From walking and plinking

[feederic]

This will be my Range "Journal", and hopefully eventually fill with useful tips and enlightening thoughts.

I am not that great of a shooter right now, and for various reasons have never really committed towards earning the USPSA Limited GM status. Right now I am a solid D shooter at best. However, I feel that after finally attaining transportation that can take me to events, learning how to home smith my equipment, living closer to the match events, and taking care of my health I can focus on earning my way up to the top.

I must mention that the reason why I enjoy shooting so much as a sport is the "pureness" of it all. You hit what you hit, in the time you did it in. Purely binary. No instant replay, no challenge flags, no fouls. You are 100% responsible for your actions and nobody can take anything away from you. It seems like this is a sport I can enjoy well into my golden years, unlike the contact sports I've been involved with for so many years.

There are two major USPSA matches that I can go to every month, and another 4-6 minor/fun matches that I will be attending as finances allow. It seems the general consensus I have reached is to shoot what I have (run what I brung!) and shoot as much as possible. I plan on doing just that.

I have a yet again new limited gun built by Irv Stone himself that has been running awesome in the weeks that I have had it. I could not spot one thing I would do differently with it and has been 100% reliable and accurate for me. It is .40, which is a departure from the .45 I have been shooting for years. My impression was that perceived recoil with a .45 was greater than with .40, but after shooting a few hundred rounds of .40 (*and with a lightened slide) this guns seems definitely more violent than my beloved .45. Since I am tired of reloading so much, I plan on shooting ammo from a reputable dealer at the local gun show which comes at an awesome price. It is possible I can tame the .40 down by home brewing, but I am just not interested in it at this point.

There are several goals I am aiming for in the short run:

1. A-Zone at 25 Yard Accuracy - Freestyle, strong, and weak hand.

2. Athleticism - Losing weight, becoming quicker on my feet and with my hands.

3. Shoot at least 3 matches a month.

4. Being able to call my shots.

5. Keep my equipment running on my own.

6. Slow down and hit the dang target.

We will see what happens.

Edited February 9, 2012 by feederic

[kiloindiatango]

You and me are starting at about the same class at the same time! Although I set my goals a bit lower for this year. I'll cheer you on.

[feederic]

You and me are starting at about the same class at the same time! Although I set my goals a bit lower for this year. I'll cheer you on.

I see that! Except it seems I have some catching up to do. I just ordered Seeklander's program and am currently searching for a range to train on during the week after work.

[feederic]

Today I decided to go out and sight my new pistol in despite some wet weather. The only mistake I made was not bringing a spotting scope or binoculars, so needless to say I will be going back out to complete the job soon. Overall I flung out about 150 rds, and along the way met a little buddy that was all too happy to pick up my range brass. I am not sure why but he kept doing it and I kept smiling everytime I went to reload and a pile of casings had already made their way on to my table. I complimented him on his skills with the old classic Ruger 10/22 and gave him a thumbs up on his target. I was grouping about 3" at 20 yards, which was about as far as my eyes can see those little .40 holes and allow me to adjust.

I dropped my recoil spring and mainspring weight a few pounds which has helped tremendously with perceived recoi. The plastic mainspring housing was also replaced with a stainless steel version from EGW which helps me justify $10 shipping on top of my order for two springs.

Overall not a bad day. I did also find a new range about 1/2 hour from my new place which is open until late and has pretty good ventilation. Normally I try to stay away from indoor ranges but for this one I walked inside and the air was quite clean. I will try to make it here a couple times a week.

[juan]

good luck with this journal

I always wanted to start one. but it took me a 1/2 hour to type this.

I do keep records though and its cool to look back and laugh and cry over the the times of the drills I shot over the years.

[feederic]

good luck with this journal

I always wanted to start one. but it took me a 1/2 hour to type this.

I do keep records though and its cool to look back and laugh and cry over the the times of the drills I shot over the years.

I hear that! Actually I started this one because of a few reasons. I found I kept coming to the same realizations over and over again and then forgetting. Also my g/f and family don't like hearing about this stuff. My friends at my age don't quite have the jobs to support this hobby either.

[feederic]

I had to spend some time off of my feet due to foot and knee arthritis, I really couldn't walk at all for the past week and a half. The pain now seems under control and I will be making it out to the range today to run some drills. Saturday is a match day and it has been a LOOONNNNGGGG time, I kind of have the butterflies.

[feederic]

Did a 2 hour range session yesterday with my new gun and I finally feel confident in its performance. I have about 600 flawless rounds downrange with zero hesitations. I know its early but this is the first time any gun has performed like this for me. I was able to run all of my mags fully loaded several times.

I broke one of my golden rules by shooting indoors. Normally that is something I don't do to avoid lead inhalation. This particular indoor range though is considered "over-ventilated" and you can see the smoke travel down range from the fans. They also have these lame "mandatory" shooting breaks every 25 minutes, but I find them useful since they clear out all of the smoke and also allow me to practice shooting cold again. So I joined up for a year since I plan on making this my training spot. The only disadvantages are no drawing from a holster and of course no movement.

I planned on doing the Seeklander program, but since the range prohibits movement and drawing I have to modify things and do the best I can to accommodate. There is a range I can practice these things but it is 50 miles away, and I can go there on the weekends at best. I really hate to "modify" any program I am on since I tend to give the author full benefit of the doubt for any program until I myself have been through it. But resources kind of dictate that I do this time. The program itself somewhat reminds me of P90x in terms of results. Its stuff that people tend to know to do, but never organize and commit to doing on their own without it. I believe the fact that spending 10-15 hours a week shooting is the real key. When I was a musician, I found the key to becoming really good was just practicing 4 hours a day. Practicing EVERYTHING, every permutation you can find and track results. That is reminiscent of the Seeklander program.

Notes to self for future:

1. F/O rod fell out during my warmup. Of course I did not carry any spare parts on me.

2. My eyes seem to have slowed down from transitioning from the target to front sight.

3. Groups have opened waaaay up. One hole at 12 yards rapidly was no challenge previously. I am grouping palm size at 12 yards now. Apple size groups slowly. 25 yards is a challenge.

4. Although the gun feels great in my hands, I don't shoot it as well as my others that are less comfortable.

5. I definitely need to up my dryfire practice.

6. Need to spend some time on the 25 yard line.

7. Surefire App works like crap with my new OS, buy a real shot timer.

8. Need to buy some smaller IPSC targets so I can fit two on a target backing.

9. Recoil seems more "flippy" than with my 2011 .45 which seems to push backwards more.

10. Organize spares so I can easily find them on a small range bench.

[feederic]

I decided to forego the match yesterday and practice out in some BLM land instead. They day actually turned into a little 4x4 adventure with my new Xterra. There is a 16 mile truck trail close to me that is all BLM, and being out in CA that means I can actually shoot from a holster and run around a little bit.

Being new to off roading in general I found out I didn't have an eye for staying on the trail, or a concept of how fast I needed to go to not bounce around like an idiot (my other car is a sports car). I ended up unknowingly veering from the trail a couple of times and went down some rocky ravines with no space to turn around. There were a few times I was questioning my ability to return, and my sanity in general taking a new stock SUV down some of these paths. The most memorable part of the voyage was riding along the ridgetop of some mountains and hitting a bunch of stones laying in mud. As soon as I hit the stones the mud gave away and the SUV bottomed out. My foot hit the gas which launched me into the air only to repeat the process all over again.

Anyways. The trip ended up with a very productive shooting session. Discontent with my last outing I had been dryfiring at all opportunities to help close my groups up from the awful pumpkin size they were.

After reading CHA-LEE's thread on choosing sights, and shooting my friends CZ TS with a much wider rear sight I decided to file the rear on my bomar to open it up a little, about .010. I noticed while shooting the TS that the light bars, front sight, and target are all razor sharp. With my sights everything is slightly blurry, even focusing on the front sight the light bars would blur and cause the outline of the sight itself to blur. I have to say that after opening it up that the sight picture now comes in razor sharp.

I was also curious as to why my gun felt so violent last week and took a pair of calipers to my recoil spring. I had suspicion that I had mislabeled the spring I was using. Sure enough, I was about 5 lbs shy of where I thought I was. That spring made its way out a a fresh 14lb made its way in. My brass is still ejecting quite a ways away so I will try incrementing by a pound or two.

At the end of the session about 300 rounds made there way out with no malfunctions. I was able to group about an inch and a half at 15 yards so the dryfire (and replacing the FO in my front sight) definitely paid off. I practiced various drills from the low ready and holster while incorporating reloads. Overall I think I am about 75% back to where I was a year ago before taking time off. Reloads are still a little sloppy and my sight acquisition time is still a little slow, although much improved from last week.

I've ordered up a shot timer and a pack of IPSC targets. Right now I would like to take my time dialing in my equipment, and getting used to this new gun before I spend money on travel and match fees. I've also dropped several pounds! Woohoo!

[feederic]

I've actually had to spend quite a bit of time lately traveling for work, so I'll be missing the first two matches I planned on shooting. I also realized I need to obtain the correct tools to help me progress as my abilities allow. I bought a new CED7000 shot timer, a bullet feeder to help me mash out a bazillion rounds, and a stack of USPSA targets. At the end of this week I should be back home, and hopefully back into the groove of things.

[feederic]

I went out last night armed with some ISPC targets, my newly coated gun, my new range timer, and the Seeklander book. I put down about 260 rounds after sighting my gun in. I must say it is nice to have the right training tools to guide you along and show you were you stand for any given string. My timer is a CED 7000, I was able to soften the beep and also adjust the mic sensitivity to not pick up other shooters.

I was under the impression that my timer stored a complete log of all strings fired, and maybe it does I just haven't figured it out. I did not record the strings, and might train with a friend so we can alternate timing/recording and actual shooting. The drills in the Seeklander book are great for skill building, and also are quite the confidence booster. Its nice watching groups tighten up and time come down and these drills.

The only numbers I remember off the top of my head are a .8-1.0 second first shot from low ready with about .3-.4 second splits. My transitions from targets were in the .3-.8 range also. I need to get a notebook to record this! I am pretty excited, I feel like I am on the right track with reliable equipment. I shot right around 90% alphas overall for the day with no misses or deltas. I was also using 2/3rd scale targets.

Edited March 21, 2012 by feederic

[feederic]

Although I am trying to adhere to the Seeklander program, the truth of the matter is lack of training facilities here Kommiefornia. Drawing from a holster, faster than 1 shot per second, multiple targets, and moving are all shunned at my local ranges. Most BLM land is off-limits for shooting also.

I have taken a select few drills that I believe I can maximize my time with at the range, and plan on dry firing / using an airsoft gun for the other movement drills. This may not be optimal, but I need to make do with what I have. There is a tiny BLM spot I can make it out to a couple times a month also, as long as I get there early before the crowd does. Here I can have some more intense training, but if I am lucky I can make it out there once a month.

I've also been experimenting with recoil springs quite a bit, more out of curiosity than anything. When my new pistol arrived I stuck what I thought was a 10lb spring in on accident, which is actually a 12 lb spring. The pistol felt violent and uncontrollable. I eventually put a 14lb and then a 16lb spring in there and things settled down quite a bit. After a few thousand rounds with a 16lb spring and a shot timer my split times during practice sessions started hitting a floor. I wasn't sure what I could do to drop them, aside from lightening the slide and building up my already herculean strength (former powerlifter, college football...).

I've read many threads where both a heavy and heavily sprung gun is preferred for newer shooters, and lighter guns that are lighter sprung for more advanced. I began thinking that putting a heavier spring in my lightened pistol was probably equivalent to shooting a heavy pistol, so I began dropping the poundage again. I started the session with a 14lb spring, running the same drills that I have been running for months. The gun definitely had a different feel to it. The interesting thing was my split times dropped about .04 seconds across the board from the previous week. Nothing huge, but notable considering my times seemed stalled. Every drill noticed this effect too. I grabbed and installed my 12 lb recoil spring and ran the drills again after taking a mandatory break instituted by the range I go to. Up front the gun seemed more lively, in a good way. I ran the drills again and saw a drop of about .08 seconds across the board. My split times dropped a consistent .08-.12 seconds, and the gun felt much faster than I was (as I perceived it).

I know the gun finishes its recoil cycle faster than I can perceive, but altering springs seems to notably change how I perceive the time in between shots I need to take before firing the next round off. It might all be in my head, and if it is I'll take it. With a 16 lb recoil spring I felt like I was waiting for the gun to finish, with a 14 lb I could comfortably track the sights, with a 12 lb I could still track the sights but it felt like the gun was pushing me into a stress zone making me better. In a way it reminds me of downhill sprint training or "overspeed" training. Sprint down a slope that will force your top speed to be greater than normal because of gravity assist, and train the muscles to fire faster. Only in the case of recoil springs, I am training my perception and acuity to fire faster. Not too much, just enough to promote positive gains.

As a final note, there are two matches I will be shooting in this week. I finally feel comfortable enough to go back out and shoot after my long layoff.

[feederic]

I shot a fun steel match last night. It was probably my first match in well over a year, and third match in a couple years. I had some tremendous anxiety though my first stage, my pulse was well over 160BPM. I managed a decent time but had two misses overall in the three strings I shot. The second stage was somewhat worse, with an additional two misses. I finally pulled things together on the last two strings of my third stage, no misses and a decent time also.

This usually happens when I shoot a match after a long layoff, and I can typically take advantage of the adrenaline by sprinting around like a madman. This match was stationary though and I had no real means of dumping my adrenaline other than breathing techniques which worked for my last two strings.

Update: Scores went up. My second stage dropped me quite a bit in the standings, but I was about middle of the pack overall. My last stage I was 4th overall out of 27. It was the only stage I was calm enough to shoot. Dang nerves! Anxiety is part of the game though...and I have another match Saturday to help get over it. I'm not sure why I'm so nervous about doing something so fun to me.

Edited April 6, 2012 by feederic

[feederic]

I shot another fun steel match on Saturday, and decided to pay extra to shoot it twice. The extra fee was for another gun, but they let me shoot my primary gun a second go around.

Three good things happened.

1) I finally calmed my nerves down, and had almost zero anxiety shooting.

2) My draws have sped up considerably from last Thursday.

3) The stages were all medium range, and I had a tremendous amount of misses on the first stage. I slowed down and was able to get very consistent hits on the second stage, and was able to speed up in later stages.

For the not so good:

The saying goes to shoot no faster than you practice (perfect practice at that!), but I seem to shoot much better in practice than in matches. In football, we called a person that does this a "Practice Superstar". Basically in practice they look great, but when adrenaline and real competition are added they are somewhat worthless. I feel like a practice superstar right now.

Also, I felt tremendously beat up today. I shot 10 stages overall, and only 4 moving. The last two stages I was exhausted and shot like crap. At my age I should feel great and be able to run that whole circuit again. I need to accept that along with a desk job I need to make time towards physical fitness just to maintain healthiness.

I had one stage were a mag didn't quite come out of the gun on a reload, and I didn't notice until I almost rammed the new mag into the mag in place. For some reason I decided my best move was to throw my fresh mag into the field, and burst into laughter while getting the old mag out for a new reload.

[feederic]

Fun Steel Shoot 4/7/2012

I always like going to this match. The atmosphere is really relaxed and friendly, and is a great learning atmosphere. The match fee is much cheaper than local USPSA type matches too, and it falls on a non-match weekend. Since I can't practice movement a whole lot at local ranges, this is the place where I usually try new things out.

First Stage

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sAS8Dvbnd68&feature=youtu.be

Notes: I was taking my sweet time just trying to calm my nerves after Thursday's match. I also needed to slow down a bit to not lose my front sight in the black plates while taking my sight picture. This was my first match where I had to move in over a year.

Second Stage

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JtgUhTyaDNc&feature=youtu.be

Notes: I had several FTF while shooting weak hand, due to weak grip strength.

Edited April 9, 2012 by feederic

[feederic]

Third Stage

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGT9r1Cl3Sw&feature=youtu.be

Notes: Nothing fancy going on here. I was really just trying to focus on slow and steady hits.

Fourth Stage

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9DcOAcABBg&feature=youtu.be

[feederic]

Fourth Stage

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9DcOAcABBg&feature=youtu.be

Fifth Stage

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=73oQO6VIx5k&feature=youtu.be

Notes: At this point, the heat had taken its toll on me and I was quite drained. The weather was warmer than I expected and I got sunburned all over. I couldn't find a drinking fountain either until halfway through the match. I did shoot quite crappily.

Overall: Not a bad starting point for me. Draws felt comfortable, most of my reloads were decent, accuracy went up and down. I will be on a regular fitness routine now to drop weight and build up more endurance.

[kiloindiatango]

Notes: At this point, the heat had taken its toll on me and I was quite drained. The weather was warmer than I expected and I got sunburned all over. I couldn't find a drinking fountain either until halfway through the match. I did shoot quite crappily.

I'm starting to learn to always pack water and snacks - this weekend I did not expect it to (a) be warm and ( have the match go until 3pm. By the last stage I my belly rumbles were drowning out the timer! Stay hydrated and I'm sure it'll help you get through the day!

[feederic]

I'm starting to learn to always pack water and snacks - this weekend I did not expect it to (a) be warm and ( have the match go until 3pm. By the last stage I my belly rumbles were drowning out the timer! Stay hydrated and I'm sure it'll help you get through the day!

Water, snacks, and sunscreen will definitely be making their way into my range bag. This event had just about tripled in participant size since I first started. It had easily doubled since the last time I was there. Normally we are out by 10am, but this one ran well past noon.

[feederic]

I ventured out last weekend.

I was able to correct a few things. My stance was pretty messed up for some reason and I noticed I was doing this weird lean to the right isoceles stance. I also managed to sight my pistol in ballpark. I found out I was about 6" high at 15 yards!

[feederic]

Last night I decided to go to a localfun steel match. The event is very relaxed, and full of good people. I ended up at 4th overall. I had a couple fumbles out of my holster, which I don't really practice. I also had some misses from far right to left transitions. On one particular stage I was paying so much attention to hitting one of the smaller plates I missed the plate before and after. I should have paid attention to all of the plates.

Practicing in the outdoors has definitely helped me out. Now I need to get some dryfire in during the week. Its not something I look forward to doing when I come home, and I know the last thing my gf wants to see me do is strap a pistol on and start dry firing and reloading.

My mental errors were down quite a bit this time compared to last and overall I am quite happy.

[feederic]

I shot another local steel match this weekend and a couple interesting notes.

1) I had a reload that came out of a Camdex that was terribly bulged enter my chamber and hose everything up. From now on, I will chamber check EVERY round, regardless of source.

2) My G35 was my backup, and I ended up shooting rather well with it despite the completely different ergonomics of the holster, grip, and trigger.

3) I had to shoot weak and strong hand during the match, and shot above every target. I had about 10 misses out of 12! This is something I will make a priority out of now.

4) I may actually have a flinch when shooting from a holster. While dry firing I noticed the muzzle dip slightly. This doesn't happen when I am statically dry firing. For some reason out of a holster I seem to do it consistently. I will need to slow way down and focus on trigger pull fundamentals again.

5) I need to spend some time again long range shooting with strong and weak hand. It has to become a priority with strong/weak hand.

[feederic]

I spent last night doing a bunch of accuracy work, about 300 rounds worth. After dryfiring all week I was hoping that my groups would shrink which they did. In the quest to shoot faster I found myself paying more attention to the red FO dot than the top outline of the front sight, something I did not know I was doing.

Practice started out at 5 yards until I could religiously hit the same hole at will keeping a quarter sized group. I added about 5 yards at a time until I hit 20 yeards. Here my groups opened up to about 3" and is about as good as I've ever been. At 25 yards I could easily hit the A-zone. I spent time just moving the target back and forth shooting tight groups at different distances and angles. At this point I believe my sight alignment and trigger press are back into decent form, something that has been hampering me at the steel shoots I've been attending.

Towards the end of the session I focused on transitions and splits at about 12 yards with 2/3 scale USPSA targets. With a hundred or so rounds I punched out nice small apple size holes in the middle of both A-zones without the tape I normally use to outline the A-zone. My transition times have doubled, and split times have about tripled. It has been about a month or so since I've shot rapidly and I see that skill diminishes just as quickly as well.

All said and done, I have realigned my foundation for further development. Speed is down, which is ok since accuracy is way up. At this point I am all out of bullets, and need to work a load up which I have never done for this pistol. This Thursday and Saturday were going to be my first USPSA matches I've attended in awhile, but that will have to wait until I can load some rounds up.

One thing that came as a shock is how quickly I was losing skills I spent months developing. I always knew this sport is much like practicing an instrument and that proficiency comes at almost daily work. But to regress so much is a big hit in the wallet. At least I know my accuracy work will pay off. I have gone from "I will land a bullet somewhere in the A-zone" to "I will nail this point over and over again in the A-zone".

I am seriously considering a Tac-Sol upper or a ruger .22 for practice. The rate at which I am consuming ammo is almost unsustainable, even for a single young professional like myself without a mortgage or serious bills. Boy am I glad I haven't started 3-gun yet.

[feederic]

Well I am now out of bullets, and my press isn't in action right now. I did practice with my remaining rounds on some excellent aluminum stands that Seth made for me.

I picked up a Browning Buckmark to help practice trigger control and it will be in my range bag at almost all times. I plan on supplementing quite a bit with .22, airsoft, and dryfire practice regularly throughout the week. A copy of Steve Anderson's Refinement and Repetition showed up and will help me out tremendously. One of my favorite parts of the books are goals the Steve himself tries to strives for and also where a good starting points are. Tonight I will be putting a plan together to help me develop a little bit quicker, and it will be one that I can stick to since it will be tailored towards my resource limitations.

One thing I need to focus immediate attention to is strengthening my knees and legs more. One of my knees has been scoped 3 times and its starting to ache at all times. If I don't drop some weight, and strengthen back up I might as well kiss this whole shooting thing goodbye since I won't be able to run.

[feederic]

I can't believe I haven't been out shooting since MAY! I am finding how hard it is to juggle work, a personal life, and shooting all at once and also realizing how easy it is to go from gung-ho dedication to absolute nothing.

Here is a list of items I had to overcome recently:

1) No bullets - No more money for factory ammo

2) Reloading bench constructed , and relaoding press is setup - New Case Feeder and Bullet Feeder (woot!)

3) New trigger and trigger job.

4) Reloading supplies purchased.

5) Lost about 25 pounds. My joints were starting to kill me with the extra heft. I realized if there is any hope of longevity in this sport I need to be leaner.

My GF has a new night job so this gives me extra time during the week to train. Time to load up some ammo and head back out!

Edited July 25, 2012 by feederic