Richc2048 Posted February 9, 2015 Author Share Posted February 9, 2015 (edited) Today's match at pueblo was awesome. Not because I had great, bad, and fair stages but because I learned a lot from my shooting and others. I learned the i must push myself at every stage to grow and that it is a marathon, not a sprint. I placed fairly well despite a poor stage. I learned that I am capable of matching the time of some great shooters and in combination with a good grip, I can keep up with their transition and split times. With a proper grip my sights seem to be right where the need to be almost instantaneous. I learned that just trying to push myself and match the speed with an improper grip/stance and plan is disastrous. While I do see the need to push myself on the time, I cannot sacrifice fundamentals in doing so. I had a stage that I gave up too many points because of this. I need to fix my grip when I see it or during the next reload or something. I'm not sure when this should happen exactly but I will read up a lot more on this. I learned that I am not very well at recovering from a mistake from my plan very well. I reloaded after 3 targets vs the 4 I planned. This threw my plan out the window and I shot to slide lock after that and never recovered. In hindsight I should have seen that my next group was 8 shots and could have recovered at that point. I saw that I hit a no shoot and I found my self just confused. And since I was sitting there doing nothing my subconscious decided to do a reload since I was doing nothing. After that happened it was like I was lost in New York City. I couldn't recognize the sequence of targets or remember how to get back on my plan. It was like seeing the array of targets for the first time ever. I guess I have to read up on disaster recovery maybe? Any thoughts from you guys would be appreciated. I used something I learned at this match which was to not detour from my plan at a stage because I saw someone do it differently and I seemed to like it a lot. I stuck to my plan and did very well. The reward may have been a second or two but the risk of that complicated sequence not going as planned would have been far worse. To end this on a good note: I felt very good about my shooting and despite a flubbed stage I managed pretty well. I'm starting to notice I'm placing among a different group of shooters which I never noticed before because they were always finishing strong. I see improvement and more importantly I am starting to see/feel where I am weak. The ability to be able to see what I can do better is keeping me from being frustrated and stuck. I constantly see things I can work on and improve for the next match. I feel like I'm finally out of the matrix and shooting at a different level than when I first started. Edited February 9, 2015 by Richc2048 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
d_striker Posted February 9, 2015 Share Posted February 9, 2015 I struggle with the same thing when my stage plan goes out the window due to shooting more rounds than planned on a given array. Rather than trying to change your round count on the fly, which is not really possible for most people, get back on your reload schedule/stage plan as soon as possible. So, if you go to slide lock and need to reload to finish an array, drop that mag when makeup shots are completed, and reload again before the next array to get back on your plan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richc2048 Posted February 9, 2015 Author Share Posted February 9, 2015 That's a good point. I think if I would have just taken two shots then reloaded again (where I planned) I might have gotten on track again. It was the weirdest feeling to snap out of it and look at the rest of the course like it was my first time seeing them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glock26Toter Posted February 9, 2015 Share Posted February 9, 2015 d_striker nailed it. Do that. It will keep the stage plan in your subconscious and once you deal with the unplanned event, it's over and won't haunt you for the rest of the stage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
d_striker Posted February 10, 2015 Share Posted February 10, 2015 (edited) That's a good point. I think if I would have just taken two shots then reloaded again (where I planned) I might have gotten on track again. It was the weirdest feeling to snap out of it and look at the rest of the course like it was my first time seeing them. It's easy to get rattled when your round count goes to shit shooting Production. Your focus should be 100% on the shooting and stage navigation. YMMV, but it's impossible for me to focus on the shooting and movement when I'm distracted trying to count rounds on the fly or hoping I have enough ammo to finish an array. Edited February 10, 2015 by d_striker Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richc2048 Posted February 10, 2015 Author Share Posted February 10, 2015 That sounds about right. Looking back I was trying to think about round count but couldn't finish a thought because the stage and movement would be on my mind. Makes sense. I know the "why" now of why it didn't work. Thanks man. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richc2048 Posted February 20, 2015 Author Share Posted February 20, 2015 I have been doing something every day to get ready for Area 2. This is my first match above a club level match so I am very excited. I've decided to bring the 124jhp loads I have been using over the years vs the 147's I've been trying. I just have way to much experience with my old loads and feel I do better with them. I've gone back and forth with them at matches and feel I am very used to the loads I have been shooting for a couple years. I've been improving and a slow but steady pace at the matches and I am very happy with where I am with my shooting since I started 9 months ago. My goal for one year was to be a solid B class shooter and approaching A. I may have been a little too eager for this goal but I do have 3 months to reach this so I am trying. I feel right now the best practice I can do for myself is to dryfire and work on movement at home. My biggest time losers are movement, transitions, and reloads. These are things I can practice at home so these next week is going to be all practice at home. I did buy soloman speed cross 3's hoping it will give me a type of placebo confidence in my movement that I can take advantage of. New things do give you confidence so hopefully it is in me and the shoes will unleash the inner speed. haha. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CHA-LEE Posted February 20, 2015 Share Posted February 20, 2015 You need to start RUNNING when you need to run. This isn't going to magically happen on its own. You need to make the conscious decision to run like you mean it when you have to. Keep forcing yourself to do this until it becomes your new normal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richc2048 Posted March 9, 2015 Author Share Posted March 9, 2015 The Area 2 Match was a blast. I definitely could have finished stronger but I guess that is with everyone in the match as they evaluate how they did like I am doing. This was my first match that was not a local match so I had a lot of anxiety built up going into this and especially into the first day. I started to do better once I realized this was an accuracy match. I only learned this on day 2. My front sight focus was on and off. I need to make that #1 for every stage and every match. I switched to a yellow safety glasses color from clear on day two and that changed everything. It brightened everything up for me. I wore it all night after we got back to the hotel and I'll wear these at every match now. It was a fun match and what made it even better was the people there and the people on my squad. It is very fun shooting these matches with good friends from Colorado. Even the few people there from other areas were totally awesome to squad with. Reading my previous posts and other people's comments, Cha-Lee was right. The speed cross 3's did not give me the magical talent of running. There was one stage where I had a re-shoot due to a steel that nothing could take down. The running on that was horrible. It even looks "weird". I made it my sole intent to run that first stretch the best I could but it looked exactly the same only slightly faster but just as weird. I never put the two together but I did have surgery on my hip when I was 12 and 15. They put 2 screws in my hip at 12 and took them out at 15. I could have left them in but I elected to take them out so I could join the Navy. I have always had an awkward time running after that. I think that now that it doesn't hurt I can run again but I think my funky run comes from learning to run like that since I was little and it didn't get diagnosed until I was 12. My main training that I will be doing is running bursts and reloading. Looking at my match videos I have plenty to work on. It may sound silly but I think I need to learn how to run. Looking at my videos I filmed at area 2 I see that I am slouched over while running and my reloads take forever. I see that my support hand is not rocketing to grab the magazine and I'm hunched over trying to reload it. I need to start completing the reloads within the first few steps and I need to correct my posture while shooting, reloading, and during every day life now that I think about it. I just noticed myself slouched while I am typing this. I was able to get as many points as the big dogs just in a slower pace. I really need to increase my front sight focus and get the gun booming quicker and transition to other targets faster. I did see that my shot calling is getting better and every now and then I am able to do this correctly and only when needed. That is an awesome feeling. I can't wait until I can figure out why I am able to do this sometimes and learn it. Right now it's just happening occasionally and I'm not sure what I am doing differently when I miss a target and not know it. Thanks for reading my post and I can't wait for the mile high showdown, rocky mountain 300, and Area 3. The squad for Area 3 looks almost identical to Area 2 so I know I will have fun at the very least. The shooting fun will depend on how I fare with my training in the mean time. I am on a euphoric high right now from that match can't wait until my gear gets driven back here so I can get serious about it. Some people have commented that when it feels like work it sucks and you should shoot to have fun. I see it as having fun with the people there and that will never change no matter how poorly I shoot. I could have had the worst match ever there and I know I would have still considered it a fun match because of the people. I am deliberately making my shooting and training work and see the fun/satisfaction coming out of the progression that all the hard work being put in will hopefully create. Am I wrong in compartmentalizing the fun? It seems to me that making GM or M didn't come from just having fun shooting but rather hard work and determination made them get better and the fun comes from the people. I would be interested to hear everyone's opinion on this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CHA-LEE Posted March 10, 2015 Share Posted March 10, 2015 There is a fine balance to the Fun/Serious mental state. The way I see it, my dedicated practice sessions are the "Serious" mental state times because I should be focused on fixing or honing issues in my skills. In matches all I can do is leverage the skills I have already honed so having Fun becomes a lot easier because I know that I can only perform to the level that I have trained. But even then you need to balance having Fun with taking the match seriously and focusing on the task at hand when needed. For me, socializing with the people I shoot with at matches is just as important and fun as the actual shooting. There are plenty of times where I had a crappy shooting performance at a match but had a ton of "FUN" at the match because I was attending with friends. The Area 2 match is a perfect example of this. I shot a terrible on Day 2 which pretty much sunk my chances of a top 3 finish. I was bummed about that but had a great time with the squad and RO's while at the match. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richc2048 Posted March 11, 2015 Author Share Posted March 11, 2015 I think that's the attitude I have. I am going to make practice "work" and enjoy the matches. I also forgot to mention the best part of the Area 2 match. All the uber fast swingers got hits on them. I took 3 on the fastest ones though and needed them. Thank you Cha-Lee for that. I took a class that he had me practice on swingers and it helped tremendously. My mikes were on static with no shoots. I guess I need to be more confident and not take those so high to avoid them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glock26Toter Posted March 12, 2015 Share Posted March 12, 2015 I'm glad you had fun and can't wait to see how you do moving forward. For me, it's fun on both sides of the coin. I like meeting people, hanging with my shooting buddies and working hard to increase my skills. It's all fun to me. It is work, but I've always said the work seems easy when you are having fun. I seems like you can get all the way into A Class without putting in a single act of "work" and just always stay in the fun zone. But to get past A and all the way to GM there's some work that needs to be done. You MUST hone your skillset and find time to ONLY work on one skill at a time. If you dread that then you won't do it. So I guess in my opinion working on skills in practice can be serious relative to matches but it still needs to be on the fun side of the coin.... or rather since I already said it was two sides of coin the whole darn coin better be a fun one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richc2048 Posted March 13, 2015 Author Share Posted March 13, 2015 Those are good ways of putting it. Compartmentalize the work. I agree the fun aspect comes from the great people. The work put in at the range and at home makes not sucking the fun part. Thanks guys! Any of you shooting weld this Sunday? I don't think I can make CRC Saturday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richc2048 Posted March 18, 2015 Author Share Posted March 18, 2015 (edited) I tried the Tangfolio in limited yesterday at the CGC practice match. Wow. It's a very fast gun and would be awesome if I did my part. I had trouble with keeping the safety down. There were more than a few times where the safety wasn't completely down and messed with me. I'm thinking I need an even bigger one that's maybe angled lower so my thumb can rest on it. I also kept instinctively kept reaching by my hip for a new magazine. Looks like shooting production put some habits in place. Which brings me to another point. I made B class this week and couldn't be more excited. I think I'll put limited on hold for a little longer so I can see how far I can go in production. I was shooting limited minor at first and switched to production in September. I think I'll give it a solid year and then make the decision. Who knows... Maybe I'll never switch. I have to admit that shooting limited was real fun. I was getting good a hits at first. I realized the scoring major part so I stepped on the gas a little and my hit factor went through the roof! Since it was a practice match that I setup at CGC I just shot as fast as I could just kinda index shooting most targets and trying to get the speed down. I had a few deltas but still did pretty well. I see the untapped fun that limited could be if I could shoot that fast and controlled. As much as I'm enjoying shooting production that one match shooting limited was a blast. Now it's the path to A that I'm working on. I know that classifiers can be done to get an A title but to really shoot like an A class shooter I think my biggest hurdle to overcome is movement. I really concentrated on running at weld and although I saw a big improvement there's much to be achieved. Sounds funny but I have to learn how to run. Thanks to everyone that's given advice and support. This sport is the best thing I've discovered. And the people I'm surrounded by make this awesome. Edited March 18, 2015 by Richc2048 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glock26Toter Posted March 18, 2015 Share Posted March 18, 2015 Congrats on the B Class status. It sure feels good to move up. Good luck making it to A! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richc2048 Posted March 23, 2015 Author Share Posted March 23, 2015 I did not shoot a match this Weekend but I got some practice in on Sunday with a group of good people. We set up a 40 round difficult stage. It was pretty tough. But it was said "if you make practice tougher than matches, you should smoke the matches". I had a last shooting with everyone there at practice but I don't think I used it properly. I was just kinda there and not concentrating on shooting much. Next time I go I need to make sure I set goals or at least experiment with a few things. I definitely could have taken advantage of a course practice day more than I did. I felt like the kid goofing around in class. I won the benos book at area 2 and started reading it a couple days ago. I tried at practice to not concentrate too hard on mechanics and just let it happen. I think I am still at a point where the fundamentals are not quite where they need to be and I still have to think about them from time to time. The book has a lot of good things in it to think about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glock26Toter Posted March 23, 2015 Share Posted March 23, 2015 Good to hear you reading the Brian Enos book. That book changed my life. Seriously, I think about things in the book in my professional life as well as the shooting. I read it and by the end was like " what the hell?" but as time goes by you keep relating back to it and especially as you move up in classes you will realize different things in the book and go back and reread it. Don't give it away. Keep it where you know you can find it again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richc2048 Posted May 3, 2015 Author Share Posted May 3, 2015 (edited) It's been a while since my last write up. I have FINALLY seen improvement in my movement. I am now able to match or nearly match the stage times of some of the winning shooters in the area. I even had a few stage wins due to my time being on par or better. It's been a long road for me to finally grasp the movement techniques needed. Now that my times are almost to the level of the great shooters I see there is still a lot to be learned and to train for. I have been trying to be more active and taking walks with the family and ride my bike. I think that helps a lot. I had hip issues as a child and had the screws that were in my hip removed prior to joining the Navy and never really did the physical therapy to get them back to par. exercising them has really helped my movement. I tried the steel challenge today and it was very humbling to see where my transition level is and where it should be. Also sight discipline in another thing I need to work on. I did fairly well but did see where I could lose the time in these short strings. I think I will definitely have to put this into my shooting schedule. I'll use it as a USPSA training tool. I am excited about the few major matches coming up and really need to train hard to make sure I am not just wasting my money and that I am giving it my all. I am not expecting to win but I am expecting to do my best and building a strong dry fire regiment and making sure every practice round down range is positive is one of those things I need to do to make sure I get the most out of going to these matches. Edited May 3, 2015 by Richc2048 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richc2048 Posted June 1, 2015 Author Share Posted June 1, 2015 The Rocky Mountain 300 was this weekend. I was able to be 44th overall, 6th in production and 2nd in B class production. I was very pleased with how it turned out. I was able to complete this match without having to say I screwed some stages up bad. I do see there's always room for improvement but I shot very well for my skill level. Running 60+ round stages for the first time was quite an experience. The phrase they use is "We'll melt your trigger finger off". The speed shoot did just that. I've heard people say this but I could not comprehend. I thought at best they were exaggerating the story. My speed shoot video sounds very strong in the the beginning and just gets horrible around round 40. I felt my trigger finger not releasing the trigger. The things I want to work on for future matches is movement, grip, and transitions. I still see this as sub-par. My wife is going to Tennessee with all the kids this week so this will be a perfect time to get a good dry fire regiment going. I still don't have a consistent grip from a draw and I think some of that has to do with my holster. I have had to replace/add some things and although the gun is secure there is movement which causes the grip to not be in the same place or angle. Replacing my guide rod spring has seemed to give me the impression of shooting a new "softer gun" so I still have that to work with. My goal this summer is to get in better shape. I know it can't hurt to be dragging 20-30 pounds less across a stage. I would also like to get into the finer details of being able to estimate a H.F. prior to shooting it. I have been trying to make guesses before I shoot and I think I get lucky sometimes but for the most part I am way off in my guesses. With all the things I can work on I am excited about this shooting season and where it will land me next year if I start doing my part with the dry-fire and really examine my shooting and make improvements based on that. One thing that got me down on the match were not related to me but it still effected my mood at the RM300. A good friend of mine that always helps me out was having a horrible day. His stages were going down hill; not because of his shooting but equipment and overall bad luck. He had to switch to his backup gun after the second stage because his sights were just not right and he also dropped 2 magazines on a stage while reloading one. on a 62 round stage and arrays of 8 every magazine was needed. I really felt bad for the guy but also couldn't help thinking how I was doing. I really wanted us team godzilla's to do well and have a close match between the two of us while we shot. Three Godzilla guys received plaques for our finishes. 1st D prod, 2nd B prod, and 1st A Limited That's really good for us! Now it's time to get ready for the Mile High Showdown. I know there is way more competition in production B class than the RM 300 so I really need to step it up if I want to place well in this match. There were a few people I know that are production B shooters that were not at the RM300 that I am really looking forward to shoot with. I know it will take a lot of hard work to come close to their scores, and a little luck of course. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CHA-LEE Posted June 2, 2015 Share Posted June 2, 2015 GODZILLA!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richc2048 Posted June 2, 2015 Author Share Posted June 2, 2015 Godzilla grew legs! Watch out. It's like a T-Rex with long arms! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richc2048 Posted June 12, 2015 Author Share Posted June 12, 2015 I finally gave in to peer pressure and ordered a CZ for production. If you think Glock owners are a kool-aid cult then CZ people are a way of life! I can't wait. I will have it in 8 weeks and may start running it this season. Possibly this season for the Colorado State match and Utah State Match. My wife was out of town with the kids for 9 days so I practiced dry firing a lot and reloading for the rest of the season. I have noticed that the classifier scores have been spot on for me. I have been shooting in the 65% range in classifiers and ending in the same percentage at major matches. I am hoping to work on my transitions and shot calling more at matches. I heard that you can get all the way up to B class without much training but getting out of B will take effort in improving fundamentals and just hauling ass out of shooting spots while performing a reload. I am excited to see I have hit a brick wall. It seems that making it from D class to B just took unleashing confidence in shooting. Now I must train and improve to see any gains. It may seem weird but I look forward to the challenge of reaching GM at this point. I really do think that with practice I can climb the ladder, however slow it may be. Fundamentals are what I need to improve. My grip is still inconsistent and my reloads are hit or miss. Although they are starting to be more hit than miss. I guess I see that as an improvement but I will need to work on things until I see a consistency in time. I really do love this sport and see improving to GM as a challenge that will be fun and satisfying to try and reach for. Thank you ALL for the help and making this fun! This is an individual sport but at the range it seems that we are all on one big team and that's awesome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
d_striker Posted June 13, 2015 Share Posted June 13, 2015 (edited) I don't typically drink the kool-aid, but they are awesome guns. Way more accurate than plastic framed guns. I did pretty good at the Steel Challenge match a couple of days ago with it. I'm attributing it all to the accuracy of it. Edited June 13, 2015 by d_striker Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richc2048 Posted June 13, 2015 Author Share Posted June 13, 2015 I hear they are super accurate. I'll miss being able to blame it on everything but myself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
d_striker Posted June 13, 2015 Share Posted June 13, 2015 My plan is to blame future misses on not having an accu shadow. 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