Z32MadMan

I realized it is probably a bit unrealistic, but I feel that in doing so I'm pushing myself to improve more. I'm shooting stages at around 40% compared to the top open shooters at the matches, and last match was my first over 50%. I'm not trying to get a card, hell I'm not even a member yet, I just want to be shooting at that level. Definitely a game of balance. That is still by far my biggest problem. Once I get into the right mindset I'm shooting about right, but unfortunately has taken me a few stages to achieve in past matches. Cheers

I have to say that I have grown to love USPSA, or competative shooting, for several reasons. The people are great and always willing to help the new guys. It's just plain fun. And it is a terribly complex sport. I love that, there is always something to work on, something new to practice. I find myself living from one match to the next. As always, after the last match I have come up with a list of things I want to work on for the next match. This time around it has been: 1) Get through this match safely without being DQ'ed. I have it ingrained into my head that if I fall, first thing is keeping the gun downrange. Second thing is keeping it there while I take a quick mental pause to realize what happened and safely get back into the game. 2) Is to work more with "seeing" everything going on and everything that needs to be seen. I watched the sight lift for the first few times last match and I want to see more of that this match. I feel like Clarice in Silence of the Lambs when Lector says "You have looked but you have not seen." 3) Lately my grip and stance has been a constant work in progress. This include me trying to keep my arms more bent. I have been dryfiring to break the habit of over extending my arms, so hopefully I can make this happen during a match. 4) Getting myself into the right mental state right away. The last two matches I have gone into the first two stages trying to burn the place down. And I usually walk away with a couple D's and mikes to prove it. After the first two stages I settle down, work the front sight, and let that determine my speed. This match I really want to get into that state right away, so I don't wind up blowing the first stages. My unofficial goal for this year is to be shooting matches above 50%. I want to be high C knocking on B by december. Last match was my first classifier which I shot 39%, and I made a few rookie errors.

A lot of people use etching.

I am about to purchase a Cr Speed belt and I am wondering what size to get. I'm about a 31" waist and I heard that you should be big when ordering these. I was going to order a 34". Is there any problem with going too big? I haven't handled one of these belts before and I don't know how they fasten.

Ben what belt and mag pouches are you running?

These are examples of each. http://www.dawsonprecision.com/ProductDeta...0000-1094593470 http://www.skdtac.com/index.asp?PageAction...amp;ProdID=1349

I'm not usually the kind of guy that goes out and buys the new gadget to improve my shooting. I'm still pretty new to shooting matches, but I think some new sights on my Sig would help me. I'm shooting a 9mm Sig 2009 in Production the front and rear sight are #8's. From what I have gathered, I think I am going to go with a Dawson FO front sight .110 X.170 and a plain black Warren Tactical rear sight. First off do you think this would be a good setup? Secondly, and more importantly, can anyone tell me if this setup will give me a correct zero/POI? Thanks MadMan

That makes me sick..... Thankfully, after looking back, this is what was happening 3/10 of a second before that.

That's a big fear of mine... slipping and breaking the 180 by trying to catch myself or balance. I usually shoot in my running shoes. I don't own any cleats. I'd buy some, but I don't want to be the guy with all the expensive equipment that can't shoot. While I agree someone spending $3000 of equipment and showing up to there first match to shoot in Open may be looked upon like that, I don't think wearing a pair of cleats would fall into that category. Besides you can get cleats that look like normal shoes. You can buy the cleats that Dirty Chamber posted for $20 online. I have already ordered mine. And even if a new guy showing up to a match with cleats is looked down upon, I don't care. It is my responsibility to shoot safely, me wearing running shoes to a match on damp grass was a bad call. So if wearing cleats will help me keep things safe and improve my ability move, then I'm sold. Thanks everyone for the comments and suggestions. Hopefully I will get through the next match without any "slippery surface induced mishaps."

Yeah, it was when I started to get up and run downrange. When I actually slipped the the pistol touch the ground vertically. The actually video I have on my computer is much better quality, there is no question the gun came around the bad way

Just got back from the match, with mixed feelings. First the bad, I got DQ'ed after slipping and falling down. When I got back up to run down range to the next string, I broke the 180. The good, all the dryfiring I had done for the past two weeks paid off and I felt a difference in my shooting. I felt like I was getting my first shot off much sooner, my transistions were better, and my splits were faster. The match started off like the last one, my first two stages were crap and I wasn't shooting well. I was rushing through and not concentrating well enough on the sights, and my scores showed it. My third and forth stages were much better, I settled down and was letting the front sight dictate things. The third stage was a my first classifier, so it will be interesting to see how that went. During this stage, I watched the front sight lift for the first times. It was awesome! I was shooting that stage and I just noticed that I saw it lift after a shot. So I keep on going through the stage and my I'm just thinking "Hey I saw it lift, lets see if I can see it aga.., Hey there it is again, this is working pretty well". So I'm having this little conversation in my conscious mind, while my subconscious is blasting away the the paper. Very cool stuff, I can't wait to work on that more. The fifth stage is where I got DQ'ed. There were 3 strings on this stage, two from the around the starting box, and one about 30ft down range. After I shoot the first two strings I reload and take off running. Unfortunately the ground was wet and I slip and fall down, breaking the 180 as I get back up and start running downrange. Thankfully there was no AD and no one was hurt. So that cut my day short, but I think I walked away learning quite a bit. These are clips from the match, I always appreciate critisism on videos. It helps me figure out what I need to work on. I started on stage 5. Stage 5 and 6 were too fast and I didn't get good hits, 1 and 2 got good points, 3 is the DQ. http://video.google.com/videosearch?hl=en&...%2F08&hl=en

Well I had my first DQ today, and hopefully it will be my last. The stage was set up with four targets on each side of the line. So you shoot the left targets from the right side of the line and so on. Well after I got done shooting all 8 targets, I slipped running downrange and my gun came around behind me. Definitely breaking the 180. The RO told me to keep shooting because he wasn't positive on what he saw, but everyone confirmed it including the match supervisor. The guys were saying I slipped on an empty magazine that I dropped, but looking at the video I think it was just the wet ground. Being DQ'ed really sucks, it just makes you feel so bad. I didn't mind missing the last stage or not getting the score, I just feel terrible about breaking a safety rule like that. I guess it is a learning experience, I sure learned something.. Next time you fall down maintain good gun control especially when you are trying to get back up. I'm just glad there was no AD and no one got hurt. http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=2167178670911571604

Can you alaborate more on that? Do they offer deals if you shoot USPSA?

Well I thought I would start a diary in here, bascially as a way to get my thoughts down and to look back on. I'm 19 and have been shooting pistols here and there for many years. I got my first pistol, a Sig 2009, earlier this summer, and I went to my first USPSA match in July. I now have 2 matches under my belt and can't wait for my third this Sunday. My first match went fairly well. I learned that in Production you plan out you reloads very carefully, and basically reload everytime you move. Well the first stage I run it dry in the second array. I shot okay... This was the first time I had ever drawn from a holster and done actual reloads. I definitely got caught up in shooting fast and trying to burn the place down. I wasn't making my points. My second match comes along and I had worked on my reloads a little bit and had started reading this forum. My first two stages it was the same story. Shooting too fast, and not making points. Stage 3 comes up and I tell my self to use the front sight SigSauer gave me and make them count. Alphas everywhere, but I was very slow on the stage. So for the rest of the match I do the same, unfortunately blowing a table load on the next stage.... Working the front sight and just trying to get my points. I walked away much happier from this match. Looking back on the score my match percentages were around 24% for the first and 40% for the second. After this match I decide that it is time to start working on this and I got serious about dryfiring. So for the past 12 days I have been dryfiring almost everyday. I had a huge breakthrough with my reloads. I swear the magwell was too small or my magazine were to big in the beginning. I just couldn't do a smooth reload. Well after several days I figured out that I needed to turn my weak left hand more clockwise on the magazines, because the mag was slightly torqued when I was trying to insert it. So now my reloads are much better. My trigger control is also miles ahead of where I was two weeks ago. Dryfiring has really helped me snap my eyes, get on target, and smoothly get the shot off faster. My draws have gotten better, and more importantly more consistant. I have also been practicing my table loads a lot in hope that I won't blow another one. Reading the forum everyday has really helped too, I am always trying to grasp the mental game. My next match is this Sunday and I really feel that I have improvement over my last matches. Here are two stages from my second match. I am going to try to get some video of my next one so that I can compare them and come up with a new list of things to work on. http://video.google.com/videosearch?q=rusk...arch=&aq=f#

Quick question on eye snap: Do you snap your eyes to the next target when shooting targets that are very close together? Like a distant plate rack or such. Amazing thread by the way. Cheers

There's no benefit in locking out that I could imagine, and as you've seen, it leads to health issues. Slightly bent is where it is at. I think the physiological reasoning would go something like this: Muscles can only contract, not expand, at least with any force. Expansion is just equal to relaxation. (there will be some folks who haven't seen this before, trust me on it. You don't have a muscle in your body that can "push", they can only pull.) So, you have muscles on either side of every hinged joint, which lets you move the joint and attached bone around in all directions. (also diagonal muscles for twisting) The best possible place for stability is to load one muscle and let the other relax. Two muscles working simultaneously will fight each other. This is why the cammed-forward grip is ideal, because you get to dump as much strength as you want into one muscle, and 94% looks much the same as 99%, since there aren't other muscles trying to move. The upshot is that locking your arms usually requires both exterior triceps and the lateral muscles that pull the elbow beyond the normal position, which gives you two groups fighting each other. It's better to use one group exclusively. Thus the primary concern of accuracy, stability, doesn't seem to be served by joint locking. And then there's recoil transfer down the bone-lock to your mass, rather than letting muscle flexion soak it up. Or just look at the picture at the top of the page. He's doing it right, as best I can tell. H. Thanks Houngan It makes sense especially with the cammed grip, which I just figured out a few days ago.... I think I am going to try to stick with the bent, I feel much more relaxed. And especially now that my elbow isn't a happy camper. It is tendinosis just like I had last year from rock climbing. Not good stuff. Now I just need to put in some good dryfiring so that I can pound it into the subconscious before the match on Sunday.

When you are shooting do you keep your arms fully extended or slightly bent outwards? For instance, if you fully extend your arms so that the pistol is as far away from your chest as possible, and if from there you move the pistol an inch closer to yourself your arms/elbows are now slightly bent. I was fully extending my armsn but after several days filled with dryfiring my right elbow is becoming sore... So tonight I tried not quite fully extending my arms, and I noticed that my arms and sholder felt much more relaxed and I had not tention up top. Now I haven't had a chance to live fire with this, but I dont notice any difference in dryfiring between the two in terms of transitions so I'm thinking slightly bent is the way to go. So whats the verdict? Cheers MadMan

That was some serious shooting Ben. I would love to be at that level one day. Unfortunetly with a college budget and living on campus, practice and dryfiring will slow down a bit. I should be shooting more matches. Actually I am just getting into USPSA so I have no where to go but up. Quick question: what do you do to prepare for a match, morning of?

That's what I figured? Are there any favorite places to buy commercial reloads? I sent Atlanta an email to see what their prices are like. Do they use new or used brass btw? Anyone finding 9mm for under $200? Cheers

Is it common practice to buy other people's reloads? and or have them reload for you?

At the last match I went to my hands were getting sweaty and I found my grip moving around a bit. So today I decided to pick up some deck tape and try it out. The small grip on the Pro is nicely stippled, but the larger one is slick rubber. So after multiple paper stencils this is what I came up with, it follows the natural line of the grip. It's not a lot but we will see how it works out.

It's great being a part of a sport where people are always glad to help out. I posted a video on my last match, and someone 3000 miles away spotted something wrong with my grip that I didn't even know I had. It's great. MadMan

Your definitiely right about the load off the barrel, I fubbled inserting the magazine.

This is my 2nd USPSA match, and I am looking for some strong constructive criticism. My first match I just plain shot too fast, and I wasn't making my points. And this is the way I started the first two stages of this match. But for the other 4 stages and slowed it way down and worked the front sight like summer job. And because of that the number of alphas went through the roof. Both of these videos were mostly alphas, unfortunately I was dead slow. But I know that will come with time, right now I want my points. Please tell me what you see and what I need to work on. Cheers MadMan http://video.google.com/videosearch?q=usps...amp;sitesearch=

It's good to know that our money is going to keep her fed in prison, while thousands of teachers are being let go. Just sometimes it would be nice to have a justice system like several other countries, where her interogation would start with her head being smashed against the desk....