like 5 yds, did two on each for a mag as fast as i could. It seems to help my splits with this (eww! ) glock trigger. lol Was a good practice, about 200 rds or so. Hope to get some more of these sessions in soon. -Nick

Just got back from seeing it a second time Of course my friend paid the second time because he owes me for taking him shooting and lending him ammo yea probably one of the best marvel films yet -Nick

Just worked on some movement drills with Russ. We practiced on paper and plate arrays, moving between two boxes, going both directions. We did a set of drills with reloads, and a set of drills without reloads. After the drills we discussed what we observed, and tweeked our technique a little bit. During the drills with reloads, i learned that due to the limited space in our practice room, the reload is timed differently than the shots and transitions, in order to make it between the boxes. I was able to adjust to reloading in different amounts of space between shooting areas. During the non-reload drills, the location of the gun in relation to my body was a major factor in smoothness and efficiency. Instead of completely breaking my grip, or holding the gun at complete extension, i have always come to high ready when moving short distances. During long distances i break my grip to run/move quickly. Having a loose (but still connected) grip on the pistol with both hands really helped when moving short distances. It helped to be able to acquire a quick solid grip as soon as i step into the box. Nick

Last night my friend Russ and I practiced some static drills. We worked on transitions between plates, between paper, and between plates and paper. After that we did some reload drills, practicing using all of the mag pouches. The plate-paper transition drills were tough when under time pressure, trying to maintain similar split and transition times. After a bunch of runs on those, i began too feel more comfortable with them. The reload drills were really helpful. I dont often practice mag draws from the other pouches besides the first, and it really increased my awareness of their location on my belt. I found that step 2 of the reload became even more important when drawing from the second, third, and fourth pouches, simply because of unfamiliarity. After a lot of runs, they became much easier. I think that those types of things really only require a lot of repetitions to ingrain in the subconcious. Nick

Dad just helped me run a pretty good practice session. Just some movement drills: 6 reload 6 moving side to side and forward and back. Then i worked on smoothing out the mag grab of my reload. I am still grabbing the mag a little to violently, slapping the front of the mag pretty hard. I tried to make it as smooth (and unpainful) as possible. lol The movement drills went well, got out of and into the boxes smoothly and quickly. Maintained a good sight picture on all my shots as well. The reload work was pretty successful as well. I ended up slowing down RIGHT before the actual grasping of the mag, and sped up afterwards. It works really well but will take a little more practice to make it unconcious. I think its a good solution to the mag-grab problem i had/have. Nick

I kinda switched things up a bit today. I practiced engaging targets around a barricade, both from either side and from underneath it. I found that it is really challenging to maintain the same split and transition times when trying to move around the barricade. I tried to make those as consistent as i could throughout. I practiced kneeling as well as squatting when i went underneath, which was also fairly difficult, but im still a kid, and i used to wrestle so it didn't kill me lol. During each run i shot a couple targets from one side of the barricade, then shot another couple from the other side. I worked on getting around the barricade as smoothly as possible, allowing myself the room to enter and exit the positions on either side as much as i could. iIt was about a ½-¾ hour practice seesson. It went really well and I feel like it is something which is greatly underpracticed. It's definitely something which ill be adding to my daily practice schedule. Nick

sorry i just had to post here, to be the voice of all us "kids these days" lol dad thinks that most of the stuff i listen to is just "noise" , but what he doesnt realize, is that its a LOT of noise up close hosers: hardcore as it gets all that remains as i lay dying black sabbath (forsure) bullet for my valentine danzig (can't go wrong) the devil wears prada killswitch engage trivium Tool Iron maiden ozzy distance: soothing stuff enya the smiths the cure spandau ballet oingo boingo ps: besides the fact that i dropped my ipod in my pool and my parents wont buy me a new one, that is what i WOULD listen to if i HAD and ipod

Just finished up some Dryfire drills, nothin fancy, just static, 6 reload 6, hands above shoulders, and el prez mostly maintainence drills, worked on smoothness and consistency, didnt really mess up any reloads or draws, everything went pretty smooth, overall was a successful ½hour practice. My left index finger is gettin sore though, i think its because of the way i reload. At step 1 while dropping my spent mag I move my left hand to the mag as quickly as possible, slapping my index finger on the front of the mag while snatching it from the pouch. Thinking about making that first step of the reload a little less violent/rushed. -Nick p.s. i passed the written portion of my driving test today as well, just a few months from complete freedom

No problem AAron =D Yeah, thanks a bunch dad, i wouldnt be able to do any of this without your help and support, my continuation in uspsa is directly affected by your involvment Thanks!! Thanks for the input and faith in my level of competancy aaron I really think that is what i need to do. Looking forward to the next chance for me to give this whole "consistency" thing a try I hope i do as well as you think i will. heh The range diary is probably one of the most useful tools at one's disposal, due to the ability to receive input from other users on Benos, most of which really have lots of experience and knowledge. Thanks again for the input from everyone. Thanks AAron coming to matches and teaching me so much, dad thanks for all the (financial/moral) support and mentoring Lookin forward to much more match time/instructing before one of us dies for 15 years (again) -Nick

Yeah, my dad started me when i was 14 or so, and now that i'm 16, it has gotten better every time i pull the trigger. I just graduated highschool 2 years early (just last week was my last day) so that i could have a flexible schedule for shooting (ETA and to go to college earlier, which is as important as shooting if not more ). USPSA is my favorite thing in the world and i hope your son will love it as much as i do. I've made so many friends and mentors in the mere 1 ½ years i've been shooting. Even though none of my schoolmates or "peers" really understand the sport, it is definitely worth it to "alienate" myself for something that i love (ETA that just using a firearm for sporting purposes alienates us from the prevalent liberal teachers and their sheep-like student followers --- so not many "peers" at school anyway). It is really a great way that i bond with my dad every time we go out, or are at home loading ammo/practicing. I think that what your doing for your son is a wonderful thing, that he will grow to appreciate more and more. And honestly there aren't enough of us juniors around Someone's gotta keep the sport alive, and if it isnt us, then who is it? Good luck to both you and your son! Have fun -Nick Edited to clarify coupla things before my dad reads this

We were awake early today to go down to the Southwest pistol league match. We stopped in to pick up AAron and we were off. The match was 8 stages, all were pretty good stages if ive ever seen some. The first stage for me wasnt all that bad, which is pretty unusual, because it usually takes me the first stage or two to warm up, but today i did well on the first. The second was not so good. I think the problem was in my plan, i was trying to squeeze more out of the situation than i should have, pushed the limits too far, which damaged my performance. There were 3 plates which had to be engaged from behind a thin barricade, and i tried to get 'em all from one side, which forced me to totally contort my body sideways to hit the furthest one, and i dont think that the sights were adjusted sideways Other than that wreck of a plan, the rest of the day was pretty good, still pushing a little too hard for a match day, i ran everything a little bit too quick to see everything that needed seeing. In the overall pulled a couple mikes and broke perf on a no-shoot If i had been more relaxed i think i would have done a ton better, but some of my stages were exceptional for my expecations, and now ive got to work on making that more consistent. A big thing that i learned this match was to make a reasonable plan that can be remembered easily and executed efficiently. I believe the rush was still a bit of quirkiness or nervousness which i need to work on. I believe that being in a state of unrelaxation really hurts my performance as i have seen all too well in the past, and now revisited a bit on today. Lunch was served, which was good, and we headed home. Ultimately, i was fairly content with my performance in general, but some of the little things really need work, and i'm anxious to get out to practice this week. Most of the things that i find a big problem with, really show up during matches, and much less during practice. This match made me feel the need to reinforce the mental steadiness that ive been working on. My performance is much much more consistent when i have a calm mind, even though its almost portrayed to be "slower" or "worse". But the results excede my expectations every time i shoot calmly. Seems to me like a really influential aspect to the sport overall: psychological/mental calm state of being. More practice vids being worked on, sadly no vids from the match today, but probably the next one, in the next few weeks. Ill post 'em ASAP. -Nick

lol "dead" for fifteen years...hehe sounds good though, ill work on both. =D well i hope to get in some good practice today before the match tomorrow, i will update my practice session when i get back. Nick

Yea practicing the "right way" lol, not practicing cheating lol Doing exactly what you described there -Nick