GunBugBit
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Posts posted by GunBugBit
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I have a second toolhead all set up with CFE, dialed in to drop 5.5 grains. The goal is to produce 930-940 fps, with 920 fps being the lowest I'll accept.
On the original setup, if I really did start off with CFE then had a brain hiccup that made me refill with Titegroup, the chrono should show faster velocities than 730-ish fps when I re-chrono this load. The powder drops still weigh in around 4.4gr, but that same powder, if Titegroup when it was originally CFE, should give more velocity.
Everything is lined up to check this out - loaded rounds with each powder, fresh batteries for chrono, etc.
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On 4/24/2022 at 1:48 PM, USMC_JR said:
…it seems like the rhythm of the shots is the most important thing…
It’s huge! You can both see and feel this rhythm, so once your brain has experience with a gun’s cycling with a certain load and spring setup, you learn to time your trigger presses optimally.
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For me the neutral grip is the grip that most consistently makes the sights return to the alignment they had before the last shot. It’s been a while since I read Brian’s book but this is what the neutral grip came to mean to me.
For a time a thought the key might be raw crush force from the support hand. Big factor yes but there’s also some specific pressure I need from my strong hand thumb riding the safety and the lower fingers of that same hand. When I get it right my second shot in a fast double makes a hole pretty close to the first hole.
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Works better for me to not have the support hand thumb touching the frame. That’s for Glock and 1911/2011 alike.
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Fast reloads come into play the more you’re doing them, such as when shooting SS on a high round count stage.
One reason I like Steel Challenge is because the work I put into better draw speed contributes substantially to every string I shoot.
Back to reload speed - Now that I’m shooting Limited, my less frequent reloads don’t separate me much from those who beat me and those whom I beat in the division. On classifiers that require reloads, though, it’s worth having a fast reload.
Maybe some day I’ll be shooting matches where it’s more of a factor. That some day will be when I’m a retired Super Senior. Not far off at all. -
On 8/26/2022 at 6:57 PM, fraizer15 said:
Same as above, but I also try to focus on the entry to a shooting position and exit from a shooting position.
Yeah definitely. When going in depth on reexamining your fundamentals and breaking down every micro step of your draws, reloads, trigger presses, gun following your eyes, entries & exits etc., the timer can be put aside.
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Every time you switch guns, once you re-acclimate to the current one, you should be shooting it as well as you ever did. It might take a few days of dry fire and a couple of matches to be in your best form with that gun again, but I think many shooters find it pretty easy to do this.
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I’ve tried and I think I could make it work but the way I stabilize and control the gun becomes different and I don’t see a compelling reason to retrain myself to make it work well.
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I can’t prove it but I have had better matches when I was dry firing SHO and WHO more than usual. It could be because I was also dry firing freestyle (both hands) more than usual but I have a specific memory of one week where I did much more WHO dry fire than usual, then had an especially good match, and the match had no WHO in the stages.
Anyway, one drill I like is a modified Four Aces where I use SHO or WHO on the second two shots. The par time if you’re switching to WHO can be the same as a normal Four Aces if you skip the reload. But it’s useful to include the reload too because some classifiers have you reloading before switching from freestyle to WHO. For that, add maybe a second to your par time.
Another thing I do sometimes is simply a lot of WHO trigger presses for a couple of minutes to build the left-side stabilization and trigger press muscles a little bit.
A a few minutes of these types of things every time you dry fire should be plenty.
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This weekend I’m going to chrono the following:
180gr Black Bullets (coated)
5.5gr CFE
1.192” COAL (close to your stated 1.2”)
Based on loads posted on this forum and on Hodgdon’s load data web page, I think this will give a high minor or possibly low major PF. I’m aiming for 930-940 average fps. I’ll tweak as needed and let you know my results.
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I shot another match. I did less good. I had hardly dry fired in the week before the outing, and was a little curious about how I’d do. I got my answer and it was no surprise. My percentage of C’s went up and in general I just wasn’t crisp. But it was great to get out there in 108 degree heat and sweat. I felt great the following morning and got to work revisiting old training notes, reloading some .40, etc.
My club is alive and well and the people are still great. Some new faces. It’s fun to see people discovering the joy of competition shooting. Almost everyone says they wish they had gotten started earlier.
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I’m 64 and still feel like my eyes don’t need an electronic optic. My days of that are numbered so when I want to compete in the reindeer games with an optic, I’ll most like go with a race gun over a limited optic or carry optic.
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A 1911 or 2011-pattern pistol that’s built right is as trustworthy as any other. Whether a person wants to carry one is another thing.
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Combo of watching the sights/slide and feeling what the gun does while you shoot as fast as you can, first with no target, then at a target 7 to 10 yards, and letting your brain soak in that visual and tactile input and figure out what that neutral grip is for YOU with THAT GUN - is what makes sense to me.
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The two guys I’ve seen make GM pretty quickly (like 18 months) were focused on speed and then worked out their accuracy at that speed.
One guy I’m thinking of was still unclassified after his first all-classifier due to so many mikes. But he told us he was going to start dry firing two hours every evening and he did so and put it all together. His mode was always pressing the trigger as fast as he could, and then doing so many rapid trigger presses in dry fire that his top speed rose beyond what most of us even attempt. He did take a class with a GM (Nick Saiti) who is a very good teacher. He also hung out with the crowd of Nick padawan learners, all of whom became good though not all GMs.
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In reality, sometimes it’s top, top left, miss,
top right, bottom left, miss, miss, bottom right.
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On 5/15/2023 at 7:41 PM, Npoulson said:
I use one of those grip weight things
charlie perez has a great segment on grip all versions
very detailed and interesting
he suggests getting a grip weight pull from amazon and checking your grip
that your grip pressure with strong hand should be 100lbs…
Charlie is blessed with huge and I suspect naturally very strong hands that I believe he also works on to be even stronger. More important, he knows how to use this raw strength to his benefit.
I am not overly gifted in hand strength but I do grip work and try to use what modest hand strength I have as effectively as I can.
Sometimes it’s more about the nuances of hand and finger pressure than pure crush force. Though I wouldn’t mind being able to easily exert 150 lbs of pressure through a whole stage.
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There’s HAVING the hand strength and there’s USING it. I’m mainly thinking of the finer aspects of it, like using the right amount of support hand pressure CONSISTENTLY while keeping the trigger finger relaxed. One thing I keep reminding myself about is getting the support hand firm as soon as I’m on target.
I experienced better scores during a Steel Challenge match where I emphasized always-firm support hand over draw speed. Not that my draw speed couldn’t stand improvement because it definitely could.
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Just shoot well enough with your expensive gun to avoid the “nice gun, consider learning how to shoot it” comments.
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Definitely shoot better with good shooers. Have been fortunate to shoot Steel Challenge matches with an Open GM who dispensed many practical tips I had not thought about.
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A while back on this forum I got into a discussion about motivation and one comment was that it’s not motivation you need, it’s discipline.
Of course discipline is needed if you are seriously pursuing improvement, and to truly improve. It’s what keeps you doing things whether you feel like it or not. It’s what gets you out of ruts and off of plateaus.
For me, motivation is what decides which things I apply discipline to.
I’ve been motivated to apply some discipline to shooting because I enjoy seeing myself improve in an activity that brings me joy whether I’m great at it or not. I haven’t applied enough to become a top shooter, and I’m not saying I could do that, but I could be better than I am now (nearly all of us could be).
My motivation is: shooting is among the most enjoyable activities I’ve ever done, and I do have a bit of competitive spirit in me, so I allocate a portion of my discipline to it. I apply discipline to my work because I like being able to pay my bills and have plenty left over. I apply discipline to eating healthy and exercising because I prefer to be vital and strong. Like everyone else, I make choices concerning where I care to apply discipline, and the degree of discipline I dedicate to each thing.
A person might be motivated by a goal like shooting like a boss in any match at every level. This obviously requires a very high degree of discipline because you will be in competition with others whose level of discipline is also very high. Even if you are ultra talented, you will compete against people who also have a combination of similar talent and discipline.
We’ve all seen highly talented people beaten by people who work harder, and people whose talent helps them edge out someone who works very hard but the more talented person works hard enough to perform better. Or, two competitors whose talent/discipline blend seems similar but one has a more helpful mindset.
If you love what you’re doing, that’s going to help. The man who loves walking will walk a longer distance than the man who loves the destination.
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I can’t count the number of times I find I’m one of two guys on a 10-shooter squad out there resetting stages.
This time of year we are shooting in 110+ degrees (Phoenix). It’s tempting to stay in the shade and BS with your buddies about your new optic while other guys tape and reset the steel.
I deal with this in various ways and ultimately the stages get reset, someone runs the clock and someone else keeps score. I’m a certified RO and could/should run the clock more so I’m far from perfect.
I’ve only ever been aware of one person who refused to do anything to help. Fortunately he’s not usually at the matches I shoot.
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I’ve been through a few breaks from weekly or twice-weekly matches and have experimented with the correlation between almost no dry fire before returning, versus at least a week of 20 to 30 minutes per day.
No surprise, there’s a huge difference.
My motivation to get back out there is nothing more than I really enjoy it.
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I’m pretty sure it’s the facial expression that makes the bullets go where you want.
Seriously, I’ve been reminding myself not to hunch, apply proper support hand pressure, and keep the trigger finger relaxed.
My face does whatever it does - grimace, smile, not even sure.
Viable Starting Load for .40 S&W Major?
in 10mm/40 Caliber
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Yes I see exactly what you're saying when I look at Hodgdon's load data for the two powders.