JeremiahD

4/30- DF- Elements day, covered all elements for 5 min each, covered movement drills and moving while reloading for :15 5/1- afternoon: quickie at the static range mostly to test two loads I ran off for fun. 4.0grn Bullseye is easy shooting, nearly no sight lift, and accurate as heck. No idea if it makes major, need a chrono. Also ran 40 rounds of loose ammo I needed to burn off, noticeable improvement in grip and gun control, much faster follow up shots. 5/1- evening: Miamisburg indoor. Was a pretty straightforward layout, felt faster, shot ok. Pushed for speed up close and missed a few, still had enough time to make the shots up. Disappointed I let the sights go.. when the buzzer went off apparently so did my brain.... but again I was trying to push my time down and see what happens. I really need to call my shots at all times. Will see when the scores come out in a day or so. A47, B2, C20 D3, no mikes or NS (thank you Memphis, Sarge, and IHAVEGAS, the advice continues to pay off.) 5.1135 HF, 64:34 time. Lesson learned- effectively make up misses & dont turn off yer brain.

Note: I do understand until I personally put it together and chrono it with My gun, load data is a ballpark. I am relatively new to reloading and have been playing it safe with my loads, keeping it well within Major. I have been a bit leery of running a load much lighter than the published data in the books so I dont screw something up. My current recipe has been the following (partly due to price and availability of the components): 230grn Powerbond plated HP, 4.7grn Bullseye, with a COAL of 1.200 (+/- .005) and Federal match (and occasionally Winchester) large primers, Factory 1x fired PPU brass with an average length of 0.94. FWIW, I am using a Colt combat commander with a 4.75" barrel. I came to this via the Speer book for their GDHP which suggests a start charge of 4.5 and max of 5. After doing alot of digging around the internets, it appears plated should be loaded close to lead, and I've run across more than a few people who have loaded all the way down to 3.6grn Bullseye. As a test, I ran 20 at 4.0 and another at 4.3 just to try it out. As it turns out, not only do they function beautifully in my commander with a stock springs, but they're an absolute joy to shoot. Right back on target, little to no lift at all, two holes touching. I'm totally sold on light loads. Anyway, now that you know the background, whats the lightest 230grn 45ACP load folks are running and still making Major PF, particularly using bullseye and/or plated rounds? Am I off base assuming I should load plated like lead?

Wrapped up DF basics, started program today. Time requirements for DF dont seem as demanding anymore, enjoy doing it. Generally annoyed with lifting progress. Getting better at controlling my launches and landings running around the backyard but dang thats hard. Knees and thighs are feeling it No live fire this past week unfortunately. Looking forward to establishing some standards in live fire so I can improve the quality of DF. New shoes are flippin' amazing. Need a shot timer (finally to that point)

Keep it up brother! Looking forward to your match report from the ProAm!

4/19- DF changed things up in DF to combat boredom, target transitions on partly obscured targets last night. added :10 draw and :10 reload to keep it fresh in mind. will continue to work hard at draw regardless of what else I'm DF'ing. Skipping the Miami match this weekend to get caught up on household stuff, car repair, reloading etc and be able to focus entirely on shooting next two weeks as I start drills and small stages in the yard/garage to hit field skills hard before a string of matches. Upcoming schedule is miamisburg Monday 4/24, Tues/Wed/fri trail runs, range Thurs 4/27, Then starting the "slow but accurate" schedule in Stoegers book starting 4/29 along with 4 matches the first week of may: Miamisburg indoor 5/1, Circleville on 5/6, Oxford 5/7, Miamisburg indoor 5/8. I am pushing for noticeable improvement in field courses by the Ohio state match. pt note, Switching to trail running for awhile, did Germantown yesterday and it did more for my agility than 10 days of sprints. Lifting is progressing, like everything else, slowly. Hope my shoes arrive soon.

4/18 addendum... busted up my left hand up doing reloading drills by jamming the mags with the top of my palm and not the heel. cant quite figure a good grip on that last mag around back to get it to "palm" right. On the upside, speed continues to improve on draw and reload. Mildly annoyed I'm not improving faster, want it all and want it NOW

4/18 - all that DF and yesterday was a table start lol did ok given the intentionally convoluted stage they set up, I managed to shoot well, just... slow. *sigh* 2 penalties NS, M/NS but they were darn close on the perf. again given the number and placement of ports, walls and NS's I'm ok with it. Learned: don't turn your brain off, keep tabs on everything and trust your walkthrough.

lots of obligations and time commitments this past weekend, was only able to work in :15 draw, :15 reload on sunday. Indoor match tonight, will focus on getting my times in live fire faster.

In my (very) limited uspsa experience, I'm shocked at the number of people who straggle up to the line after the stage brief has been read, then either pester squadmates as to what the cof is, ask questions of the RO that was covered by the brief when they get up to shoot, or not worry about it and just shoot and blow the stage. Personally I get there early and listen hard since I'm so new I don't know enough to assume. Not criticizing the OP, just scratching my head at what I've seen personally

the 4/8 match scores finally got posted and I'm actually satisfied with the result: 67A, 16C, 1D, 1M/NS. I know exactly what I did to earn the M/NS (lost the front sight by rushing) and the D (yanked the trigger) as soon as it happened, so I'm ok with that. Being as it was a classifier, movement was a non-issue. Still working on Draw this week and its progressing ok. DF will continue daily for Draw, will add Reload element as a separate :30 DF next week. Will focus runs almost exclusively on sprints and direction changes starting next Monday. Speed is whats holding me back now, need to build up without losing accuracy/fundamentals...

Wanted to pass along a quick word of thanks to you and Sarge. Been visualizing my target area per your advice and have reduced the M/NS considerably. Shot a match last night with no penalties on almost all partly obscured targets, and in at least one case excellent groupings exactly where I wanted them between the NS and the edge of the target on the border of A. Cant ask for more than that, points-wise. Now to work on speed.. thanks gents!

4/9- took the day off with family, skipped PT/DF. Planned DF for the next 2 weeks focusing on draw and reload (separately) 4/10- Mburg indoor match, Shot well (53A, 2B, 15C, 2D, no penalties). Still slow, but better getting back on the sights, a little faster transitioning. Technique still sucks, but got some good tips from another (better) SS shooter. I still move like a guy in size 14 shoes and as noted from Saturdays match, I draw like a robot. Both can be fixed. My draw seems completely different from DF to match mode. Will begin working on smoothness today, adding speed as I go, and by next week trying to beat the timer provided my technique is worked out by then.

4/8 - Wilmington match, 6 classifier stages. Picked a squad that I assumed was close to my level of shooting to maybe remove some of the "audience intimidation" factor, ended up with a number of folks with a negative mindset. Would have been better off squadding with folks above my current abilities both for attitude, and for learning purposes. Match and squad had some other major issues not appropriate to address here, just noting for my personal log. I suspect these issues were exceptions in an otherwise fine match. Volunteered as the scorekeeper, they seemed to be shorthanded. Shooting order wasn't logical and I spent more time worrying about that than I did shooting for myself. Shot acceptably well once I relaxed, focused on shooting, not running the score sheet or dealing with other tasks. Still have first stage jitters. Called most of my shots on the second half of the stages, occasionally would lose focus and would pay for it with a D or a miss (which were thankfully few) First few stages were a wash I think but I'll wait for the scoring to see. Someone took several videos of me and I have been able to identify where I can make up speed: a slow draw I seem to do in stages, and an inconsistent reload technique. I will focus specifically on these in DF until the motion is consistent and fluid. Lessons Learned: Learned squadding is just as important as every other factor you can control. Learned a few other things match related I will remember. Learned I need to work on focus and limit distractions. Learned I need a game plan, but not obsess over the first stage and just relax and treat it like the last stage. Thinking I should get up early and do some dryfire or go for a run or something to blow off steam before matches. Need a pre match ritual or something to get a game face on. Need to focus DF on draw and reload. Videos: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_uWnFNXk60KWTEtaVl5cDMyVFk/view?usp=sharing https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_uWnFNXk60KekF3Q05NMzNySDg/view?usp=sharing https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_uWnFNXk60KNnVSeElCOUVvZE0/view?usp=sharing https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_uWnFNXk60KOHdTZjJQQ201UjA/view?usp=sharing

4/7 - live fire, static range, just 100 rounds. concentrated on picking up the front sight faster on second shot. two, strong, offhand at 30 yards. Had a tough time concentrating.

I recently heard someone tell me that if one spoke to others the same way he spoke to himself in his head, he would have no friends. Focus on the lesson, not the failure.

4/6- PT, no run, lift #3 DF, :45min review of draw, reload, target transition. (:15 each) static range friday, match saturday, review and build next weeks DF sunday, indoor match monday. Trying to get as much accomplished as possible before the end of May so I'm solid going into the buckeye blast. need to get a range membership, preferably to miamisburg.

Krym, I'd be interested to know why you went with a mid cut shoe. Just curious. i found a local Merrill dealer who was willing to order two pair (all out crush / moab fst) in my size to try out, no strings. I may have found my shoes, thanks for all the assistance. Will post a brief review of whatever I end up with in this thread. thanks for the help.

4/5 PT- :30 cross DF- :45 min split between ' target transition' and 'movement' elements.

Welcome!

4/4 - PT- AM run, :30, PM lift#1 DF - :45 min, split evenly between 'draw' and 'reload' elements. Worked with new belt/pouches/holster, went well, video helped. slow (~1sec) but accurate and consistent on draws and reloads both. will work on par times after the 'boot camp' weeks

I believe the old joke is... "Very carefully".

Ok gang, thanks for humoring me with the details. I know there's a million "what shoe" threads here but those details are appreciated. Based on what I'm seeing, the salomons are definitely out, as they seem to be consistently narrow (and I know I don't like the fit on Addidas). I've never been a fan of New Balance fit for me, its almost like the laces dig in, but I will check them out just in case. Dan, how is the lateral tracton on the Altra's? I'm leaning strongly towards those Merrils, theres a dealer near my job who carries them so I can at least check them out in person (although probably not try them on..) I'm currently wearing a pair of their casual dress shoes (I know, apples/oranges..) and I like the way they fit. If nothing else, I should be able to see them side by side with the other contender, Brooks Cascadia GTX. BTW, Sarge, funny you chimed in here, I was checking out your footwear sunday at the match in the mud and wondered what those were...

I have, the Cascadia GTX is on the short list as I'm partial to Brooks shoes and I like the waterproofing. Do they seem to be a "typical" fit for you or have you noticed any oddities (small toe box, slightly off sizing etc) I should be aware of? TBH, the support in the Beast is overkill for anything off pavement as the terrain is going to vary anyway, but figured I'd list what I run in. Neutral is fine, just like some arch support

This is a new spin on the usual "what shoe" threads I've been searching through. Bear with me. I have seen the predominant shoe here and at matches are various models of Salomon speedcross followed by choices by Innov8 and a few others. The recommendations seem based on personal preference, primarily weight and traction. NO ONE carries any decent trail shoes in my size (14 US) in stock so just going out to try them on is not an option (I've tried.) I'll have to put down a nonrefundable deposit and order if I want Salomons for example, I'm a runner and am super picky about my shoes. I'm also a bigger dude (for a runner) at #200 or so.. I seriously overpronate when I run so I'd rather a neutral shoe with solid arch support for trail running/matches. I run a Brooks Beast (which is very heavy on the support) when I do any distance stuff, but theres little off road traction, and they weigh a ton. Sprinting in them is a PITA. All that said... I'd like to know what footwear has been working for you, but more importantly I'd like to know HOW those shoes are fitting you. do they run a bit narrow? supportive arches or flatter footed? Do you run? If so, whats your usual running shoe? Big (12+) feet? ANY sizing, fit, or support detail, any quirk or perk I'd like to know. Hopefully I can extrapolate that into making a good decision on shoes, sight unseen.

is there still enough structure to be freestanding without the foam?