fayetteflash Posted December 19, 2011 Share Posted December 19, 2011 I can't think of a better day to start my Range Diary than right after a whole day training with Dave Sevigny. I've been shooting my whole life, but never shot a centerfire handgun until February 2009. I went to our local store/range and wanted to get one for carry purposes and saw a sign mentioning a competitive match on Tuesday nights. They gave me some info and I came the next week to check it out. It looked great, so I bought a Springfield XDm 9mm 4.5" and a few mags and came out the next week to shoot. As most of us, I was totally hooked and had to try it more. Needless to say, I've been addicted ever since and continuously pursue improvement. I quickly made C class in production and then just had to try out Limited and bought a 2011. That kicked up my interest even more and I fell in love with the 1911/2011 platform. I classified B in Limited and then made A class just in time for the High Desert Classic in 2010. After more practice and study, I finally made M class in 2010 in Limited 10 and finished a solid season. I've been blessed to live in an area (Atlanta, GA) with amazing shooters all around and amazing clubs. Almost any given day, I could find a match. I'm truly thankful for all the folks that have invested in me and helped me so far. Now, the real work begins. I have big goals for 2012 and would appreciate the support, encouragement, tips and expertise from the great folks of brian's forums. My biggest goal is to finally win a major match. I've been very close, but not quite sealed the deal. To make sure it happens in 2012, I have been seeking the wisdom from as many resources as possible. So far, I've read the following books: Shooting From Within - Mike Plaxco Practical Shooting: Beyond Fundamentals - Brian Enos The Art and Science of Basic Handgun Accuracy - W. W. Butler Your Competition Handgun Training Program - Mike Seeklander Any other recommendations? Also worth mentioning... I had only dry fired 2 times up until about a month ago. It just didn't seem as helpful as going to the range and at least putting 100 rounds down range. Now, I see the value and have already made improvements in my fundamentals by aggressively dry firing and videoing my dry fire regiment. I'll post some of those videos along with little things I notice at range sessions and matches. I'm working on some surprises as well that might enhance my range diary, but more to come on that. Videos will be posted on YouTube as fayetteflash and eyecord. Here's my match result history to date: Achievements: 2010 Alabama Sectional Championship: 4th B Limited 2010 Area 6 Championship: 4th B Limited 2010 High Desert Classic: 5th A Limited 2010 GA State Sectional Championship: 2nd A Limited 2010 Limited Nationals: 89th overall, 18th A 2011 Florida Open: 1st B Single Stack, 3rd Overall Single Stack 2011 AL State Sectional Championship: 1st B Single Stack, 3rd Overall Single Stack 2011 Area 6 Championship: 2nd A Single Stack, 5th Overall Single Stack 2011 SC State Sectional Championship: 1st A Single Stack, 6th Overall Single Stack 2011 Single Stack Nationals: 17th A, 59th overall 2011 Western PA Sectional Championship: 2nd M Limited 10, 2nd Overall Limited 10 2011 Georgia Sectional Championship: 1st M Limited 10, 2nd Overall Limited 10 2011 Open/L10/Revolver Nationals: 10th M, 32nd Limited 10, 2nd Place on Stage 5 So, without further adieu... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fayetteflash Posted December 19, 2011 Author Share Posted December 19, 2011 I recently heard that some other guys in the area had coordinated with Dave Sevigny about a semi-private training class and they said great things about it. I reached out to Dave at http://sevignyperformance.com/home/training/ and we quickly decided on 12/17 as the perfect day for the class. It's very reasonably priced and 4 people is the perfect number to get plenty of personalized instruction. I'd recommend that all the participants be at a similar experience level (no n00b's and GM's together... both will be frustrated). For the competitive shooter that really wants to step up their game, this class is right on the money! We arrived at the range at 08:30 (Dave suggested we get there just before 9) and he had already setup the range for the first exercises. After signing the waivers and a quick safety briefing, we were ready to go. We took our extremely heavy range bags (brought 1,000 rounds) down to one of the four barrels and started loading mags while Dave kicked things off. Not to give away any of his secret mojo, here are the types of things we did... Walk through many of the drills that Dave has used since early in his career... the same drills that took him to the top Baseline our fundamentals (draw, presentation, trigger control, follow through and visual patience at ranges from 7 yards to 25 yards) compared to Dave Mini-competitive challenges for prizes Shooting on the move skills (retreat, advance, side-step) with calculations to help game-time decision making on engagement order Timing and sequencing of types of shooting arrays and positions as well as steel and moving targets Field course breakdown and execution As things came up, Dave gave us many golden nuggets of wisdom and words of experience. Here are my main take-aways from the course: Train with purpose and diligence (take the time to plan ahead each session and then document all the details of what happened and what you learned) Go back to review training sessions and analyze my performance and learnings Track my progress... leverage consistent drills and run them on a schedule to measure gains Learn from each and every shot... visualize before each string, after each string and be able to re-play in my mind Sometimes you really do need to get knee deep in brass... I normally shoot between 100-150 rounds per practice, but it's nice to go crazy every once in a while and see what happens at 16:30 after the 700th round... where's my mind and body at that point? Setup drills that really make me think... include targets to skip over and get crazy with the sequence required for the drill... i seemed to fail in executing the drill perfectly the first time, gotta step that up... that will really help increase confidence when a match has a course of fire that is a real head scratcher Train with people that will push me... make sure the folks I'm training with are watching, helping with evaluation and pushing me to improve I'm never too good for the basics... it was evident that Dave never takes the fundamentals for granted and i could see that those are the things separating me from the top of the field Failure is OK, just learn from it... call each shot and i'm going to have some bad shots, strings, days and matches... gotta learn from each one Eyewear is important... evaluate lighting conditions on each and every stage and make sure that i am using the right lenses to see everything clearly... also, probably should buy a set of glasses for matches separate from practice Hearing protection is critical... get a set of electronic ears to help turn things up shooting steel, tune things out in matches and protect my ears even more... love my custom molds, but smart to add on top (except in crazy heat of summer) Reload closer to my eyes... i can acquire the next target faster if the gun is at eye-level and after confirming the mag is seated, slight rotate and i'm on target I'm on the right track... many of the things i've been doing are working, increase dry fire and incorporate these learnings into my routine Bottom line, it was an amazing day. I'm sure I'll have more thoughts as I process all my notes. Thanks to Dave, Ken, Buck and Clint. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fayetteflash Posted December 22, 2011 Author Share Posted December 22, 2011 Still analyzing my timings, but here are some more key take-aways... When presenting to targets, get body in position first, then extend When doing a swinging transition between targets, retract arms first, swing, then extend again When shooting single handed, practice presentations keeping front sight above rear sight while extending... much easier to get in the notch bringing it down than up Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fayetteflash Posted December 22, 2011 Author Share Posted December 22, 2011 12/20 Local Fun-Shoot Match... 1st Single Stack, 2nd Overall, 95% overall Stage 1: Standards, 10 rounds, 5 on T1, reload, 5 on T2... Won the stage with 5.72secs, 7A3C... could have focused just a bit more and gotten 2 of those C's on T1 into the A Stage 2: Classifier (3-V)... Won the stage with 6.68secs, 59 raw points, but 20 penalties for nicking no-shoots!... if those shots were 1/2" higher, it would be a 95% classifier! I think that gun is shooting a bit low, though after field course Stage 3: Field Course, 28 rounds, many double stack targets... 4th overall at 83% of #1... dropped 3 shots on double stacks into lower target!... had fastest time... believe i called the shots in the clear, but maybe sights low (or i'm consistently yanking straight down) Would have liked to get a 95%, but I'm ok. Still not sleeping since baby born on 12/11, so fine. Ordered new Single Stack .40 major gun and will get that dialed in before FL Open. Still not sure if I should shoot FL Open Major or Minor PF. Last year many of the stages had an advantage for 10 rounds, but a number of long/partial targets that benefit major scoring. Any thoughts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steel1212 Posted December 22, 2011 Share Posted December 22, 2011 I lost to a minor gun at IN a few months ago. There where 6 stages that benifited 10 rounds though. The problem is you don't what the stages will be unroll your there looking at them Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fayetteflash Posted December 22, 2011 Author Share Posted December 22, 2011 Yeah... That's the hard part about the FL Open. Last year, I had to go around on Friday and draw up my own stage diagrams. At this point, I'm planning on bringing both guns and making the decision at the last second. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fayetteflash Posted December 24, 2011 Author Share Posted December 24, 2011 Quick range session today... Gave a junior an orientation to handguns with my boy's .22 Buckmark Open gun. Is that cheating to let a kid shoot a dot for their first gun? Also, got in a few groups and shotshell drills and these for Triple 6 (7yd, 15yd, 25yd): 1) 2.36, 2.79, 2.79 = 7.94s + 1C1D (.8) = 8.74s 2) 2.24, 2.66, 2.84 = 7.74s + 4C (.8) = 8.54s 3) 2.22, 2.54, 2.86 = 7.62s + 3C (.6) = 8.22s... not great, but consistent. saw sights on almost every shot... a few trigger freezes from tensing up in my arms Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fayetteflash Posted December 30, 2011 Author Share Posted December 30, 2011 12/27 Local Fun Shoot Match... 3rd Overall (only 5 points out of 1st), 1st Single Stack Stage 1: Field Course 29 rounds with some really tight shots on the move... 2nd overall on the stage, 127pts 1 miss (dropped shot on a double-stack) in 18.55 secs... fastest time overall on stage, but sloppy on one target Stage 2: 3-box old-school standards course... 2nd overall on the stage, 117pts (only 3 C's) in 15.83secs... beat by a limited gun by 2 secs... could have sped up a little, but accuracy would have suffered (still needed the 2 reloads and no margin since each box required 8 rounds and was an unloaded start) So, I knew going into the field course that the first double stack on the left would be my most likely spot to drop a shot into the lower target. Also, I knew that I was going to run that 9-shot array going to slide lock and I focused a little too much on getting all the shots off and going 1 for 1 on the steel and still dropped the shot. Need to practice with more tight double-stacks like that. Also, exciting news is that I ordered my Single Stack .40 from Akai Custom Guns (http://acguns.com) and think it is going to be really sharp. I was using my USSA (Kevin Toothman) built .40 in major and was getting used to that gun. Going to evaluate the trigger and magwell in dry fire and live fire and get it set before the next match. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fayetteflash Posted December 30, 2011 Author Share Posted December 30, 2011 (edited) 12/29 Live Fire Practice session with Grant, Ken and Clint Beautiful day and loved having a little break from life to send some lead down range. Very helpful session. Got out the USSA .40 Major gun for the first time in live-fire practice... Here's how it went: Warmup: Lots of draws... 7, 10 and 15 yards... at each line, did facing left, facing square, facing right, then turn into gun and finally turn away from gun draws... 15 rounds... 2C, 2D Opened wound again in hand from a draw that was too high and the slide tore through my hand Warmup: Presentation Steps... 10 yards... gun at low ready, take step, get low and wide base, watch sights get on target, break shot... 16 rounds... all A Drill 1: Triple 6... Oops!... 11.53secs, 6C, 2D, 2M + 4.8 = 16.33 (hand got really bloody again, got out first aid kit and cleaned wound and added band-aid)... then better, 9.04, 4C + .8 = 9.84 Drill 2: 2-Box Drill... 6 paper targets, 1 steel plate in middle... engage A, B, D from box 1, steel from middle on move, reload, C, E, F from box 2... 8.76secs, 4C = 9.56 but screwed up the order, so FAIL 9.4secs, 2D,4D,1M = 12.6 with miss on steel plate! 10.56secs, 3C = 11.16 clean, but crappy reload Cool Down: Shotgun Shell Husks at 10 yards... went 6 for 8 Takeaways: Gotta do more practice with complex arrays (skipping targets, funky order, etc)... goal is to get where I can execute proper sequence 1st time through Dry Fire with this gun to get the reloads smoother and draw motion 100%... bad grip a few times caused lots of blood and loss of focus (maybe due to spurts of blood in my eyes) Kinda like the blackout front sight on this gun... fiber is nice, but i might like this better Need to evaluate the magwell... this is a S&A (I believe) that is beautifully blended, but offers no tactile support... i like the dawson ice on my other SS's giving feedback on bottom of grip Here's a quick video of some of the session: Edited December 31, 2011 by fayetteflash Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fayetteflash Posted January 3, 2012 Author Share Posted January 3, 2012 (edited) 12/31 Live Fire Practice session with Clint Another beautiful day. Hard to believe it's New Year's Eve and 60 degrees. Still working with the USSA .40 Major gun and feeling much more comfortable with it. Had to double-bandage my hand to keep the blood down, but that didn't get too much in the way... Here's how it went: Warmup: Presentation Steps... 10 yards... gun at side, take step, get low and wide base, watch sights get on target, break shot... 16 rounds... all A Turtle targets... A & B partially covered by no-shoots off to the left, C & D double-stacked in middle and E way off to right Drill 1: Retreat, Reload, Advance Drill around a barrel... A,B on retreat, reload, C,D,E from other side of barrel (10 rounds) 6.58 + 1D = 7.18 7.43 + 2C,2D = 8.03 6.01 + 4C,2D,1M = 9.26 (pushing pace and experienced what going too fast does to me) Drill 2: Retreat, Reload, Advance Drill around a barrel reverse... C,D,E on retreat, reload, A,B from other side of barrel (10 rounds) 6.65 + 2C = 6.95 6.84 + 1C,1D = 7.64 Drill 3: Standing in one spot, wide transition with memory... 2 rounds each E,C,B, reload, D,A (10 rounds) 7.25 + 1C = 7.45 6.49 + 2C = 6.89 (best run... nice and smooth, saw sights well) Drill 4: Standing in one spot, wide transition, 1 round each, reload, 1 round each (10 rounds) 8.83 + 3C = 9.48 (getting tired, bad reload and had to strip mag) R to L, L to R 8.85 + 3C = 9.45 (again, stripped mag) R to L, R to L... interesting that reloading during whole transition to far right target didn't impact overall time 8.93 + 4C = 9.73 (again, stripped mag) same sequence... very consistent Drill 5: Triple 6 2.34 + 2.93 + 3.68 = 8.95 + 2D,5C = 11.15 2.29 + 3.14 + 4.02 = 9.45 + 3C = 10.05... very smooth, saw sights clearly, only 3C ain't bad... just speed things up Cool Down: tear down the bay, drink some water Takeaways: Feeling much better with the gun... gotta get a wider magwell... ordered TGO today Trigger job is nice... down to around 2 lbs and very crisp... video coming soon of using Power Custom fixtures Something about the blackout sights is helping me concentrate more on watching front sight and improving accuracy... only 1M all day and that was when consciously trying to push and I saw it when leaving a target too fast Mag release button is too small... get the STI that bends back a little to help my reach Memory stage went well, make bigger one next time Need to incorporate some steel into practice Edited January 4, 2012 by fayetteflash Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fayetteflash Posted January 20, 2012 Author Share Posted January 20, 2012 (edited) SAPSC Fun Shoot January 10, 2012 Really good head-to-head comparison of major versus minor scoring. I designed 2 stages that "should" favor minor. Here are the results: Major Gun: 8th Overall Stage 1: 5th Overall... 125pts in 19.54s clean (slight slowdown due to stuck case/round) Stage 2: 12th Overall... 98pts in 14.01s with 40 penalty points for 1 extra shot, 2 misses and one no shoot (nasty!) Minor Gun: 3rd Overall Stage 1: 1st Overall... 118pts in 14.96s clean Stage 2: 8th Overall... 91pts in 17.78s with 10 penalty points for a no shoot hit (slight slowdown due to an extra reload for a mag only loaded to 3 rounds) Takeaways: #1... always shoot the match, not the experiment (thanks Braxton for helping me see that)... #2... not 100% reliable data, but I see that my theory holds up. Video available: Edited January 20, 2012 by fayetteflash Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fayetteflash Posted January 20, 2012 Author Share Posted January 20, 2012 Cherokee Gun Club's Monthly USPSA Match: January 14, 2012 Even though it was a very cold start to the day, I had one of my best matches ever. Really focused on each stage and shot well. Results showed... Combined Results Here: http://combinedresults.info/index.php/match/3630 * 1st place Single Stack * 4th place Overall to high level Open and Limited guns * Totally clean match with only one Delta hit * 100% on classifier 09-13 Takeaways: * Don't let things mess with my head like the plate that fell off the star without shooting it (ricochet) * Make my reloads closer to my eyes... dropping down a bit * Lose some weight * I'm getting very comfortable with standards exercises Video: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fayetteflash Posted January 20, 2012 Author Share Posted January 20, 2012 SAPSC Fun Shoot January 17, 2012 Another awesome local match. Ken designed some good stages and I shot very well. Here's the lowdown: Combined Results: http://combinedresults.info/index.php/match/3663 1st overall and 1st on both stages Stage 1: 129 pts in 18.17secs with 3D Stage 2: 66 pts in 9.44 secs with 2D Shot these giving every shot respect and focus. Plan on field course was good and made the most of 8 rounds. Definitely a stage that would have been fun to try out minor since end of stage could use 10 rounds. Steve got some video here: http://www.youtube.com/user/stevenbl#p/u/0/E6VJOmKXHiA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fayetteflash Posted January 20, 2012 Author Share Posted January 20, 2012 (edited) SAPSC Fun Shoot January 17, 2012 Another awesome local match. Ken designed some good stages and I shot very well. Here's the lowdown: Combined Results: http://combinedresul....php/match/3663 1st overall and 1st on both stages Stage 1: 129 pts in 18.17secs with 3D Stage 2: 66 pts in 9.44 secs with 2D Shot these giving every shot respect and focus. Plan on field course was good and made the most of 8 rounds. Definitely a stage that would have been fun to try out minor since end of stage could use 10 rounds. Steve got some video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E6VJOmKXHiA Edited January 20, 2012 by fayetteflash Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carlosa Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 Nice Dood.. Am glad you had this going Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sperman Posted February 19, 2012 Share Posted February 19, 2012 So far, I've read the following books: The Art and Science of Basic Handgun Accuracy - W. W. Butler Did you find that book to be worth while? I tried reading it, but found the information to be so dated and so basic that I ended up not finishing it. I just want to make sure I didn't miss something of value. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fayetteflash Posted February 20, 2012 Author Share Posted February 20, 2012 So far, I've read the following books: The Art and Science of Basic Handgun Accuracy - W. W. Butler Did you find that book to be worth while? I tried reading it, but found the information to be so dated and so basic that I ended up not finishing it. I just want to make sure I didn't miss something of value. Nothing earth shattering. I read that first. After reading Plaxco, Enos and Seeklander it was more than all covered. Now, I just need to actually execute what's in the books. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sperman Posted February 20, 2012 Share Posted February 20, 2012 I completely understand. I know that I need to slow down in dry fire and practice to make sure I execute the drills perfectly. I have a real hard time doing that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fayetteflash Posted April 2, 2012 Author Share Posted April 2, 2012 Well... I got slammed up with work and couldn't publish everything on my range diary, but most of the details are here: http://trigvision.com. My #1 goal for the season was accomplished this past weekend at the SC State Championship... 1st place overall Single Stack. Here's the road that led up to it... GA State Steel Challenge: http://trigvision.com/2012/02/ga-state-steel-2312/ - rough performance, poor mental game and it showed - learned about goal setting and visual patience Cherokee February: http://trigvision.com/2012/02/local-match-cherokee-21112/ - single stack win, good prep for FL Open - more analysis of Major vs. Minor FL Open: http://trigvision.com/2012/02/fl-open-21812-single-stack/ - 3rd A, 6th Single Stack - focus next practice on fundamentals South River March: http://trigvision.com/2012/03/local-match-srgc-3212/ - 2nd Single Stack - good, clean match... head scratcher about major vs. minor Cherokee March: http://trigvision.com/2012/03/local-match-cherokee-31012/ - 2nd Single Stack - interesting math lesson on how overall and division-specific results can swap positions AL State: http://trigvision.com/2012/03/al-state-31612-single-stack-open/ - mysterious circumstances made me bust weight and went Open - 1st place unclassified Open - Would have been 2nd in Single Stack by 3 match points - fired me up to make SC count SC State: http://trigvision.com/2012/04/sc-state-33012-single-stack-win/ - first major match victory... 1st place in Single Stack and 1st A Class - solid match with 2 miss penalties that didn't make sense to make up - really learned about validating scores as initial results had me in 3rd with 2 stages incorrect Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old506 Posted April 2, 2012 Share Posted April 2, 2012 Great read and congrats on the win! So the scoring error, was it just imputed wrong initially and they went back and looked at your score sheet and made the changes? Or, something else? Well... I got slammed up with work and couldn't publish everything on my range diary, but most of the details are here: http://trigvision.com. My #1 goal for the season was accomplished this past weekend at the SC State Championship... 1st place overall Single Stack. Here's the road that led up to it... GA State Steel Challenge: http://trigvision.com/2012/02/ga-state-steel-2312/ - rough performance, poor mental game and it showed - learned about goal setting and visual patience Cherokee February: http://trigvision.com/2012/02/local-match-cherokee-21112/ - single stack win, good prep for FL Open - more analysis of Major vs. Minor FL Open: http://trigvision.com/2012/02/fl-open-21812-single-stack/ - 3rd A, 6th Single Stack - focus next practice on fundamentals South River March: http://trigvision.com/2012/03/local-match-srgc-3212/ - 2nd Single Stack - good, clean match... head scratcher about major vs. minor Cherokee March: http://trigvision.com/2012/03/local-match-cherokee-31012/ - 2nd Single Stack - interesting math lesson on how overall and division-specific results can swap positions AL State: http://trigvision.com/2012/03/al-state-31612-single-stack-open/ - mysterious circumstances made me bust weight and went Open - 1st place unclassified Open - Would have been 2nd in Single Stack by 3 match points - fired me up to make SC count SC State: http://trigvision.com/2012/04/sc-state-33012-single-stack-win/ - first major match victory... 1st place in Single Stack and 1st A Class - solid match with 2 miss penalties that didn't make sense to make up - really learned about validating scores as initial results had me in 3rd with 2 stages incorrect Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fayetteflash Posted April 3, 2012 Author Share Posted April 3, 2012 Thanks, man. Exciting year. Yes, the error was on re-entry. When we finished shooting on Friday, the scores were correct. Then, something happened with the software. Either it was updated to a new version or a new computer was used or something, but when the scores that started entering on Saturday went in, they wouldn't merge. So, the stats crew had to re-enter everything and fight the software like crazy. Somewhere in that mad dash, they re-entered my scores incorrectly. Once I pointed that out, they looked at the sheets and corrected it. Very close match. Only 4 match points ahead. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old506 Posted April 3, 2012 Share Posted April 3, 2012 It is always a great feeling when you nail a goal. Now what are you going to do? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fayetteflash Posted April 3, 2012 Author Share Posted April 3, 2012 I'm actually next on a quest for a GM card. Not too far off in SS and L10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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