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Monica's Range Diary


monicataliani

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Monica, Three things regarding that video.

1. You have come a long way in a few months, great job.

2. Don't look down to your mags. Practice this in dry fire. Muscle memory, etc..

3. Never ever post a video with Larry ROing you. You look like you are only 3 feet tall!roflol.gifgoof.gif Just kidding ya'. We all know you are really just over 4 feet.laugh.gif

:roflol: There was actually a port today (one on the indoor range) that was a bit too tall for me!!! It took me forever to get a shot from it because it was so high I could reach it but my point of aim was all messed up. I will post the video and you will see it for sure! I still got my shots though! :lol:

As far as the mag changes, I plan to continue my drills from the past two weeks to help them. They fell apart a bit. I have been practicing them very slowly to help muscle memory, but then when I sped up today, the timing that I have developed when doing them slowly was gone. Plus, I had been practicing changing them at chest level and kind of out in front of me, but in the videos, I saw that I did not do that at all! I am sure it isn't anything a little practice can't fix! ;)

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That classifier really had me worried, Monica because of my 180 DQ at circleville a couple weeks ago while kneeling. I really enjoy shooting with all these people - they have been so helpful! Scot suggested I lose the hat for that prone string and I listened any time Kevin spoke! I'm sure all three squads had helpful folks in them, but I was in a pretty good one with Kevin, Chris and Ralph - picked up a lot of good tips.

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That classifier really had me worried, Monica because of my 180 DQ at circleville a couple weeks ago while kneeling. I really enjoy shooting with all these people - they have been so helpful! Scot suggested I lose the hat for that prone string and I listened any time Kevin spoke! I'm sure all three squads had helpful folks in them, but I was in a pretty good one with Kevin, Chris and Ralph - picked up a lot of good tips.

I was worried too until I did it! It was really fun! I love squading with those guys! But then again, I have loved all my squads! Everyone is always super helpful and supportive!

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Practice 10/17/11- 20 minutes of dry fire (focus on sights and trigger control) and mag changes.

I though about not recording this because I wasn't really paying attention to what I was doing. But... due to some pressure about recording ALL of my practice from some of the guys at the last shoot, I felt obligated to post this... :goof:

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Practice 10/18/11- I varied my routine tonight just for a change of pace. 20 min of draw from holster, point, and dry fire. I tried to work on sight picture, trigger control, and especially good grip. I also practiced a few mag changes between each sequence. I practiced everything pretty slow for the most part to help muscle memory, but also threw in a few faster runs to make sure I am used to going a bit faster. When I sped up I also noticed that I have developed a tendency to tilt the gun to the side while pushing the mag release, when I know that I need to keep it vertical until the mag clears. That is my focus/goal for tomorrow night's practice! And, I had my first incident of smashing my guide (pointer) finger on the mag into the gun when I did an extra enthusiastic mag change! :surprise: At least now, I know what it feels like and will remember to move my hand!

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Practice 10/19/11- 23ish minutes (my goal was 20 minutes but couldn't stop doing mag changes until I ran through my belt of pouches perfectly) of draw, aim, dry fire, mag changes all the way through my belt's worth of mags, repeat.

I noticed that when I press on the bottom of my mags, some making a clicking noise. Is this common for M&P mags? I will be the first to admit that after beginning regular practice I have realized how little I knew/know about my equipment. I am glad I am getting more familiar though!

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...

It was at this point as I was standing there looking around that I realized that I was as happy as ever, crummy performance and all.

...

This is what it's all about! :cheers:

Lot's of good advice in the preceding posts. The one tidbit that I don't recall seeing is to take a class if you can. The big names are not always available for instruction at a given club so the next best thing to do is to shoot with those folks at your club who are more experienced.

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One other tidbit just came to me after reading lumpygravy's post. When you have finished the course of fire, scan your last target array while still having the gun mounted (ie. in the shooting position, looking over the sights) and verify your hits. If you have dropped a shot, it can be made up in a short amount of time. Hearing "Alpha, Mike, No Shoot" during scoring sucks when you could have picked up the shot....

(Yeah, been there, done that.... :blush: )

HH

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It feels like forever since I have been on here OR practiced. I have had a long week! Not bad, just long. I have been commuting to Covington,KY every day and had parent-teacher conferences two nights this week. I have been leaving at 5:45am and not getting home until 10. Needless to say I haven't practiced at all until tonight. I also haven't posted the videos from last weekend.

Last weekend was the October match at MRPC. It was emotionally my worst match. The weekend before, I had done much better than I had been and I wanted so badly to repeat those results. I was keyed up beyond belief to get to the match. I have never felt like that going into the match before. Usually I am just laid back and happy to be out and having fun. I was so incredibly high strung even on the drive in. All that kept going through my mind was, I have got to push harder. I pushed last time, and did so much better, but thought that there were a few areas that I could have really cleaned up. So I was focused in on the idea that I needed to go faster. Unfortunately that attitude is everything you guys write about in the zen area! I got a little off balance on the first stage trying to shoot through a low port and got frustrated right off the bat because it slowed my time down. The classifier was one where you were behind a wall and had to lean around it, alternating sides for 3 strings. I zero-ed out worse than ever before! There was one target that I didn't even hit once during 3 strings. All I cared about was that timer. Then at that point, I finally relaxed, and started having a bit more fun. I still had at least one mike on every stage the rest of the time, but I was able to pull myself together a little bit. I know I need to try to go faster on non-shooting things like transitions, mag changes, draws and so on, but my mistake was that I tried to shoot faster. I am hoping I can slow myself down at this upcoming weekend's shoot.

Practice 10/27/11- 25-30 min of nothing but working on mag changes on the move.

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I have been commuting to Covington,KY every day

From Dayton??surprise.gif You poor thing! Hopefully you get through before the traffic builds too much.

Anyway, did you think about the eye closed and the right versus left hand thing we talked about?

Part of getting better at any game is knowing there will be setbacks along the way. And things take time! This is a bad time of the year for us around here too since the "season" is basically over. You won't know if your training is going in the right direction until spring.

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Hello Monica,

A belated welcome to the shooting sports.

I am originally from Louisville, KY.

I've spent some time in Covington.

I have a daughter about your age, she never got into shooting though.

It was emotionally my worst match.

Just so you know, us he-men would never use a term like "emotionally". ;)

We disguise it with other words, but we have the same experience. So if you do a search for similar experiences you will have to decode the man terms.

Dry fire and other practice, having your equipment ready (being confident it will work 100%), and being physically and mentally ready (rested, hydrated, minimal distractions) will all contribute to your ability to perform your best at match time.

One of the hardest habits I, and many others, struggle with is the thought process that- I just had a bad stage so I need to "make it up" on the next stage. This applies to matches also. Trying to shoot faster than you ever have on a stage or at a match is normally not a winning strategy. There is nothing wrong with pushing but it is better to push at practice and go 95% at the match. There are many varying opinions on this.

Many/all shooters have butterflies, especially on the first stage. One way to get a good start in a match is to shoot the first stage conservatively. Having this "OK" first stage gives you a sigh of relief and keeps you "out of the hole" from the beginning.

I was keyed up beyond belief to get to the match.

Sounds like you have gone from being a recreational shooter to a "competitor"!!!!

Misses are bad.

Penalties are bad.

As are good!

Sounds like you are doing awesome by the way!

Again, good preparation gives you confidence going into a match (or anything in life for that matter).

David E.

Edited by Nuke8401
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<snip> having your equipment ready (being confident it will work 100%) <snip>

This one is huge for me. When I'm headed out to a match, I don't want to be scrambling around in the morning looking for something that I'll need at the range. It's all packed in the bag the night before and all I have to remember is to put it in the car. The one time I decided to put my ammo in a separate carrier, it was left on the garage floor. :huh:

Not good..... match was 90 miles away.

It's the 6 P's... Prior Preparation Prevents Piss Poor Performance.

HH

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Kevin- I was very lucky I was arriving and leaving before the BAD traffic, but there to Beavercreek is one heck of a drive! I put in over 600 miles of driving this week! :sick: I don't mind driving at all but that was a bit much. I haven't gotten to think about the eye thing. My eyes have been itchy and hurt all week (there were a number of us who felt like that, so I am thinking it was something in the conference room that was causing it) so I am going to wait until next week or so. You are correct about the Monday night thing. I have to work late most nights, but I may be able to shift things around a couple times a month over winter. As far as last weekend, I totally have my priorities realigned, and I am not upset about it. I look at last week as I tried something new. It didn't work out, so that means I need to back off. If I wouldn't have done it, I wouldn't have known how far I could go. It was like you guys told me when I was just walking between shooting spots, if you don't try to run you won't ever find out if you can. I am thinking of hitting up some steel matches over winter. I know they aren't USPSA but they will still help me work on my fundamentals. Besides, I need a winter hobby!

Paul- I am trying to work it out for sure. They haven't been a priority since we have still had all the weekend shoots.

Nuke- I did not mean to get all girly on you guys! ;) I just was lacking more masculine terms to describe it! You were spot on with your descriptions. I HAD thoughts using those same words. I was trying to "make it up" when I went to the classifier (the second stage for our squad.) Also, with the whole competitor thing. Unfortunately for me this can sometimes be an issue. If I am doing something for fun or casually, no worries about performance. I like to do my best, but it isn't a big deal. However... I can sometimes surpass regular competitive and become ultra competitive. I am not so sure that I want that to happen for shooting for me. I already have been thinking about shooting non-stop. My entire drive to work and home I think about what I can do to become better, I have forsaken facebook and reading novels for BE, I have been practicing (except this week) almost every night, the magazines I read are all gun magazines, and all I want to watch on tv is Top Shot, Shooting USA or videos of everyone from myself to Dave S. to see where there are differences, things that are similar, and so on. I really enjoy shooting and all things having to do with it. I want it to stay fun!

Nuke and HH- I totally agree. The night before all the gear is cleaned, checked, packed up and by the door. All clothes are set out. Even the lunch box with snacks and drinks is ready in the fridge. I don't like to have anything to do except carry my stuff to the car! I don't want to start my morning out with chaos! I love the 6P's! :roflol:

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