From GM back to U

[old506]

I was able to build a very successful business this way, starting where I wanted to be and then working my way back to where I actually was. The path was much clearer and I knew what I had to do to get where I wanted as I had already been to the pinnacle. The only question was "Am I willing to pay the price".

It will work the same way shooting, I just don't know if I can pay the price right now, I am going to have to spread it out over time. Time I have.

I have shot three matches over a four month period an am starting out as a U. I just sent my money to USPSA the day before yesterday, here we go!

[Corey]

Time can be a tricky factor for sure. But there is a lot you can learn without firing a single live fire round. Check out some the training clips from Saul Kirsch and Matt Burkett. I have Matt's videos and they are great. Read Brian's book for some real insight into the game and dryfire dryfire dryfire. draw time, reloads and basic movement drills can be refind at home while you are watching tv after dinner.

[RangerTrace]

This game can become "all consuming" for anyone wanting to improve. I believe you will get the results you want, IF and only IF you put in the amount of time/energy/effort required to obtain the desired result.

[old506]

In practice over the weekend I set up 3 mini pepper poppers side to side, ten feet apart and then another 10' on the right side I setup a 6" plate rack (6 plates), all at 35 yards.

I was a little frustrated. I can run through the mini's quick and feel like I am calling my shots and am sure of my hits but when I hit the plate rack the mike's show up. I am shooting the plates low and am hitting the frame just under the plates. Why am I shooting the plates low? I should have painted the mini's to see if I was shooting them low too.

I put the .22 top-end on and at the same distance I can run through with maybe one miss.

Maybe I should have practiced a little closer? and worked my way back? Or, should closer all together?

Generally, how far out do you set your targets on a normal range session?

BTW, I am shooting SingleStack.

[Chris iliff]

Generally, I try to stay at 15 to 17 yards for practice. Unless, of course it is a drill that has requirements. I can't remember where I read this, but I think it was determined that 15 yards, or maybe it was 17 yards, was the sweet spot for practice.

35 yards is a fairly long distance for our sport, some would consider 35 yards a far shot on most stages.

[spanky]

Generally, I try to stay at 15 to 17 yards for practice. Unless, of course it is a drill that has requirements. I can't remember where I read this, but I think it was determined that 15 yards, or maybe it was 17 yards, was the sweet spot for practice.

35 yards is a fairly long distance for our sport, some would consider 35 yards a far shot on most stages.

I remember a post by BE stating that he and TGO used to routinely practice field courses with targets at 50-75yd. I'd say the further out the targets are during practice, the better.

[sgtis108]

You should practice with the targets at different distances. A few runs at 10, 15, 20, and 25. 35 yards is not bad. It can show you some things. Hell 50 or 75 is good too. You can learn a lot about trigger control out there. My point is the bulk of your practice should be at ranges that you will see in matches.

35 yards takes a different(more refined) sight picture and more trigger control than 15 yards. They are different skill sets. You want to be able to do both so practice at both near and far. Some people think if I can shoot those targets at 35 I can certainly shoot them at 15, which is true if accuracy is your only goal. You want to shoot at 15 though so you can learn to see only what you need to to get the hit.

Practice at all ranges each distances requires a little more or less sight and trigger.

Jusy keep up with how you do at each distance?

[old506]

I think that I was a little long on the plates. I am going to move in to 15-17 yards and go out from there. The thing that got me is that I could shoot the mini poppers clean time after time and then would get to the plates and have trouble.

I think that I will continue shooting the .22 conversion at the longer distance though. The conversion is fun and I can burn through a lot of ammo and focus on quick transitions and trigger control.

[JPT]

So, I don't get it...are you a GM in a division other than single-stack?

I was able to build a very successful business this way, starting where I wanted to be and then working my way back to where I actually was. The path was much clearer and I knew what I had to do to get where I wanted as I had already been to the pinnacle. The only question was "Am I willing to pay the price".

It will work the same way shooting, I just don't know if I can pay the price right now, I am going to have to spread it out over time. Time I have.

I have shot three matches over a four month period an am starting out as a U. I just sent my money to USPSA the day before yesterday, here we go!

[old506]

Not a GM, other than in business. It was a map that I used to build my business. Defining your end state or where you want to be (GM for instance)and working your way back through the steps necessary to make it happen, from the top down, not from the bottom up. It is the plan that I used to succeed rather than moseying along without a plan. I thought that I would use it for shooting too.

So, I don't get it...are you a GM in a division other than single-stack?

I was able to build a very successful business this way, starting where I wanted to be and then working my way back to where I actually was. The path was much clearer and I knew what I had to do to get where I wanted as I had already been to the pinnacle. The only question was "Am I willing to pay the price".

It will work the same way shooting, I just don't know if I can pay the price right now, I am going to have to spread it out over time. Time I have.

I have shot three matches over a four month period an am starting out as a U. I just sent my money to USPSA the day before yesterday, here we go!

[old506]

I tore up my lower back about a month ago. I have never had any problem before. I tried to stretch and wait it out and even shot one match. I shot very well actually but was hurting. I was focusing on not hurting my back and less on my shooting and things really went well.

Anyway, my back got a somewhat better then I went camping two weeks ago and crooked I went again. I finally broke down and went to the doc who gave me some muscle relaxers and that has helped.

I ordered and have started P90X, I have been doing two-a-days on the treadmill morning/night along with P90X somewhere in between. I feel like I can eat everything in the fridge including the fridge and sitting here I can litteraly feel a dozen muscles that hurt. It probably isn't a bad thing to have the muscle relaxers at the same time starting P90X. This isn't going to happen again if I can help it.

Yoga and abs for now, Gun play when healthy.

[carlosa]

I understand theory of the road map.

But I think unlike business shooting is more abstract and the experience on road to gm is as unique as the individual.

I've been working allot on my shooting lately, and have come to the conclusion that for me the road map is to shoot with out expectations. Don't compare my self to others and not focus on specific technics (sounds creasy I know).

I'm mostly working on just shooting...

My practice routine has been

1)get the DP performance practice deck

2)load 500 rounds

3)slow fire head shoots at 25-30 yards weak hand strong hand free style (10 rounds each)

4)shuffle the practice deck and draw a drill from the deck

5)do the drill Iike it or not

6)keep drawing drills until a ammo is gone

7)repeat the next day

I've tried to simplify every aspect of practice and matches, and remove all thought (specially thought that leads to self criticism) from my shooting.

Seems to be working for me.

I've been shooting better (shot my first master score classifier last week) and I've been more relaxed at matches, and most importantly having more fun, mikes or malfunctions are not as irritating where your shooting for the sake of shooting.

Anyway as I said before the journey is different for everyone so this might not be for you.

I think the only thing we all share is that on the road to GM we will have to pick up reloading and shoot ALLOT to the point our loved ones my surprise us with a shooting intervention.

Cheers!

Edited September 3, 2010 by carlosa

[AEuropa]

Is there a reason that you're doing 3-a-days? As a novice you will get all the stimulus your body needs by simply following P90X. I personally don't care for P90X, but to each their own. Just like most other endeavors, the amount that you can improve your fitness in any given time is limited. MORE IS NOT BETTER. Not only are you well beyond the point of diminishing returns, I would argue that you are wasting time that could be put to much better use in other areas (e.g., dry fire).

Regarding the muscle relaxers, I don't know if it is the same as with NSAIDS (i.e., Ibuprofen, acetaminophen, etc...), but NSAIDS should NOT be taken after exercising unless there is an actual injury. Inflamamtion is one of the stimuli that your body uses to adapt, and taking NSAIDS blunts that response. I would think that the muscle relaxers may have the same type of result. Just a thought...

- Alex

[old506]

Interesting.......

I practiced the plate rack today. I would shoot and could have swore my sights were "right there" and would get an occasional miss. I then thought to myself, after a mag, that maybe it is my trigger pull. I lightened up my grip just a hair and eased into the trigger and bang, I couldn't miss! I am not seeing my sights move due to trigger pressure but they must. Recoil "flip" is much greater but I don't miss? Maybe I need to go back to finding out what it feels to break an accurate shot with a "death grip" or just let the recoil do what it does?

[leam]

Interesting.......

I practiced the plate rack today. I would shoot and could have swore my sights were "right there" and would get an occasional miss. I then thought to myself, after a mag, that maybe it is my trigger pull. I lightened up my grip just a hair and eased into the trigger and bang, I couldn't miss! I am not seeing my sights move due to trigger pressure but they must. Recoil "flip" is much greater but I don't miss? Maybe I need to go back to finding out what it feels to break an accurate shot with a "death grip" or just let the recoil do what it does?

I believe the problem you're facing is called "divorced trigger finger". It is very difficult to have a tight grip on the pistol and still keep the trigger finger at the proper relaxation state. If everything in the trigger finger gets pulled then you pull the gun off target. You have to pull just the right bits so the trigger finger comes straight back and does not ruin the sight alignment.

In the path GM to U, I would recommend changing your focus. There is a lot to being a GM, and much of it is intensely personal. That is, what makes one person a GM may not work for another. So while keeping the GM as the goal, pick your first good challenge. You need a classification to give yourself a measured sense of where you are, of course. Maybe you're a C shooter? FIgure out what you personally need to change to go "B". Be sure to attend an ROI class as soon as you can; knowing the rules is a solid step forward. Get a timer, get a log book, and as noted above, read Brian's book. One of the best, in my opinion, though I've not read Saul yet. Watch some videos, figure out your learning style. There are, literally, hundreds of things for you to learn and grow as skills. Enjoy the challenge!

Leam

[Flexmoney]

I'd wonder that...since you were more focused on your grip and trigger control...if your didn't follow through a bit more?

Do you shoot a weaver stance?

[hankfan79]

1)get the DP performance practice deck

Did you mean the DR Performance Deck? Like this one?

http://www.freedomgunworks.com/dr-peformance/dr-performance-practice-deck-1-0/prod_219.html

[carlosa]

1)get the DP performance practice deck

Did you mean the DR Performance Deck? Like this one?

http://www.freedomgunworks.com/dr-peformance/dr-performance-practice-deck-1-0/prod_219.html

Yup! That's the one!

[old506]

I'd wonder that...since you were more focused on your grip and trigger control...if your didn't follow through a bit more?

Do you shoot a weaver stance?

ISO stance. Here is what happened. I was shooting the rack and would have a miss every few shots. I swore the sights where aligned, I saw them aligned and then broke the shot. Obviously they weren't aligned at the exact point of recoil but I didn't see that (movement). What I did see was the serration, most of the time, and a "white line" across the top of the sights and broke the shot. So, I cleared the mind and thought, "I need to break the shot like I am shooting for groups". Couldn't miss after that. My original post alludes to me going into the plates with an idea that I needed to loosen my grip but a better way of explaining it is that I went in to it with the thought of "something here needs to change, shoot it like you are shooting for groups". I didn't intentionally "loosen" my grip when I switched to "shooting for a group", it just kind of happened that way and I noticed the much increased muzzle flip. I guess the best way to explain it is that my body just said "here you go, here is an accurate shot". My speed didn't suffer, I was on the clock and shooting 6 plates in the low 6's (10yds). So afterwords I just questioned if I just need to go with it (extra muzzle flip) or do I need to bear down on the grip and look for something else?

Follow through very well could have been it. I didn't think about that. I just assumed, I guess, that the difference was the relaxed grip, or maybe the better way of saying it is, relaxed hands/arms/shoulders as this was the big difference in what I saw from the gun.

[carlosa]

I think it's a matter of tension..

I've had the same thing happen to me in the middle of a stage..

Spray and pray some close up targets.. Move on to a popper at 15y.. Bang miss, bang miss, loosen up my grip, bang cling! Destroy the rest of the stage...

Seems to me in search of speed you introduced unwanted tension to your buddy which messed with your trigger control and timing..

Your goal from this point on should be to shoot loose..

Monitor for tightness in your shoulders and your shooting hand forearm... If you can feel tension try to release it Specialy while in the act of shooting..

IMHO..

Cheers,

Los

[old506]

I think it's a matter of tension..

I've had the same thing happen to me in the middle of a stage..

Spray and pray some close up targets.. Move on to a popper at 15y.. Bang miss, bang miss, loosen up my grip, bang cling! Destroy the rest of the stage...

Seems to me in search of speed you introduced unwanted tension to your buddy which messed with your trigger control and timing..

Your goal from this point on should be to shoot loose..

Monitor for tightness in your shoulders and your shooting hand forearm... If you can feel tension try to release it Specialy while in the act of shooting..

IMHO..

Cheers,

Los

Yes, tension. So on a bench shooting groups, there is very little tension, I let the pistol recoil like it wants to and tickle the trigger with the easiest of pressure, straight back. The result is an accurate shot, exactly where I wanted it to go, I can't miss. The opposite end of the spectrum is griping, trying to get the muzzle down as soon as I can, thus introducing tension. Tension makes it "feel" like you are in control, the lack of tension is the gun doing its own thing. Even though I try to get rid of all tension prior to "beep" any tension in the hands has an effect on the arms/shoulders. So do I follow the path of trying to grip and manage recoil or do my best impression of a ransom rest?

From a gaming standpoint, shooting SingleStack, if I can clean a plate rack that gives me the ability or maybe even the confidence to take a paper target before the rack and go to the plates without a reload. Clean the rack and no slide lock reload. Miss and you are one round away from a standing slide lock reload.

[old506]

Woops! I looked back at my written journal and I was shooting 6 plates at 10yds in the 4.8 second range, not 6 seconds as I previously mentioned.

[old506]

Thanks for all of the help last month, practice really paid off as I had no Mikes or NS’s on the field courses. There were quite a few tricky high risk shots that I was able to take and made in great time. It really came down to knowing what an accurate shot looked/felt like. The time I took going back to the bench and feeling/seeing what that is like paid off big.

Next problem: One handed shooting (Weak and Strong Hand). Here is what (I think) happened. I would go to one hand and squeeze the heck out of the pistol and break an inaccurate shot, I saw a great sight pic but I was muscling the pistol and missed. My mind instantly went to “break an accurate shot mode” and I used the same grip pressure I would use shooting freestyle and the pistol won’t lock up all the way at times, the slide is out of battery by the tiniest bit costing me time. I know it will work itself out in practice but are there any ideas? Should I begin shooting one handed off the bench? Any techniques?

[MarkCO]

Next problem: One handed shooting (Weak and Strong Hand). Here is what (I think) happened. I would go to one hand and squeeze the heck out of the pistol and break an inaccurate shot, I saw a great sight pic but I was muscling the pistol and missed. My mind instantly went to “break an accurate shot mode” and I used the same grip pressure I would use shooting freestyle and the pistol won’t lock up all the way at times, the slide is out of battery by the tiniest bit costing me time. I know it will work itself out in practice but are there any ideas? Should I begin shooting one handed off the bench? Any techniques?

One of the things I seem to do decent on... Pull your finger out a tad as compared to your normal grip, just the center of the distal pad centered on the trigger. Perfect sight picture and steady press. The fundamentals become more important shooting one handed. I twist the shooting hand shoulder towards the target about 15 degrees and press the offhand into the center of my chest. If you pay attention to hit factors, shooting 1 round a second (and sometimes even slower) one-handed and getting your A hits will almost always be near the top. I tanked my last two classifiers with weak-hand because I ignored my own best judgement and went too fast. Plate rack at 10, then 20 then 30 yards is good low effort practice. I hear dryfire helps too, might try it someday.

[old506]

Freestyle to Strong/Weak hand?

In Dry-fire, transferring from Freestyle to Strong/Weak Hand I want to also "adjust" my index. Freestyle to Strong hand my left foot wants to slide back putting my shoulder more online with my arm/pistol. Freestyle to Weak hand my left foot wants to move up a hair doing the same thing.

Do I just let it happen naturally or.....?