Suggestions on Improvement

[FireNHole]

Hey guys. Just a little background. I started shooting in November. This match was my 7th overall match with one being a classifier and another being the 2014 Alabama Sectional major. I got my B class card in Feb and it looks like from my rankings in matches that its where I should be. My goal is to get A class by the end of summer. I am very limited on time for matches and currently the most I have been able to shoot in a month is 2 matches with one matching being the norm. If only I lived closer to Atlanta =). With all that said I am really relying on my dry fire practice which I am also slacking in. I need to find a way to practice movement in my house with reloads but my floor is all hardwood. Does anyone have suggestions for that? I have done two sessions in my backyard which is mostly open to my neighbors. I have talked with the ones directly beside me and they have no problem at all. But with the yards being so open I would hate for someone to see me back there who doesn't know what I am doing and call the cops. These days you never know what might go down in that situation. Ok enough rambling. Here is my last match. My friend ( camera man ) missed two stages and I left one out that was going well but I had a malfunction which caused me to stop the prematurely.

[FireNHole]

No suggestions...

[grapemeister]

Everybody's getting ready for matches this weekend, so that's probably why there's been no responses. I have to work, so I've got the time...bummer!

Looks like you're doing very well for someone that's just starting out. You shoot with confidence and aggressiveness which is very good. I think if you keep on the same track you'll reach your goal of A class by this summer.

The one thing that stuck out in my mind when watching the video is that you're leaving the gun behind a bit when moving to the right. If you're not careful, and depending on the angle you're moving, it might be real easy to break the 180 when doing that. Keep the gun in line with your body or in front of you when moving.

Do you see what I mean by leaving the gun behind when moving? It appeared to happen 2 or 3 times, and the gun was more in line with your left shoulder and pointed briefly at the left berm.

Keep up the good work, and we hope to see you in Florida for some matches.

Edit to add: After watching the video again, it appears that your flipping the gun to the left when doing mag changes, and that really gives the appearance of leaving the gun behind you when doing mag changes and moving to the right. Be careful with that; if you flip the gun too much to the left, and depending on the angle your moving, it could result in a 180 degree violation.

Edited March 29, 2014 by grapemeister

[FireNHole]

Everybody's getting ready for matches this weekend, so that's probably why there's been no responses. I have to work, so I've got the time...bummer!

Looks like you're doing very well for someone that's just starting out. You shoot with confidence and aggressiveness which is very good. I think if you keep on the same track you'll reach your goal of A class by this summer.

The one thing that stuck out in my mind when watching the video is that you're leaving the gun behind a bit when moving to the right. If you're not careful, and depending on the angle you're moving, it might be real easy to break the 180 when doing that. Keep the gun in line with your body or in front of you when moving.

Do you see what I mean by leaving the gun behind when moving? It appeared to happen 2 or 3 times, and the gun was more in line with your left shoulder and pointed briefly at the left berm.

Keep up the good work, and we hope to see you in Florida for some matches.

Thanks Grapemeister! I review all my videos as much as I can and nit pick anything I see that can be improved upon. I didn't notice the gun pointing in line with my left shoulder until now. Thank you for pointing that out. It looks like it mostly happen after the reload. I need to remember to keep it in line with my body like you said. I really appreciate the honest feedback and thanks for taking the time to respond! It would be great to shoot down in Florida. Not during the summer of course =)

[FireNHole]

Any other suggestions or things you guys see?

[grapemeister]

Any other suggestions or things you guys see?

The classifier, the 1st video, is an excellent one to practice on a regular basis. The goal on that one should be to come in to the 2nd box with the gun up and ready to fire the 1st shot just before or just as your second foot touches the ground. In other words you should be on target before both feet are in the box. Check the video of the classifier. Your empty magazine should be on the ground near the 1st box. Your magazine was almost in the 2nd box....a little late on that mag change, but I think you knew that.

When coming into position at a port or opening between two walls, try to setup so you don't have to shuffle the feet and turn to engage target to the left or right. Ideally you want to come into position so all you have to do is turn the knees and upper body. Sometimes that requires setting up on either side of the port or opening instead of directly in front the port or opening. I'm not sure if that makes any since. Check out some videos of Dave Sevigny. He does it very well. He often comes in with his feet and lower body on one side of the port or opening, so buy the time he's done shooting he's straight again, and ready to move to the next position. I hope that makes some kind of since. Let me know what you think.

[Ron Ankeny]

I have some observations, but it is hard to comment without knowing what your points look like. How are your hits?

[FireNHole]

I have some observations, but it is hard to comment without knowing what your points look like. How are your hits?

One the classifier I had 6A 5C 1D with a time of 7.43 for a HF of 6.1911. Total points shot was 56. The winner of the stage is a Master in production and GM in revolver did it with 54 points in 6.6 seconds for A HF of 8.18.

X-Refactor I had 18A 1B 5C for a time of 25.07 and HF of 5.305. A master won the stage with 131 points ( i shot 133 ) in 20.47 seconds with a HF of 6.3996.

Don't shoot the... I had 11A 12C 1D for a time of 17.95 and HF of 5.1253. A GM took the stage with 110pts ( i shot 92 ) in 16.17 seconds with a HF of 6.8.

Does that help?

[FireNHole]

Any other suggestions or things you guys see?

The classifier, the 1st video, is an excellent one to practice on a regular basis. The goal on that one should be to come in to the 2nd box with the gun up and ready to fire the 1st shot just before or just as your second foot touches the ground. In other words you should be on target before both feet are in the box. Check the video of the classifier. Your empty magazine should be on the ground near the 1st box. Your magazine was almost in the 2nd box....a little late on that mag change, but I think you knew that.

When coming into position at a port or opening between two walls, try to setup so you don't have to shuffle the feet and turn to engage target to the left or right. Ideally you want to come into position so all you have to do is turn the knees and upper body. Sometimes that requires setting up on either side of the port or opening instead of directly in front the port or opening. I'm not sure if that makes any since. Check out some videos of Dave Sevigny. He does it very well. He often comes in with his feet and lower body on one side of the port or opening, so buy the time he's done shooting he's straight again, and ready to move to the next position. I hope that makes some kind of since. Let me know what you think.

heading out the door for a bday party. Will be back to respond. Thanks! That makes total since =)

[Ron Ankeny]

Sorry to be so late in responding. Yes, the scores help. Not that it matters, but the points and the score on the classifier don't seem to add up. I'll give you my take from when I made the push for GM in Production. It didn't take me long to learn that minor scoring is all about points. That is especially true in stages with medium to low hit factors, like field courses. I have done the stats for our club for a dozen years and the prodution shooters that consitently do the best are the ones who drop very few points and perform the non-shooting tasks efficiently and quickly. Yeah, I know that's obvious.

My point is this, I know we all sound like the proverbial broken record when we harp on see what you need to see to make the shot. But you need the points. I am not saying to consiously slow down or to shoot in a slothful manner. But it might do you good to think about things like visual patience and trigger control in relation to shot difficulty. I know you might have dropped several points because of hard cover and/or no shoots, but points are still a priority.

It takes a hot rock pistolero to decrease his/her time on the trigger. Many shooters go wrong when they try to save time by shooting monster splits. Once you have decent splits, the way to decrease your time is in the transitions. Be sure to snap your eyes to the next target, then bring the gun over with a passion, but don't swing past the target or stop so abrupty that it bounces like a tuning fork. Work to put into practice what you read all over this forum. Things like getting the reload done in the first couple of steps, shoot as you are leaving a position, shoot as soon as possible as you arrive at the next position, that is especially true if you are not explosive in your movements. Draw quickly, then use the amount of time you need depending on the shot difficulty. Shift your attention from task to task so you are always aware of what you are doing in the present or what about to do next depending on the circumstances. Maintaing your mental focus will help you to prevent errors. Of course, always work to improve at shooting on the move. Remember, shooting on the move isn't just shooting while walking, it is shooting as you lean, shooting while you pick up a foot, or shooting as you come to a rolling stop.

I'll leave you with this thought. The classifier CM99-10 can be thought of as nothing more than two shooting positions. I have seen explosive shooters simply bust butt between boxes, but frankly you get between the boxes just as fast, if not faster than I can run. But the last time I shot Times Two in production, my hit factor was 8.56. Where is the huge difference if not between the boxes? It wasn't the trigger time.

[FireNHole]

Sorry to be so late in responding. Yes, the scores help. Not that it matters, but the points and the score on the classifier don't seem to add up. I'll give you my take from when I made the push for GM in Production. It didn't take me long to learn that minor scoring is all about points. That is especially true in stages with medium to low hit factors, like field courses. I have done the stats for our club for a dozen years and the prodution shooters that consitently do the best are the ones who drop very few points and perform the non-shooting tasks efficiently and quickly. Yeah, I know that's obvious.

My point is this, I know we all sound like the proverbial broken record when we harp on see what you need to see to make the shot. But you need the points. I am not saying to consiously slow down or to shoot in a slothful manner. But it might do you good to think about things like visual patience and trigger control in relation to shot difficulty. I know you might have dropped several points because of hard cover and/or no shoots, but points are still a priority.

It takes a hot rock pistolero to decrease his/her time on the trigger. Many shooters go wrong when they try to save time by shooting monster splits. Once you have decent splits, the way to decrease your time is in the transitions. Be sure to snap your eyes to the next target, then bring the gun over with a passion, but don't swing past the target or stop so abrupty that it bounces like a tuning fork. Work to put into practice what you read all over this forum. Things like getting the reload done in the first couple of steps, shoot as you are leaving a position, shoot as soon as possible as you arrive at the next position, that is especially true if you are not explosive in your movements. Draw quickly, then use the amount of time you need depending on the shot difficulty. Shift your attention from task to task so you are always aware of what you are doing in the present or what about to do next depending on the circumstances. Maintaing your mental focus will help you to prevent errors. Of course, always work to improve at shooting on the move. Remember, shooting on the move isn't just shooting while walking, it is shooting as you lean, shooting while you pick up a foot, or shooting as you come to a rolling stop.

I'll leave you with this thought. The classifier CM99-10 can be thought of as nothing more than two shooting positions. I have seen explosive shooters simply bust butt between boxes, but frankly you get between the boxes just as fast, if not faster than I can run. But the last time I shot Times Two in production, my hit factor was 8.56. Where is the huge difference if not between the boxes? It wasn't the trigger time.

That was some awesome information Ron! I really appreciate your time to respond back to me with some solid info. You are correct on the points. It should be 46 points not 56. I do tend to realize that on a well executed stage where I am a second off from the stage winner it comes down to points. Sometimes just a few points separated me from taking the stage win. So that is something I am definitely trying to work on. I don't want to slow down but I can definitely improve on getting slightly slower splits and faster transitions to improve my accuracy. I am sure some trigger pull improvement would be great as well. I really like the way you broke everything down. It makes complete since to me. As for you last question at the end. I assume it was your points that benefited you most to get the 8.56 HF.

[caspian38]

Your reloads are slowing down your movement. You can either learn to reload faster and then speed up , or you can realize that reloads have nothing to do with how fast your feet move. I like to RUN and then do reloads. Moving from position to position should take the same amount of time with or without a reload. Don't let reloads slow down your movement.

Good job overall though , looks like your shooting with confidence which is a huge advantage.

I have the same issue with the back yard but my concern is dirt bags seeing my gun and gear ...I would freak if my open gun got stolen! Airsoft might be an option for you if you trust your neighborhood.

Edited April 17, 2014 by caspian38

[FireNHole]

Your reloads are slowing down your movement. You can either learn to reload faster and then speed up , or you can realize that reloads have nothing to do with how fast your feet move. I like to RUN and then do reloads. Moving from position to position should take the same amount of time with or without a reload. Don't let reloads slow down your movement.

Good job overall though , looks like your shooting with confidence which is a huge advantage.

I have the same issue with the back yard but my concern is dirt bags seeing my gun and gear ...I would freak if my open gun got stolen! Airsoft might be an option for you if you trust your neighborhood.

Great feedback. Thanks caspian. My reloads do need work. I can definitely go faster from location to location its just at this moment I am not sure I completely trust myself to execute the stage like I programmed it. The other day a friend and I setup a stage on a 30 yard bay and modified it a few times. That was the perfect time to see if I could manage going at a faster pace while maintaining safety and accuracy. It turns out I can. My reloads just need to get faster as you said. Thanks!

[caspian38]

not sure I completely trust myself to execute the stage like I programmed it.

That sentence is a big part of what separates a good shooter from a great one. This is something I struggle with constantly! I just got DQed in my last match for breaking the 180. I was shooting on the ragged edge ,and obviously a little past it.

I wasnt really saying your reloads are a problem. If you need to move 20ft with a reload is it the same speed as moving 20ft without one? I found in the beginning that even a couple of feet with a reload took longer for me than without (It shouldn't ).

I know for me not much thinking is going on when I'm moving... Actually I don't know if I think much after the buzzer( maybe that's part of my problem.) When I start thinking its becuse something went wrong. My best stages are the ones where everything just happens half the time I can't remember where I did reloads.

I wish I had been smart enough to start using a camera, and asking these type of questions when I was starting out !