Focusing points, getting to the next level. going from C to B

[user293]

Well its winter time here in MN and not too much shooting can be done. I just recently got moved up to B in Open and am trying to get an idea of what the focus should be on for next year? I just moved further away from clubs, and took on a more time consuming job, so i wont be able to do much weekly league shooting, like ive done in the past. there is a club nearby where i can use USPSA targets, and set up some practice. whats a good focusing point in my practice next year? ive been shooting open since April of 2011. I think i may shoot area 3 again this year, and dont wanna get run over by all the B shooters, like i did when i was C haha. anyway just looking for some practice, and focusing points to become a better B shooter. thanks!

Luke

[CHA-LEE]

Going from C to B is usually just a different in aggressiveness. Over the winter focus on doing everything except for actually shooting more aggressively. Work on improving your hand speed so you can draw and reload faster. Work on moving from position to position more aggressively. Work on getting the gun up and ready to shoot sooner as you enter the shooting position. All of these non-shooting skills are usually what separate C shooters from B's. The best thing about this stuff is you don't even have to fire a single round to practice these skills. It can all be done at home.

[BoyGlock]

Good tips, Cha-LEE. Im on diff boat but can relate, just moved from std (B classs) to open (U) this month. Ive been doing these things for years in dry fire w/ Std gun specially the movement from position to position. I put more attention to movement because of my Sr. age, also had to work harder to be competitive w/ younger shooters. But W/ the Open gun, I find these non-shooting skills easier/less forced than w/ Std. dunno why...

W/ these skills already on the working block, whats next?

Edited December 28, 2011 by BoyGlock

[mikeg1005]

MY opinion from my observations(and for all I know this may be complete wrong) there are two types of people that are in/stuck in B class.

Those who shoot fast.

Those who shoot accurately.

Those who shoot fast and accurately are either an A class or higher, on there way to A class, or sandbaggin' B class.

Are you getting your hits? In B class, shooting deltas in all honesty is unacceptable... you need to get your alphas, charlies happen, but deltas need to stop. If you are getting the hits, great. If not, you need to work on that.

Dry fire practice was the key the bumped me into B class from C... getting out of the holster and on target faster, moving and getting my gun up when entering a shooting position, and all the other stuff that CHA-LEE mentioned. All that can be practiced at home. Getting your gun on target is probably the biggest focus... A LOT of time is wasted by reaquiring sights, if you can start doing it before entiring the shooting area, and can do it consistantly, you can easily save whole seconds over the duration of a long course of fire.

What helped me a lot to move up through B class into A (aside from getting my hits/faster fundmentals) was "the little things" during a stage breakdown. Yes, walk through the stage, finding the targets and finding all the shooting areas will get you through the course, but to be fast you need to start seeing yourself saving time. Eliminate unneccessary movement, eliminate getting up/getting down, since you have a big mag(I shoot SS) see where you can shoot targets from... there are times where a long distance shot can be picked up from 3 feet away, and you are going down range always. You also need to analyze your shooting/physical abilities, are you fast shooting over/under something, are you better ending the stage on the knee or can you be fast enough to get down/pop back up, etc. Stuff like this... saves fractions of a second which adds up in the end.

You mentioned you won't be able to go to matches/it is winter time...I found that critiquing(IN MY HEAD) the way other shooters shoot a stage, helped me not make mistakes/find good techniques. It helps develope a plan of "I'm going to do this, this, this, and avoid doing that, that, that." While doing it during a match is ideal, but you can also watch videos online/on this forum and critique the way someone shot a stage. It will open you to new ideas that you can incorporate into your shooting/stage breakdown.

Good luck. I'm trying to figure out how to get into M someday... its a never ending process haha

MIke.

Edited December 29, 2011 by mikeg1005

[CHA-LEE]

The initial question on this thread was how to get from C to B so that is what I focused my answer on. From B and beyond as stated by Mikeg1005 it comes down to effectively getting your hits as fast as possible. Its easier to think of shooting speed in perspective with distance of the targets. B class shooters usually have the skills to shoot 5 yard targets as fast and with the same hit quality as a GM. Move the targets out to 10 yards while maintaining the same shooting speed and the B class shooters hit quality starts to suffer (C and D zone hits on an open target). Move the target out to 15 yards and keep the shooting speed the same and misses start to seep into the equation with B class shooter. What separates GM's, M's, and A's from B class shooters is mainly the ability to shoot further or tighter targets faster with better hit quality. The ability to shoot fast while maintaining good hit quality is a culmination of optimizing MANY different fundamental shooting skills. Once you reach the point in your shooting skills where moving aggressively is not a limitation but shooting fast at far or tight shots is, its all about making the fundamentals of shooting as optimized as possible. When each shooter gets to this point, where and how they are currently failing is always unique to that shooter. This is where good quality one on one training from a top flight GM comes into play. A good quality trainer will be able to watch you shoot, identify your main failures/limitations, then provide an appropriate action plan to get you past your current failure/limitation. Unfortunately you can't really get this level of instruction effectively by reading alone and trying to figure it out yourself. Reading things on this forum are good at getting you to think about shooting differently in an effort to get better. But there is no replacement for high quality one on one training. Many people learn by using a "Monkey See, Monkey Do" method of learning. You need a high quality trainer to provide you with the "Monkey See" part. We can talk about the "Monkey Do" part all day long, but talking about it is a very faint shadow of being forced to see the "Monkey See" part from an effective trainer.

[mikeg1005]

The initial question on this thread was how to get from C to B so that is what I focused my answer on. From B and beyond as stated by Mikeg1005 it comes down to effectively getting your hits as fast as possible. Its easier to think of shooting speed in perspective with distance of the targets. B class shooters usually have the skills to shoot 5 yard targets as fast and with the same hit quality as a GM. Move the targets out to 10 yards while maintaining the same shooting speed and the B class shooters hit quality starts to suffer (C and D zone hits on an open target). Move the target out to 15 yards and keep the shooting speed the same and misses start to seep into the equation with B class shooter. What separates GM's, M's, and A's from B class shooters is mainly the ability to shoot further or tighter targets faster with better hit quality. The ability to shoot fast while maintaining good hit quality is a culmination of optimizing MANY different fundamental shooting skills. Once you reach the point in your shooting skills where moving aggressively is not a limitation but shooting fast at far or tight shots is, its all about making the fundamentals of shooting as optimized as possible. When each shooter gets to this point, where and how they are currently failing is always unique to that shooter. This is where good quality one on one training from a top flight GM comes into play. A good quality trainer will be able to watch you shoot, identify your main failures/limitations, then provide an appropriate action plan to get you past your current failure/limitation. Unfortunately you can't really get this level of instruction effectively by reading alone and trying to figure it out yourself. Reading things on this forum are good at getting you to think about shooting differently in an effort to get better. But there is no replacement for high quality one on one training. Many people learn by using a "Monkey See, Monkey Do" method of learning. You need a high quality trainer to provide you with the "Monkey See" part. We can talk about the "Monkey Do" part all day long, but talking about it is a very faint shadow of being forced to see the "Monkey See" part from an effective trainer.

Ah damn it... I read the question as "how to be competitve in B class" thats why I gave "strive to be a A shooter" thing.

Not sure if the rest of this reply is towards me but it definitely is something I will consider. I "think" I'm getting to the point you mentioned... I need to eliminate "stupid errors" completely so I have consistant stages, but I think this year I'm going to look into a class with someone.

Thanks,

Mike.

[BoyGlock]

The initial question on this thread was how to get from C to B so that is what I focused my answer on. From B and beyond as stated by Mikeg1005 it comes down to effectively getting your hits as fast as possible. Its easier to think of shooting speed in perspective with distance of the targets. B class shooters usually have the skills to shoot 5 yard targets as fast and with the same hit quality as a GM. Move the targets out to 10 yards while maintaining the same shooting speed and the B class shooters hit quality starts to suffer (C and D zone hits on an open target). Move the target out to 15 yards and keep the shooting speed the same and misses start to seep into the equation with B class shooter. What separates GM's, M's, and A's from B class shooters is mainly the ability to shoot further or tighter targets faster with better hit quality. The ability to shoot fast while maintaining good hit quality is a culmination of optimizing MANY different fundamental shooting skills. Once you reach the point in your shooting skills where moving aggressively is not a limitation but shooting fast at far or tight shots is, its all about making the fundamentals of shooting as optimized as possible. When each shooter gets to this point, where and how they are currently failing is always unique to that shooter. This is where good quality one on one training from a top flight GM comes into play. A good quality trainer will be able to watch you shoot, identify your main failures/limitations, then provide an appropriate action plan to get you past your current failure/limitation. Unfortunately you can't really get this level of instruction effectively by reading alone and trying to figure it out yourself. Reading things on this forum are good at getting you to think about shooting differently in an effort to get better. But there is no replacement for high quality one on one training. Many people learn by using a "Monkey See, Monkey Do" method of learning. You need a high quality trainer to provide you with the "Monkey See" part. We can talk about the "Monkey Do" part all day long, but talking about it is a very faint shadow of being forced to see the "Monkey See" part from an effective trainer.

Ah damn it... I read the question as "how to be competitve in B class" thats why I gave "strive to be a A shooter" thing.

Not sure if the rest of this reply is towards me but it definitely is something I will consider. I "think" I'm getting to the point you mentioned... I need to eliminate "stupid errors" completely so I have consistant stages, but I think this year I'm going to look into a class with someone.

Thanks,

Mike.

I think Im more guilty than you mike, I feel those replies were more to me.

I apologize to the OPer, user293 for my hi-jacking his thread. I did not meant to.

Thanks CHA-LEE for a very informative reply