SeaTact

Dry Fire Practice x2 this past week -- 20 minutes drawing from my cover garment. Reload with retention, reload from "slide lock". -- Focus practice at 10 yards. Type 2 at the body then switching to more Type 3 for the head. Lessons Learned: -- My new shot timer can't pick up Glock dry fire clicks . Got the CED 7000. I had the maximum sensitivity dialed up and it wouldn't pick up my dry fire. With or without a snap cap. The slide has to be no more than 2-3 inches in front of the mic for it to pick up. I thought about rigging up a wristband but I still don't think that would work; the timer would have to sit on my wrist at an angle that would mess up my freestyle grip. Bummer. -- During reloads, my right hand has to shift slightly to hit the mag release and sometimes re-welding the two hands together doesn't form the same freestyle grip. I don't think it happens all the time, though. -- For reloads with retention, I plan to use my left hand to sweep my garment back first, THEN release my mag to remove and stow it. Seems to be cleaner and faster than releasing my mag, sweeping back the garment with mag in hand, then stowing it. I guess this is where the shot timer will help me figure out which is more efficient. IDPA match this weekend. Looking forward to it.

I didn't have much luck finding links to Duane's article or the timing drills on Mark Burkett's website. Anyone have any leads. I know that Duane is a regular on the BE forums so I hope he drops by. This is a great thread.

Thanks TWH for reposting the thread. I usually don't hit the Miscellaneous section and I would've totally missed the post. Those vids are awesome!!

Thanks for the reply. There was no required order; I'd thought about the recommendations about shooting right-to-left freestyle, and right to left with my strong hand shooting. I'll probably try that next time, but I was modeling (poorly) my shooting after Ben Stoeger's IDPA classifier videos-- in one of the strings he went one direction along the three targets, reloaded, then went the other direction.

Thought I'd take the plunge and try some video feedback. Any comments or criticisms are appreciated. There are 24 total shots in 2 strings. My total score was 36.25 + 17 points down. This was my first stage and I was the second shooter so I was scrambling to get my mags prepared, which added an extra element of stress. A couple of things off the bat that I observed I need to practice reloading using my conceal garment more. I flubbed grabbing the magazine a couple of times. I didn't sight-in enough on the down 0 section of the target, which is one of the reasons why I lost so many points. Looking back I remember I was content with having my sights within the target-- I totally forgot there are still -1 and -3 sections in there. Duh. My 180 degree turn to strong hand shooting stance was off. I realize my right foot was too far back. And unfortunately I was completely aware of it while I was shooting, which also means I was less focused on my targets. Should've readjusted my stance. I had at least one, maybe 2 misses with the center target. I didn't spend enough time "seeing what I needed to see" and I broke the shots way too early. In fact my splits for the center target seems shorter than the other ones. Are my shoulders really that shrugged up? They relaxed and fell after finishing the strings. Sorry my turns were covered up by the SO.

Hi All-- Thought I'd take the plunge and try some video feedback. I'm going to link this to my RangeDiary, but wanted to post it here first to get comments, votes of support, criticisms, and anything in between. There are 24 total shots in 2 strings. My total score was 36.25 + 17 points down. A couple of things off the bat that I observed I need to practice reloading using my conceal garment more. I flubbed grabbing the magazine a couple of times. My 180 degree turn to strong hand shooting stance was off. I realize my right foot was too far back. And I was completely aware of it while I was shooting. Should've readjusted. I had at least one, maybe 2 Mikes with the center target. I didn't spend enough time "seeing what I needed to see" and I broke the shots way too early. In fact my splits for the center target seems shorter than the other ones. Sorry my turns were covered up by the SO. If I stay comfortable with this type of feedback I'll get more videos up. Thanks in advance. -Brian

Went back to the range the day after the match to re-hash some of my deficiencies: Bill drills x 5 El presidente to strong hand FAST Drills x 3 Bianchi barricade shooting at 20 yards Finished session with 50 rounds weak hand shooting 10 yardswith 22LR conversion Lessons learned Trigger control is a contradiction for me when I go rapid-fire. A couple of classic Glock low-left shots in the -1 section of my Bill drills. Might be rushing the shot at 20yards… but maybe I'm balancing speed and accuracy enough. A couple of -1's,'bout 25% of my shots.

INDOOR IDPA MATCH Had a great time this weekend. 3 stages, but not really any targets that would allow me to do a type 2 focus. Looking back at my shooting, I think I was front sight focused all the way, though at times my focal point may have beenbetween the target and the front sight—I remember some times when I had good sight alignment but it was still just a little out of focus. Also, I realized I haven't practiced reloads enough with my cover garment. I fumbled a little. Will post a video soon. My "hmm, I never did this before" moments (remember I'm pretty new to this): El presidente to strong hand shooting Slide lock reload while moving. Geez, you'd think I'd have done this bynow. Barrel as low cover—shooting from above the barrel instead of the side. 7 yard head shots with a no-shoot covering the target. Lesson learned: at this distance, don't use barrel as a brace. I rested my forearms and the Glock on the barrel, thinking I'd be faster. Not the case. Recoil movement was completely different and my front sight didn't return to the rear notch on follow-up shots and transitions. Won't do that again.

Glad you mentioned the fiber optic sight. I have stock sights on my Glock and was considering getting a red sight. Recently I feel really comfortable with my index and type 2 focus. The dot and goal post seems to do just fine in my peripheral vision. Thanks for mentioning it-- guess I'll stick with stock sights for now.

Nice shooting--the video quality works well enough to get good information. How fast are your splits, and how much slower do you think you'd have to go to get B's and A's?

Welcome to the forum here. Good luck with shooting and let us know how you do.

PAST WEEK: Worked on draw strokes, reloads, and malfunction clearances.I'm still slow on clearing double feeds—it's not automatic for me and I have to think it through. Also ordered a shot timer, the CED 7000. Can't wait to get it. LESSON LEARNED: I do a better job forming a good 2-hand grip when drawing from my conceal jacket. When I tried drawing without it, I actually had a more difficult time getting a consistent grip. With my conceal jacket, my right hand had to sweep behind the grip to make sure my garment cleared, then the hand slid forward along the pistol grip. Rather than jamming my hand straight down(takes longer), or approaching straight from the side (required too precise positioning-- still seems to take longer), sliding the hand up the grip to the tang seemed to be best for me. I'll use the timer to see which is better overall. IDPA indoor match tonight. I'm going to assume distances are10 yards or less so I'll use a target focus style tonight. Won't rush things,though: "See what you need to see, no matter how long it takes"

NEW TRAINING TOOL: Tactical Solutions TSG-22 LR Conversion I wanted to get more milage with trigger pulls and I figured this would be a good item. I was on the backorder list for 2 months and got it from Cabela's. Fired 200 rounds with a mix of freestyle, strong and weak hand shooting. 200 rounds later my trigger finger was a bit fatigued. I learned this after I switched back to my stock Glock slide, 9mm cartridges looked huge and I felt my accuracy was a little off. It was hard to do a focused 25 yard shot. Either that was fatigue or I had to re-adjust to the recoil. Lesson learned: -- I'll have to shoot at least 50 rounds of 9mm ammo after using the conversion.

It's surprising to me, but light gun video games have never been popular enough for companies to make them, which is why platforms like Xbox 360 don't have them. Really sad...especially if you don't have enough time / money for real shooting. I like the Kinext/Airsoft suggestions. One can only dream.

I've also been told that the front sight width is a little different than older Glock models (not sure which ones exactly). See post #25 in this thread: http://www.brianenos.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=120012

BETWEEN SESSIONS, and for the last 6 months I'd been listening to Bob Mayne's Handgun World show. Some of his podcasts involved discussions with one of the local USPSA master-class shooters Steve Zopfi, and I learned a LOT of stuff listening to their disucssions. More recently, Steve has a podcast/YouTube production called the PowerFactor Show, which is currently geared towards novice shooters. Great stuff. HOME SESSION-- 30 minutes Went back to the fundamental skill of drawing from the holster. I think I actually dry fired no more than a dozen times. Instead I really worked on awareness and feel, at all phases of the draw up to getting on target. On the PowerFactor show, Steve talked about indexing his forearm to his pistol so that the forearm is resting against it, prior to the draw stroke. I never thought about extending the "index" conept to all positions, not just when the gun's pointed at the target. Makes a lot of sense. Before I grip the holstered gun, I tried something new, and indexed my support hand just above my belt. While I'm forming my strong hand grip, my left hand will stay on my stomach so that the tip of my little finger touches the metal of the belt buckle. Seems like the most reproduceable place for me and maybe it'll help for consistency. Lessons learned: -- I still don't feel a consistent two-hand grip and don't have a sense how high to get my support hand up on the gun. -- My shoulders seem too tense when I extend the gun to the garget. I will work on keeping them relaxed. Only drive the gun and arms forward to the target, not the shoulders or shoulder blades. -- Any feedback or suggestions for my posts are appreciated.

1/17/11 RANGE SESSION - IDPA target After a couple of months of shooting, I'm realizing that I should get back to working on a fundamental: making sure I am forming a consistent 2 hand grip. I'm more aware that the feel of my two-hand grip can vary-- no doubt more than it should. Today's practice was from low-ready position with a two-hand grip. I'd recently switched back to using a medium backstrap, which seems the best size to allow my support hand to have the firmest contact with the grip panel. The hand is also much more cammed down than in the past; my support thumb is now parallel to the frame. In the past, my first knuckle of the thumb was lower than the tip of my thumb. 20 yards: 30 rounds front sight focus. Focus on accuracy and not speed. Practiced trying to call the shots, which is still difficult for me at this range. 4" groups but I notice about 4 shots were -1, at 12 o'clock. My front sight bisects the center circle of the target so I'm not sure if I'm doing this correctly or if I should put my front sight at the bottom (6 o'clock) of the 0 circle. 10 yards: about 21 rounds of Moz drills. Front sight focus so I'm pretty slow. Down 0 for all shots, which tells me I guess I can shoot a little faster. 5 yards: Pseudo "Bill drills" x 5, 5 rounds each. Some shots were straying into the low left area of the center and 1 or 2 shots were -1. I was ensuring that I had some sort of sight picture before I broke the shot, but I can't remember if I was focusing on the target or the front sight. Lessons learned today: -- I think the $0.25 trigger job worked. The trigger break seems a little cleaner, maybe a little lighter. During my 20 yard shot-calling practice I was "surprised" by the trigger break for a lot of these shots, which is something I hadn't experienced in a while. -- I'm flinching very little now, if at all. But my low-left shots tell me I still need more practice with my trigger pull. -- When the trigger breaks and during recoil, I still don't feel like my front sight returns to the notch on a consistent basis. I guess I shouldn't be surprised given that I've adjusted my 2 hand grip slightly. I'll try to stick with this form for now. Goals before the next range trip -- Will keep working on forming a consistent grip while practicing draw strokes. -- Awareness training. Will keep practicing forming a sight picture with eyes closed, as described in Brian's book. -- I've been almost exclusively Type 3 and Type 5 focuses up till now. Will try focusing on targets when I dry fire at home. -- Maybe time to get a shot timer so I can track my progress more precisely.

Great forum here and now a "Beyond Fundamentals" follower. Been through the book once and am re-reading it. I hope to apply the principles as I post more. My bio: -- 40-something male. Right-handed. VERY near sighted but I'll wear soft lens eye contacts in competition. -- New to pistols but not to marksmanship. I used to shoot .22 rifles on a high school team. But no firearms between then and now. -- Just started pistol shooting Spring 2010 after I took an introductory handgun course. Demoed rental pistols from Spring 2010 to Summer 2010 before buying. Maybe about 500 rounds total. My current gear: -- Bought my first gun in August 2010: Glock 17, Gen 4 -- Completely stock. No mods at this time. Stock polymer sights. 5.5 lb connector -- Well, maybe the only "mod" was a 25 cent trigger job. Polish and cloth only. No Dremel. Did that just yesterday and it did seem to help -- Uncle Mike's instructor belt -- CompTac Paddle holster -- CompTac twin mag pouch x 2 -- SureFire G2X Tactical (wow, it's bright) -- Peltor Tactical 7S electronic muffs -- ICE Naro eye protection -- Stack of IDPA paper targets -- no shot timer (yet) +-- Had a Serpa holster, but didn't like the retention tab. My philosophy: -- Interested in carry / personal defense, and want to shoot matches with the same gun as if I would use for defense. So, no race gun or major Glock mods at this time. But the competition bugs are biting me quite a bit now... -- Really want to maximize my gun handling skills and marksmanship skills before I branch out to other pistols or divisions. My training and shooting so far: -- Will be shooting IDPA SSP for now. Will try USPSA in the summer months if time allows (maybe production division?) -- Did lots of reading and lots of dry fire since August. -- Took a defensive pistol class in the fall, did a classifier the same night -> NV classification. Ugh-- I think I was too tired and that was my mistake. -- Just did a second classifier last month -> now at MM level, and a couple of seconds short of SS Shooting/training venues: -- Western Washington clubs for competition -- Indoor range up to 25 yards. Allowed to draw from holster but no Bill drills allowed. -- BUT, there's an open, no-lane training bay that I'll have limited access to. Bill drills allowed there. They even have barricades available. -- Dryfire and other drills at home Thanks, and looking forward to posting more. ST

thanks jbp

Anyone know the width of the stock polymer front sight? I couldn't find it anywhere and I don't have a caliper to measure it.

Welcome neighbor!

OK, this'll be a bit of a thread drift but it seems that most people -- even the ones that would shoot an otherwise completely stock Glock -- change out the sights. Why are the original sights inferior to other products out there? I have the stock polymer sights on, and I can understand that it's challenging to use them at longer distances to hit A's or "down 0's" like at 30 yards plus...

Congratulations! Definitely a gift that keeps on giving...

This might be a little off topic but can you tell me what sights you have on your Glock? I'm just trying to get a better frame of reference.

Thanks for everyone's input. I'm also starting to read between the lines a little-- that a longer sight radius doesn't seem to hurt and may help a lot. Number of G34 > G17 > G19's out there. My philosophy for now is to shoot with something that would most resemble a pistol I would carry, so I'm not ruling out competing with a G19 in the future. More mileage needs to go on my G17 first. MarkCO-- To summarize what you said and to make sure I understand, that the 25 cent trigger job would tend to reduce the range of pressures that would allow the trigger to break?