lawboy Posted February 22, 2013 Share Posted February 22, 2013 Interesting thread. I have been shooting this game for three years. I am a Solid B shooter. I hardly did dry fire practice and rarely did USPSA live fire practice. I did go shoot at the square range a lot as usual, and I shot a ton of matches as matches are fun! I found dry fire boring and I had no place to live fire practice most of the time, until about a year ago. Recently, my feelings have changed regarding dry fire. I love dry fire practice all of a sudden. I am now dry firing first thing in the morning every day before I leave for work. 15-20 minutes. I do the same when I get home before eating or heading to the gym or making plans for the evening. I am getting some live fire practice in on the weekends and have plans with my partner to get an aggressive schedule setup. Funny thing is, I am shooting fewer matches, getting better more quickly, and making my woman happier all at once! Hell yeah I love dry fire! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CHA-LEE Posted February 26, 2013 Share Posted February 26, 2013 How much time it takes one person to achieve their goals is really not an important data point. Everyone learns at a different pace. Everyone has a different level of commitment to getting better. Everyone has different performance goals. Its not as easy as saying "If you practice ABC skill for XYZ hours in a 123 time frame the result will = X". I think its more important to focus on practicing things effectively verses the actual quantity of practice. I know quite a few shooters who excessively practice on the wrong stuff and then get frustrated when they don't get better. Realistically self driven practice/training is only truly effective for a very small group of people that are highly self motivated and objective about their skills. The majority of people need a trainer or coach to spoon feed them the things they need to work on. Just like people who want to lose weight. Its a lot easier if you have someone following you around all day to slap the cheese burger or Ho-Ho out of your hand when you are trying to stuff it in your mouth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkCO Posted February 26, 2013 Share Posted February 26, 2013 Yeah, what Charlie said. If I had 900 hours to spend annually...a lot of tihngs would be different... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
a matt Posted February 27, 2013 Share Posted February 27, 2013 Yeah, what Charlie said. If I had 900 hours to spend annually...a lot of tihngs would be different... Yea isn't that the truth! Lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waynes_world_45 Posted February 27, 2013 Share Posted February 27, 2013 Yeah, what Charlie said. If I had 900 hours to spend annually...a lot of tihngs would be different... Yeah...like my marital status. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fireman489 Posted February 28, 2013 Share Posted February 28, 2013 (edited) I guess Im the odd ball.... I eat, sleep, breath & crap action pistol.... granted Im new still, but since Oct 3, 21012, when I got my first dry fire book, my hours per DAY have only risen ..... yes I said hours per day.... dry fire has been as short as 20 min & as long as 5 hours per day..... studying is typically 2 hrs /day reloading.... maybe 2hrs week..... live fire ...roughly 5hrs week plus the 10-12 matches per month.... My wife says I have OCD ..."Overactive Competitive Disorder" .....another friend who is VERY well known on here says "you like to make competitors cry" .....yet a different well known shooter & USPSA guy says "you need 2 years" ....... I say "Private Practice & Proper Preparation Prevents Poor Public Performance" My first 2 goals have been met ...goal #3 is 8 days away... All I know is the more I practice, the luckier I get..... Answers to your questions..... 1) yes I am married 2) yes I have 2 kids 3) yes I have a full time job Edited February 28, 2013 by fireman489 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nimitz Posted February 28, 2013 Author Share Posted February 28, 2013 hmmm .... 10-12 matches/month? How many rds/month do you send down range? So you've been at this for about 16 months, can you provide a snap shot of where you are in the sport at this point & what was your shooting background prior to getting involved in practical shooting? Cha-lee's -- I don't disagree with what you've said but as a famous shooter once said: "you won't win the Production Nationals by shooting twice a month". My main reason for starting this thread was to see how much time people spent actually doing this sport vice just talking about it. I wholeheartedly agree that most people don't get a lot better becuase of how they train and not becuase they aren't putting in enough hours of practice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fireman489 Posted February 28, 2013 Share Posted February 28, 2013 hmmm .... 10-12 matches/month? How many rds/month do you send down range? So you've been at this for about 16 months, can you provide a snap shot of where you are in the sport at this point & what was your shooting background prior to getting involved in practical shooting? Cha-lee's -- I don't disagree with what you've said but as a famous shooter once said: "you won't win the Production Nationals by shooting twice a month". My main reason for starting this thread was to see how much time people spent actually doing this sport vice just talking about it. I wholeheartedly agree that most people don't get a lot better becuase of how they train and not becuase they aren't putting in enough hours of practice you asking me ?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fireman489 Posted February 28, 2013 Share Posted February 28, 2013 (edited) I took a CCW class in May 2010.... shot the required 5 rounds.... bought a Glock 23... shot a box of 100 rounds at a square range & put it in a locked safe. Then in May 2012 my wife & son were very nearly abducted at a gas station at 3:30 in the afternoon. I realized then I needed to be comfortable carrying a gun. I sold my Glock and got a Kahr PM9 because it was small enough that it made it easy to conceal in shorts tshirt & flip flops (Florida weather). We also bought my wife a Sig P238 (which she carry's daily now). In June of 2012 a co-worker invited me to come "watch him shoot a match". In July 2012 I shot my first IDPA match with a borrowed Sig 226. July 5th 2012, purchased a Gen 4 Glock 34, first match with it was July 9th.... shot every Monday night till late September when a friend at the range said 4 little words that changed my life. "You should dry fire". A week later I had 2 of Steve Anderson's books in hand. 3 weeks later I classified IDPA Marksman............. Nov 3,2012 entered my first IDPA sanctioned match (I was only doing 30-60 min a day at this time) won my class & got bumped to SS . Mid November 2012, shot my first ever USPSA match. Thanksgiving 2012, had a 6hour lesson w Steve Anderson in Columbus Ohio, who stressed I needed to learn to "call my shots". Dec 8, 2012 shot IDPA Postal Match.... finished 3rd out of 416. Dec 25 2012, wife got sneaky & talked to Steve Anderson & Brian Enos & now I have a Dillon 550B. I started reloading to fine the perfect competition load for MY GLOCK. Feb 2013 , read Ben Stoeger's new book "Practical Pistol". I now review all my sessions on video & see where I need to improve. Consistent shot calling is getting close, but footwork, reloads & transitions are improving as well. I have no idea where I stand in USPSA because Im not classified... My back ground (relative to action pistol) consists of being a hunter.... never shot a pistol before my CCW class & only shot 105 rounds of pistol before June 2012.... I grew up hunting , but mostly w a bow.... a little rifle & a little muzzle loader as well. My initial goals are: 1) "bump" to IDPA Master in under a year 2) classify USPSA Master in under a year 3) win matches I believe above all else "Hard work PAYS OFF" If you WANT to be a world class shooter nothing can stop you ....except you. Its all a choice of how bad you want it. I believe it was Bobby Knight who said "Everyone has the will to win, but whats more important is have the will to PREPARE to win" Edited February 28, 2013 by fireman489 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CHA-LEE Posted February 28, 2013 Share Posted February 28, 2013 Cha-lee's -- I don't disagree with what you've said but as a famous shooter once said: "you won't win the Production Nationals by shooting twice a month". My main reason for starting this thread was to see how much time people spent actually doing this sport vice just talking about it. I wholeheartedly agree that most people don't get a lot better becuase of how they train and not becuase they aren't putting in enough hours of practice I hope that my post didn't insinuate that you DON'T have to shoot in order to get better. You do have to shoot to get better. The point I was trying to make is that the quality of practice far out weighs the quantity. If I have the choice of shooting 100 rounds in a practice session with 100% effective high quality training drills, that is far better than mindlessly blasting 500 rounds in a single session just because I have 500 rounds in my range bag. Practice does not make perfect. Perfect practice makes perfect. You can waste a lot of time and ammo practicing ineffectively and a lot of people do. If you go to the range with only 100 rounds in your range bag you KNOW that you need to make every single round count for something. If you go to the range with 500 rounds in your bag then you usually end up training carelessly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nimitz Posted February 28, 2013 Author Share Posted February 28, 2013 I agree completely. When I first read your post I got the sense that you may be suggesting years of dedicated practice are not required to reach the elite levels of this sport ... Obviously there are those few who are just 'gifted' where shooting comes naturally to them and they achieve superstar status quickly, however, for the rest of us it will take years of dedicated training to reach that level if at all. I think I'm a good example of this. Prior to Jan 12 I had zero experience shooting a pistol. I've been at it for 14 months now with several training classes from Mike Seeklander and over 20,000 rds fired for the year. I've been training at a rate of 10-12 days/month plus 1 or 2 matches/month for the last 7 months and while I KNOW I'm getting better (based on my results at the FL State Championship last month) I have a VERY long way to go ... I try not to get frustrated at my lack of fast progress (at least to my standards) by keep reminding myself that it's a marathon not a sprint and that I have absolutely zero natural talent. It also didn't help that I'm not exactly 25 yrs old either ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fireman489 Posted March 1, 2013 Share Posted March 1, 2013 "Hard work beats talent when talent fails to work hard "... Kevin Durant Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Anderson Posted March 7, 2013 Share Posted March 7, 2013 Our Fireman is very driven. It's not the years of practice that makes the difference, it's the hours. I read once in a motorcycle magazine something along the lines of: If you ride 10 days a year for 3 years, you've been riding for 30 days, not 3 years. There are many shooters who have more years shooting than the Fireman, but less hours. Go get 'em and make us proud. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nimitz Posted March 7, 2013 Author Share Posted March 7, 2013 Fair enough .. The years of dedicated practice I was referring to assumed a certain level of regular training which was somewhat more than once a month .... I'm hoping that 10-12 training days a month plus a dry fire program is enough ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
West Texas Granny Posted March 10, 2013 Share Posted March 10, 2013 (edited) Before ammo shortage Matches Pistol matches: 3 per month Rifle matches: 1 per month Trap matches: 1 per month Practice Sessions Pistol: twice a week. No limit on ammo consumed Rifle: once in a blue moon Shotgun: Skeet: twice a week ( 2 rounds) 5stand: once a month (1 round) Trap: 4 times a week. ( 2 rounds of doubles. 2 rounds of wobble Trap, 4 rounds of Trap from the 27 yard line and 8 rounds of Trap from the 16 yard line each week.) With the ammo shortage Pistol match : once a month. Practice is limited to 100 rounds a month. Rifle: none 5 stand: none Trap: one match per month. Practice is once a week. 3 rounds of Trap from the 16 yard line and 1 from the 27 yard line Skeet: no matches. Practice is one round of skeet once a week. Edited March 10, 2013 by West Texas Granny Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
a matt Posted March 10, 2013 Share Posted March 10, 2013 The lack of daylight was eating into my live fire practice times. Ahh but no more! Let it shine. I love the spring time change! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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