Sporky

Thanks so much for all the input guys! I really appreciate it. I don't mean to blame the gun for my being stuck in D class. I just know that I will do so much better with a 2011 from the limited experience I have shooting them. And I plan on doing a TON of dryfire this off season because I am going to go nuts not being able to go shoot every weekend! I know the major problem lies in my fundamentals.....and the heavier 2011's will let me get by until it get better. The weight helps with recoil, the trigger helps me with not slapping the trigger as much, and DAMN they look cool too. I am hoping to keep a plastic fantastic gun so I can really work on my fundamentals without any "crutches" as well. I really admire the guys that can run those guns quickly and accurately. In my limited experience they are much less "forgiving" of your flaws. In the mean time, I will be watching the classifieds and eating ramen noodles to save up for the Unicorn Gun!

Well....shot one of my favorite matches this Sunday down at ACC. I didn't do as well as I had hoped, but I did do a few things pretty well. Overall not the greatest score, but I did get a 3rd and a 4th on a couple of stages. My stage planning is coming along nicely, and I am moving well between positions. I spent most of the match reminding myself to grip the gun tightly, and focus on the front site. When I do that correctly, I shoot top 5 at least. When I don't.....14-15th place at best. I am encouraged to know that when I shoot well, I can beat M and A level shooters. I just need the consistency to do better over all. Shooting limited Minor is a challenge as well. I know I am dropping points left and right. All I can think about is getting an STI of some sort! I am sooooooo curious to see what scores I could get when I am not dropping points. I am trying not to be too hard on myself all the time, and i'm trying to work on a couple of things at matches. Instead of trying to do everything all the time, I am just concentrating on two things at a time. One is the stage plan and burning it into my head. I think that is coming along nicely and I am satisified with that considering my experience level. (5 months). Two is my shooting fundamentals. Specifically gripping the pistol tightly, and front site focus. I knew when I had that 3rd place on a stage right away. When I finish with a stage and I can remember seeing my sights and calling shots, then I know I did well ( for me ). But when I finish a stage and close my eyes and try to think about a run and all I can remember is seeing targets......then I know it is nothing but doom on that stage. I am sure a 2011 pistol will help me with my fundamentals (at least the ones that I have already shot) until they catch up with my movement abilities. My goal next year are: Have a 2011 blaster of good quality and dependability dry fire enough to be rock solid with my sight picture gain enough strength in my hands, wrists, and forearms to control recoil and be rock solid EVERY TIME get my knee fixed so I can be even faster between positions Shoot more steel so I am not so paranoid when they come up on a stage Set up and practice classifiers so I can get my a$$ out of D class ( embarrassing ) Once I have my grip and recoil control figured out....work on my splits. I am not shooting the closer targets as quickly as most of the people in the classes above me. Something I really noticed this last match I am glad I am writing this all down........I will make a point to look at this again at the start of next season and see where I end up.

I wouldn't say it is the best idea to start out fast and then become a better shot.....there is a new guy that is going to be passing me by pretty quickly because he is a much better shot, even though I move 10 times faster than him.. I don't have a ton of coaching, just a session or two. Most of the time I am just asking a bunch of questions, reading a lot, and watching videos of my self compared to other people. I know of another person that made A class in one year because he had a bunch of good shooters to practice and travel to matches with. Plus it looks like he practices a great deal as well. I am just trying to motivate myself as much as possible to get out and practice, but I almost always do that alone as well. I am going to make it to the range tomorrow afternoon if it doesn't rain, and if I get enough bullets made. Oh and there is a reason I don't shoot production.......I hate reloading the gun that much!!!!!

check that out..

I have been meaning to get this range diary starting and I finally got up the nerve to do it. Since this is the first post, I will start with the back story. This is the first year for me shooting USPSA. As of 10-21-14 I have only been doing it for about 5 months. I was only a hobby shooter that was lucky to get out and shoot once a month if I was lucky. I went to a instructional 3 gun event at Hillside and had a great time and met some great people. I was so excited, I found a USPSA match in Warsaw and went the next day. Again I was lucky and I met RePete and his crew and they could have not been more friendly, helpful, and just great folks. I spent the day learning the ropes, and even learning to run the Nook. RePete even let me shoot a stage at the end of the match with his entire rig. To say I was hooked would be an understatement. Jump ahead to 5 months later.....I am shooting limited (minor) with an M&P, I am D class, and I have taken just a little bit of private instruction. I move the stages well, and my stage plans are better than my classification shows. My fundamentals are $hit, and I am tired of shooting this M&P. It is a great gun, but it is showing my flaws on every target. I shoot groups just fine, but when I run a stage, i think the excitement is causing me to snatch the trigger pretty badly. I shot a few 2011's and the difference was ridiculous. Targets that I would have had an alpha charlie or mike on, were now two alpha and they were almost touching. So I am saving up as we speak. ( hard to do with a wife and a 13 month old ) At this point, the equipment is an issue, my movement on a stage is pretty good, fundamentals when shooting and moving need serious improvement, and I generally need to dry fire a lot more than I am. But i am wanting to do that practice with the new 2011 that I will be getting so I don't get any weird habits by switching guns. I also started reloading as well, so there is a learning curve there as well. I had a lot of great help along the way. But I found out that everyone has a little bit different way of doing it, so I am going to have to find "My" way with it. Just for documentation purposes, let me write down some of the progress I have made, and what I need to work on: Went from FTE many targets on a stage to spending much more time "Burning it in" as Coach would say. That has made a huge difference in my times. Some of my times are in the A-B area on some stages. Still going too fast for my shooting abilities. I don't want to go any slower i just want to bring my shooting ability up to my ability to move. Fundamentals....dry fire is going to be my savior. I figured out that I am not griping the gun with enough force. When I concentrated on my grip on the last stage on the last Fort Wayne match, my score jumped like crazy. My speed was there and the shooting was catching up. I still need to make sure I am not pulling away from a target too soon to make the transition to the next target. Classifiers: my brain and body have no connection when it is classifier time. I need to set them up on the range and practice them. Being a D class is embarrassing because I know I can do better. Again, a new gun will help, but I can't use that as a crutch....i need to get the basics down pat. Sometimes slower is faster.....that is a hard one for me to do. Coach showed me the time and score difference just from being efficient and not such a spaz. Find the right balance of taking it seriously, and having fun. When I am not doing well....I tend to be very hard on myself. There were several matches that were a total abortion, and I drove a long way to not even have any fun. So the moral of the story is, if I can shoot to my potential, I will have more fun. Make more shooting friends. Just like everything else....my personality gets me in trouble sometimes. People really like me or really hate me...not a lot of in-between. So I need to try to figure out what I am doing that makes some people like me, and stop doing what people hate me for. I already try to be as helpful and I can be, but maybe I am not trying hard enough. I will try to do better. All I really want is to help out, and show them that I appreciate all the effort put into a match. And happy people are more fun to shoot with. Help new people. I was fortunate to have help when I started so I need to pay that forward. And there were tons of times when I could have used some help that I didn't get any......so keep your eyes and ears open and don't let others miss the help that I did. Also, I need to learn as much as I can so that I can be of some help. Nobody like a know-it-all, but they also don't like shitty advise from someone that doesn't know what they are talking about. Keep learning as much as you can......and don't be a dick. OK.....now the work begins.

Oh yeah.....I just started this year and I am practicing 1-2 times a week, 1 match a week, bough a Dillon 650, and selling off stuff I don't use from all my other hobbys so I can get a 2011 pistol.... Good thing my wife can't see my bank account! If i am going to spend this kind of money, it is hard for me to not have something brand new....

Wow great responses! I am going to keep the gun fund going and when I reach a solid amount in the bank I will get a "stock" or semi-custom unless I stumble into a good deal on a custom. I really just want something accurate so that I can focus on getting my skills up to where they need to be to make me happy This is my first year shooting (8 matches under my belt so far) and I am using an M&P 9mm. (yeah minor is killing me). I think the gun is not as accurate as it could be, and I really like shooting limited. I thought about going SS cause I really like my 1911, but all the reloads are too much for me to concentrate on when I need improvement in so many other areas. Thanks for all the advise and keep it coming! (and if anyone has a killer deal on an amazing gun, keep me in mind)

I am looking for my first 2011 limited gun. Should I buy a new Dawson CRP Edge or try to get a custom gun used? IF i am going to spend that kind of money, I would like shiny and new.....but I have never shot a custom gun so I don't have anything to compare it to. I am doing this in the next month or so.....any advise would help me out a TON

I found 4 lbs of it and im excited to get started with it... no crono so i can't be much help with that, but I will post my results from my M&P Pro 9