Coach's 2012 Shooting Log

[Coach]

4/9

Got home from school and loaded up 400 rounds of .45 ACP to round out the 500 rounds for SS nationals. Planted 10 trees and some sweet corn and then broke out the .22 for some practice.

I shot about 400 rounds maybe a little more. Working on moving into and out positions and breaking shot quickly. It went ok, and I got better as I got more and more practice. I also worked on some 10 round bill drills at 25 yards. I drilled some shooting on the move as well. I think these drills with the .22 will be a plus at putting rounds down range and developing some of the skills with less expense.

[Coach]

4/10

Had a new gun owner out tonight who was looking for some instruction. It was the second time he had ever fired a gun. Following that session I got some quality dryfire in with the SS gun.

Drill 13 Front Sight Forward 6 reps

This drill went very well. I made all of the times that I have down for the Limited gun down through the baseline. I made 2 out of 6 under the baseline.

Drill 14 Front Sight Turn 6 reps

This drill went very well. I made all of the times easily. I am thinking they were older times. But I was pleased with the snapping of the eyes and the smoothness of the draw.

Drill 8: 6R6

The reload changed things drastically. Man that hole is small.

at 4 seconds I made 3/6 reps, a second run was 3/6 at 4.0 seconds, third run at 4.0 was 3/6, and the fourth set at 4.0 was 4/6 made. I think with several days this will smooth out and the time will get faster and more of the reps made. Just much less margin for error on this reload and my beat to shit mag well tells you this is not something I am great at. But I am going to get better.

Drill 15 2 reload 2 9 reps

I did four sets of 9 and 2.5 seconds

1= 7/9

2= 8/9

3= 7/9

4= 8/9

This was ok, I really thought I was going to get all 9 on the last set 7th one.

Tomorrow night Bill is coming out for live fire. We are shooting the same drills as the last two times but on classic targets. If time allows we are going to do the .22 work out as well.

[Coach]

4/11

Bill was stuck at work so live fire went out the window. I decided to dry fire with the SS gun instead. I got about an hour of good work in and feel like some progress was made. The SS gun is beginning feel more natural in my hands.

Drill 13: Front Sight Forward 6 reps

Made all the times I set with the Limited gun. This drill went very well. Just draw and shoot but it was smooth.

Drill 15: 2 reload 2 9 reps

This drill felt much better today. I did one set with no par time and it felt smooth. I then did 2.5 for three sets I made 8/9 on the first two sets and 9/9 on the last one. I dropped the time to 2.4 and made 7/9. I felt good about this drill as well. I am confident that the times can fall as the reload gets smoothed out further.

Drill 8: 6 reload 6: 6 reps

I did a set with no par time. I made 5/6 reps at 4.0.

Then Alyssa needed to shoot baskets before her game and I moved out into the yard to work on movement drills.I did this work on Classic targets.

I did a U shape box drill working on drawing on the move and engaging three target while moving around the U and did a reload everytime I changed direction. I did 6-10 reps going each direction. I worked on shooting on the move going forward and backward. I also worked on side to side lateral movement.

I also dry fired at 40-45 yards as well. Some of that was with a reload and some without. I did some bill drills at seven yards. The next thing was working on moving into a posiiton and breaking shots immediately. I did this moving to the left and to the right in the same drill with a reload in the mix. I felt progress was made during this part of the session.

I watched some footage from several shooters from the 2012 BITB match. This is what I observed about the people who finished above me. Many times we shot the same plan. My trigger speed is slower. I have larger pauses between hitting a position and breaking the first shot. My target to target transitions are slower at times. I over aimed at partial targets. My movement is not as smooth or fluid or as effortless as their.

So I am trying to tailor practice in order to close the gap in these areas. I am confident that I can do these things at the same level as these other shooters, and I am going to get there.

[seancswife]

...and I got better as I got more and more practice...

Funny how that works. Keep up the good work.

[Coach]

4/13

I got about 50 reloads in last night and that was it.

I got in about 45 minutes tonight of dry fire but I left the notes in the garage. My streak stayed in tact but barely.

Survived Friday the 13th barely.

Edited April 14, 2012 by Coach

[Coach]

4/14

Off to St. Louis to the NRA show with Jake and George.

I got up and did some dryfire this morning. It sucked ass. I was planning on having a good session but the whole thing was rushed and my focus was not there. Some yelling and cussing helped for a while. Reloads with this SS gun conitnue to be a problem. I can pull the mag and jam it right on the edge of the mag well. The dummy round and the feeding lip have the edge of the magwell surrounded.

I have managed Live Fire or dry fry for 14 days in a row at this point.

WVPPS is tomorrow so that will make 15.

[rvb]

I have managed Live Fire or dry fry for 14 days in a row at this point.

WVPPS is tomorrow so that will make 15.

awesome!

I'm Jealous!

-rvb

[Chris iliff]

Edited out, see next post.

Edited April 14, 2012 by Chris iliff

[Chris iliff]

4/11

I watched some footage from several shooters from the 2012 BITB match. This is what I observed about the people who finished above me. Many times we shot the same plan. My trigger speed is slower. I have larger pauses between hitting a position and breaking the first shot. My target to target transitions are slower at times. I over aimed at partial targets. My movement is not as smooth or fluid or as effortless as their.

So I am trying to tailor practice in order to close the gap in these areas. I am confident that I can do these things at the same level as these other shooters, and I am going to get there.

Great plan. I think the same about myself. Let me know of any drills you come up with!

[Coach]

Here is the video from WVPPS. Beat everyone at the match but one guy. The speed shoot at the end of the video or the mike on stage 1 cost me the match. 13 shots on an 8 shot stage. There were many good points but the result is what matters. Second place is the first loser no matter how you slice the pie. Everything is practice for August and October but winning practice would be better.

I plan to forge ahead tomorrow night with dryfire. Will break this down tomorrow and post thoughts.

WVPPS April 15, 2012

Bay 3

- Had a mike on this stage due to a lack of sight focus. Shot right over the target.

+ Backed out of the first position pretty well.

+ Good reload

+ Handled the low port pretty well.

- If I get an Alpha instead of the Mike I win the match.

Bay 4

+ Great points scored on this stage. Only three or four points down.

- The extra shot in the last position was not needed.

- Draw was slow.

- Could not stay moving in position two and that added time.

- Transition to last two targets was terribly slow. No snapping of the eyes.

- Plan not burned in very well. This was a problem all day. It is a problem that I can fix easily.

Bay 5

- Slow to get first shot off, Get moving.

- Get that extra shot out of there. Don’t need it. Extra shots are the way to be successful. Be sight focused.

+ Happy with the movement after the two poppers.

- Good reload but a little slow getting to it. Needed to shoot those last targets before it sooner so it did not turn into a standing reload.

- Two extra shots on the star. Get rid of them. Get those hits.

Bay 6

- Poor accuracy. Too many points down.

- Too slow to break the first shot from the second box.

- Draw is slow. Look at the pause after the gun is up

+ I did finish the stage on the sights.

Bay 7

+ Good points on this stage. Down a total of four I think.

- Hard on the barrels 

- Slow first shot in the last position

- Slow transition to the last target

Bay 9

- This is an example of target focus and not a sight focus and I am ashamed of this performance. This sealed the loss. You don’t deserve to win when you do crap like this.To be successful in this sport you have to be consistent. Not great here and weak there. One bad speed shoot and one mike are too much.

Edited April 16, 2012 by Coach

[Coach]

4/16

Dry fire with the SS gun in the yard working on moving and shooting more quickly when arriving at a position. Worked on shooting on the move in six different directions. Worked on reloads. Hit the mag release was my biggest problem tonight.

I got a 100 rounds of live fire in with the SS gun working on target to target transitions. Went ok. I was shooting Classic targets glued to metric targets. Did get a few no shoots.

I also fired about 150 rounds of .22 working on shooting on the move and moving into positions and break shots quicker.

I worked the trigger finger all the way to school and back today as well. I may head back out and load some ammo in a bit.

16 straight days with a gun in my hands.

Edited April 16, 2012 by Coach

[feederic]

4/16

Dry fire with the SS gun in the yard working on moving and shooting more quickly when arriving at a position. Worked on shooting on the move in six different directions. Worked on reloads. Hit the mag release was my biggest problem tonight.

I got a 100 rounds of live fire in with the SS gun working on target to target transitions. Went ok. I was shooting Classic targets glued to metric targets. Did get a few no shoots.

I also fired about 150 rounds of .22 working on shooting on the move and moving into positions and break shots quicker.

I worked the trigger finger all the way to school and back today as well. I may head back out and load some ammo in a bit.

16 straight days with a gun in my hands.

Excellent training. The commitment I see in range diaries like this is purely inspiring to me.

[JakeMartens]

4/16

Dry fire with the SS gun in the yard working on moving and shooting more quickly when arriving at a position. Worked on shooting on the move in six different directions. Worked on reloads. Hit the mag release was my biggest problem tonight.

I got a 100 rounds of live fire in with the SS gun working on target to target transitions. Went ok. I was shooting Classic targets glued to metric targets. Did get a few no shoots.

I also fired about 150 rounds of .22 working on shooting on the move and moving into positions and break shots quicker.

I worked the trigger finger all the way to school and back today as well. I may head back out and load some ammo in a bit.

16 straight days with a gun in my hands.

Excellent training. The commitment I see in range diaries like this is purely inspiring to me.

Yes, inspiration, that is the word I was looking for

[Coach]

I got out on the range today after school with Alyssa and worked with her on moving more aggressively betweem positions. I had her doing some drills with the .22. I gave her a pep talk about shooting and moving faster. It seems to have taken effect. I had to calm her down some. In a year or so she will be pulling the trigger faster than me as well.

I got in about a 100 rounds with the .22 as well. I shot 164 rounds through the SS gun. It went pretty well. Schedule for official practice tomorrow afternoon.

I shot some groups at 25 yards as well. Just to keep an old man off my ass. I was shooting at a 3x5 card glue on a target. I ranged from 4-6 shots out of 8 on the card. All but one target had all 8 shots nearly on the card. This was with 200 grain SWC "expertly" loaded.

After the live fire I spent the evening mowing grass and loading ammo.

I received a call from an old man who will remain unnamed. He was worried about my mental state because I finished 2nd at the match on Sunday. He was worried about me being too hard on myself and not practicing correctly. I appreciate the call and for everybody else wondering no I don't owe him money, and so he is not worried about me jumping off a bridge or something before I pay him back.

I am committed to 30 days straight with a gun in my hand because I have a short time till SS nationals and I do not shoot much with that gun and I want to be as ready as I can be. I am doing it because I am enjoying it as well. I am doing it because I want to build my skill level, and work is the only way to do that. I am training to peak in October for Limited Nationals. Everything else is practice. Lessons can be learned from failure as well as success. I can see on the practice sheets improvement and I can feel it. I was second Sunday for one or two reasons which are already a part of this record. I am not going to dwell on them.

I have been shooting three differnt guns in the last month and a half. I know that is not necessarily the way to reach a peak performance with any one of them. In the big picture I want to develop my shooting skills in general not my shooting skills with one gun. It is a little slower process but I am going to do it.

I am not going to say that I am doing everything right, but I have a plan. I am going to do what I can to make that plan come together. Once upon a time I was a wrestler at a great small college program and we beat a lot of people that most people thought we had no business beating. I am using some of those same concepts in this plan. I understand the hazards of over training, but I also have some experience on getting things done. Wherever I am in USPSA shooting I am there doing it on my own. I want to take it to the next level. I fully intend to get it done.

Thanks for the concerns but if you want to really help me tell me that I can't get it done, and verbally root against me. I do better with rivals and hostile crowds that with support.

[rvb]

if you want to really help me tell me that I can't get it done, and verbally root against me. I do better with rivals and hostile crowds that with support.

You suck.

-rvb

[JakeMartens]

if you want to really help me tell me that I can't get it done, and verbally root against me. I do better with rivals and hostile crowds that with support.

You suck.

-rvb

I have seen him do it more than once.

Just give him advice he thinks is wrong, play some quotes from full metal jacket and then eat shit listening to him rub it in your face on the ride home.

I just keep it quiet if I am shooting the same division now a days

[Corey]

note to self, be very supportive and helpful at the OH sectional in May

[hvsmith]

I remember you saying you better be thick-skinned & thick-necked if you want to shoot & survive in our squad - now make sure you have a cart ready to haul Jake, Bill & myself's fat asses & round bellies up the hill for our 1st stage.

[Coach]

I remember you saying you better be thick-skinned & thick-necked if you want to shoot & survive in our squad - now make sure you have a cart ready to haul Jake, Bill & myself's fat asses & round bellies up the hill for our 1st stage.

I will just bring the truck and we will drive up.

[Coach]

Just got home from the basketball/ hockey games that my daughter plays. Two wins tonight. Victory is sweet. If we could just have a fight break out in the stands it would be like a wrestling meet and I would be more at home.

Bill and I got some practice in live fire to night. I think I 284 rounds. Draws were great. Reloads were better than last time, and some were actually very good, SHO and WHO drills were clean, the near to far drill was 2 good runs and 2 terrible ones, Front sight forward drill had a small area protected by a no shoot which for me was a misnomer, The movement drill had to great runs and the second two not so great as I managed to hit the no shot both times.

Some good stuff and some more to work on. I have not had a chance to look at the practice logs yet but I am confident that tonight was much better.

Bill and I shot Classic targets glued on to metric targets tonight to challenge our accuracy and it did. Overall we handled it fairly well and I expect next week to be more improvement as well.

Friday is going to take a huge effort to get some practice of some sort in. Schedule is full. It will have to come early or late.

[Coach]

I was too busy between school and the last basketball game of this league to get any dry fire done. I came home and had a nice little 25 minutes session. It went pretty well. Draws were fine, Bill drills were good except my trigger pulling is laborious, Front sight forward went great with a smooth draw, 2 reload 2 was ok but the roughest part of the session. I did a set of ten with no par time at the end in slow motion with perfect form. I did 6 reload WHO a set of ten with no par time to try something new I heard Todd Jarett talk about at the NRA Show. I am going to work on doing it more later this week. The streak lives on but is in serious jeopardy tomorrow night. It will be another late night session if it happens or it will have to be super early morning. If I am awake early I will head out and do it before school.

Tonight went well.

It seems my old man that will remain nameless label fooled no one but George.

[Riverman67]

I was too busy between school and the last basketball game of this league to get any dry fire done. I came home and had a nice little 25 minutes session. It went pretty well. Draws were fine, Bill drills were good except my trigger pulling is laborious, Front sight forward went great with a smooth draw, 2 reload 2 was ok but the roughest part of the session. I did a set of ten with no par time at the end in slow motion with perfect form. I did 6 reload WHO a set of ten with no par time to try something new I heard Todd Jarett talk about at the NRA Show. I am going to work on doing it more later this week. The streak lives on but is in serious jeopardy tomorrow night. It will be another late night session if it happens or it will have to be super early morning. If I am awake early I will head out and do it before school.

Tonight went well.

It seems my old man that will remain nameless label fooled no one but George.

I suspected as much

[Coach]

I broke the streak but not too bad. I have been doing things that I have not taken the time to document.

4/19

Dry fire with the SS gun.

Bill drills at 6 reps went well.

Drill 2 Draws: Went well also.

SS gun is starting to feel comfortable in my hand.

Drill 13: Front Sight Forward 6 reps

Went really well made all the times even the ones under baseline.

Drill 15: 2R2 9 reps

9 with no par time.

5/9 made at 2.5 seconds

6/9 made at 2.5 seconds

6/9 made at 2.5 seconds

8/9 made at 2.5 seconds

sometimes I am slow, sometimes I cannot hit the hole, sometimes I cannot hit the mag release, sometimes I miss the A zone. This drill is a struggle for me.

Did SHO with no par. Went fine.

4/20 missed the gun and broke the streak. Drank beer after school with some teachers and relaxed. People needed my advice at the bar. Well, they got my advice anyway.

4/21

Put on an Instructional League shoot at ACC. It went well. I shot five of the six stages really well with the Limited gun. In my normal way after giving a lecture about getting all A's on all close targets I put three rounds into the hard cover by about ahalf inch each for three mikes. On the reshoot I was with in half a second of the time down 4-5 points on the stage. Good day of practice live fire.

I also practiced some draws and transitions and shot some groups as well. One 25 yard group was great. Four shots could be covered with half of my thumb. Shot five was ten inches lower.

4/22

I assisted with a defensive pisotl class instead of shooting a match. Need the money for nationals. I shot the defensive drills with the SS gun. They were 7-10 yards at small targets and it went great. After the class I put up the near to far array and shot it 8-10 times. Near to far is four targets from ten to twenty five yards, and evenly spaced. My times ranged from 4.03 to 4.88 and no mikes and no deltas. Felt really good about that. I broke out the Mossberg 590 and shot some clays on the berm. A little bit of extra fun.

4/23

Alyssa and I shot about 200 rounds of rimfire each. We worked on shooting and moving into and out of positions. It went pretty well for the both of us.

I was in the garage and had shot some bill drills in dry fire with the SS gun. Marcia decided she was not feeling well and five minutes later we were on the way to Danville and the emergency room. Just stress it seems.

4/24

Bill Drills and they went well. I did 10 reps at each time.

Draw went even better. I made 2/3 at the under baseline time.

2 reload 2 10 reps

Went well is not the story. It has been worse. 10 with no par time, 5/10 at 2.5 seconds, 9/10 at 2.5 seconds, 7/10 at 2.5 seconds, 6/10 at 2.5 seconds, 10/10 at 2.5 seconds, 8/10 at 2.5 seconds.

Front Sight Turn:

10 reps at each time

Went very well. Moved the time down 1/10.

[Coach]

4/25

Live fire with Bill. Jake was a no show again. I used the SS gun. It was my best Live fire session of the year. Draws were great, reloads much improved and fairly consistent, Shot the movement stages great. We moved the distance back some tonight on some drills and it did not matter. I am starting to feel very comfortable with this gun in my hands. I am getting things on track just in time for nationals it seems. Two great live fire session in a row with the gun.

I am planning to take tomorrow night off, and drink beer after school. We have a snow make-up day on friday. Friday I am planning range maintainence at Riley. I plan to shoot at least rimfire Friday. Instructional League shoot on Saturday and Classifier match on Sunday. Running low on .45 bullets.

Starting to look forward to nationals.

[Coach]

Took Thursday off and drank beer after school. That went fine.

Royce and I met Chaney at the range this morning at Riley. We put new sticks on all the target stands in bays 3,4,5,and 7. We burnt 300 pounds of trash wood and other crap. Moved some doors around and fixed three vision barriers that needed it and organized the mini barn. It was a full day. I got a splinter on my trigger finger. Got the 2x4 out of my trigger finger when I got home. My wife was no help with this at all.

Black Barry Martens managed to fly to and from Indy today without hitting my garage or house with the chopper. What a blessing.

I shoot 390 rounds of rimfire practice on the steel challenge stage Pedulum today at the range. Chaney taught Royce some new words that will be a problem at daycare this week.

I came home and did dry fire with the SS gun. I did Bill drills, reloads, SHO and WHO drills and it went pretty well. I plan to shoot some near to far and groups with that gun tomorrow.

I loaded up 200 rounds of 40 tonight and nearly 100 of 45. Should have enough ammo to make it through the weekend if all goes well.