New shooter match videos

[Nimitz]

This past Oct I finally decided to get into practical shooting and while I've owned a gub for many years I had probably less than 500 rds through it total (Glock 19). So I joined my local club, traded in my 19 for a 34 & went to the range a few times. I got permission from my club to bring out Mike Seeklander to teach his competition handgun class in Jan where he also stood around an extra day to shoot our regular monthly match & coach all the students during the. That was my first match. Since then I've shot 1 match in Feb, 2 in Mar & my 5th one this past weekend which is the below link. You can see a lot of this on the Mike Seeklander tread in the 'training texhniques forum' that Mat Price started. He's also following Mike's training program but I figured I might get additional input by posting the videos here as well. I had been steadily inproving each match with last month results being 87% As, 3Ds & 3 Ms. unfortunately this last match & took some steps backwards (67% As, 13 Ds & 10 Ms). So I'm looking to see if I can figure out why. Be warned, the first stage on this video is ugly to watch as i was never able to clear the plate rack & got 7 of my 10Ms on this one stage ...

Edited April 17, 2012 by Nimitz

[jdphotoguy]

Noticed several things from the video.

You're regriping the gun after nearly every shoot, this wastes time in many ways, first the time it takes to regrip which may seem small, but adds up and the time wasted having to realign the sights.

You said your shoots on paper are decent, but I noticed you either get "A"s or "D"s, are you jerking the trigger and hence hitting the "D" zone? Are the "D" zone hits consistently in the same location, like low left. Seems odd that you don't have any "C" zone hits. Those "D" zone hits are costing you big time on points, a "C" zone is 3 points, but that "D" is only worth 1 point. Turn those "D" zone hits into "C" zone hits and you'll gain extra points fast.

As for steel, it kills you, again I wonder if your trigger control is causing the miss. Have you tried some slow fire practice to check your accuracy and trigger control? A trick for steel is to aim at the 1 o'clock position on the target and if you jerk the trigger low left you'll still hit the steel, were as if you aim dead center and jerk, you will miss the target.

When entering a port don't drive your gun far into the port, this slows you down entering and exiting the port, it also restricts your movement at the port.

What is your stage planning like, do you have a plan set in stone in your mind and stick with it? The reason I ask is you seem to stop and look for what to shoot at next. On the walk through come up with a plan, what targets to engage where and in what order, when to reload.... Now run that plan in your head as if you are shooting it, do it a few times so it sticks and now the most important part, DON"T CHANGE YOUR PLAN. Even if you see another shooter do something that could save time, stick with your plan.

Edited April 17, 2012 by jdphotoguy

[Heckler]

At 1:05 in the video you clearly yank the trigger on an empty chamber. Work on trigger control.

[Nimitz]

until i watched the video I did not know I was regripping teh gun between shots. I've made a special note to watch out for that. I do have C hits but I only posted my As, Ds, & M numbers since they are the most critical for Production ... I need to eliminate Ds & Ms & look to get 90% As. the number of Cs I've been having in a match has never been more than 20%. As you said, its the Ds & Ms I must eliminate. Trigger control is my #1 fundamental skills issue without a doubt. I've had stages where I've shot steel perfectly, including a texas star but the second I lose focus I jerk the trigger & miss.

Stage planning & visualization is something I spend a lot of time on. i think what you are seeing is the 2nd fundamental skill issue I have and that is teh sbility to casll my shots. What you are seeinga t times is that I've visually scored a target & realize I need to take a makeup shot. also, I had several instances during thsi match where I hit the steel on the first shot but it did not go down. It finally dawned on me that I hitting them too low to knock them down ...

[ozdogg5]

At 1:05 in the video you clearly yank the trigger on an empty chamber. Work on trigger control.

Trigger control is a must. I have the bad habit of riding to reset which throws my shots.

[Ash1012]

I would do some dry fire practice to work on trigger control, I would also recommend bending your knees and leaning forward a little. Also when you are moving from target to target and reloading i would keep the gun up and in your work space ( ie 2 foot from your face)

With that being said I am not an expert and still A LOT to learn myself. It's is just tips I have picked up from experience.

[trp]

The end of the second stage you kind of gave up and pointed the gun straight in the air, that's a DQ where I shoot I would watch that

[a matt]

Do everything with a since of urgency, except pulling the trigger.