Trying production for a while!

[dagger10k]

I've shot one match so far in production (usually a limited shooter), and it was so-so. I've finally got all my equipment that I want to use together, and I've been working on my basic skills.

I recorded some draws and reloads, and figured I'd post them so people could critique them.

First, some surrender draws. Par time 1 second.

Second, some reload practice. Par time 7 seconds. I wanted to practice reloading with all the mags on my belt. The first time, I messed up grabbing a mag, the second time I failed to fully seat the last mag, and the third time I pinched the heck out of my finger. Obviously, this is about at the limit of my current abilities.

Any advice is very welcome!

James

Edited December 9, 2010 by dagger10k

[dcarter]

Looks like that hurt!

You draws are good. Just make sure to see what you need to see for an "A" hit before pulling the trigger. It looked like you were rushing your shot a bit to make the par time. In Production points play a greater role than in Limited. You lose a lot by not getting good hits.

Your reloads look good too. Make sure to practice transitions and movement while reloading.

Well done.

[PINMAN44]

James,

If you are new to this I must say you have a ton of raw speed. You look like you have all the potential to go very far. Just need more refinement. That comes with time and patience.

Awesome,

Robby

[HuskySig]

I wonder if you're enforcing bad habits by practicing your reloads with a par timer? It's possible that you're teaching your subconscious to accept slightly poor sight pictures in order to beat the par time. Similarly, you might be foregoing proper shot follow through in order to start your next reload sooner.

[jkatz44]

I wonder if you're enforcing bad habits by practicing your reloads with a par timer? It's possible that you're teaching your subconscious to accept slightly poor sight pictures in order to beat the par time. Similarly, you might be foregoing proper shot follow through in order to start your next reload sooner.

I don't think so, IMO. During a stage in a match, you are not or shouldn't be thinking about performing blazing reloads. Practicing fast reloads in dry fire will allow you to perform quick loads in a match standpoint without thinking about it much.

[dagger10k]

Thanks guys!

As far as rushing the shots, I was shooting at a 50% size wide open target from the Burkett dry fire drills, so a pretty big target. I was certainly hitting the upper A.

I am just trying to get comfortable with pulling the double action trigger fast. I tend to be really slow getting off that first shot, like in this video. When shooting this classifier, I felt reeeeeeeaaaaaaaaally slow, and I know I can go faster than that.

[JorDanO]

Practice your reloads moving both left and right. In Production you are usually reloading after leaving an array, and your mags will be in a different position depending on which way your torso is turned. It's good comfortable reloading no matter which way you are moving.

[Filishooter]

Most obvious thing I see is the reload. You have a lot of wasted movement tilting the body far to the right to get to your magazines. I realize we are all built differently, but if you can minimize some of that movement you'll get your shot after the reload off faster AND more accurately. See if you can do the reload without upsetting your center as much, it might involve relaxation and flexibility exercises to loosen the shoulders and arms. Keep in mind that in these stills its obvious that there is movement left to right, but there may also be movement front to back. Try video taping yourself from different angles with a vertical guide in the background so you can get some idea how far off you are from your centerline and see if you can minimize it.

I also noticed that this lean got more pronounced the farther on back on your belt you went. You need to get that consistent so the magwell is in the same spot every time. As it is right now, your magazines have a moving target.

Edited December 14, 2010 by Filishooter

[dagger10k]

Thanks Filishooter! You are quite right. The reason I move my upper body that much is because it makes the mags easier to reach, but I'm sure if I could reach them without tilting that would be better yet. I was trying some reloads with my limited gun today, and it looks like I'm doing the same thing, even though this magazine is very easy to get to.

[SeaTact]

Nice work! To followup pinman's post, how long have you been shooting and what's your production gun?

I'm asking mainly to get a frame of reference.

[BBoyle]

You look like you are rushing your shots from the draw. That is fine for a close target but you will get in the bad habit real quick of not actually seeing the sight for the shot. You look like you are also leaning your whole upper body to the right while you are drawing and presenting to the target. (last video)

Practice in front of a mirror a little and watch what you are actually doing to work on correction.

Outside of the lean that was pointed out already I would say your reloads look pretty good (rushing the shot again?) but you need to be a little more consistant. The speed itself is already there, just don't always get caught up with making a certain par time all of the time. The best GMs do not go for it and count on a 1 second reload or less in a match and expect it to work 100%. Thay do what they are confident they can do.

[dagger10k]

I've been shooting a little over a year. My production gun is a CZ 75B in 40s&w. I'm a limited A, L10 B, and production U.

I don't really think I'm rushing the shots... I'm certainly trying to go fast, but if I don't practice going fast in practice, I'm never going to get fast.

I can tell you that every one of the shots in the video hit the upper A. I saw the sights for every one of those shots.

I rarely (ie almost never use a par timer). I usually just dry fire various sorts of drills without a timer. (I don't even own one)

It'd certainly be nice to find a way to get those mags without the lean.

Edited December 15, 2010 by dagger10k

[dagger10k]

Is it just me, or does it seem like Dave and Taran have a bit of a lean on their reloads as well?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ni5QrKXonhc

[Filishooter]

Is it just me, or does it seem like Dave and Taran have a bit of a lean on their reloads as well?

You probably aren't going to get rid of the "lean" entirely off the reload. If you have long arms, big muscles a high waistline and a short wide torso, it might be near impossible. But I've seen many shooters lean more than they need to more out of habit then what is physically required to get to the magazine.

In the video examples you give of Dave and Taran, keep in mind those reloads are performed on the move. Notice most of the "lean" happens when Dave and Taran (both right handed shooters) do the reload while moving left to right, a direction they would be leaning anyways while taking off to the next position so its incorporated into the movement. If you look at Taran at 1:32 where he does a reload moving right to left the lean isn't as pronounced.

Here is a video of Sevigney doing slow motion stationary reloads at :35 and 1:03 and 1:19 which is a better comparison to your videos. He is shooting IDPA drills but you get the idea (its hard to find him doing a standing reload in an IPSC match). There is a little movement, but notice how his platform stays upright with minimal "lean?"

Edited December 15, 2010 by Filishooter

[dagger10k]

Thanks Filishooter. That makes a lot of sense. I know that at the moment, I can't really get to those back mags without leaning, but there's certainly no reason to be leaning like a maniac when I pull my first mag, or especially when I'm using my limited gun.

[Hithegym]

Looking fast, man. I'm just curious, what par timer are you using?

[Blcksmk]

He is using the online par timer. Heres the link:

http://www.predatortactical.com/uploads/media/Flashfiles/drawbeepSlider082504.swf

[Tizzo]

He is using the online par timer. Heres the link:

http://www.predatortactical.com/uploads/media/Flashfiles/drawbeepSlider082504.swf

Is there a distance at which you're supposed to stand from the target (at 100 percent size)? Or is the size of the target arbitrary?