Todd's Steel Challenge

[ToddKS]

Today I figured out the PowerPoint had scaled my dry fire targets when I printed them so that everything fit on the page. Result was targets that were undersized by a decent amount. I thought they seemed a little small.

I went through the slides today and reformatted the layout so that I could print them the correct size and have them not be cutoff at the edge of the page. I am now in the process of cutting out the new targets and putting them up instead.

[ToddKS]

I have been doing a lot of dry fire work with the reduced range targets. I have a match coming up this Saturday so we will see how well this plan has worked. I am having to be careful that I don't over do it and irritate my elbows again. When I first set the new targets up I spent at least an hour straight doing runs pretty much one right after the other. My elbows were sore the next day so I have backed it off.

I have found that working pistol one day and then rifle the next seems to keep the pain down.

[ToddKS]

Shot my match this morning with mixed feelings and results. I am very happy with my rim fire rifle performance, but my rifle was acting up so I need to fix that. I was not thrilled with my pistol performance overall, but there we some high points there as well. Overall I was .07 seconds slower with my pistol than last month but 2.87 seconds faster overall with my rifle. By far my best day with the rifle so far.

Perception vs. reality: Based on how I felt about my pistol performance today I would have told you that I was much slower than last month and in some cases I was, but I was consistent enough that I was able to pick up what I lost by shooting 5 to Go and Smoke and Hope better than I ever had.

Here is the breakdown for pistol: 111.93 total for all 6 classifier stages.

Pendulum: First stage of the day. First two runs were not terrible for me (5.85, 5.52), third run was my best ever on this stage (4.67) and I believe set up the disaster that followed. My next two runs were 6.98 and 7.34. I deployed much ammunition. The 4.67 saved me from a total wreck and my time of 23.02 was actually .59 seconds faster than last month.

Round About: Felt sluggish on this stage for some reason. I was having trouble finding the first target off the draw. I did avoid any complete collapses and ended with a 16.17 which was .19 seconds slower than last month. This could have been much worse. I felt that I did a good job of managing and salvaging this stage.

Showdown: I started with two bad runs but finished strong including a best ever run of 3.64. The left box was not working for me today. I normally shoot 3 left and 2 right. I made a good decision when I left the left box after 2. Total was 16.34 which was .45 seconds slower than last month but again, good salvage after 2 bad runs to start.

5 to Go: Better. Not where I should be on this stage but better. Too many misses on the first plate and the 4 plate but I had better visual patience overall. I had a best ever run of 4.55 (it pays to hit all 5 targets) and an overall of 21.68 which was 1.8 seconds faster than last month. This improvement really salvaged my overall.

Smoke and Hope: Best I have ever run a stage overall. My total was 13.19 with a best ever run of 3.19. First run was a little too conservative or I would have been under 13 seconds. Even on two runs where I missed my grip I was able to plow through. Most importantly I hit the stop plate with the first round 4 out of 5 runs.

Accelerator: And then we finished here. Some of us convinced the range owner to set this up at the last minute after everyone else was pretty much done. There was a long wait between my last run on Smoke and Hope and running this. I think I got a little tight. Overall time was 21.53 which was 2.13 seconds slower than last month. Issue was pretty simple. I believe I fired around 40 rounds on this stage. I had a 4.29 which was only .04 off my best ever run that save this from being a 22.5 or even a 23 the way I was blazing away. Could not figure out where I wanted to set my feet. Avg of 3 shots on the #1 plate and on one run 5 shots on the #3 plate (almost went to slide lock on this stage with 13 rounds in the gun).

I know from years of athletics that some days you show up and you feel awesome and everything just works, other days not so much and you just have to grind it out and get the best you can out of it. The only cause I can point to is that while I have been doing a great deal of dry fire practice, I had not shot any live fire practice in several weeks. Just the way life works some times. Holiday weekend with the family followed by weekend hunting trip. You go with what you have that day. I was happy with my mental management. I could easily have been 113 or worse today if I had not kept my head together. I blew my #2 run on Round About and managed 3 solid runs after including a personal best. Accelerator was bad overall but I tanked runs 1 and 3 but managed 2 decent runs on 4 and 5 to keep that 21.53 from turning into a 23 or worse.

Rifle was a different story completely. I had a great day with the rifle.

Accelerator: 10.91 1.51 faster than last month. 3, 4, 1, 2, S shooting order seems odd to most observers but it is working for me with the rifle. For some reason I own that first shot on the #3 plate. Once I have that out of the way I can cut loose.

Pendulum: 14.16 .44 faster than last month. I can run this stage sub 12, but I am going to have to have the balls to do it. My pistol difficulties on this stage are translating to over caution. I need to turn loose and shot the rifle. I also need to play with some different shooting orders in live fire. There might be some real merit to 3, 4, 1, 2, S with the rifle for me.

Smoke and Hope: 9.54 .49 faster than last month. Just a good stage overall on the day. Last run was a 2.20 which was my best ever.

Round About: 10.21 .41 faster than last month. What I did here was avoid have 2 bad runs. That is what got me last month. I was consistent.

5 to Go: 11.83 1.09 faster than last month. I was consistent and just a little more aggressive than last month. Shave a couple tenths of each run.

Showdown: 10.09 .07 slower than last month but times were more consistent. I had 4 good runs on the board and was working an awesome 5th run when the gun jammed at the stop plate. I am confident that could have been my best run ever if the gun keeps running. As it was I just unloaded and took my 30.0 as I already had 4 strong runs.

Rifle was not running great today. I was having an interesting malfunction that I am going to have to sort out. On the plus side, the comp I put on my rifle did solve the issue I was having with the timer not picking up shots. I was happy about that. Malfunctions could be a dislike for the particular ammo, but I am going to have to sort this out. I was very fortunate that twice when it jammed, it jammed after the stop plate.

Areas of opportunity:

Pistol:

I am still missing my grip often. I spend a great deal of dry fire time working my draw but it still needs significant improvement. My time to first shot has to get faster. This is most of what I believe to be between me an 100 seconds.

Was not seeing my sights well today for some reason. Sometimes when I was seeing my sights I was pulling the trigger when they were not on target and I knew it. Accelerator in particular.

Rifle:

I think to make the next step forward I am going to have to get more aggressive. I am shooting almost 1 for 1 ever time. To go faster I am going to need to accept a little risk and really move the gun.

[ZackJones]

Excellent summary. I know you changed your sights recently what impact do you think that has had? What rim fire rifle are you shooting? We are adding NSSF rim fire challenge matches next year so I will be buying a rim fire pistol and rifle soon.

[Nimitz]

Todd ... Sorry I didn't response to your question ... I didn't mark this thread to follow .... Anyway ....

One of things that holds back many shooters is that they use the same sight picture for every shot they take, whether is a 5 yd open target or a 25 yd partial and while that works , it's very slow. At your next training session setup different size targets at different ranges and find out what sight picture YOU need to hit that shot. Eventually you should need less of the perfect, hard front sight focus for the easier shots as you progress.

As an example, for me, the sight picture I require to ensure a 1 shot, 1 hit on the rectangle plates on Smoke and Hope is very different than the sight picture I use for Pendulum, espicaly plates 2 & 4.

For Smoke and Hope once the barrel indexes the plate I'm pulling the trigger since that's all the "sight picture" I need to hit its. For Pendulum I have to stop the dot on the plate to ensure a hit for the 10" 18 yd plates.

This is the secret to fast transitions ... Different sight pictures for different targets ...

Edited September 13, 2014 by Nimitz

[ToddKS]

Zack,

Sight change has definitely been a positive. I am able to see the target better and am better aware overall of the sight alignment. Whether or not I effectively action that feedback is another issue.

My rim fire rifle is an M&P 15-22. I put a comp on it to make it louder so the timers will pick it up better. I also installed the Geissele S3G trigger out of my AR-15. Much better trigger than the gun came with. I went with this rifle because I had it and the other pieces on hand. I have also always assumed that you had to start with the safety on (like with a 1911). Much easier for me to work the AR-15 style safety as that is what I am familiar with. I have a Ruger 10-22 but is has a heavy target barrel and bench style stock. Not ideal for this game.

They had a segment on rim fire rifle from the 2014 Steel Nationals. It seems that the top guys there were all shooting customized 10-22's.

[ToddKS]

Nimitz,

Thanks for the feedback. I understand what you are saying. My normal issue is that I try to use the "Smoke and Hope" sight picture when I need to use more front sight focus. Results are typically less than ideal and involve extra round count.

I struggle trying to go back and forth between different levels of focus. May be time to visit the eye doctor. I have never had glasses but it seems that in the last 6 months things seem to be changing.

[Nimitz]

yeah, definitely want to ensure you have 20/20 near and far vision before you go chasing technique changes. I am always amazed reading all those posts from folks who know their vision is not 20/20 uncorrected but try everything except a 1/2 hr visit to the eye doctor to fix their problem ....

Edited September 15, 2014 by Nimitz

[ToddKS]

Just an additional observation, yesterday convinced me that I definitely put significant physical effort into Saturday's shoot. I had soreness in my forearms (particularly the left side) and core muscles. I had not experienced this after previous shoots.

Edited September 15, 2014 by ToddKS

[ToddKS]

Tonight's dry fire practice ended suddenly when I somehow pinched part of my hand between the base pad and the grip while practicing some reloads. I have never done this before. Felt a sharp pain, looked down and there was blood running down my hand. Derp?

[ZackJones]

Tonight's dry fire practice ended suddenly when I somehow pinched part of my hand between the base pad and the grip while practicing some reloads. I have never done this before. Felt a sharp pain, looked down and there was blood running down my hand. Derp?

I did that same thing at the last USPSA match. I'm blaming it on the new base pads. Fortunately it was on the last stage of the match.

[ToddKS]

On today's list of stuff I wish didn't happen it looks like the dot on my rim fire rifle is dead. Not thrilled about that. It was a relatively inexpensive Weaver but now I am faced with the question of upgrade (which really isn't in the budget) or buy another cheap one and hope for the best. Might look around for a used Fastfire or something like that.

I had just finished some really good dry fire practice as well. Bummer.

On a positive note I just looked the sight up on Midway USA where I purchased it and they are showing that this sight has a limited lifetime warranty. I sent Weaver my contact information and we will have to see how this works out.

Edited September 19, 2014 by ToddKS

[ToddKS]

Contacted Weaver on my sight and they provided me with an RGA number to send it in so it looks like they may take care of me on this. I am still considering upgrading the sight or possibly buying a backup. I looked at the Fastfire III but did not like the view. There was a lot of flare even at the middle setting. I really liked the dot on the Weaver.

[ToddKS]

Sent my sight off today, but I have no idea when a replacement will arrive. In the meantime I found a deal on a Leupold Delta Point at the Cabela's bargain cave that was too good to pass up. No sure how i feel about the auto brightness adjust but it seems to work fine. The price was under $200 and it came will the full spread of pistol mounting bits. All I need now is for production optics to become a division and that Delta Point may wind up on my XDm.

[ToddKS]

Another weekend of not being able to shoot, but I am still working my dry fire practice. Made a holster adjustment that seems to have help my draw.

On the plus side, I am very happy with the Deltapoint. I cannot wait to actually shoot it. I am a fan of the larger window on it compared to the Weaver.

[ToddKS]

Heard from Weaver today and they are going to send a replacement for my failed sight. Good customer service as far as I am concerned.

More dryfire with the rifle last night. Times are really good. I am looking forward to doing some actual shooting to see if this is going to translate into faster live fire times.

[ToddKS]

Finally some things are going my way.

First, I got my target stands built. I also got 4 12" targets and 2 10" targets cut. They are octagons rather than circles, but close enough. I still need to cut another 12 and two more 10's but it was pretty cool to have Pendulum set up on my own practice range. Still working on the rectangle targets and how best to mount them. I may just have some u bolts welded on.

I also got some actual live fire practice in this weekend. It was nice to be able to work specific transitions on Pendulum that had been giving me problems. On the last few mags I was somehow seeing my front sight more clearly. Usually I have to close an eye or squint to get this look, but this was with both eyes open. I believe I am starting to understand better what I need to see to generate hits.

Last, my replacement sight from Weaver delivered today. Two weeks door to door is solid turnaround on a warranty issue as far as I am concerned. I also noticed that the switch which failed on mine has been redesigned. The button on this one looks to be about twice the size of the old one and the action on the switch feels more robust.

If Leupold would get the screws here for my DeltaPoint it would be a clean sweep for the week.

I continue to work my dry fire as well, particularly my draw. I have a match this Saturday. I need to get my rifle sighted in before that otherwise I may have to just shoot my pistol.

[ZackJones]

I have one of those Weaver red dots and mine won't turn off. I plan to send it back after the match this month. I will also buy a new battery foe it before the match because if I don't you know it will die during the match.

[ToddKS]

Zack,

I would not remove the battery unless it actually dies if you are planning to try to use it for the match. You sight is doing exactly what mine did before it died for good. I took the battery out to turn it off and see if a new battery would help. It never came back on again.

I will PM you the email address of the guy that I dealt with at ATK.

[ZackJones]

I would not remove the battery unless it actually dies if you are planning to try to use it for the match. You sight is doing exactly what mine did before it died for good. I took the battery out to turn it off and see if a new battery would help. It never came back on again.

Good to know! I'll leave it along and hope it makes it through the match.

[ToddKS]

Weekend was a bummer. I showed up Saturday for our normal monthly Steel Challenge shoot and was told it had been cancelled because of the gun show. I should have checked the website. If I had I would have learned that the shoot had been scheduled for Sunday instead. I did not find that out until Monday. Bummed that I am not going to get to shoot a match this month and that may have been the last decent weather for the season.

I did get some pretty good practice in on Pendulum (still the only stage I can set on my new practice set up). About 200 rounds of live fire. Had some runs at the end that felt really solid. 4 out of 6 runs at the end were 5 for 5 and at what felt like a good pace for me.

Have been playing around with squinting the left eye, closing it, finally put a paster on the lens and that seemed to work well. I am going to investigate this further as I was not in any way able to duplicate the experience I had last week shooting with both eyes open. I had to dot my glasses for shotgun shooting so I am not necessarily surprised that I am having issues here.

I am hoping to get the rest of my small targets this week so maybe I will be able to shoot Round About or 5 to Go in practice this weekend.

Note: I have got to budget a timer and a new belt. I am still undecided on the timer, but the belt will be a Double Alpha. My current belt is too floppy and the phone ap is not cutting it as a timer. Without a decent timer it is going to be hard to train effectively.

Edited October 15, 2014 by ToddKS

[ZackJones]

That's really sucks about the match being rescheduled like that . That's really sucks about the match being rescheduled like that .

For Pendulum what order are you shooting them across the back? Have you tried shooting in both directions to see if you do any better. 5 for 5 is quite an accomplishment. Congrats on that.

Just get your belt and timer from Stoeger's pro shop and be done with it.

[ToddKS]

I am shooting Pendulum left to right. I have tried right to left and that did not seem to work as well for me.

My plan is to hit up the Pro Shop as soon as I have free funds available. I have had a run of bad luck the last month that has left me short of cash at the moment. I am about over the timer deal though. I feel like that is really holding my practice back. I may just put that on the card after the first and figure out how I am going to pay for it later.

On a very positive note, I now have my practice range fully up and running. I have 10 stands built so I have plenty of backups. I have enough posts set up to set any stage. I need to cut a couple backups but for now I am good to go. The only stage I cannot set completely is 5 to Go. I cannot set the stop plate for safety reasons (no side leg on burm). I am one big plate short of being able to set Smoke and Hope, but the plate is in my truck and just needs the hole drilled. The only compramise other than the octagonal plates is that my 18x24's are actually 13x24's. I already had those plates and was not going to pay to buy more. I figure practicing on smaller plates can't hurt.

Sunday I practiced Accelerator. This is a stage where I have had some mixed results. My primary issue is getting to the #1 plate off the draw with a hit. I miss this shot a lot. Spent a lot of time practicing. My first shot feels very slow. I am not able to replicate the speed of my dry fire practice in live fire. Not even close. I would bet that I am 1.75 or worse to the first target. I had some very good runs, but the first shot seems to set the tone of the run. If I hit the #1 target on the first shot, I am much more likely to go 5 for 5. If I miss the first target, it tends to go not as well. I believe this is a sight focus issue. I am likely using the same poor sight focus on the rest of the run that caused me to miss the first time.

One thing I am figuring out in general is that the next step for me is to get those first shots down to where they are automatic. Huge time savings opportunity.

I am also trying to focus my practice on Pendulum, 5 to Go, and Accelerator. If I could get those 3 stages to where I am consistently running in the 4's it would make a huge difference.

I am still being tempted by the call of the red dot sight. I have a Delta Point sitting around. I tried to mount it on my 1911, but the Leupold supplied mount did not seem to mate well with my 1911 slide. Cut outs on my model were a little different and I could not get the mount to stay tight. I did learn some things from the experiment though. I am not blinking when I break the shot. I could see the dot go up and down every time. I also learned that I think it would be pretty cool to shoot with a dot. I don't think I want to compete in Open, however, but I may change my mind on that. Will think about that over the winter.

[ZackJones]

A timer will help a lot with your dry fire practice. I wonder if you could get one cheaper by posting a WTB ad here? I think your idea of shooting smaller than normal plates is a smart one. I actually ordered some cardboard targets (they are actually cardboard cake holders) and have used them practice. I plan to get a practice set early next year as I'm going to really concentrate on steel challenge for the foreseeable future. Shooting with a red dot is a lot of fun. I shot a match with my CORE last weekend and I liked it. We will be hosting NSSF rimfire challenge matches at our club next year so I'll get to shoot two steel matches a month now.

[ToddKS]

For me the issue on the timer is that I simply don't have any $$ to spare on it right now. I downloaded a different phone ap that seems to work better, but the beep is a little hard to hear. That ap did at least produce what appeared to be reasonable results when I worked with it this weeked.

Worked some more on Accelerator this weekend. I determined that I can run this reliably in 4 flat if i get my hits, particularly the first target. I also had a buddy with me and was able to video some runs. My draw is slow. According to the timer I am 1.6-1.8 seconds. I watched the video and it looks like my issue may not be as much the draw itself as the time it takes me to pull the trigger once I have the gun up. This is part driven by the gun not being indexed on target and part habit (just not pulling the trigger quickly enough). I thought my stance and transitions looked decent on the video. I did not see anything there that was too alarming (just slower than I would like).

I worked the first four targets on 5 to Go as well. Had some really good runs (and some bad ones).

I would like to say I am going to work my draw hard this week, but unfortunately I had an accident cutting down a tree for fire wood that has left me with a severely smashed left thumb (still bleeding through the holes I had to punch in the nail today) so that is going to limit me for a while.