seeds76 Posted April 5, 2010 Share Posted April 5, 2010 What do you consider are the "basic skills" of USPSA matches? I'm really trying to develop a basic dry/live fire training regimen for myself for USPSA matches. Yeah I know there are tons of books and drills out there but I'm new and get overwhelmed with so much and don't know what to focus on. I guess you can say I'm a minimalist, so, what are the basic skills that I need to root myself in before I select drills that are actually practical? Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brooks Posted April 5, 2010 Share Posted April 5, 2010 If you are looking for skills and drills, Steve Anderson's is the way to go. You can order it right here on the website. I'd buy it and Brian Enos' book at the same time. Throw Brian's book on the shelf for a couple months and focus on the the dry fire drills if you don't want to overwhelm yourself. Once you have a good grasp of the skills needed read Brian's book. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shooterbenedetto Posted April 5, 2010 Share Posted April 5, 2010 I would say shoot a match and WALK the stage watching your muzzle,keeping your trigger out of the trigger guard when moving. Practice safety and shoot every week if you can. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mudman Posted April 5, 2010 Share Posted April 5, 2010 I'm no expert, but I would say the most basic skill is learning to keep the sights aligned while you pull the trigger. You can do this in dryfire - just watch the sights while you gradually increase pressure on the trigger. Your goal should be to see the sights remaining absolutely still the whole time. After that, I'd say learning to call your shots is one of the most useful skills you'll ever develop for any shooting sport. Do a title search for "call shots" and you'll find all you need to know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
konkapot Posted April 5, 2010 Share Posted April 5, 2010 In no particlar order Static Draw Moving draw Reload Target Transitions Recoil Management Grip Stance Sight Alignment/sight picture-I put shot calling in with these Shooting on the move Mental Prep/Visualization (both active and passive.) Mudman's post was good as well. FY42385 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jman Posted April 5, 2010 Share Posted April 5, 2010 I would say shoot a match and WALK the stage watching your muzzle,keeping your trigger out of the trigger guard when moving. Practice safety and shoot every week if you can. I would consider this a basic required skill set for all new shooters. The best starting point for sure. Add to it safe loading and unloading technique. Observe and learn from the most experinced shooters you can find. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flexmoney Posted April 5, 2010 Share Posted April 5, 2010 Steve Anderson's Refinement and Repetition is designed such that the first dozen or so drills are geared to improving on the basic skills that get tested in classifiers stages. They make a great foundation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seeds76 Posted April 5, 2010 Author Share Posted April 5, 2010 Steve Anderson's Refinement and Repetition is designed such that the first dozen or so drills are geared to improving on the basic skills that get tested in classifiers stages. They make a great foundation. Alright, alright. I gave in and picked up this book. Hopefully I'll be good as the praise it's given. Thanks everybody. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edison Posted April 5, 2010 Share Posted April 5, 2010 Steve Anderson's Refinement and Repetition is designed such that the first dozen or so drills are geared to improving on the basic skills that get tested in classifiers stages. They make a great foundation. Alright, alright. I gave in and picked up this book. Hopefully I'll be good as the praise it's given. Thanks everybody. I would also pick up the second book too, to save on shipping later. It has more movement drills, which I think is also a basic skill for uspsa. Not so much for classifiers, but for stage times. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flexmoney Posted April 6, 2010 Share Posted April 6, 2010 [Alright, alright. I gave in and picked up this book. Hopefully I'll be good as the praise it's given. Thanks everybody. Sorry for the goofy BOLD type. That was a goof from me copying and pasting the link. Steve used those drills to make Grand Master. I watched him progress. He did the work. Pursuing the excellence. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lugnut Posted April 6, 2010 Share Posted April 6, 2010 I'm not going to disagree with any of the posts here.. but I will put an emphasis on this: Learn to shoot accurately. Start at 25 ft and work to 25 yds. Start slow at first and build speed. Speed will show all flaws at 25 yds that weren't apparent at 25 feet. The best USPSA shooters I know shoot the tightest groups. When shooting fast you are trading accuracy for time... if you can't shoot accurately you have nothing to trade off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jar Posted April 6, 2010 Share Posted April 6, 2010 Learn to shoot accurately. Start at 25 ft and work to 25 yds. Start slow at first and build speed. Speed will show all flaws at 25 yds that weren't apparent at 25 feet. I agree. I shot a season of indoor bullseye this winter, and it's definitely helped my action pistol shooting. After shooting that itty bitty 10 ring at 50 feet, A zones / down 0s look gigantic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dangasaur Posted May 7, 2010 Share Posted May 7, 2010 With improved accuracy comes improved confidence. Confidence is key. And I just wanted to add something to what Jar said. When I first started shooting pistols a more experienced friend of mine gave me a drill to improve accuracy. -start with 4 10 round magazines -place target at 17 yards fire 10 shots, STOP -place target at 25 yards fire 10 shots, STOP -place target at >35 yards, 50 if you can, fire 10 rounds, STOP -place target at 17 yards fire 10 shots What this did for me is trick my brain into thinking that the 2nd presentation of the 17 yard target was much bigger than it actually was. It looked like the side of an airplane hanger after watching it get smaller and smaller out to 50 yards. This really helped me with accuracy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shooterbenedetto Posted May 8, 2010 Share Posted May 8, 2010 Balance every time you pull the trigger! I'll just throw this out there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken Nelson Posted May 9, 2010 Share Posted May 9, 2010 (edited) Safe Gun Handling - dry fire make ready sequence, draw, presentation, and slow fire - make sure your grip is good. Hard to describe in text. - Find an A shooter or above that will confirm/adjust your basic stance/grip. Just ask at a shooters meeting or on a local forum. Everybody has been there and can help. Make sure it's strong B or A or above... you don't get there with bad fundamentals. Straight Shooting - group fire 15 yards, then 25, then 50. This teaches you to see the sights and trigger control. Do each shot slowly. See the sights, exhale, see the sights, press trigger, release shot perfectly. Repeat. My practices start and end with 50 yard group fire. It makes the in between seem easy. Movement - google "ben stoeger dry fire drills". he has nightly 15 minute programs that work great for the entire game. Good luck. Ken N. Edited May 9, 2010 by Ken Nelson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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