alpha-charlie

WHOOOOOPSS!!!!!! Well, that's a horse of a different color!!! REVISED: As of 13JAN12 A/C 86.91% Beltjones 87.00% Want2Race 92.11% - Ltd Want2Race 94.68% - SS En Fuego!!! Kriojas 84.04% Kali 88.39%

As of the 13Jan12 update: A/C 86.91% Beltjones 87.00% Want2Race 92.11% Kriojas 84.04% Kali 88.39%

you forgot to add 4. Don't bite your nails. +1 Beat me to it!

Live fire........... After a rough classifier match I've been taking advantage of the 45 degree sunny weather while on vacation. Instead of dryfiring in the basement I've been hitting the range lately. Accuracy is the name of the game and shooting up close is no longer an option. The closest I'm shooting at is 15 yards on partials and the farthest is about 35 yards on partials and plate racks. By partial I don't mean covering up the left or right side C & D area but covering up about 85% of the A-zone with a no-shoot. I was faced with some of these targets at the last match and automatically went for a head shot instead. In a match environment I was too concerned with popping the no-shoot and pussed out. So, for the last two days and about 700 rounds I've been practicing these tight shots. I know I can make those shots normally but that's with no match pressure or consequences if I miss. To push it more, I was shooting 3 steel plates first and then transitioning to the tight shots to train myself to go from hosing easy targets to slowing down to make precision hits. It was good to see some progress there. After spending the morning/afternoon at the range I decided to jump back in the truck and drive out to Rockford for Thursday night USPSA. I shot good but not amazing. Flubbed some reloads and took too much time getting shooting on the steel but some positives did come out of it. On the 2nd stage there were the exact same partial targets I had been practicing on. I had no worries or concerns about shooting the A-zone next to the no-shoot. I think that's an incredible step in progressing. You have to be confident in every type of target that comes your way. I now know, I can make that shot with no problem in match conditions. The 3rd stage was my best, only 1/2 a second behind Alex. I shot it completly different than everyone else by starting on the right instead of the left. The last set of targets was pretty tight behind the barrels and I nailed some Deltas which made me lose the stage. Have to work on those next. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k4f0YT4WGcs&list=UUFWsAZ6iy7Tbur34sXtkFQw&index=1&feature=plcp

What? No swingers???

Might as well throw my .02 in. I have more of a question of the origins of Production that some of the veterans will probably be able to answer. First off, I am a Production shooter and probably always will be. I like it at 10 rounds and don't see any need to change it. Now, my thoughts. I've always heard the description of Production division as being a division that you can go straight from the gun store to the range and be ready to compete. It's in the magazines, on the shooting shows, etc. A lot of people are posting about no more mods being done to prod guns because that's not what the division is suppossed to be about. What I'm wondering (USPSA veterans this part's for you) was Production designed to be mainly about shooting a completely stock mass produced gun or was it about just using a gun that is mass produced and readily available to just about everyone, hence Production, not stock production. Anyone follow that?

I pretty much trashed 4 classifiers at yesterday's match so I'm definitely not going anywhere for awhile.

Classifier match.......... Shot an indoor classifier match yesterday. No video. 4 classifiers, I trashed Life's Little Problems with 2 mikes. My time was good, not great, but the first 2 shots I didn't see my front sight at all. I do remember seeing black instead of the red fiber optic thru my rear sight and thinking, "That's not good." At least I know what I saw the whole time. I had just about ZERO practice during December so I wasn't surprised by my mediocre shooting. I also found that I get really amped up about shooting classifiers. Why? They're short little stages with no movement (mostly). After the first one (On the Move) I hesitated to holster right away and stared at my gun hand. I was shaking like a leaf. I really need to stop caring about them and just shoot them. I've said that before but old habits are tough to break. It's also lack of experience shooting them. Another good piece of advice I was given by El Beno was to set-up some classifiers and learn how to shoot them. Showing up to a match and blasting away as fast as possible hoping for good hits is not a good strategy. Of course, I have yet to act on this advice and it shows. I'm on vacation until Feb. 1, so I'll be stockpiling ammo and dryfiring in the cold basement. Steve Anderson was right when he recently said "Basements are for dryfire and rock n' roll."

Standings............ Want2Race....SS: 91.84% Want2Race....Ltd:90.15% Kali.........Opn:88.39% BeltJones....Prd:87.00% AlphaCharlie.Prd:85.74% Kriojas......Opn:85.40% With Shaun already in the 90's, this could be short-lived. I've got a special classifier match on the 1st so we'll see what happens.

Cool that you're back!!! Is that 17 missing a couple parts or are you now using the force to call your shots??

I used to use CR speed pouches for my Glock. Even with the tension knob taken completely off they were still a pain to get out. I went with the Ghost mag pouches. They sell them online at the IPSC store and Shooters Connection. $10 cheaper than CR speed and the mags are easily pulled. They're secured well and won't "jump" out. Plus, you get 2 different style mag pouches for $24, conventional (bullet forward) and sideways (bullet facing away from your body). No sanding or adding washers to a $35 mag pouch for me anymore!!

We just got Tebowed.

My thoughts exactly. If EVERY club that runs a USPSA match also ran a Steel Challenge match on a regular basis, would we even be having this conversation??? (I know this isn't possible due to some clubs not allowing steel) Steel challenge is there for this reason already. It's a great way to get newer shooters out on the range in a competitive environment. Showing up to a USPSA match, whether you're shooting a .22 or not will still be very intimidating. There's a ton of things going on during a stage to distract shooters from their shooting. Solution: Steel matches. Safer for new shooters (no draws, running, reloads, etc)and hopefully plants the competitive "bug" in them so that when they're comfortable in how matches are run they can move up to USPSA/IDPA.

At this point in the game, what benefit do you think changing mag positions will produce?? Or are you just screwing off to see what happens??

I've voted to keep it as is. As a die-hard Production shooter I like the challenge of 10+1 and the simplicity of how my gun is set-up. I like to focus on becoming a better all around shooter and not worry so much about my gear. I understand the argument of new shooters being forced to shoot limited their first couple matches due to not having enough mags, but I was the same way. I showed up with what I had, an XD45 with 3 mags on my belt and one in my pocket. I got a crash-course of USPSA scoring, rules, and safety procedures in about 10 minutes. I had no idea what different divisions were, or how scoring really worked, or PF, etc. And yes, I finished dead last for the first couple of matches. I wouldn't have mattered what division I was shooting in or if I had 15 rounds in the gun at the beginning. I really didn't care what place I finished or really understood what Division I was in. All that I knew is that I loved whatever it is I was doing. I joined USPSA, read through the rule book, continued to go to matches and asked alot of questions. I purchased new gear and guns down the road and haven't looked back since. I think my experience is how most new shooters start out in this game. Adding 5 more rounds to Production isn't going to change the new guy experience. IMO

Well, with a little bit of focus and trial and error I believe I figured out my problem. What I really paid attention to was "what is causing me not to pick up the sights right away?" I found that during a slower, controlled draw I had no problem. When I would speed up to match speed I saw that the sights were bouncing back and forth. I played around with a few things and settled on the easiest solution. Over the years I've been trained in both law enforcement and by top level GM shooters. Of course, the 2 had different ways to draw from the holster. I've been drawing the way a GM recommended (which is probably correct for USPSA) by bringing my weak hand over as close to the holster as possible in order to get both hands on the gun as soon as possible in order to drive the gun faster. I'm sure there's more to that theory, but that's the most I can remember right now. I know my technique of drawing like this is off, which is why I'm having problems, but I'm not going to try and train through a problem considering it doesn't feel completely comfortable. ANYWAYS, when I do this I push the gun just a little bit too far to the left (right handed shooter) which makes me have to move the gun back to get any type of acceptable sight picture. Now on close targets it shouldn't matter if the sights are a little off to the left due to them being so close. But, I've found that I completely lose the front sight some times. This is never good. I remembered reading an article by Duane Thomas about drawing with your eyes closed (dryfire) and then opening them to see if your sights were aligned. Every time I did this they were pushed left. Solution: I went back to the orginal way I was taught to draw in the academy. I simply moved my weak hand to mid chest and gripped from there, pushing straight out. I feel much more comfortable doing it this way and feel smoother by having to move less across my body. The gun snaps out and I'm picking up the front sight easier now. Thanks for the tips everyone. Nothing that a little attention to what and why was wrong, dryfire and patience couldn't solve.

Local inddor match............ Shot pretty terrible today. I was pretty pumped about my grip breakthrough and the improvement it makes on my accuracy. However, after 2 months of no matches, the range rust really showed. I was so wrapped up in going fast that I completely forgot to focus on my grip and sights. I really can't remember gripping the gun the way I was supposed to and simply blasted away at targets. This was a straight up hoser match and my accuracy sucked. My inattention to accuracy really shows on the classifier. I was so preoccupied with burning it down that I tanked just about every shot. Missed 3 pepper poppers and went into slide-lock. It hurts to watch. I really just need to calm down. One good thing that came out of this match was that I figured out the front sight problem that I was having. I've been taught numerous ways on where to grip the gun on the draw with the weak hand. I've been bringing my weak hand over as far to the holster as possible and presenting from there. By doing this I would push the gun too much to the left when bringing it up on target and would have to bounce it around to find it. I tried bringing my weak hand to about mid chest so the gun would be in the center of my body and could simply push straight out which is now putting the sights right where I need them. My movement felt a little better and I really focused on keeping both hands on the gun while moving short distances. It definetely makes for a smoother transition to the next target array. Enjoy the garbage show: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nkkubo4J58k

Good stuff Steve. My accuracy is good. I group well at 25 yards and regularly shoot plates at 40 yds. At farther targets I take the extra time to see what I need to in order to make that particular shot. You're probably right about not having a problem. I also think I might be rushing to get the first shot off on close targets just because they're close targets. I guess my thinking is that they're close up so I should be shooting them extremely fast. In doing this, I think I'm rushing the draw too much causing the gun to bounce around more, making it more difficult to pick up the sights. Smooth is fast. I'm also going to pay more attention to the sights as the gun is being presented. I do that now, but probably not as good as I should.

Good stuff. I agree 100% on not worrying about a sub second draw. I just included that part so that people wouldn't say get the gun out of the holster quicker, etc. I'll give that a try. thanks.

My draw reasonably fast and my technique is smooth. Using my production rig the fastest that I have hit the A-zone is .83 at 7 yards. However, this is without seeing any sight picture and relying on point shooting. Even slowing things down to get a 1.0 second first shot I still have trouble acquiring the front sight right away. Any specific drills or tips to help train my eyes to find the front sight faster? I think a major problem I have is transitioning from target to sights. I seem to look in the direction of my first target on the draw. Should I be looking downward and track the gun as I draw?? Have I just answered my own question??

Indoor live fire....... Put some new sights on today. Amazingly enough they seem to be dead on after the first try. They're definetely set-up more to the right but even benching the gun at 15 yards it was grouping nicely. Put about 12 rounds to the head and they were all touching in the center, so I'd say they're where I need 'em to be. Worked on reloads with follow-up shots. Reloads were good with a few fumbles but that was due to trying to push it a little too much. I did notice that my first shot on the draw needs alot of work. I draw the gun smoothly but have a hard time finding my front sight. At close distances I'm really not seeing my front sight and relying too much on point shooting. My luck doing this will eventually run out. However, once I get shooting I clearly see the front sight the entire time and am very accurate. I shot a 10 round string at 15 yards faster than my match speed would be, and had no problem seeing the front sight track and settle in the A-zone every time. If I could start seeing the front sight off the draw sooner, I think it would take my shooting to a whole new level. Also, another major reason why I don't want to rely on point shooting at close range is because when I can't see the front sight for the first shot, I also can't see it for each follow-up shot. At match speed I'll never be able to find it once I start shooting. I've also opened this problem up to the masses: Front Sight Problem

Start earlier in life, get some good quality coaching when starting out, live in a warmer environment close to several ranges that shoot year round. Nail the fundamentals from the get go.

+1 As it should be.

This is a spin-off from all the other "races" on the forums: B,A,M. So I thought I'd start a race to GM. I know that's my main goal for 2012 so in the spirit of friendly competition who else wants to join up?? I'll do my best to update this thread when the classifications get updated each month. Please list at least your Enos name along with your Division and USPSA #. Good luck everyone!!!!!!!!!! I'll start it off: As of 18NOV11: Alpha Charlie (Matt) TY-61946 Production 85.74%

Live fire........... Took the new 34 to the range today. With the grip tape and gripping the gun properly I was shooting much better. I started out shooting groups off hand at 25 yards. For having never fired the gun I was quite pleased. I was 90% A zone with shooting the last 5 rounds faster than I would at a match. I was shooting lead bullets today and chron'd them. They're loaded a little longer but with the same amount of powder that I always use. They were 100 fps faster than what I normally chrono at. I really couldn't tell the difference and the gun ran good with good accuracy so I didn't give a crap as long as I'm over 125 pf. I don't know if it was the snappier ammo or better grip on the gun but my sights seemed to snap back into place faster and without as much wobble. I'm guessing it could be a combination of both. It really is amazing how much better I shoot with the proper grip. I shot the Dot Drill after shooting groups. I went 49/50, dropping one shot on strong hand only. Surprisingly my weak hand only string had all five shots touching one another. Did some plate racks and reload drills. Moved it back to 40 yards and worked the plate rack again. I cleared both plate racks like I was shooting from 10 yards away. Finished by shooting a 10 inch plate strong hand and weak hand only at 40 yards. Again, this was no problem. I'm very excited about this break-through and training for the 2012 season. I'm still putting together my goals for 2012 but my main goal is to make GM.