Initial Assessment

[WeDefy]

So my range time usually consists of, "well, I could do that faster," or, "I need to slow down and clean that up." Now that I've decided to try to compete more often than odd 1 or 2 matches a year, I'm going to take a more focused approach- oh yeah, and do some dry firing for a change.

Todays training was with a Glock 19 (with a - connector and tritium sights) and ALS holster- this is my work rig.

- cold bill drill- 2.73

- worked on single shots from the draw averaged around 1.3, with the fastest being a 1.24 (only counted A hits at 10m)

- shot bill drills for awhile, fastest clean was a 2.39, most were 2.4X to 2.5x

- did some 1-reload-1 focusing on the splits, fastest was a 2.19, averaged in the 2.3s (I did these from the holster but with a slower draw, focusing on my grip.)

I then did some rifle work, nothing on the timer- mostly bullseye shooting from the 50 and 100 line.

We then set up a rifle pistol stage that started with an El Prez- now a fella (the kind of guy its easier to just agree with and get on with life than argue with) I work with insists the El Prez has to be done with a slide lock reload- so it was.

El Prez- 7.58, 12-A

- first shot 1.64

- 6-7 split 2.58 (kinda botched it in addition to it being from slide lock, I feel like I should've been a much faster)

So I figure draw times and reloads probably aren't what separates the good from the really great- I'm going to really start hammering down on my transition with dry fire drills.

With this small bit of data, does there seem to be a big imbalance in one spot?

Thanks

Edited September 14, 2014 by WeDefy

[b1gcountry]

I don't see much practice on transitions...

[motosapiens]

Unless you only shoot IDPA, ignore your friend. The rest of us do non-slide-lock-reloads on el prez.

To me those times for the various drills look fairly consistent, but I think based on your bill drill and el prez times, your draw and reloads are holding you back compared to your shooting. Without seeing the times for your transitions and splits, I can't say if one is stronger or weaker, but if your shooting a 7.58 el prez with all alphas and your reloads and draws are C-class, I think you have something to gain there. The good news is that you can cut a few tenths off your draw in 1 or 2 training sessions. Reloads may take a bit more dryfire, but there is an easy .5-.8 seconds there for you too.

I think you are headed in the right direction by figuring out the times for various operations. That should really help you narrow your focus so you can spend the most time on where you have the most to gain (without neglecting all the other important stuff).

[chirpy]

Try a few runs letting it all hang out! Compare hf's and see how they stack up....might be surprised.

Richard

[WeDefy]

Transitions are something I need to work on, I spend most of my range time with a single target in front of me- that and I don't do much dry firing. I could hopefully pick up a couple tenths with a non retention holster also, the ALS is pretty slow.

As far as letting it all hang out, that's pretty much it I think. I more or less "decide" on a cadence in my head, then its up to my hands to drive the gun to the target before it goes off- I don't know if this is the right answer for pistol, but its something that definitely works with a rifle.

[GreenOps]

Transitions are something I need to work on, I spend most of my range time with a single target in front of me- that and I don't do much dry firing. I could hopefully pick up a couple tenths with a non retention holster also, the ALS is pretty slow.

Dry fire will speed you up on the ALS. You can also dry fire transitions with noticeable improvements.

As far as letting it all hang out, that's pretty much it I think. I more or less "decide" on a cadence in my head, then its up to my hands to drive the gun to the target before it goes off- I don't know if this is the right answer for pistol, but its something that definitely works with a rifle.

A good drill for transitions is to take 3 targets (2 shots each) and then try to get the same times you had on your Bill Drill.

If I could, during live fire, I wouldn't focus too much on the draw or magazine changes. Instead, I'd focus more on movement, setups and most importantly target transitions. You can always dry fire the draw and mag changes.

Edited September 16, 2014 by GreenOps