monicataliani

That's what I said until I touched an open gun!!!

:roflol: :roflol:

Today is cause for celebration!!! I had my most intense dry fire session ever. I decided that because I hadn't done the Plate Rack Drills section of the SA book that I might as well go ahead and do it tonight. I really had it in the back of my mind that it was going to be too easy with an open gun. I mean... how hard is it to aim at my "plates" (actually post its because everything else seemed too big) with a dot? Also, it had been my favorite section to practice with production. WOW!!! First of all... You guys have all told me that shooting a full size was heavy. Especially for a girl who is as small as I am. I have yet to really run into feeling like my gun was heavy until tonight. Holy arm workout! Holding that thing out there for that long left me with some tired arms and shoulders. The other big thing is OMG does doing something that has such tiny targets really show you your flaws! I realized that I need to work on keeping my trigger pull really smooth. I was watching my dot wobble more than I would have guessed. I had never seen it do that because my targets were so much bigger that if it shook, you couldn't tell. With this, if it shook, it was off target. Similarly, it showed if I was being truly accurate while shooting on the move. The dot made it very easy to see any unintentional movement. I can't believe I just worked that hard. Seriously the most intense 45 minutes of dry fire ever! I wish all my dry fire was that focused!

I happen to be an innocent bystander when you all start up with your shenanigans. It isn't my fault I get squaded with a bunch of troublemakers... Evil... You are truly evil...

Dry fire... part 1 of the SA book. Focused on good grip and proper form while presenting.

Ridiculous! Remember...what goes around comes around...

No it wasn't..... OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I "TOTALLY" am being hazed for being a new open shooter!!!!

Wow! What a week! I have NOT dry fired pretty much at all due to being sick, then the match I was supposed to go to got canceled, and a practice session at the range with Colin got rained out. I am really feeling the pressure of having a major match in two weeks with only two Monday night practices and one Sunday match as potentials. Also I am kinda bummed about the loss of time I had by not dry firing this week. I just kept reassuring myself that if I was sick then #1 I needed to get better and #2 I wouldn't be taking much out of it because I wouldn't be focused. My goal for this week is to hit it HARD with dry fire to "make up" for my "time off." With switching to a new division so close to a major I can't really afford to miss out on any precious practice time. Back to twice a day practice!!! Last weekend I shot Circleville, Oxford, then Monday night at Miamisburg. I think I dry fired for about 15 min either Tuesday or Wednesday and worked on grip/draws a bit. Then the following day I did like 15 min working on draws and a bit of random stuff. I can't honestly remember which days. Then last night I did about half of the SA book. I really focused a lot on the draws and sho/who. I was told that better draws would help my dot positioning to be more consistent. Today I did the first section of the SA book again and worked on draws and sho/who. Then I made up all kinds of random "stages" that required me to run around and "shoot" from various weird positions so that I could try to simulate the times that my dot is shy and hiding somewhere. I even tried prone just to see what happens. I have to say that one time production is wayyyyy easier than open is when you have a belt full of mags that you are laying on! I also worked on my positioning of the gun as I was running into a shooting position, like trying to get the gun up and my hands where they needed to be so I could start shooting before I stopped running. Now I'm off to clean my gun and get packed for tomorrow!

Dry fire yesterday was all about the unloaded start and mag changes since I feel like I am having a hard time loading full mags into the gun. Today I worked on some of the following -make ready -unload and show clear -unloaded start -shooting on the move -6 reload 6 -strong hand/ weak hand

Only dry fired about a half hour today. I did a couple different arrays of targets and I did a couple with my "plate rack" (made of post-its because I felt like the paper plates were too big.) I did the whole procedure each time from make ready all the way through show clear. I in some ways feel like I should be just practicing from my SA book. The other part of me feels like I am still so unfamiliar with my equipment and all the extra things that go into open that building up these procedures is time well spent. As a shooter I feel like it is easy to focus on just the shooting when we all know that this game is so much more.

I "totally" (rofl) incorporated turning the dot on. It is step 1 for loaded or unloaded! That is why I had to work out a numbered procedure for making ready. So I dont forget something. Checking my mag is step 10! Thanks for saying I did well! I felt soooooooo (totally) out of my element that I wasnt able to shoot with the confidence I usually have. That is why I thought practicing make ready was an amazing idea because that is one more thing I can replicate and become familiar with.

Dry fire tonight was very little dry firing! After yesterday I realized how important each piece of the puzzle is and how different "make ready" is with an open gun. It totally made me feel unprepared that it wasnt automatic like it is with my production gun. So tonight I practiced making ready. I felt a little silly about spending an entire days dry fire on it but I settled on a step by step procedure for both loaded and unloaded starts. Then practiced them.

Adventures in Open Shooting

Dry fire tonight was kinda short but it was a bonus session since I had already live fired today. I did a lot with draws and then a bit with shooting on the move and finding my dot after running to a shooting position.

Live fire today! Got to know what happens to my dot with recoil added into the mix. Did a lot of pull onto target and just two shots to work on dot aquisition, tracking the dot, and splits. Then did some work on head shots. Ohhhhh.... once I figure this out I think I am gonna like this a lot!!!!!

Totally! At least we now know I use the word "totally" less in my writing than I use it in my speech!

I am so sorry for your loss. I have two dogs that are my world. I would be devastated if something happened to them. I cant imagine the pain you are going through.

No! Dude! Not at all! I was just saying I agreed that open is a very difficult division. I totally know a ton of people think it is so easy because of the dot but I am totally looking at it the same way you were talking about. Some things may be easier but there is a whole lot that will be harder. You were totally fine! Promise!

Dry fire yesterday I worked more on getting to know the gun. I did some stuff with transitions and started to learn how to shoot on the move with a dot. Today I did a few mag changes to get a feel for it but really focused a decent amount of time on draws and learning how to do strong hand/weak hand. Also did section 1 of S.Andersons book.

I am totally expecting it to be difficult! I have said all along I wasnt ready to play with the big boys in open! I am having a blast getting to know a new gun and learning to dry fire with it! Even if it doesnt go well I already feel like it will develop me as a shooter by learning the speed that open requires. I am really excited to see how it goes!

Today marks my first time wearing an open rig and my first open dry fire session. I am not 100% committed to this yet but thought I would give it a week and at least a Monday night match to see if it felt right! Day 1's assessment- I think I am gonna like this! Tomorrow I am going to do some real drills. Today I just spent some time learning about open guns and the equipment and how all that stuff works. I did a tiny bit with some draws and an even tinier bit with mag changes. One month until the Ohio match... the pressure is on!

It could have been better but it could have been worse! I had a really great squad and made a lot of new friends though! So I would say a good day overall!

Yesterday I did some live fire but it was really not a lot and it was for reliability purposes because of some recent trigger troubles. Tomorrow I will be shooting with a factory m&p trigger that I have only shot about 100 rounds with. I was a little concerned about that and some of the other little things from yesterday so I made sure I got to shoot a bit today to get a feel for it. I am hoping with all the adrenalin tomorrow I wont notice it! Im getting ready do a good cleaning of my gun and mags then run through the classifier drills in the SA book a couple times.

You haven't seen the last of me texas star...

Just as a heads up, you may want to check when Monday nights end because they dont go year round. I am not sure when they stop though.