Mag changes

[JeremyV]

Ok so I got an xdm 5.25 9mm about a month ago and decided I wanted to start training for IPSC competition.

I have been working on my draw and mag changes and lots of other stuff but wanted you guys to help me out and let me know what I can do better.

I know in the one where I do it with my eyes closed I was really tense in my face and in my whole body.

Do I need to lean forward more?

Any and all comments are welcome.. Well except comments on the Music in the background.. That's just the radio that was on in the barn.

[lumpygravy]

You being a lefty, it's hard to see the "meat-n-potatoes" of your reload with the camera on your strong side. Can you re-arrange things so that your other side is facing the camera?

Beyond that...

On the draw:

• You look pretty tense overall. Are you "scrunching" your neck down into your shoulders?
  
• Your weak hand is low and then waits to meet up with the gun. Some feel that it is better to have the weak hand meet the gun at or about centerline at chest level or even more to the strong side. This helps establish the grip sooner and allows the eyes to pick up the sights a little sooner.
  
• When you're doing your dry fire, you're actually aiming at a target - right?
  

On the reload:

• That seems to be a pretty severe tilt of the gun when you drop the spent mag. Nothing wrong with that if it helps you consistently align the new mag.
  
• You have obviously been practicing because I don't see you visually searching for the new mag on the belt which I see with a lot of newbies.
  

Is it your intent to start in production? If I were starting out, that's what I'd do for a variety of reasons:

• The scoring places an emphasis on accuracy, thus forcing one to develop that fundamental
  
• The ammo is cheap
  
• You can easily transition an XD to Limited (minor) if you have high(er) capacity magazines
  

[JeremyV]

You being a lefty, it's hard to see the "meat-n-potatoes" of your reload with the camera on your strong side. Can you re-arrange things so that your other side is facing the camera?

Beyond that...

On the draw:

• You look pretty tense overall. Are you "scrunching" your neck down into your shoulders? ( I don't Think I am... I have strange neck muscles from My Bike Riding that make it look like my neck is shorter then it is and they angle down into my shoulders.
  I watched the video several times and don't think I am but could be wrong. I do know I drop my whole body down a bit as I start the draw so I think that is what makes it look like I am scrunching my neck.)
  
• Your weak hand is low and then waits to meet up with the gun. Some feel that it is better to have the weak hand meet the gun at or about centerline at chest level or even more to the strong side. This helps establish the grip sooner and allows the eyes to pick up the sights a little sooner. So you think I need my weak hand to be a bit higher and more to the center of my body?
  
• When you're doing your dry fire, you're actually aiming at a target - right? Yes I have a target at 15 yards that is 6 inchs wide by 10 tall that I aim at and I wait for a perfect sight picture before pulling the trigger.
  

On the reload:

• That seems to be a pretty severe tilt of the gun when you drop the spent mag. Nothing wrong with that if it helps you consistently align the new mag.
  
• You have obviously been practicing because I don't see you visually searching for the new mag on the belt which I see with a lot of newbies.
  

I am tilting the gun so I can reach the mag release better and to get the allignment for the new mag... If you think it is slowing me down in any way then I could work on tilting it less. I have found for me that if I tilt it that much it lines up really nice for the mag to go in but again if you think I will be too slow doing it that way then I will change.

Is it your intent to start in production? If I were starting out, that's what I'd do for a variety of reasons:

• The scoring places an emphasis on accuracy, thus forcing one to develop that fundamental
  
• The ammo is cheap
  
• You can easily transition an XD to Limited (minor) if you have high(er) capacity magazines
  I was planning on shooting Limited cause I am not sure the XDM is good to go in production because of the issue with single action vs double action. If I can run it in production then of course that would be the best!
  

I will film the mag change and draw from several different spots and post them in the next few days! Thanks for taking the time to comment on this and thanks for the tips.

Jeremy

[JeremyV]

Forgot yes I looked really tense..

I always move really fast in day to day movements and look a bit jerky and tense even when I am relaxed, hoever I think I had way to much tension in my face and think my core was too tense as well.

Any other comments are welcome. I want you guys to Pic everything apart so I Can fix it and be the best I can be.

[digby7]

Hey Jeremy, this is Alex - I used to ride with Tim Halberg and Zak Maeda a long time ago and met you a few times.

looks like you have plenty of hand speed to work with - from the video it looks like you have your finger still in the trigger guard during reloads - get it out of there if thats the case, Ive seen a few DQ's now from shot going off during reload.

Is the magazine going in naturally or is that pause there so that you can line it up a bit more before inserting it? if the latter, try playing around with the angle of the gun in your strong hand so that it matches the angle that your magazine hand is coming from. A good reload for me feels like the gun almost sucks up the magazine because its going in straight without having to deviate at a angle.

Also, the target the lumpy points out is also a very good tip. I usually index on something small from across the room like the end of a lampshade cord so that i have to be pretty precise. make sure that you are getting that sight picture on the draw, keeping it in your periphery during reload and back on index on it at the end of the reload. The last part is likely more useful for classifiers and places where you get stuck during a standing reload but you always want to be looking for that next alpha.

looking good so far aside from those two things.

Edited April 6, 2012 by digby7

[JeremyV]

digby7,

It's a small world! You still riding any Trials?

So I watched the video over and over to see about the trigger guard thing and after watching it again I can see how you thought I was leaving it in the guard but after I watched the video again frame by frame and then did some more reloads to see for sure what I am doing.

I do take my finger out of the trigger guard and point it straight forward outside the guard. Its really hard to see on the video because I remove it as I twist the gun to line up the magwell and then put it back in the guard right as the gun is twisting back onto target. I don't touch the trigger till I am aimed on target and after the reload is totally finished.

On inserting the mag I know what you mean by having the gun suck up the mag and it does some times but not all the time. I did my first mag change about a month ago so still have a lot to work on as far as my aim goes.

I think I end up slowing down a bit right as its going in because I am worried about it catching.. something to work on for sure!

In my video editing program I can check the speed and timing on things down to .01 and see that I am losing time where I stop at the gun and also spend a bit of time getting the new mag out of the mag holder. I just have the stock xdm mag holder that comes with the gun and think it is slowing me down just a bit and am thinking about making my own that locks in place with a spring loaded ball bearing that will catch in the mag release slot that way as soon as it brakes free of that it will slide out really easy and there will be no resistance. this one drags all the way out and is costing me a few tenths.

I have access to a CNC mill to make fun projects! so plan on making it out of aluminum!

Hit me up on FB so we can chat!

Jeremy

[JeremyV]

Ok so shot some more video from different angles and put some of them in slow motion please comment on anything you guys see. I know I am slowing down right before the mag goes into the gun. got to work on that a bunch.

[HOA]

Well the biggest problem I see, is that you are drawing with the wrong hand. Your draw looks real good. Try to get the gun just a little higher so your not looking down, almost eye level.

[JeremyV]

just doing it left handed for the challenge lol jk.

So you think I need to hold the gun a little higher when I do the reload? How much higher?

Thanks for commenting

Jeremy

[lumpygravy]

Ditto - keep the gun higher on the reload - in your line of sight towards the target(s). Now maybe the targets you're engaging are actully low and if so then that's fine. Regardless, if you keep the gun higher, you won't need to look so far down to the gun when you spot it to seat the new mag. I like to think about keeping the magwell level with my face.

Beyond that, at this stage, you're doing well. Reload motion looks smooth - no obvious hitches in your giddyup. You're watching the new mag into the magwell.

If you want a sterling example of the standing reload, search U-Toob for travis tomasie. That's a reload many aspire to master.

What sort of hits are you getting one those one-shot drills?

[lumpygravy]

A few more notes/observations...

On division choice:

• If you're going to shoot Production, your rig appears to be setup fine.
  
• If you're going to shoot Limited, there is a lot more leeway on positioning your holster and mag carriers. Some find it a little more speedy (in Limited) to position their mag carriers in front of the body.
  

Check Appendix E of the USPSA rulebook for all of the specifics of gear posiitoning.

On your draw: your weak hand is "drawing" to your centerline but roughly just above belt level. Without actually drawing the gun, try tapping your chest (just above the solar plexis) with the weak had at the same time you establish your grip on the gun. The idea is to prep/position the weak hand to receive the drawn gun closer to eye level. Then do a few slow draws getting the drawn gun up to this point and as you push out let your peripheral vision begin to pick up the sights.

Also, keep in mind that standing draws and reloads are only a small part of the overall game. Yes, they are fundamental skills and one needs to be able to perform them on demand. If these are the extent of what you want to practice at the moment, then that's fine. But don't short change your progress by focusing soley on a short list of specific skills before atually shooting a match.

You will learn at a match what skills you need to improve. I'd say your draw and reload are more than adequate for shooting any match you want to enter.

[JeremyV]

I was shooting at 7 yards and the target was taped to a cardboard box on the ground so yes it was a low target.

I was shooting mostly A hits a few B's and a few C's I was seeing the sight lift every time and was also seeing the flash from the gun and the brass in the air most of the time. I was able to call my hits very well at this distance and knew for sure where the bullet was going.

I think after I get my index down better I will be getting all A'S at this speed if not faster. I can see my sights really good at this speed but the gun just is not coming up at the same place every time and I am pushing my speed enough so I dont have time to correct for my poor index. I shoot most of my training slower and make sure to shoot A's but like to push myself and see what fails first then work on that.

I am working on mag changes on the move as well as transitions and a bunch of other things so I am not just focusing on one thing, however I do want to get this part down to where I am not thinking about it at all.

What other things do you think I should be working on right now?

I plan on going into the production class with this setup and see how that goes first then maybe move up from there.

The mag placement is much slower where I have them then in the front and also I think If I had them more angled that would help as well. right now I just have the stock xdm mag holder and they are really dumb cause they are both at opposite 15% angles.

I think tomorrow my father in law is going to bring his excavator up to my place so we can move a bunch of dirt and make a three sided shooting range. It will be about 40 yards wide by 75 yards long. Should be able to start building some stages soon and then will really learn what I need to work on. I got a few steel targets and will be building a bunch more soon! Super excited about all this and cant wait to shoot some stages!

Thanks for the advice

Jeremy

[polizei1]

Check this out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xG8aOIB5x0&feature=related

I'm not good by any means (D class SSD), so take this with a grain of salt...

What I see is that I believe you might be better served if you keep the gun up, near your eye level or slightly lower. It appears to me that you're dropping the gun down too far. Also, I noticed that you rotate the gun, a lot. If you look at that video, and Todd Jarrett, etc. they tend to slightly tilt the gun, but not too much. Maybe that'll help some.

[lumpygravy]

What other things do you think I should be working on right now?

Nothing else technical. Get yourself to a local match and see how far what you know now can/cannot carry you.

Be safe above all. Your only expectation for your first match should be to shoot safely and avoid a DQ. Anything else is gravy.

Meet people who have been playing the game and are more experienced than you are right now. Assuming they are shooting Production, watch and learn. I don't play Production and this division has it's own sublties and nuances.

If you're really serious, seek out qualified instruction.

The fact that you can setup a range on what appears to be your own property will make live fire practice convenient and that by itself will help you progress in larger steps than the many of us who have to travel and shoot at a public range where unsupervised self practice is not allowed. I, for one, am just a little envious.

You seem to have a lot going for your game. Now you need to see what your game is. Until you shoot a match, large or small, you will never know.

[MarkR]

Hey Jeremy, looking good man. The only thing I could really see was at 1:04, it looks, LOOKS like your finger is still well within the trigger guard. I know you said on the last video it wasn't, just make sure of that on all reloads.

[JeremyV]

Thanks for all the comments!

I will work on holding the gun higher and make sure my finger is of the trigger and out of the guard. I know every time I point it forward and its off the trigger but maybe i need to move it down or to the side more or something?

I am super excited about getting a range for training I am sure it will help me out a lot! getting to setup my own stages and stuff should really help! I will be doing a lot of videoing and will post more as I progress.

Are there any really good instructors in southern Oregon? I Really want to get as good as I can at this sport and want every advantage I can get.

I just finished Brians book and it is awesome! That guy is super smart! On the mental side he is right on. He has a lot of the same ideas as some coach's I have worked with in other sports. Most people cant explain a lot of the stuff he does so it was nice to see all that stuff wrote down and understandable! Will be giving the book to a Team Roper friend of mine who needs to learn how to see stuff better.

I have been watching my video over and over and see a big slow down right before the mag goes in the gun so will be working on that and keeping the gun higher!

Thanks for all your help! I look forward to meeting you guys at a match some time in the future!

Jeremy

[tackdr1ver]

After looking at your vids, here is what I see:

It looks like you are very fast and have a lot of natural speed. I think you are cheating yourself using that speed. Here's why:

I can see that out of the holster, each time your grip is a little different. That means you're rushing to get the gun up and not getting a consistent grip. Also after the reload you're just pressing out and pulling the trigger with out getting a real crisp sight picture. Also the support hand is barely on the gun when you're breaking the shot.

I was doing the same thing and how I fixed the problem was to do my draw and reloads on a 25 yard target, that will force you to get a good grip and good sight picture. I wouldn't worry about speed so much as you're probably a very fast runner by looking at your hand speed, just try and relax, make sure you get a good grip and good sight picture then go to work.

[JeremyV]

Tackrr1Ver

I see what you are saying. Thanks for pointing that out

I will work on that and make another video with the changes you guys have mentioned and then you guys and tell me what else I need to change.

This forum is so amazing and everyone has been very helpful.

Jeremy

[benos]

Hi Jeremy,

(As has been pointed out) - you have two major technical flaws, one in the draw and one in the mag change. Number 1, on the draw - you go into kind of a crouch mode, dropping your head quite a bit. Ideally (in Travis's video) - your head should not move or dip at all during the draw stroke. Number 2 is during the mag change, you tilt your head slightly, looking toward the pistol. Only your eyes should move - your head needs to stay absolutely still (again Travis demonstrates that perfectly).

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[benos]

Forgot this yestereday...

To learn how to not move your head during the draw, practice drawing facing a (fairly) full length mirror. Assume your start position, and note the top of your head (in the mirror) in relationship to object reflected in the mirror. Keep your eye on that spot while drawing/bringing the pistol to your index position.

Another way to think about it or train it. Start this drill from your standing index shooting position. Now without moving your upper body even the slightest, holster your pistol. The position you are now in should be your standing/start position.

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