rvb Posted February 24, 2015 Share Posted February 24, 2015 congrats on kid #2!! I still got to shoot a fair amount when it was one kid. when #2 came along it went from zone D to man-on-man, and shooting/practicing mostly stopped! dryfire time gets eaten up by kid's activities, helping with baths, homework, etc etc. but it's worth it. I'm hoping to get my oldest on the range for the first time this spring, so that will be a whole different kind of range fun! -rvb Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sporky Posted February 25, 2015 Author Share Posted February 25, 2015 Thanks!!! It is still pretty early in the process and we aren't telling anyone yet until we know everything is good. That will be awesome going to the range with the kiddo! I'll be 100 years old by the time my lil ones are old enough... No practice last night....kid wasn't feeling well after a shot from the Dr yesterday. He was feeling better as the night went on, so all is good there. I did finalize plans to take the blaster to a smith over in Logansport on Saturday. i am pretty excited for that to tell you the truth. Knowing that someone gave some TLC to my gun so I don't have to even think about it going bang at a match is going to be huge for me! All I should need to do is keep it clean and make sure the ammo is checked before the match! I plan on one of those 100 round gauges at some point, but I have already spent a small fortune and I still want to add a new grip to the mix as well. I was even thinking about a *thumb rest [generic]* too! I was dryfiring an open pistol last weekend that had a pedal on it and I really liked it! I think i could try one that is also the slide release so I don't have to drill any holes in the frame. I did read somewhere that adding a detent to it would ensure that no accidental slide catching is going on, is a good idea. If I have a good experience with this smith, then I will head back up there and have him do that as well. I have to get to loading some ammo up this week. The smith wants at least 100 rounds to test the new trigger set up. So I will take 300 rounds! HA! I can't wait to shoot it after a trigger job! It wasn't bad at all to begin with, so I can only imagine how much better will be with some adjustment! I did do some polishing on my own but nothing too serious that would effect the sear and hammer at all. It is quite a bit smoother now, and with the trigger fit with no up and down play, it was even nicer. Once the hammer and sear are ground and matched up perfectly, that should be all she wrote! No excuses from the gun, only my ability or lack there of. I am going to drive RVB crazy when it gets warm........I am going to make him teach me to have that full auto trigger finger that he has! Gimmie all your secrets!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rvb Posted February 25, 2015 Share Posted February 25, 2015 I am going to drive RVB crazy when it gets warm........I am going to make him teach me to have that full auto trigger finger that he has! Gimmie all your secrets!!! caffeine. -rvb Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sporky Posted March 2, 2015 Author Share Posted March 2, 2015 Trigger job...done! Wow does that make a difference! I went and practiced indoors Sunday and I was chewing up the A zone at 15 and 20 yards! I had to use masking tape to hold the target together! I still need to work on doubles being more consistent and making my grip automatic. Dry fire will help the grip, and I think I will just need more reps to fix the doubles. I am getting more and more used to the recoil, but I still have some work to do so that I am not anticipating so much. Strangely enough, when I was shooting both eyes open, the recoil seemed to be easier to tame. Not sure what that was all about. 400 rounds later, I am feeling confident and excited. I am going to keep documenting my range trips and lessons learned and hope for the best. Feel free to chime in anyone.......I am a sponge and I want to improve! Thanks for following! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WJM Posted March 2, 2015 Share Posted March 2, 2015 Not really advice persay, but I noticed that what helped me the most was watching myself on video. Maybe if you filmed yourself on your next range outting we could better help with advice. WJM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sporky Posted March 3, 2015 Author Share Posted March 3, 2015 Not really advice persay, but I noticed that what helped the most was watching myself on video. Maybe if you filmed yourself on your next range outting we could better help with advice. WJM Yeah I have a few things on video, but not the best angle or quality. I am working on doing a better job of that. I have a GoPro now, and I have a buddy with a good quality camera as well so I am going to get some better footage this year for sure. I wasn't real consistent recording last year, and the view from the top of my head is cool, but not all that helpful for breaking down my movements. Good suggestion though. I will get small tripod for my GoPro and record my practices as well and post them up here. Thanks for reminding me! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sporky Posted March 6, 2015 Author Share Posted March 6, 2015 Actually did some dry fire last night! About 20 mins in total working on draws and reloads. The reloads seemed to go pretty well, but I am still needing to work on the draw. There is still some leftover energy when I reach the end of the draw and my sights seem to bounce a bit more than I would like. I will have to do some research on that to see how to fix it. I'm slowly getting better with the trigger pull as well, but again, not where I would like it to be. There is still some movement of the sights that I need to get rid of. I think that will be a combo of live and dry fire to get the sorted out. I really need to spend some time getting more training so I can shorten this learning curve as much as I can. I also cleaned up 300 rounds of brass. I need to order some more so i don't have to do so many batches. my tumbler will do 500 or more pieces of brass at one time so that isn't a problem. Might need to get some more powder as well. With the case feeder I am cranking out ammo like there is no tomorrow and I don't want to run out of powder the day before a match! Cheers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gooldylocks Posted March 6, 2015 Share Posted March 6, 2015 Actually did some dry fire last night! About 20 mins in total working on draws and reloads. I'm slowly getting better with the trigger pull as well, but again, not where I would like it to be. There is still some movement of the sights that I need to get rid of. I think that will be a combo of live and dry fire to get the sorted out. I really need to spend some time getting more training so I can shorten this learning curve as much as I can. Cheers! Something that can help, and only costs a penny, is to balance a penny on the front sight and pull the trigger without letting it fall off. Makes you focus on not shaking the gun. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glock26Toter Posted March 8, 2015 Share Posted March 8, 2015 x2 on that penny trick. We did that penny thing until I puked pennies back in the Army. It really helps. Of course the penny balancing on the end of an M16 barrel is much more touchy, but dry-firing your way to letting it click while maintaining that sight picture is awesome training. Keep it up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sporky Posted March 8, 2015 Author Share Posted March 8, 2015 Hit the range today! 300 rounds of getting used to the gun and the new holster. My YouTube Channel Thanks in advance for any guidance and suggestions! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sporky Posted March 9, 2015 Author Share Posted March 9, 2015 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sporky Posted March 9, 2015 Author Share Posted March 9, 2015 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sporky Posted March 9, 2015 Author Share Posted March 9, 2015 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WJM Posted March 9, 2015 Share Posted March 9, 2015 First couple things I have noticed from the few videos. 1st- Are you using a clock? I can't really tell but that will speed up your times a lot. Especially in dry fire to me. There is a dry fire thing on Matt Burketts website that will allow you to set a par for Dry Fire. 2nd- It looks like you are locking your elbows out. Of course I could be wrong since the video is from a different angle but to me it looks like they are locked outwards. If you bring your elbows to not be as locked as they are they will act as "shock buffers" and your recoil will lessen. WJM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sporky Posted March 12, 2015 Author Share Posted March 12, 2015 Not too many comments on the videos so far..... WJM....thanks for responding. I do have a timer but I was just getting used to the gun still and working on the draw from the new holster as well. I was more focused on getting things "right" as opposed to going fast that day. I was playing with different levels of bent elbows.....so yeah some of the time it was locked out just to give it a try. Any more suggestions? Watching these videos really shows me how bad my form really is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CB45 Posted March 12, 2015 Share Posted March 12, 2015 I noticed you seem to have your right leg dropped back quite a bit. Is this by design? Other than that, start working with a timer. Your form and technique will change as you start doing things faster. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glock26Toter Posted March 13, 2015 Share Posted March 13, 2015 First a good positive note: You look like you don't get too up-down with your draw and almost achieve a "scoop" That's good. The smaller that up-then-down action is, the faster your hand gets on the gun. This "scoop" draw is just an elimination of the up-then-down action to zero. You are well on your way to that. Now, for improvement areas: You have a deliberate 1 and 2 and 3 procedure. Even if you are getting used to a new gun/holster make it smooth. The only reason we talk about steps in a draw like 1,2,3 is to teach someone how to draw from the start. After that we must smooth it out and don't make hesitations. I think the main thing that would help is less stomach rubbing. Again.. too much leftover from when you first learned and someone said "put your hand on your stomach so you won't sweep yourself." Forget that crap and make it one smooth motion from when the timer goes off, to when you fire the first shot. You have all the steps down very nicely. Use them. Act like you are getting a beer out of the fridge. We all know it's like "open the fridge - pickup beer - pop top..." but we do it on one fluid motion. Do that! One last thing. When you are done shooting don't bring the gun into your chest. When you are done with the gun you put it all the way back into the holster in one fluid motion... exactly reverse of the draw. Great videos, keep up the good work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sporky Posted March 13, 2015 Author Share Posted March 13, 2015 Now that makes sense! I will dry fire that tonight and try to make it to the range before the match Sunday. I was wondering if I should adjust the holster angle so my grip is exactly where I need it to be. What I mean is that if the heel of my strong hand is directly behind the mainspring housing, my recoil control is 100% better. But I am also concerned about the gun pointing at my leg while in the holster......I don't want any sort of AD going into my leg, but I don't think my holster is in the best place for me to achieve the perfect grip every time..... To be perfectly honest.....in my opinion, the issue I am struggling with the most is recoil control. going from 9 minor to 40 major is a real jump for me. I'm confident I can get the draw and presentation worked out with practice, but I am not so confident about the recoil control.... I can't thank you all enough for the replies! I will get to work on everything you have pointed out right away!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gooldylocks Posted March 13, 2015 Share Posted March 13, 2015 I highly recommend angling the holster to fit your draw, not the other way around. We have race holsters that move in any which way for a reason! I find a forward cant, as low as I can get it (I use a DAA racer) about in line with the rear seam of my front pocket is perfect. But mess around and find what works for you. Also, something you could try, and Glock26 touched on it, is don't emphasize getting your hand on your stomach so much. I generally bring my weak hand across my body, almost to the front of my holster versus high on my stomach like that. Just something you might think about trying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sporky Posted March 16, 2015 Author Share Posted March 16, 2015 Well.......first match of the year in the books. And I got DQ'ed on the 3rd stage. I filled the mag up and jaked, and after 2 rounds fired, the mag dropped out. I picked it up and when I put it back in I must have had my finger in the wrong place......AD. So now I am going to have to practice keeping my finger off the trigger when moving between positions, and reloading. Nothing else really matters much if I am not safe. Thank God nobody was injured.......but i feel like a total ass. I can't even tell you how much I was looking forward to this match. And to be a shit head like that, really upsets me quite a bit. I had such high hopes....FML Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rvb Posted March 16, 2015 Share Posted March 16, 2015 I filled the mag up and jaked, what does this mean? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corey Posted March 16, 2015 Share Posted March 16, 2015 DQs will happen to everyone sooner or later. Just make sure you learn from it so it doesn't happen again. You handled it well and sticking around to score, etc was a big help! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rvb Posted March 16, 2015 Share Posted March 16, 2015 DQs will happen to everyone sooner or later. Just make sure you learn from it so it doesn't happen again. You handled it well and sticking around to score, etc was a big help! ditto ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FishnHuntIN Posted March 19, 2015 Share Posted March 19, 2015 DQs will happen to everyone sooner or later. Just make sure you learn from it so it doesn't happen again. You handled it well and sticking around to score, etc was a big help!This ^^^^. DQs happen and sounds like you handled it fine. You got it out of the way and nobody got hurt. They do suck though, been there done that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sporky Posted March 23, 2015 Author Share Posted March 23, 2015 Well.....another match is in the books for me. Not too bad at all and I am finding all the little things that I need to do with the new gun to get more accurate and faster. Before the match, I went out to the range and set up 4 targets about 5-6 feet apart from each other. I put a barrel at both ends, and just practiced shooting, getting my finger off the trigger, and moving as fast as I could to the farthest position and shooting again. to mix it up, I stopped and popped a target or two in the middle just so I didn't get bored. That really helped my confidence at the match on Sunday. I know that I was safe and I was free to move around with out any concerns about my trigger finger. I think that drill is going to be a must do at each practice session. I also worked on my grip and my accuracy with those drills as well. And I ran my a$$ off until I was totally out of breath each time so I could mimic as much stress as possible. I squadded up with a "slower" group at the match so I wouldn't be tempted to go so fast. I concentrated on getting good hits and sticking to the plan. I had 2 Mikes for the day (totally deserved them) but the rest of my accuracy was a huge improvement. I know the gun will do it and now I just need to make sure I am doing my part. i am still dealing with the recoil though.........I think that the Mikes came from taking the 2nd shot with out a great sight picture. And I noticed from my practice session that during recoil, my sights were not always returning exactly where they started. If I adjusted my grip, I could get a quick 2 shots in the A zone, but if my grip wasn't perfect, then it was a Alpha Charlie or delta. I played with my grip over and over but I never could get happy with it returning where I wanted it.........back to the drawing board with that i suppose. From a suggestion from a shooter at the match, I decided to try a paster on my shooting glasses over the non-dominant eye. It was a little weird getting used to, but the sight picture was a bit more clear for me. He also said that Scotch tape might be better than a paster. I think I will try it again during practice but I don't think I will do it again in a match until I get the grip deal figured out. I am thinking about stippling the grip.......I have read all the instructions I could find out there, but I just haven't committed to doing it yet. I am wondering if more grip will help or not... One last thing, I took the button off of the mag release for the whole match. And no issues with dropping a mag!!! I really think that was the issue I had at the match before. The button screwed out just a bit and I hit it on accident. My reloads were not an issue at all, so I think I am just going to stick with it being off for the foreseeable future. My point for the match were better than I normally get, and my times were respectable. I don't think I will have an issue getting to B class this year, but I don't know if A is going to happen. I didn't think that I would have to relearn so much, but boy was I wrong. I will try to slowly turn the speed up as I figure out the grip situation. I just need to be confident that when I bring the gun up, the sights will be where I want them and I won't have to search around for them. Once I get that figured out..........look out limited class!!! Any suggestions are greatly appreciated!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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