Tom's Road to the Nationals

[redbird1976]

It's been a wild year. The journey to where I am today started about a year ago with a desire to find the next higher level of competition. Two failed attempts at making the final cut to be on 'Top Shot' provide me with the necessary motivation to step up my game. I had a good competition season in 2010. I finished 1st Unclassified Production at the 2010 Alabama Section Championship. I finished 1st C Limited at the 2010 MS Classic and got bumped to B class. I finished 2nd B Limited at the 2010 Georgia State Championship. I made a third attempt to get on Top Shot. My third attempt to get on Top Shot failed, but I did get a waitlist slot to the Nationals. I shot a personal best at the MS Classic this year 5th B; but 15th overall in Limited. I've seen steady improvement in my classifier scores since last summer.

When I made B class, I learned quickly that consistentancy is the key to improving and winning. Consistentancy is the main thing I have been working on toward my overall improvement as a shooter. Shooting in B class has made me more aware of the areas where need to improve. I've found that being consistent lets the wins roll in much easier. I am consistently in the top three in my division at local matches. More often than not, I win my division. That being said, I have identified several weaknesses in my game that need to be turned to strengths.

My current weaknesses are:

1. My first shot is slower than it should be.

2. I get impatient and break my second shot before my front sight has settled back into the sight notch.

3. I haven't learned to call shots on fast swingers.

4. My setup is slow when getting into shooting positions on field courses.

5. I have gained thirty pounds since getting married two and half years ago.

6. I have been nursing a foot injury for about six months(see #5),and I am recovering from a mystery illness that I contracted this summer. I am still weak from being sick. (I've been to the doc and am well on the mend).

7. I have been suffering from a bit of burn out.

My current strengths are:

1. My splits and transitions are sufficiently fast for nearly all the shooting that we do .11 on close targets,.15-.17 on most medium range targets, transitions are right at .25 seconds.

2. My long range game is where it need to be. I am a very accurate shooter.

3. I'm quick and well balanced, especially for a big guy.

4. I've been able to use video to identify and isolate my weaknesses.

5. I can relax and enjoy myself!!

After the Gator Classic last year and thousands of rounds in practice. I hit the wall in terms of improvement. So, in January, I made the determination that I would not have a regimented practice schedule. In fact, I haven't practiced per se for about six months. If I got the hankering to shoot, then I got one of my guns and went and shot. I quit fretting over the minutia of getting stage diagrams early and attempting to break them down before I got to the match. I made the choice to shoot to the best of my ability "on the day" and to have fun regardless.

Here's what I noticed. I noticed that I find myself more focused on match day; probably due to the fact that I have to be focused to compensate for the lack of practice. I focus on finding the targets, finding sights, fire, find the sight and repeat as needed. The result has been a steady improvement overall throughout the year so far culminating in a move to "A" class last week.

I picked up a good refurbished video in march and started taping matches and my limited number of recreational shooting sessions that I've had at home. The video camera has been an invaluable tool to help me improve. I first used the camera at the 2011 Alabama Section Championship. By analyzing the video, I identified a major weakness that was plaguing me at the time. I was able to calculate, for the first time, how much an extra shot, misstep, or late set up cost in terms of extra time. What I learned was extra shots cost me an average of +1 seconds/shot, missteps +1.5 seconds, late set up 1+ second/ posistion. The aggregate effect of these foilbles turned what would have be several top ten runs to middle of the pack runs. On the first stage that I shot for the Match I had trouble with a couple of U.S. popper, which I launched several extra shot on two pieces of steel. Had I made my shots on the first shot, I would have finished 15th at 75% (approx.) instead of 37th 56%. Long story short, I made a concerted effort to minimize extra shots and I finished 15th overall at the MS Classic in May.

Now, for the program I am working on now. I am working on getting my first shot time down to an acceptable level. I have also been working on getting set up in new shooting arrays as soon as posible. I am combining my shooting and general fitness program as much as possible. Here's what I worked on today.

I did some dry fire drills using the par time on the time. My target were steel A/C Zone cut outs set at seven yard and space three feet apart. I did some live fire using my plate rack and a pepper popper running "box to box". To finish, I worked on target aquisition using the same three dry fire targets dry firing at the array from three different posistions working laterally over a distance of about 35 feet total.

After reviewing the video here's what I learned today.

Draw to single target par time set at 1.0 and .90 sec: Gun is up and extended well ahead of second beep. If I triggered the shot,it was very close to the tone at both 1.0 and .90 seconds. Gun seems to hang in space for a long time after arms are extended before hammer drops.

Draw, simulate two shots and transition between three targets par time set at 1.5 seconds. Found myself behind the curve on a regular basis. The buzzer seemed to catch me on either the transition between target two and three or on the last "shot" of the string. I got quicker the more I practiced.

Draw fire one shot at plate rack move to position two fire one shot at pepper popper no par time. On the plate rack I was hitting the plate in 1.21 at seven yard (6" plates) and the popper at the three second mark.

Draw fire one shot at pepper popper then move to plate rack. I was .97 on the pepper popper and then I got the plate at 4 seconds.

Lateral movement simulating engagment of three targets from multiple positions with par time set at six seconds. I had no problem getting through the first two arrays. The buzzer kept catching me between setting up in the third postion. Same result moving either right or left. I tweaked my ankle on my last run and decided to pack it in for the evening. I finished with some push ups modified for explosive movement and curls to overhead press (explosive movement) with 50lb dumbbell.

[redbird1976]

I decided to focus on movement and agility today. I broke out my book on functional training and started putting together a program. It's probably going to rain this evening, so I don't know if I'll get to shoot today. I worked out for about an hour.

I got winded during my warm-up. I figured I was in for a long workout. Instead I was pleasantly surprised that I was more at ease as the intensity increased.

My warm up was a basic dynamic warm up including High Knee walk, runs, and skips. I also did some butt kicks and straight leg skips. I could tell immediately that my condidtioning is sub par. My legs didn't want to move properly at first, but I repeated the warm up and started to get my legs back under me.

I worked on my starts by doing lean drills. I noticed that if I let myself relax my body did exactly what it needed to get me moving quickly.

From there I did some ladder drills and lateral movement drills. My feet felt quick. The only time I had an issue was if I started thinking about what my feet should be doing. It messed up my timing and threw my pace off about half a step.

I didn't keep up with the specific numbers of repetitions today. I didn't figure it was important. I took the Forrest Gump approach to my workout. I worked until I got tired,then; repeated.

After I had a good warm up I alternated between sprints and ladder drills. For the first time in a long time, I could feel that my legs were generating power as they should. I could feel the movement from the ground all the way up into my hip flexors. I can tell I need to get my knees a little higher. Now, If I can generate the speed necessary to get from position to position and the smoothness to get stopped in time for a good set up on the targets I'll be in good shape.

Just for a note on equipment; I picked up a pair of Innov-8 Mud Claws the other day. I haven't done any distance work with them, but they've been great at the two matches I've worn them at. They are excellent on grass, clay, etc. I injured my left foot back in January getting ready for a match. As I result, I have not been able to do my normal running for conditioning. Since I've switched to the Innov-8 shoes, I have been able to run again without my foot hurting.

[redbird1976]

Dry fire practice on Monday brought a couple of issues to my attention that I wanted to explore further. I ordered both Steve's and Matt's books so I sure I'll have the answer soon enough, but I noticed when I reviewed the video from Monday that I was getting the gun out of the holster and up quickly. The question is whether the drill is to just present the gun, or to present the gun and snap the shot in the allotted time. I was making my par time snapping the gun, but I can't remember if that was the actual purpose of the drill I was doing. The video shows that the gun is up compartively quickly to me snapping the shot. In other word's, I seem to be leaving the gun hanging in space for a long time relative to the time it takes to get the gun up in my sight line. I was working with 1.0-.80 par times on Monday and snapping the trigger.

Today, I compared the difference of presenting the gun to presenting it and snapping the shot. I was getting clearly focused presentations at .70 seconds with no problem. On a personal note, I wasn't as focused as I should have been, but the dry fire definitely helped take the edge off so I could relax.

Tomorrow I'm going to push and see if I can whittle my time down to .60 seconds on the draw.

[redbird1976]

On a side note, I got the results for last weekend's match. I knew the match was going to be close whether or not I won. I wound up losing by nine match points. I had one miss. I knew that would be the difference and it was.

[redbird1976]

I received Steve's and Matt's books Friday. Both were good reads. Monday I'll start working some of the drills into my practice.

[redbird1976]

It just occurred to me that there is really no reason for my first shot on steel targets to be any different than my first shot on paper. In my dry fire practice this week I am going to work my draw time on the plate rack to the sub-one second level. After all, the center is the center.

Also on tap for this week, movement, movement, movement!!!

[redbird1976]

I got started today with some of Steve's dry fire drills. My outdoor practice session was cut short by a thunderstorm that blew up about the time I got to actually working on the drills. I moved inside and countinued with a couple of drills that worked well indoors. Before I got started with the dry fire drills, I did a dynamic warm up and some speed/agility drills.

I worked on Steve's match warm up. I didn't use the timer on any of the drills for the match warm up. I focused on being smooth and seeing what I needed to see. Draws and transitions were smooth. I ran the reload drill twice. I didn't notice until I came back inside that I had done the reloads wrong. While I was working on the reloads I could tell a definitely difference in my mag pouches since they are from different manufacturers and are of duty style configuration. I'm not overly concerned since I usually only do one reload on a stage.

I worked on Focus Change 1 and 2. Today I set my baseline par times. I ran two cycles of each. I settled on 1.9 seconds par for FC1 and 1.6 seconds for FC2. I caught myself losing my focus about half way through each drill. On the plus side, I called my misses as misses during my practice. I regrouped an refocused and got back to "shooting" A's well within my par times. Finally had to stop when I kept snapping the shot before the gun caught up to my eyes.

I wasn't able to work on my plate rack draws. The rain moved in before I got to that.

[redbird1976]

Long day today, I spent most of the day getting finished with some last minute projects before I go back to work. No PT today. I spent 30 minutes doing a few dry fire drills. I worked transitions, wall starts, and focus change. Unfortunately, I didn't read the instructions correctly again . I've got to work on my focus, no pun intended.

[redbird1976]

Overall, I had a good workout today. I decided that today's temp. of 101 was good preparation for Las Vegas. I worked on Steve's plate rack movement drills. I was humbled. When I did my part, I shot 5 plates (rack only has 5 plates) down in about 15 seconds. I was taking extra shots and forgetting whether I was shooting it Comstock or Virginia Count. I did notice something interesting with my grip. Apparently I've been gripping the gun tight enough that It's causing me to push shots at longer ranges. When I loosened the grip in my strong hand, the shots dropped right in on target at 20 yards and 15 yard. I tightened back up for quicker transitions at 10 yards. I need to bench my pistol and see exactly where the bullets group at 25 yard. I switched loads at the beginning of the summer. I've gotten good results, but I need to confirm my zero.

I also worked on Steve's movement drills scoring 56-59 points in 11 to 12 seconds depending on whether I was moving right or left. My movements felt crisp. I still need to refine my set up a little bit. I ran the drills dry after I ran out of ammo. It was no problem to stay within 11 seconds. 9 seconds is certainly doable.

I noticed that the grips needed to be tightened on my pistol and I lost my fiber optic rod about half way through my practice session. The loss of the fiber optic probably cost a half second on the run on which it flew the coop. For the first time with this pistol I noticed that the Grip was irritating my pinky finger. I'm contemplating breaking out the dremel.

Focus is still an issue. It seems my everyday life is creeping into my shooting and making it difficult for me to clear my mind to get started on practice days. It seems after a few minutes I settle in, but it's still disconcerting; especially when I'm burning live ammo. I have a long day at work tomorrow. We see how that plays out for practice on Friday.

I still haven't worked on my draws to the plate rack, but I haven't forgotten. Sounds like a good project for Saturday.

I'm waiting on the wife to get home with a lighter so I can reinstall my fiber optic rod.

[redbird1976]

I had an awesome practice session today. I did field course movement drills and draws to steel. As I mentioned in an earlier post, I don't see any reason that I shouldn't be able to engage poppers or the plate rack as fast as I engage paper. On paper I can consistently get A zone hits in the .85-.90 range. So today I set a popper up at 8 yard. My first draw was 1.00 second even. the next six were .91-.96. I moved to the plate rack. On the six inch plates I was unable to get hits today under 1.7 seconds. I guess I should have done the draws at the beginning of practice instead of the end. I finished my steel work shooting pairs on the steel before it falls. I shot a 1.26 and a 1.10 with .16 splits.

On the movement drills, I ran four to left and four to the right. My runs to the left were between 12.38 seconds and 11.36 seconds with 54-57 points. My runs to the right were significantly faster, falling between 10.67 and 10.22 seconds with points ranging from 49-54. I dropped too many points on my fastest run. My best run was to the right with 54 points at 10.63.

I videoed my session. From what I could make of the tape it looks like I'm losing time getting my first shot off on the set up. I focused on proper movement to get started, pushing off with my outside foot etc. Take a look and see if there's anything major that I missed. http://youtu.be/tuBMdPbVCAo

I found a pretty good solution to the sweaty hands problem I encountered a couple of days ago. I bought some wrist bands and they did a pretty good job of keeping the sweat off of my hands.

Edited August 6, 2011 by redbird1976

[redbird1976]

Local match today. Judging by the temperature from when I went to unload the truck a few minutes ago, it's gonna be a hot one today. That probably means short courses with a lot of stand and shoot elements. It should be a fun match regarless. It's also a two for one today since we are shooting a .22 match when we finish with the main match. I'll report back later. It's time to get ready for church.

Well, I was right we didn't do much in terms of field course work. All but one of the stages were short or medium courses. Though short, there were enough technically demanding elements to keep me on my toes. Let me say also here that the club I shot with today isn't affiliated with USPSA, but is loosely organized around USPSA rules. Also, being a level 1 match the freestyle element was limited on a couple of stages.

Stage 1: Start position 10 yards up range, five targets concealed by no shoots. I charged the fault line and engaged the right corner outside, left corner outside the worked the center left to right. In the center there were two target behind hard cover with no shoots concealing all but the upper A/B zone. One target was wide open once the shooter was centered on the fault line. 9 alpha, 1 charlie, around 5.5 seconds. Definitely my best stage of the match. I finished two seconds quicker than my nearest competitor. I planned and executed the stage as I intended.

Stage 2: Start position standing in shooting box. The course designer specified that the first target be engaged from the shooting box then the remaining two targets be engaged through a port in a wall uprange about three yards. Two targets behind the wall. The near target through the port was about three yards behind the wall and offered half of the lower A zone. The bottom of the target was covered by hard cover(oil drum). To the left, through the port there was a target mostly obscured by a no shoot about five yards to the left at about the ten oclock position. This was my worst stage of the match. The first target was wide open and fairly close. I decided to push the draw time and got on the trigger too quick. I AD'D, but apparently the bullet struck far enough down range than the RO did not deem it necessary to DQ me even though I tried to DQ myself. This was definitely my worst stage of the match. It was the last stage we shot. 2 Charlie, 2 alpha, 2 mike, 2 no shoot. The time was around 6.2 second

Stage 3: Start position standing between walls facing down range. Port one had the pepper poppers on the left. There were five paper behind the back wall; some wide open some with no shoots 3yds to 10 yrds. This was the first stage we shot and I was the first shooter. I made a decent run. I had two extra shots engaging the poppers. The rest of the stage I shot as I intended. 3 steel, 7 alpha, 3 bravo, 1 charlie, 1 delta. Around 8.8 seconds. I was pleased with this stage other than the extra shots on the steel.

Stage 4: A memory stage, virginia count, three separate shooting boxing.

Array one wide open paper at five yards. Array two; two paper one with all but A/B zone covered by no shoot. Array three wide open paper three yards from shoot box. I decided on a risky strategy that involved shooting off one foot in box 1 the moving through box two and three picking up the targets on the move. All the boxes were within two steps of each other. The only flaw with my plan is that the range ran down hill enough that if you hit the boxes at level ground speed youd overrun the boxes I had to back up to hit array two which messed up my time. 6 Alpha, 3 Charlie, 1 no penalty mike in around 6.2 seconds.

I won the match. As far as I'm concerned I lost though because of the episode with the first shot on stage 2. I should have been DQ'D.

Edited August 8, 2011 by redbird1976

[redbird1976]

I worked the focus change drills today. I had a good session. I was able to call my "shots" even the one's that would have missed. I also worked movement drills in with my focus change drills. I noticed that even with a quick step right or left I'm still able to meet my par time with no problem. I think the next time I do the drills I work .20 less than my par times. I found two issues I need to work on. I need to focus on getting a good solid grip before drawing the gun. I've gotten into the habit recently of snatching the gun on the way up, and I think that was a contributing factor in yesterday's fiasco. At the other end of the draw, I noticed that I was porpoising the gun when I drew to the upper a zone on the far target during my focus change drills. I think that again was the result of doing a snatch when I started the draw. If I took the time to get a good grip before I started moving the gun, I seemed to draw straight to the upper A zone.

[redbird1976]

I spent a little time today reading while the kiddos worked on a research activity. I jotted down a few notes that are helpful for maintaining the proper frame of mind to win competitions.

1. The only stage that matters is this stage.

2. This stage only matters until it has been shot.

3. In the unlikely event of a problem, deal with it quickly and continue on as planned.

4. Shoot the sights.

5. Find the targets... Shoot Alphas... Move on.

6. My focus is on what I do right.

7. I strengthen my weaknesses in practice.

8. Dial in equipment before the match.

9. My plan is the best for me to shoot the stage.

10. Practice is the place for innovation.

11. Proven tactics are employed at the match.

My workout/dryfire session was fruitful this evening. After a dynamic warm-up, including fall starts and 90 degree fall starts; I worked on No Shoot Setup 1. I made several dry runs and walked through several times to get a feel for the movement necessary to be efficient. I found it helpful to make the first few runs without any kind of par time after I caught myself focusing on the wrong elements of the drill. I was able to get down to business without the par time. Moving laterally from box to box was easiest for me. A good push with my outside foot got me moving and to the other box within two or three steps depending on whether I was moving seven feet or ten. Moving directly forward presenting me more of a challenge. I found that if I positioned my rear foot where I could get good push it was much easier to make it to the box. I finished with a few live fire runs. I'm going to use these runs to establish my par times. My longest set up was 2.00 seconds. My quickest set up was 1.77 seconds. In both cases I made good A zone hits. My average time was 1.88 so I think I'll work 1.6 seconds as my par time since the drill is about setting up for the shot.

I finished my work out with some wind sprints and some cut drills. The last two exercises I did were plyometric pushups and chinups. I worked sets of five on both.

[redbird1976]

I shot a match in Mobile Saturday. I won limited division. I've still got a little ways to go before I reach my goal of High Overall for the match with these guys. I was hitting anything that I wanted while I was on the move. The swinger was no problem. Stage planning was stellar. I still need to check the zero on my pistol. I'll take care of that some time this weekend.

I had a good dry fire session yesterday. I worked on shooting on the move. I found that with the standard three target wide transition set from Steve's book that moving left to right target order was a non factor. Near side to far side worked well from either the left or the right. Starting with the middle target, then; near side far side gave me the most consistnent results. I found myself finally able to focus properly only on the task at hand. That's a definitely blessing right now since my grandmother is in the hospital.

I had a good work out today. I didn't do any shooting drills, but I had a good speed/agility work out.

[redbird1976]

It was a busy week last week. Grandma is going to be fine. They expect her to make a full recovery. No shooting this past weekend due to remodelling project at the house. Today, though, I was able to knock out my workout early this morning. I'm taking a break from my dry fire right now. I've been working draws and transitions. I'm going to finish up as soon as finish writing this and go to bed.

[redbird1976]

I had another good dry fire session this evening. I've been able to work out in the mornings, which has made it much easier to get in the shooting practice. Draws were nice and smooth. I found the front sight easily. I worked on wall starts and getting in and out of positions. I'm comfortable with the idea shooting while sort of falling out of the shooting area.

I was watching American Shooter a few weeks ago and jotted down some specific elements that I think will be helpful at this years match. These are a few of the things I picked up watching the Nationals episode. Feel free to add to the list.

1. Be able to shoot A/B zone through a port on the move.

2. Reload from barrels.

3. Look for right handed advantage when breaking down stages. (I shoot right handed)

4. Be ready to shoot within two steps.

5. Work to setup to be able shoot two arrays from a single position.

[redbird1976]

It's been a wild year. The journey to where I am today started about a year ago with a desire to find the next higher level of competition. Two failed attempts at making the final cut to be on 'Top Shot' provide me with the necessary motivation to step up my game. I had a good competition season in 2010. I finished 1st Unclassified Production at the 2010 Alabama Section Championship. I finished 1st C Limited at the 2010 MS Classic and got bumped to B class. I finished 2nd B Limited at the 2010 Georgia State Championship. I made a third attempt to get on Top Shot. My third attempt to get on Top Shot failed, but I did get a waitlist slot to the Nationals. I shot a personal best at the MS Classic this year 5th B; but 15th overall in Limited. I've seen steady improvement in my classifier scores since last summer.

When I made B class, I learned quickly that consistentancy is the key to improving and winning. Consistentancy is the main thing I have been working on toward my overall improvement as a shooter. Shooting in B class has made me more aware of the areas where need to improve. I've found that being consistent lets the wins roll in much easier. I am consistently in the top three in my division at local matches. More often than not, I win my division. That being said, I have identified several weaknesses in my game that need to be turned to strengths.

My current weaknesses are:

1. My first shot is slower than it should be.

2. I get impatient and break my second shot before my front sight has settled back into the sight notch.

3. I haven't learned to call shots on fast swingers.

4. My setup is slow when getting into shooting positions on field courses.

5. I have gained thirty pounds since getting married two and half years ago.

6. I have been nursing a foot injury for about six months(see #5),and I am recovering from a mystery illness that I contracted this summer. I am still weak from being sick. (I've been to the doc and am well on the mend).

7. I have been suffering from a bit of burn out.

My current strengths are:

1. My splits and transitions are sufficiently fast for nearly all the shooting that we do .11 on close targets,.15-.17 on most medium range targets, transitions are right at .25 seconds.

2. My long range game is where it need to be. I am a very accurate shooter.

3. I'm quick and well balanced, especially for a big guy.

4. I've been able to use video to identify and isolate my weaknesses.

5. I can relax and enjoy myself!!

After the Gator Classic last year and thousands of rounds in practice. I hit the wall in terms of improvement. So, in January, I made the determination that I would not have a regimented practice schedule. In fact, I haven't practiced per se for about six months. If I got the hankering to shoot, then I got one of my guns and went and shot. I quit fretting over the minutia of getting stage diagrams early and attempting to break them down before I got to the match. I made the choice to shoot to the best of my ability "on the day" and to have fun regardless.

Here's what I noticed. I noticed that I find myself more focused on match day; probably due to the fact that I have to be focused to compensate for the lack of practice. I focus on finding the targets, finding sights, fire, find the sight and repeat as needed. The result has been a steady improvement overall throughout the year so far culminating in a move to "A" class last week.

I picked up a good refurbished video in march and started taping matches and my limited number of recreational shooting sessions that I've had at home. The video camera has been an invaluable tool to help me improve. I first used the camera at the 2011 Alabama Section Championship. By analyzing the video, I identified a major weakness that was plaguing me at the time. I was able to calculate, for the first time, how much an extra shot, misstep, or late set up cost in terms of extra time. What I learned was extra shots cost me an average of +1 seconds/shot, missteps +1.5 seconds, late set up 1+ second/ posistion. The aggregate effect of these foilbles turned what would have be several top ten runs to middle of the pack runs. On the first stage that I shot for the Match I had trouble with a couple of U.S. popper, which I launched several extra shot on two pieces of steel. Had I made my shots on the first shot, I would have finished 15th at 75% (approx.) instead of 37th 56%. Long story short, I made a concerted effort to minimize extra shots and I finished 15th overall at the MS Classic in May.

Now, for the program I am working on now. I am working on getting my first shot time down to an acceptable level. I have also been working on getting set up in new shooting arrays as soon as posible. I am combining my shooting and general fitness program as much as possible. Here's what I worked on today.

I did some dry fire drills using the par time on the time. My target were steel A/C Zone cut outs set at seven yard and space three feet apart. I did some live fire using my plate rack and a pepper popper running "box to box". To finish, I worked on target aquisition using the same three dry fire targets dry firing at the array from three different posistions working laterally over a distance of about 35 feet total.

After reviewing the video here's what I learned today.

Draw to single target par time set at 1.0 and .90 sec: Gun is up and extended well ahead of second beep. If I triggered the shot,it was very close to the tone at both 1.0 and .90 seconds. Gun seems to hang in space for a long time after arms are extended before hammer drops.

Draw, simulate two shots and transition between three targets par time set at 1.5 seconds. Found myself behind the curve on a regular basis. The buzzer seemed to catch me on either the transition between target two and three or on the last "shot" of the string. I got quicker the more I practiced.

Draw fire one shot at plate rack move to position two fire one shot at pepper popper no par time. On the plate rack I was hitting the plate in 1.21 at seven yard (6" plates) and the popper at the three second mark.

Draw fire one shot at pepper popper then move to plate rack. I was .97 on the pepper popper and then I got the plate at 4 seconds.

Lateral movement simulating engagment of three targets from multiple positions with par time set at six seconds. I had no problem getting through the first two arrays. The buzzer kept catching me between setting up in the third postion. Same result moving either right or left. I tweaked my ankle on my last run and decided to pack it in for the evening. I finished with some push ups modified for explosive movement and curls to overhead press (explosive movement) with 50lb dumbbell.

Assessing my current weaknesses now I find:

1. My visual patience is getting better.

2. I've been much more consistent on swingers... 0 misses on swingers the last couple of matches.

3. I've gained a couple of pounds, but I dropped 3% of my body fat.

4. The foot is very close to 100%.

5. I enjoy getting ready for the nationals.

6. I am finding it easier and easier to focus during my practice; regardless of the other things that went on during the day.

That leaves the 1st shot and getting in and out of positions. Both are improving. I'll be dialed in by the 21st.

[redbird1976]

I boxed up the ammo this evening for shipment tomorrow I had a good dry fire session last night. Things are falling into place. I'm looking forward to a good showing in a couple of weeks.

[redbird1976]

Ammo is shipped. Luggage is gathered. I still need locks for my pelican case. I did something the other night I haven't done in a long time. I cleaned the ole CZ. I'm getting excited. The wife and I are shipping on the 17th for a couple of days in Tahoe, then; let the festivities begin. Dry fire has been going well. I didn't use the timer this week. I've just been working on being smooth with everything.

Hopefully we'll have enough of a break in the weather this weekend to get the match in.

[redbird1976]

Tropical Storm Lee rained out the match this past weekend. I've been working on my dry fire. I need to be sure to snap my eyes to the target instead of following the gun to the target. I noticed today that my set up, coming into a postition, is much smoother. I had a good run too. I've tightened back up on my diet. So far, I'm down about five pounds. Five or ten more should help in Vegas. I plan to shoot a steel match Friday night provided the match is still on.

[redbird1976]

I went to my first match in about month last night. The results were about what you'd expect after a month lay off. I lost every heat of the man on man plate match we were shooting. This is something new for me since I've never lost a man on man match. I learned several things that will be helpful in Las Vegas. None of these things are new or profound in their nature.

I learned:

1. It is imperative to have some sighting or fouling shots through the gun if it has been cleaned or had anything changed.

2. It is to your benefit to shoot your game regardless of what the other shooters do. I shot my limited gun while the other guys used their open guns.

3. Having a quick first shot doesn't matter if you don't move consistently from plate to plate.

4. Keeping your cool and correcting the problems while you're shooting will eventually improve your scores overall.

5. When the shot, run, match, etc. is over; the results are what they are. Move on to the next challenge.

6. When I go back again, I will shoot clean and do much better.

Today, I'm working on the zero for my pistol. It seems to be fairly close at 25 yards with 165gr bullets.

At ten yards or less the bullets are impacting about two inches low. I'm going to get some more ammo and do some more research this afternoon. I'll be shooting groups and plates since those are the weak areas I've identified. I'll report back this evening.

[redbird1976]

I made a Walmart run and picked up some ammo to practice with this evening. It took a few minutes, but I figured out the problem I had last night with erratic shooting at the plate match. Apparently my dry fire practice has worked too well at getting me to focus hard on the front sight. Unknown to me over the past few weeks I've subconsciously changed my point of aim. The result has been that my shots live fire are low if I use the textbook sight picture. My front sight is a little too high for the load I'm shooting. I have to hold the center of the fiber optic to have point of impact where I want it. I made mental note to find the center of the fiber optic when I aim. The result was three consecutive clean runs on the plates at ten yards somewhere in the 3 second range. I'm gonna work on reloads and strong hand shooting this week, and I'll be ready for Vegas I'll see ya'll at the range.

[redbird1976]

Great workout today. I cruised through ten 100's and some cut drills. Tomorrow I'll check the zero on my pistol one more time and run some plates. Then I'll pack up for the match. I'm ready for the match. My equipment is tip-top and my head is where it needs to be. I'll do well.

[redbird1976]

Here's the report on the nationals. First, I'd like to congratulate Shannon and Ben on exceptional performances at the match. They've set the bar high for all of us. Thanks to the guys on Squad 36 for making me feel welcome and keeping me on my toes for my first nationals. May a plague befall the theives that hit Brett and the other shooters following the match.

So what did I learn? I can clearly see the importance of making every shot count. With the talent pool at the nationals, the consequences of mistakes are multiplied exponentially. You still have to shoot your game. You won't get miraculouly better by chance. Being prepared is the only way to get better. Parts break sometimes regardless of your preparations.

Let's get the bad out of the way first and never speak of it again. I had way to many misses and or no shoots. Had I shot the match clean I would have met my goal of finishing in the top 75 overall. 9 misses and 4 no shoots is not conducive to winning the match. For those interested, a single miss at the nationals is worth 21 to 57 places in the overall standing depending on the high hit factor.

Now, as for the things I did right. In spite of the misses, I kept my composure stage to stage and shot the stages to the best of my ability. I was able to develop good stage plans and execute them to the best of my current skill level. I rocked on the steel targets. I laid them down like a pro. There were only two stages in the match that I was uncomfortable with my stage plans. My set ups on the stages were good. I was in and out of postitions smoothly. I hit all my reloads. I had good "A" hits on the vast majority of the targets.

Here's what I can see that I still need to work on:

1. I still need to work on getting my hits on swingers.

2. I need to get more comfortable driving the gun hard on medium range targets with no shoots.

3. I need to be explosive between shooting positions.

4. I need to spend more time practicing tight shots.

Match Summary: 246 Alphas, 16 Bravos, 82 Charlies, 13 Deltas, 9 Misses, 4 No Shoots

It's time to get ready for the Gator Classic.

[redbird1976]

I got an ego boost Sunday. I shot a local outlaw match and finished high overall. I was far enough ahead by the last stage I was able to let it all hang out and shoot for LOHF on the last stage. I had a couple of misses on a bobber, but I was still fast enough to get the HHF on the stage. 15 shots in 8.3 seconds targets 10-20 yards.

On the rest of the stages, I focused on shooting A's consistently. I maintained a two second advantage on the other shooters.