Wik's USPSA Progression and Range Diary

[Wik]

I am new to USPSA shooting and wanted to start this thread to track my progress. I will start out by saying that I'm not someone like Ben Stoeger, or others in this forum that you should be mimicking or seeking advice from As of today, July 26th, 2010, I am unclassified as I am not currently a USPSA member. My league starts May 15th of 2011 and that will be my first year being classified. Currently I am a low to mid C class shooter. As of today I have fired maybe 5,000* rounds of 9mm, probably 350 of which have been through my Glock 34 that I am now using. As of today it only has a FO front sight and grip tape grips. I am shooting Federal 124 gr American Eagle ammo at around 1150 fps, putting it at ~142 pf.

*Very rough estimate. Round count could be anywhere from 3,500 to 6,000. Tough to keep track since I didn't buy in bulk when I started shooting.

This is largely to track my progress and to give me something to think about and compare future scores with as I progress in this sport. I will also track equipment changes.

Currently Have:

Glock 34

Red FO front sight

Grip tape grips

Amer. Eagle 124 ~ 1150 through 5.3" barrel (est.)

Comp Tac paddle for G34

Fobus paddle only holds 2 mags

Edited July 27, 2010 by Wik

[Wik]

Results from the last 3 weeks.

07/26/2010

Six Chickens* Modified—2 shots per target, no mandatory reloads (one reload necessary since 12 round course).

HF:

Time: 8.69

Points: 8 A's, 4 C's

Penalties: 0

Percentage:

Nuevo El Presidente

HF:

Time: 11.97

Points: 11 A's, 1 C

Penalties: 0

Percentage:

07/19/2010

Fast n Furious

HF: 3.8981

Time: 13.34

Points: 52

Penalties: 0

Percentage:

07/12/2010

Front Sight

HF: 6.8921

Time: 8.21

Points: 56

Penalties: 0

Percentage:

Color Blind

HF: 2.1827

Time: 34.82

Points: 86

Penalties: 10

Percentage:

Hillbillton Drill

HF: 13.58

Time: 4.4183

Points: 60

Penalties: 0

Percentage:

Edited July 27, 2010 by Wik

[Wik]

30 minutes dry fire today. 18 shot el pres's with 2 mag changes.

[Wik]

45 minutes dry fire today. I have a long way to go.

[Wik]

45 minutes dry fire today. Some of my mag changes are gross, others seem quick. I took a video so I can reference future performance against it.

Does anyone have any advice after watching the video? I'm sure there are a dozen things I'm going wrong or could be doing better. I feel the Prez's are pretty freakin slow for dry fire.

[Wik]

30 minutes dry fire today. Felt a lot more productive than yesterday and I felt I performed quite a bit better. I was having a little trouble yesterday hitting all of my reloads so today I really concentrated on making sure the gun and the magazine were pointed at the same exact angle when going in. It sounds obvious, but it's easy to overlook and it made a large difference. I will be on a cruise to Alaska until next Sunday, so no practice for over a week!

[Wik]

15 minutes dry fire. Tough to practice after getting away for so long. Need to get out shooting.

[Wik]

20-30 minutes dry fire

[Wik]

Going to start updating this weekly so there aren't 10,000 posts in here by the time next season rolls around.

Shot today. Felt good to get some real trigger time. It was for fun though, not practice. Shot some clay pigeons at 35 or so yards. Hit them probably 2/3 of the time. Missed only when I didn't pay enough attention to my sights. I also had to cover up the target with my front sight at that distance.

[Wik]

Shot one day this week, probably got in only 3 days of practice. Moving into a new apartment a couple hundred miles away on Friday, so I've been busy. Luckily the town is a whole lot more boring than the one I'm in so there will be PLENTY of time for dry fire. I also bought a reloading press so that should kill some time as well.

[tgford58]

So Wik, have you joined USPSA yet? Shot any club matches. I've been watching your posts with some interest. I just don't see where you are putting much of your practice into practical application.

[Wik]

I haven't joined USPSA yet. This is my first year ever shooting USPSA and unfortunately couldn't get started until around mid to late June. I shot probably 6 or 7 club level events this season. I then went to Alaska for a bit and now am returning school, where there are no clubs that participate in USPSA. Further, I live in Northern Minnesota and during the Fall, Winter, and Spring in northern North Dakota which has an even worse climate (and constant 20 mph winds). I am working on starting a competition shooting oriented club at my school (UND), and am hoping to bring USPSA to the area.

I do shoot regularily and the little practice I've put in since I started USPSA and even more so, this thread, has made pretty large improvements in my shooting ability. It's pretty fun going out with friends with their AR's and AK's, placing clay pidgeons at 40 yards, playing a game of 'Horse', and beating them with my pistol.

I plan to join USPSA next April. My practice is geared towards the club level events that start next May. The club I shoot it is not competitive what-so-ever, with maybe one A shooter so I am largely competing against myself, which I love. I hate to sound like every other noob to this sport, but ultimately my goal is get my M and one day my GM card. When I started I shot low C, right now I probably shoot low B to mid B. I'm really just trying to nail down the basics (IE draws, reloads, transitions) the best I can before I start shooting classifiers. Right now I can manage 6 second El Presidentes, which ideally will be around 5 seconds come April. I shoot a stock G34 in production. When I have nailed down the fundamentals enough to earn my M card I'll likely purchase an S_I and see what I can do in open class.

That's the plan thus far anyway..

[tgford58]

Man!!! if you are shooting B already after 2 months you should make GM by next year. Good job, just make sure you keep your expectations realistic. I had my M in another discipline and the transfer over to USPSA has been interesting. I have no illusions of getting back an M anytime soon but at my age it comes down to good stage administration more than accuracy. I've seen a few younger guys that fight through some difficult times (heck, I've wanted to sell my guns a time or two) and end up leaving the sport. You are in the best position possible to climb the ladder quickly, young and driven counts for allot. just keep plugging and working = but most of all keep liking what you do - regardless of classification.

[Wik]

Thanks, that means a lot to me. I reread that post and don't know if that came across the way I wanted. I have no expectations of making GM or even M in the future. It would be great, but right now it isn't exactly my goal. For now my goal is to just get my A card by this time next summer.

Unfortunately I have no internet connection until Sept. 1st, except for when I'm on campus so I will not be updating this thread for another week and a half most likely. I've been moving into my new apartment so there hasn't been any practice for the past 2 days, but now that I'm settled in I'm hoping to get back into the groove of things.

[tgford58]

I have no doubt that you will make your goals. Just stay in the habit of practicing and pushing. Get yourself to some matches and shoot. Take it from me you need to keep up your practice schedule. I got lazy over the last month and hadn't practiced live or dry fire for 4 weeks. Got my butt handed to me at a major. Ran a Mike on almost every stage. Keep posting your progress, I like reading how you are doing.