Mike Hughes

Hi bro, I hear you about turning the prep indicator off. But one thing to try is using the prep when training shooting on the move. For some reason when we hit a lot of reps at shooting on the move with the SIRT that prep laser (sitting low out of sight picture) gets picked up with our non dominant eye and I found myself moving smoother and smoother and smoother. Something about seeing it bobble around at first and letting the body naturally dampen out. Also gives feedback when the woble is smaller that the acceptable accuracy zone (A zone or zero down zone) so we get a sense when we can pound the targets irrespective of our foot timing, and moreover, know when we have to sequence shots with our foot timing (in-between strides). Secondly, using the prep on some super high speed target transitions. Try hitting a drill when you transition back and forth as fast as humanly possible. Our off eye will see if we are over transitioning and we tend to dampening in to target 'critically damped', that is slowing down as soon as possible. A third area I use the take up is similar to a transition where I present and break as soon as the red shows anywhere near 6:00 on the target. it like gives me awareness where the muzzle is aligned before I can get any sight picture. I am surprised at how much the gun is aligned before I think it is. Now the 1000 mile journey is to build these skills with targets at a variety of sized and distances! reps! But all in all, I personally only use the take up laser less then 10% of the time for my personal training. So at about 800 trigger pulls a day, that's about 80 reps or so. Great dialog! Mike Hughes

Good to hear Graham. I am interested on how you change up your target size and distance to work your natural point of aim (and identify/push limits of our NPA) and when you have to use sights. As a tip, keep your SIRT on a common area table and when you wake up... pick the SIRT off the table, and shoot a target that is just at the brink of almost needing the sights. You are totally uncalibrated (after sleeeping for 8 hours or so) so it is a good way to develop our natural aim basing the alignment of the muzzle from the feel of our grip. But the first thing morning training is literally a 10 second training. 2 seconds of set up (if that), a few seconds of execution (grab SIRT and hit the target like a clock or something accross the room), and then break down which is nothing (putting sirt back down on table). cheers Kaizen! these small sessions add up HUGE over the year.

Finally back on here! Had issues with log on, getting pw or not having time to properly respond, like right now great dialogs above, my thoughts spin on the drills we can hit to get better in small amounts of time throughout the day. kind of off topic, but can't shoot nationals ugg, but this is very nostalgic.

Few thoughts on multiple topics above M&P SIRT this is a big question, don't want to throw out dates without a more granular GANTT chart. To life the kimono a bit, a few options here on manufacturing. We can SLS (rapid manufacturing, selective laser sintering) the frames and finailze our Gen II trigger module and get product out relatively shortly. We SLS'd our first 110 SIRTs and it worked out well. details details… but no answer… I feel like the government. I am on this though! Training Youth: This topic dovetails with the M&P because I think the M&P is fantastic without any grips attached for small hands. youth training is a theme above which is huge. This makes our personal training sustainable, safer sons and daughters (proficiency is intertwined with safety), and builds our future. I did a short video with my 7 year old, Ryan, on training him up. I think a lot of dry handling with light loads is the key with lots of dummy rounds. He has not flinched yet so I think I am on a good path. I make custom light loads that don't fully cycle and double plug his ears. His stance and grip are getting really kick ass (proud biased dad) around the house. Whenever he sweeps me I gently scold him. But I think there is potential for a youth based program that focuses on the M&P and gets dad's training their sons. Of course in the process the dads (or moms) will get dialed in themselves with grip, stance, acceptable sight picture and TRIGGER CONTROL (ancient maxim: if you want to learn something teach it). Timing on gun/ controlled pairs This is in response to JasonG36. not to counter your points etc. but here is a recent revalation I have had on grip (which leads to controlled pairs). I spent 2 years fiddling with my finger tip pressure, chest pressure, stippling, loads, springs, slide weights….then one day I am throttling controlled pairs…next day way off. Incredibly frustrating. I turned the 1000 mile journey into a 10,000 mile journey. Then I have it figured out for one particular set up, so not fungible skills set. Taking a big step back I completely revamped my grip. Not only in "technique" but "how" I engage the gun. Philosophically (I am on Enos so I can go here ), I changed how I engage the gun to only use big dumb muscles. When I get my little fiddly muscles involved I find a lack of constancy. Practically this means the C-clamp grip (no finger tip pressure on strong or weak hand) and chest squeeze. . The outcome is I feel way more competent to pick up any gun, get behind it and throttle controlled pairs, any load, any spring, etc. I used to fiddle faddle with minutia muscle contraction and I am done with that methodology. I think a shooter should strive for a huge window of performance independent of 1)mental stress 2) physical fatigue level and 3) environment (slippery grip). so if were more stressed and grip harder… no problem, no trigger freeze . if we are fatigued..no issue, big dumb muscles are behind the gun. If the grip is slippery as heck… how cares, we have chest squeeze behind gun and support hand can't possibly slip.simplicity of recoil no more contraction no less The thing with recoil management is we don't contract more muscles or de-contract muscles when the boom goes off. We stay constant, that is why I love dry fire so much because my grip is exactly the same throughout dry fire as live fire. As long as shooters grab the gun aggressively. One benefit I see with the lasers is that a good grip helps keep the laser as a dot not the ugly dash. So shooters tend to grip more aggressively, as they should. Now this can mask trigger mechanic deficiencies, so strong hand only reps must be done as well. Maybe everyone does this already and I am a slow learner. Lately I am shooting a G19 stock with winchester white box (from walmart). my objective is A zone hits controlled pairs (sub .24s splits) at 20 yrds all day any day, with 100% confidence they land in the A zone and sub .17s splits inside A 12 yrds with stock triggers etc. heavy trigger/light trigger I like the comments above on heavy bats and light bats. I may be luck here (grabbing SIRTs from the back ) but having an exceptionally heavy trigger has done more for my training than about anything. lets face it trigger control is elephant in the room when it comes to deficiencies. setting our guns to light triggers only masks the underlying deficiency of not being able to break the shot with any gun and not disturb the muzzle. But having a light trigger is nice to work the speed of reciprocating the trigger finger and keeping laser dots.. not dashes. Now 2 sirts is a stretch for most budgets (the Performer is like sub 189 street price) and changing the trigger weight is not feasible in a short training session (taking off slide etc.). but switching it up and hitting it light and then heavy has benefit. I don't see a specific benefit to leaving the trigger setting exactly as your live fire gun all the time. If anything I would set it heavy.. Burkett's dry fire. I tend to go in an out from different regimens and tools. Daves_not_here…glad you put these drills back on the forefront. My extra lap top is set to these now all day. good stuff. its this little stuff that adds up to huge gains over time! cheers …another short response…

Hey DR58, I tell you, your response gets me jacked up. Now if we can take your mind set of tracking gains, quantifying results, being accountable to yourself in results and hitting training, engaging in self diagnostics and not just throwing lead senselessly. Your cracking the code on getting high volume training in daily, carrying it over to the range. I would hazard a guess that you are hitting the range with self perceived deficiencies and working on those areas that require strengthening... I am very partial to competitive shooting community because we get better and don't lean on BS like 'lets not use a shot timer', or the attitude of "that drill is not relevant because the sun and stars will be in a different location in a gun fight"…. or whatever. As I interface with other shooting communities I am shocked at 1) how little shooters actually train, 2) how reluctant shooters are to look in the ugly mirror and 3) the amount shooters in other venues want to pontificate and talk, debate, while they could have set up a drill and make strides in validating their points. I don't want these words to be out of context, but my point is that you, DR58, are tracking results, getting gains, making self assessments/self-diagnostics and getting better,… we need to crack the code on this mentality across the board for the 52M handgun owners in the US. Not only is making gains accessible and simple, but heck, its fun! I think we get it as competitive shooters but shooters that choose not to compete for whatever reason seem to have great reluctance on accepting the tried and true concepts going back to miyamoto musashi, train, hardwire in motor neuron skills, build robust skills that produce high performance independent of mental, physical or environmental states. Granted competitive shooting is not the only thing to train, some appendix concealed carry, reloads from front pocket, threat discrimination/decision making with scenarios… we need to implement these training blocks in our personal practice (thankfully scenarios with proper safety protocol is quick and fun to set up!), but developing raw reliable speed and accuracy… that is a kick ass 1000 mile journey to be on!

wow..your insights are dialed in… I feel kind of sheepish on replying for fear of appearing like a collusion for marketing… ha muzzle accountability-->perfect practice But a few follow up points…. When I made the first prototype it was really just for shooting on the move. One day (on my cold we and rainy range on the commune) I was doing left-right drills (5 yrds left, decelerate hit steel at 15 yrds, 5yrds right, decelerate, hit steel 15 yrds..repeat) and I used the prototype which was glockmeister (heavily Dremelled) resetting trigger, red laser JB welded in an old glock slide and a soldered in switch…wahllla Shot Indication, Resetting Trigger (no take up indicator at that point). Anyhow I was doing the drill and missed the plate. no big deal. but I swear I had acceptable sight picture, I swear my trigger mechanics were dialed in, I swear I had follow through and didn't pull off… but in the end I swore out loud because it was a miss. Laser was still perfectly aligned to sights… issue..jackass in mirror. I remember that moment like yesterday because it was huge revelation for me. I felt like I was always doing traditional dry fire like shooting basketball on a brick wall with no hoop. Sure mechanics can feel good but without a hoop for accountability… Same principle with shooting. where is that muzzle exactly when we break the shot. Even if it is a super small acceptable accuracy zone and you are wickedly on the sights, that muzzle can move and be off target and we don't know it. Just this morning I was doing 40 yrd shots on 8" steel strong hand only for some isolation on trigger control. miss miss miss. I used the sirt and found out I was breaking the shot and pulling about 2:30 actually. (The reason for that is interesting), but I did about 3 min of SIRT trigger control strong and weak hand (strong hand gets tired ). Then hit some dry shots with my G19 and then went live bam.. cleaned up, owned it thereafter! No my next live fire session tomorrow AM is to hit the same drill first thing, un-calibrated (no warm up etc) and make sure I am on track for extreme trigger finger mechanics. "High Volume, Self Diagnostic Sustainable Training" I hate to be one to make new names for old sh!t but we are looking at calling SIRT training "High Volume, Self Diagnostic Sustainable Training" thats a mouthful but it is different than simply dryfiring. High volume because we don't mess around retrofitting and the SiRT is inert so we can pick up and get some shots in throughout the day. Practically we have to lower barrier to entry to train to make it sustainable. My goal is at least 7 training sessions a day. I take time in between short trainings so I get 'de-calibrated' and later on … bam draw or pick up SIRT and hit so target with a different acceptable accuracy zone than that last session. I have to use a combo of natural point of aim/sights to hit it and I get the Self Diagnostic because not only is the initial laser hit important but the laser sweep thereafter. Try this training protocol and put pressure on yourself and watch what your trigger mechanics really revert to under the self imposed time stress. Usually the 8:00 sweep is the tall tail sign of less than ideal trigger mechanics. The goal in the distributed learning model is to build into our auto response database…see target…assess acceptable accuracy zone…use necessary sights and natural aim combo…bam, send it. so our 1st presentation shots are as fast and accurate as humanly possible! So much for a quick response… this got my mind spinning on some more drills with integrated self diagnostics for beginners though.. cheers

Hey bro, hope the SIRT AR Bolt is adding value to your AR training. Personally I just use the AR more around the house, but the wife has to get use to the AR lieing aroudn (with the red bolt in it) which is more to swallow than the SIRT Pistol. Actually the first generation triggers were too nice. Seriously, they were too crisp and we had to make them "crummier", ha. Looking to have new sears in the future, but you are dead on that we need to dry fire with our live fire triggers too.

I got mine in December and I love it. It's worth every penny. I wish I ordered extra mags like you did. The mags are rubber, the weight and center of gravity can be adjusted. Much better than using empty mags. Other things I like: Repeat shots. This helps a lot with shooting on the move and transitions. I don't have to modify my competition gun to get laser practice with repeat shots. The laser doesn't lie and keeps you honest. You can fool yourself into thinking that the shot was good with regular dry-fire. The take-up laser tells you how much you're moving the gun during draw, transitions and moving. Less-movement = faster times. The green laser works at the range and can troubleshoot why shots are going where they do. Especially useful when practicing shooting around cover. Saves ammo. The trigger is adjustable for location, over-travel, break location, take-up force, trigger break force, sear engagement. I have it adjusted very close to my gun. The mags fit my Glock. It accepts aftermarket sights. If fits my holster. The lasers can be aimed. MOST IMPORTANT!!! It is very quiet, the click is as loud as a computer mouse. My wife appreciates the lack of "clack-clack-click" of my Glock during dry-fire with a gun in the house. The spot won't be on target if you aren't on the front sight so I don't look for the laser spot. I learned that pretty quick. Bro you nailed the Design Criteria sheet when I made this. You even nailed being quite. ha, this one was for my wife. Airsoft didn't cut it with the noise, gas, denting plaster walls etc. One thought though… try adjust the trigger break force to much heavier than your live fire pistol. I have jacked mine (one of mine) up to 12 lbs to really work trigger finger muscles. I have found my trigger mechanics to be orders of magnitude better. I am shooting a stock G19 now for Production class and not noticing a performance issue with the stock trigger. Just a suggestion.

Yep, great strategy making a big stretch like that, and huge props for getting Top Shot to show it at all. I'm sure there were a few producers in the background going "Hell no we can't do that on TV!". Ha, that was a lot of fun. Can't believe Gary and I made that shot, the front sight was dancing around left and right like crazy and we did not get a chance to dry fire them right before shooting, so didn't really know when it would break. So it was like incrementally prepping the trigger more and more each time the sights came in on target. And that AK was about 6"@10:00 at 100yrds. Some folks asked why not use the pistol, but I have a lot of deficiencies with rifle craft that could have been exploited by Gary, so it made sense to bring the rifle into my realm of control and tax sight alignment, strength and above all trigger control. I know Matt Siglock (show RO, great guy!) said he was initially concerned about the one handed manipulation of the rifle, but then said, oh hell, let them do it! Ya I didn't perform on the Benelli, but you know, really the equation is simple training = performance. I really need to broaden out. Very motivated to shoot more than just Production. Looking to start hitting 3 gun after Area 2. I just feel like I am not yet even 500 miles into the 1000 mile journey on pistolcraft mastery. Top Shot was an experience. I tried my best to represent the competitive shooting community well. Hope to see you all on the range sometime!! Mike Hughes

Makes perfect sense to me. He's been eliminated once, so he has already experienced the worst thing that could happen. At this point, if he wins, he wins. If he doesn't win, he gets to have a great a great time competing with a bunch of guys he gets along with. What's not to be happy about? Hi fellas, yes totally true, getting back was great and I wasn't taking anything for granted! Recharged and refreshed! $6k in Bass Pro cards! that was great! Bought a cross bow (full adult one!) and a compound for my 7 yr old after nationals in Vegas. In the end the show is about promoting firearms too massive audience. Next Tues will be a lot of fun to watch.

I totally agree, but the SPP had a sweet 12 lbs 4 stage trigger.

If he could have done it QUICK, it wasn't an awful plan, would give him an extra split second to get the sights on target and squeeze. It was a tough challenge though, it looked like that lift was whipping really fast, where Dustin's "ambush" scenario worked very well. That challenge was spectacular on Mike's part. Looking at the practice, a "shoot-fast" mentality was needed, and think that USPSA experience really helped Mike, way to go! As far as next week, are the Salient's back? Also looks like they're going back to the "game of HORSE" as at least part of the elimination, and maybe the dueling trees to eliminate one guy right off the bat like they did on Season 1. Ha, yes I was totally screwed. When I was strapped in I had absolutely no chest movement to move the upper triangle to transition the gun. Ambush was the way to go. It is kind of good to totally tank something sometimes though. It was impressive to see Chris establish a rhythm. The moving dueling tree was awesome! The Salient arms guns were unbelievable. Great guns.

Art Department. They are in charge of the stage set ups. Did not see them pick up anything because we were 'sent back to the house' before any break down. I did see them put in trees and bushes and take them in and out! Ridiculous budget.

Hello fellow Shooters, I have been reviewing the posts and I appreciate the thoughtful comments. One theme I see reoccurring is the issue of becoming target focused. I totally understand the logic and it is a keen observation, but let me tell you why I don't become target focused when training with my SIRT, and I am a front sight shooter. By way of background, I first made the first model (proof of concept) only to train shooting on the move. However, over the following 3 months I gravitated to using the tool for all my dry firing, in particular my dry firing while hitting cardio (3mph 12% grade on the treadmill). Anyhow, what I found was that inside, when I was not on my sights and not doing my job on the trigger control, I would throw mikes (misses). When upgrading to a green laser (20x brighter), the laser was so bright outside that it was very easy to identify hits (and misses) while maintaining my 22.5 inch right eye focus. In fact when I get lazy and not have sufficient awareness on the sights I would start throwing mikes and have to get back on the sights to make the shot (and have TRIGGER CONTROL!). In fact, I viscerally found myself getting more awareness to the sights after a miss. This has been confirmed with many trainers where for example we shoot some resetting steel live at 10-20 yrds, then do 4-5 sets with the SIRT. If we are not on the sights hard core we will throw mikes and that damn green laser does not lie. There is an issue of students 'walking in shots' where with each trigger pull they walk the shot in. I have seen this in live fire at close targets, but with free trigger pulls it is a potential issue. But hey, any tool can be abused, this is why we really want trainers to remedy poor training and push the message to new shooters of of proper pistolcraft. Only allowing one shot per target is one way to remedy an novice shooter walking in shots. Anyhow, it took me 3 months to figure out these things with the SIRT and I made the darn tool; a lot of firearms trainers are lot smarter than me and get it after about 5 minutes when playing with it. I have found that shooters that don't shoot with both eyes open have had an issue if the laser impact is not above the sight picture, in particular when transitioning to close targets. The green dot should be above sight picture, if the SIRT is in, for example, a team room that has limited range, then the green laser should be adjusted slightly vertical. Regarding the red take up laser, does it make a shooter target focused?: The take up laser can make a shooter shift to the target. Some instructors like this (threat focused arena). I personally use the take up indicator when training shooting on the move (to see what the muzzle is doing during the entire sequence) and high speed wide angle target transitions. For transitions, I want to see exactly how that muzzle is coming into target in a critically damped manner and make sure I am coming into the target with the trigger fully prepped. Anyhow, I have played with putting the red laser about a 2 feet below the line of sight of the target (at about 10yrds) so there is a visual indication of what the muzzle is doing (seen buy the non dominant eye) but not distracting to the dominant eye. We are in design of the laser caps that will diverge the beam into a large circle, cross hair with the middle missing, etc. A trainer could adjust the laser so at a given target distance so the red take up laser will be at a specific point on the target below the designated center target. That way the trainer will know if the shooter had sight alignment when prepping, but the shooter can not use the red laser as a sighting aid. I have not done this exercise yet but it would be a good drill to set up. Anyhow, again thank you all for investing the time in looking at the product and commenting. The goal of the SIRT Training Pistol is to ultra-conveniently allow for more training of fundamental skill sets and then hit the range and put them to work with recoil management. Higher volume of training with ensured quality of movement. I look at it as another another tool in the toolbox to promote training for any shooting level. Feel free to give me a shout anytime. Mike Hughes 360 933-4640.