DKorn

My goal in shooting on the move was primarily to get a feel for it under match conditions. I went in with the mindset of “don’t stop moving unless I have to”. I’m also switching to Carry Optics in a month, so I’m trying to get used to shooting on the move more instead of run-stop-shoot-run.

Thanks guys, I was hoping that everyone’s suggestions would mirror what I picked up on- any time I was moving and doing something else at the same time, I was leisurely strolling from position to position. This was also the first time I’ve really worked shooting while moving into a match with any success. In the past, I think I moved too fast so I couldn’t shoot well and ended up overrunning targets and having to stop. This match, I focused on slowing down and getting lower while shooting and moving at the same time. I also made a mental change- instead of looking for opportunities to shoot on the move (and not finding many), I went into the match with the idea of only stopping when necessary. How’d I do on shooting on the move?

Here’s my video from yesterday’s match. This match had a bunch of firsts for me: first outdoor match in Production, first stage win (Stage #1, 2nd to last stage in the video), and first B class classifier. What do you guys see that could be improved here? I have my first ever major match in a month, so I’m looking for anything that I can improve before then. I have my own ideas about what needs to be improved, but I’d like to hear from others first.

Here were my goals from the original thread: 1-Create a dry fire schedule, then meet or exceed the scheduled amount of practice. 2-Create a fitness/workout plan, then meet or exceed the plan. 3-Attend my first major match. Probably will be either the Buckeye Blast or Battle in the Bluegrass 4-Start ROing at matches. I did the class this year but haven’t taken the step of ROing much at matches. 5-(Maybe) Take a class of some sort. I live only 2ish hours away from Steve Anderson’s home range, so that’s the direction I’m leaning IF I go for a competition-specific class. I might do a more general handgun class instead, since I have basically no formal training on the actual fundamentals of pistol shooting. I also may put this off another year due to cost. 6-Read Practical Pistol Reloaded, Dry Fire Training Reloaded, With Winning in Mind, and Get to Work. Reread Practical Shooting: Beyond Fundamentals. Apply what I learn to my training and shooting. 7-I’d like to make at least B class this year, and try for IDPA Expert or higher. Here’s my progress on each goal: 1- I set out to dry fire 3 weekdays for 15+ mins each time and either dry fire 1 weekend day for 30+ mins or do live fire practice or a match. So far I’ve mostly met my schedule, although not as well as I’d like. As a result, I am improving, but not as fast as I hoped. 2- I have made no progress on this goal. 3- I am signed up to attend both Battle in the Bluegrass and the Buckeye Blast, as well as the Ohio State 3-Gun Championship. 3 Gun isn’t my focus, but it’s only an hour away so it was a no brainer. 4- I have RO’d some at 2 matches so far this year. I’ve also only attended 2 USPSA matches so far, plus some Monday night outlaw USPSA-ish matches. 5- I will probably defer this to next year due to cost. 6- Have read all except Dry Fire Reloaded. I’m currently about halfway through it. Still need to reread Practical Shooting: Beyond Fundamentals. Will probably make this something I do at least every 6-12 months since it helps motivate and refocus me. 7- Currently classified as C in Production. I shot Single Stack last year, so this is a god start. I’m going to switch to Carry Optics in April and plan to push either that or Production to B class.

Mine is on a Walther Q5.

I’m using a Vortex Viper 6 MOA. For the distances and target sizes we shoot, a large-ish dot seems better since it’s faster to pick up and still doesn’t cover too much of the target area.

Just remember if you’re shooting any upcoming major matches that the changes don’t take effect until May.

Or I could just not put a dot in my magwell and spend the 5 minutes that would take me and practice Burkett reloads instead.

I wasn’t sure if rulings on an appendix were invalid if the appendix was majorly revised.

Is it legal to do the dot (or smiley face) inside the magwell under the new Production rules once they take effect?

Very interesting. I think I’m going to start videoing my reloading technique and re-evaluating my gun position. I had been taking Steve Anderson’s comments in his book about moving the gun the minimum amount needed to do the reload as my main focus and it might be what’s holding me back from more consistent reloads. I’ve also constantly heard the advice from many shooters of “Don’t drop the gun so low”. If I post a 10 second clip of my reloads, would you guys be willing to chime in about gun position or any other inneficiencies?

Interesting. Do you think the magwell is the main reason for the difference?

I disagree. I would rather do the reload as close as possible to the firing position so that I can get the gun back on target sooner after the reload. I’ll pull the gun in some, but I see lots of people do the “elbow into ribs” reload. That said, my reloads aren’t quite perfect yet, but when I miss them, it always happens for one of 3 reasons: -Improper grip on the new mag (finger not high and straight along the front of the mag) -Not really focusing my vision on the correct part of the magwell or moving my vision back off the magwell to soon -Rushing, which usually leads to one of the first 2 errors I’d say find the position that works, then figure out how to do it consistently, and then practice it for hundreds or thousands of reps in dry fire so that the skill is subconscously available to you.

From the USPSA rulebook: 1.1.5.3 Standard Exercises and Classifiers may specify shooting with the strong hand or weak hand unsupported. The specified hand must be used exclusively from the point stipulated for the remainder of the string or stage. 1.1.5.4 Medium or Long courses of fire may stipulate the use of either strong or weak hand, provided that only one hand, either strong or weak, is specified for no more than the last 6 shots required. 1.1.5.5 A course of fire which, through the use of props, requires a competitor to shoot both strong-hand-only and weak-hand-only must not require that the shooter transition directly from one to the other. The course of fire mAustin provide movement and unencumbered freestyle target engagement between the two.

Which rulebook? This might vary from sport to sport.

In general, looks like you’re dropping your gun low during movement. You’re also possibly taking your weak hand off of the grip during movement when you don’t need to. On stage 3, you ran to the left then back to the right before engaging the first array. It looks to me like maybe you got “lost” on your way there. Maybe some more visualization would help?

How often would you use this in a match? Are there any classifiers that require this skill?

If this had been under USPSA rules, the course of fire isn’t over until the “Range is clear” command is given. If I’m ROing, I won’t give that command until the gun is holstered and the shooter removes their hand from the gun. Therefore, I would agree with the DQ. However, this was under IPSC rules, which I have no knowledge of.

The shooter fired a miss while engaging targets. Unless there was another action going on (reloading, etc.) or the round went over the berm or impacted within 10 feet of the shooter, I wouldn’t DQ the shooter. A miss is a miss, whether it’s a close miss or a really bad miss.

I didn’t even think about situations like that, where you’d want to switch guns because you’ve made a recent change that isn’t working out. However, by my reading of 5.1.7, a switch is only allowed if the gun and/or sights become “unserviceable” or “unsafe”. Is “I switched to an m&p recently and realized on the first stage that I’m not used to it yet and want to go back to my Glock” or “I put a new comp on and it isn’t as nice as I thought it would be” enough justification to switch?

To me, it’s simple: -Do you have a legitimate reason to switch? If yes, go ahead. If not, then you’re trying to game it and probably shouldn’t be allowed to switch. I’d be pretty lenient here. Unless your gun is running 100%, I’d probably ok a switch. -Is the gun legal for the division? If yes, go ahead and switch. If not, go ahead and switch, but welcome to open. Am I interpreting this correctly?

Thats what I found as well, and my logic about what it should be. However, a few people pointed out to me that the IDPA rulebook says that concealment is always required unless otherwise specified, so it’d be nice if they could clarify.

Do you mind sending me a link when you get a chance? I’d like to be able to show it to others who have the same question.

On the new 5 x 5 IDPA classifier, is concealment required? I know it isn’t on the longer classifier, but I can’t find anything specific to the new one.

I’m literally sitting at my desk doing this with my mouse and it’s maddeningly slow, yet people do the shooting equivalent in matches all the time and have no idea how much time they’re wasting.