Sporky Posted April 2, 2015 Author Share Posted April 2, 2015 Didn't shoot last weekend do to the weather, and not much going on this weekend so i'm itching to shoot pretty badly. I did manage to stipple my grip and get a little dry fire in. Working on the draw and first shot still. Not happy with how the sights are lining up still, but I think I made a little bit of progress. This is going so much slower than I expected..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corey Posted April 2, 2015 Share Posted April 2, 2015 It'll come just give it time. remember practice doesn't make perfect. PERFECT practice makes perfect. Go slow, get the motions of what you what engrained into you so you can't screw them up then speed things up as you build. It'll come/. hopefully the weather holds up tonight... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sporky Posted April 2, 2015 Author Share Posted April 2, 2015 Yeah I am hoping the weather holds up as well........I am dying to throw some lead downrange! Wait until you see the grip stipple I did.....Cheese Grater! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rvb Posted April 2, 2015 Share Posted April 2, 2015 Yeah I am hoping the weather holds up as well........ you want recoil control??? Be ready for DOTS! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sporky Posted April 3, 2015 Author Share Posted April 3, 2015 Dots was a bitch!!! but now I have something to work on at the range next time. The cheese grater grip worked fantastic! That was the only thing that went well, but at least that is something!. I got a lot of good advise from everyone and I just need to throw more lead down range and hit the dry fire more often. I know I can shoot because when we did the "paster" group shooting, I was doing pretty well. When things were speeding up on the accelerator drill....i screwed the pooch for sure. On the farthest target I had some really good hits, but the close target was an abortion. I have some clear goals this season, and I believe that I can achieve them. But I am going to have to commit to much more practice time. How does this sound to everyone..... Two live fire sessions a week and dry fire at least 3 days a week? Or should I shoot for dry fire every evening for as long a period of time as I can get and one less live fire session? Feel free to chime in anyone Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sporky Posted April 7, 2015 Author Share Posted April 7, 2015 No match this weekend so I live fire practiced twice instead. I did the dot torture drill a bunch and I think that is really going to help me out. I still can't shoot it clean but I get closer all the time. I burned through about 800 rounds this weekend, but I still have a long ways to go. The index is really turning out to be a bear, but when I do get it correct, holy crap do things work out well! I noticed how bad my trigger press really is on that dot drill as well. The trigger is pretty damn sweet so I can't blame that. ALL ME.... I can kill the trigger press when I am going slow....but when I need/ want to break a shot, it goes all to hell in a handbasket pretty quickly. The stippled grip is really nice so I don't have to worry about that any more, just being consistent on the grip with every draw and reload. I will dryfire the draws this week and live fire before the match on Sunday and see if I can make any more progress there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sporky Posted April 13, 2015 Author Share Posted April 13, 2015 Good match yesterday! 5th in my division and I improved my hit factor on several stages. By the end of the day I was tired and quit shooting well, so I was experimenting with going fast on a few stages. The best part was I had several people say that it looked like I was practicing all winter long! That was a huge confidence boost! And I actually had fun and wasn't stressed about doing well, so that was a bonus! My issues with not having the correct index while going quickly, seemed to not even appear yesterday! I am still not as good as I can be with that, so I am not going to change my training on that at all. My times were good on the stages, but the leaders were still quicker by more than I would like. So if I beat this index issue i think that I will have better transitions and in turn better times. I spent more time at the match burning my stage plan in than I have before. That really paid off pretty big. I didn't make any mistakes on the stage plans at all! So all I had to care about was the shooting and not the running around. I'm pumped to see what happens next match after I get some more practice in!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sporky Posted May 12, 2015 Author Share Posted May 12, 2015 I have had a few more matches under my belt since the last post, so here we go again.... Two weeks ago.......long drive, crappy match stages, and re-shoots due to range failures. Needless to say my emotions got the better of me and I didn't shoot as well as I could have. Lesson learned: Calm my emotions down and just shoot to my ability. Last weekend....Shorter drive, Excellent match stages, no re-shoots, good folks to shoot with. I was in a squad with some of the go-fast-kids, and I think I was pushing myself too hard. Stupid mistakes that I could have avoided. But I did a good job of burning the stage plans into my head so that is a plus. I need to add one more live fire practice a week, as well as more dry fire to work on my index and draw stroke. I also learned that some people actually count the number of steps taken when they plan out the stages. That lil tip saved me some time for sure. I noticed that I was loosing time on my splits on the close and medium targets. The guys didn't move faster than me, but they defiantly shot faster. Haven't figured out how to speed that up without loosing accuracy. I was on a real upswing, but those last two matches really did me in. The classifier match went so well that I was hoping I was just going to go up from there. I did get a few stage wins here and there.....so I proved to myself that I can do it when I get my act together. I think I need someone to train me or at least watch me and tell me what to change. It is taking me forever to figure it out on my own. My normal live fire practice is at least 400 rounds, and usually more like 500. I am getting reps but most likely not quality reps... HELP! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glock26Toter Posted May 13, 2015 Share Posted May 13, 2015 More videos of practice and matches. Identify areas of improvement and limit that list to 3 or 4. Work on them and watch the videos and post the videos for others to look for improvement in those areas. When you feel like you've got the hang of something you can leave that goal out and add a new one. This keeps you from doing the "I just suck" attitude and keeps improvement on track. When you practice work on one or two goals ONLY. Don't just shoot for the sake of shooting. If you are working on movement work on that only for a while, then go home. I personally cannot think of any training scenario that would use up 400 rounds. I shoot 200 max in a training session. I'm no expert.. just saying what I think. Someday I'll let you know if it worked. haha! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WJM Posted May 13, 2015 Share Posted May 13, 2015 I also do a max of 200 rounds. I usually work on two things, then reflect on it, dry fire out my mistakes, and then I am on to the next thing. WJM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sporky Posted May 15, 2015 Author Share Posted May 15, 2015 Well.......missed B class by a couple of percentage points. Wow was I disappointed in that. This is going to motivate me or just piss me off.......not sure which one yet, I just found out. I have been putting in some work, but it looks like not enough. It is strange....when all goes well, I have put up some real nice scores on stages. I have beat A and M level people on a stage from time to time. But classifiers seem to just kick me in the nuts. I don't really ever get nervous, so that isn't it. Maybe I am just putting too much pressure on myself or something. I really think that i need some actual help.......like real instruction. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corey Posted May 15, 2015 Share Posted May 15, 2015 Sounds like its just a consistency issue to me. I would definitely try to video yourself shooting some full stages at a couple matches to get a 3rd person POV of your shooting. You might be surprised how you look vs how you feel when you shoot. Great way to find mistake in your shooting/stage plans. Plus you can post them and get feedback from other people. I'd also look into a good training book. Steve Anderson, Mike Seeklander and Ben Stoeger all have good ones. Most have dryfire and live fire drills to do and track yourself for improvement. I would try to find 1 or 2 key weaknesses and focus on those for a little while. Don't try to fix 10 things, but rather 1 or 2. Your progress will be quicker this way I think. Hopefully I'll be there Sunday Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glock26Toter Posted May 16, 2015 Share Posted May 16, 2015 (edited) I find that classifiers measure consistency very, very well. You won't move up until you are ready. You can get spikes into the next class, but the "average of averages" system won't generaly let you move up until you can consistently make that class. Don't let those "almost" times bum you out. You'll make it! Edited May 16, 2015 by Glock26Toter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sporky Posted April 29, 2016 Author Share Posted April 29, 2016 It has been a bit.... Well, where to start? I shot a few matches early in the year so far and got the cob webs knocked loose. Now I am buckling down and getting to work. I am now live firing every Thursday, and most Saturdays before the match. Dry fire is still a bit off and on. Two babies makes it hard to do after work because I only get a few hours with them a night before bedtime, and I want to get that quality time in. I am already gone every Sunday as it is. But I will try to do better with getting some dry practice in. I have been spending one of my practices a week working on stage based movement and the other day just on accuracy and transition drills. Still having Mike issues at matches. My times are where I think they should be based on my current skill level, but I am still throwing misses way too much. I am a hero or a zero at a match. I also put a steel grip on my gun and that has changed the feel of the general index when I present the gun. The change is taking some getting used to, but I think it is a positive addition. I also signed up for a couple of level 2 matches this year to get used to that atmosphere as well, and it gives me motivation to train harder with a goal to work towards. I also think that I will be at or close to A class next month, but I don't think that I am constantly shooting to that level so I am not getting too excited about that. If I can just keep my speed and efficiency where they are and increase my accuracy I will be happy with myself. Maybe keeping this up to date is going to push me as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glock26Toter Posted April 29, 2016 Share Posted April 29, 2016 (edited) Wow, it has been a while. Welcome back. Keep up the journal, and keep it fun. Don't be hard on yourself if you miss a few matches to keep the home life in balance, but stay dedicated enough to continue improving. You'll find a nice balance. I found that I've cut down to the "at least one match per weekend" attitude and lightened up a bit on my major match schedule. It has helped that balance. On the weekends nothing is going on and I get a "bonus match" and have more fun rather than getting uptight about "Missing" a match. Good luck. Edited April 29, 2016 by Glock26Toter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sporky Posted May 6, 2016 Author Share Posted May 6, 2016 Good practice session tonight. Worked on transitions and accuracy and it went well. Really need to lock down my grip and presentation. I noticed when my grip was consistent, and I concentrated on squeezing my palms together and just squeezing with my hands everything was more solid. The sights were lining up better as well. Kind of a weird way to describe it.... Also worked on watching the front sight lift. There is is strange balance between relaxing and controlling the recoil. It will be awhile until I really get that figured out and consistent...... If the rail holds off I might try to get out again Saturday before the match on Sunday. Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corey Posted May 6, 2016 Share Posted May 6, 2016 Where did you practice at? Didnt see you at our Thursday night Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sporky Posted May 6, 2016 Author Share Posted May 6, 2016 I went to Hillside and put down about 450 rounds. I will try to make it to some Thursday practices out there, but I get more rounds downrange if I practice myself. I am really working on accuracy and other fundamentals, which isn't really exciting, but necessary for me to improve. Are you going to Warsaw Sunday? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corey Posted May 6, 2016 Share Posted May 6, 2016 Doubt it. Switching guns for FW since I'm almost out of ammo, lol. Moving and a lack of motivation to get my new bench setup has killed me lately. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sporky Posted May 9, 2016 Author Share Posted May 9, 2016 Sundays match went OK. 3rd place. I am still dropping points due to penalties, so the accuracy practice is still going to need to continue. Was trying something different this match. I was Super relaxed and was in a good head space. I just wanted to work on burning the stage plan, and getting more points. I succeeded on the stage planning, and I did get more points, but still need to clean up the penalties. My times were ok when I looked at the scores, but I knew I was leaving time on a few stages. But I really wanted to be more efficient and less hurried. So now if I can just speed that up just a bit I will be where I should be. I also decided to treat the local matches like training and try to put it all together at the bigger matches. I had a lot more fun when I was just treating it like training this weekend. One more thing I noticed, I shoot pretty well moving backwards and I am getting better at shooting on the move going forwards. I threw a D on a target while moving forward, but crushed the targets that I had to shoot going backwards. I don't think I am ready to throw that into my practice yet. The general accuracy is where I am dropping the most points. So I am going to stick with practicing that for now. I think I might be up to A class now......yikes. When the new update happens I might be there. I feel like when i am shooting to my potential, I am an A. But then I crash and burn a few stages and I am humbled again. I am encouraged to know that the 3 or so stages that I killed it on this weekend, I wasn't going even close to full speed and I was doing well. So the practice is working, it will just take time to get the rest of the way there. So this week I will live fire Thursday for sure, and hopefully Friday or Saturday. It is the weekend for our local match and I help out by doing the registration, and spend a good chunk of time running the Nook during the day. So I usually have less time to stage prep. Getting the practice in during the week will hopefully help out with that. I think I am going to work on ONLY accuracy on one of the days this week, and then do entries and exits so that I can work on getting my feet set up better when I post up in a position. When I did my stage walk through this weekend, I noticed that I wasn't set up well in a few spots, so I worked that into the stage prep. What I mean by that is I would go full speed a few times and see where my feet ended up when I arrived at a position. I didn't spend a huge amount of time doing that, but I did make mental notes of it. I feel like it helped a little. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sporky Posted May 16, 2016 Author Share Posted May 16, 2016 Well the wheels just about fell off at the match yesterday... I decided to treat it like a practice before the match started so I didn't get too pissed about the day. It was cold and windy and that didn't help matters at all. The Mike Monster bit me more times than I want to admit. The story of the day was I would burn the stages in, and then the only thing I would concentrate on when I went up to the line was looking at the front sight. My times were slower, but I did see the sight. It was a train wreck and I am left scratching my head. I signed up for a class with Vogel so hopefully that will get me passed this sticking point. I need to man up and do more dryfire in the coming weeks no matter how boring it is, because I am getting sick of this sticking point i am in. It pisses me off, because I will have flashes of "greatness" here and there at a match, then the Mike Monster just eats me alive! I don't need to shoot slower, I just need to get all my hits at the speed that I am going. I think my times are around the proper time for my skill level. I just need to be more consistent with the hits. What a frustrating hobby!!!!!!! Maybe I will take up knitting or something... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sporky Posted May 26, 2016 Author Share Posted May 26, 2016 Well.......last weekends match was a disaster. Stage plans: good Stage Times: good Accuracy: HOT GARBAGE!!!!!!!!! Too many D's and Mikes!!!!! I am not enjoying matches at all anymore. I don't get nervous, and I don't get tense at all. But the Mikes are ruining this for me. I don't believe that I need to "go slower" that is a myth slow people come up with to explain being slow. I just need to increase my accuracy ( or my vision ) at speed. I run stages at about A level times so i'm not going full speed balls out all the time. I am taking a Vogle class before a charity match pretty soon, so I am hoping that He can point out what I am doing wrong. I just feel like I have taken two steps backwards in the past month or two and I am fed up with not shooting to my potential. THIS SUX! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rvb Posted May 26, 2016 Share Posted May 26, 2016 your last couple posts sounds like you are too focused on speed. "I don't need to go slower", "my speed is where it should be" etc focus on hits. Stop Missing! Decide to get your hits before your next match. take that tiny mental pause during those times when it's necessary, eg calling a shot before you leave a position or settle the sights when you enter a position before breaking the shot. A miss is roughly equal to 2-3s, depending on HF. You can afford to take the time needed to settle the gun and to call the shot. "Slow down" doesn't have to mean "move slow" or even "trigger slow." You need to slow down around the shot. You may think you need to speed up your vision, but IF you are transitioning your eyes off target before calling the shot, or breaking the shot before seeing an acceptable sight picture, then you are moving faster than you can shoot. That's not a problem of speeding up the vision, that's a problem of not looking. I would wager you are breaking shots w/o having seen an acceptable sight picture and are leaving targets wo seeing the sight lift. It will "FEEL" like all that waiting on an acceptable sight picture and watching your sights lift takes a long time, but it won't even show on the timer. You might even see faster times as uncertainty about your shots is replaced w/ confident hits. Just my 2c after watching you shoot some and your posts. so "slow down," but keep moving and shooting fast! -rvb Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glock26Toter Posted May 27, 2016 Share Posted May 27, 2016 RVB nailed it. Stop worrying about speed. Don't concentrate on moving faster or slower. Just do the shooting. The more of a big deal you make of mikes, the more of a big deal they become. You'll get them, and there will be times there are a lot of them. Think positive and only focus on the positive. When you beat yourself up, you'll only reinforce whatever you're beating yourself up on. If you are seeing more mikes, maybe it's because you are moving faster. Great... good job. You've increased your speed. Now switch back to accuracy since it had to take a back seat while you increased speed. Focus on improvement and not what you perceive as a backslide. Now that you are moving faster you can work on getting less mikes next time... not no mikes. We live on a constant pendulum that swings back and forth between speed and accuracy. Ride that bitch and work on moving up one notch at a time during the swing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sporky Posted June 1, 2016 Author Share Posted June 1, 2016 Thanks for the input guys. I took last week off and I think this weekend might be a no go for a match as well. I needed a mental break and to get some projects done around the house so I don't have that hanging over my head. I am going to get some ammo made up and have a nice long practice session this weekend and see if that break did me any good. I have been working on my grip strength this week and my forearms and hands are crazy sore. I got the DFX Sports and Fitness ball, and holy crap! It is like trying to hold on to a tornado. I am hoping that If I have better control of the gun, I will be able to call shots better. Question: My accuracy is good when going slow, but when I pick up the pace of the splits that is when things go to hell. What would be some good drills to work on that? Bill drills is where I start messing up. times are OK but the hits are poop. Suggestions? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now