2nd match observations from a newbie

[BigDave]

Well, I shot my second match a scant 5 days after my very first, and I am still giddy.  Like a kid thats overdue for his does of Ridalin (sp?) and has been bonging Jolt cola.

Overall, I got what seemed to be a lot of compliments on my shooting.  Several of the expienced A-B-C shooters were dumbfounded when I told them it was only my 2nd match ever.  I ended up 15th out of 20 shooters (I gauge that to be good, most of these guys shoot at least once per week, if not twice or more), and 2nd in Limited 10 with only 3 shooters.  What I thought was great is that I was top in 2 of 4 stages.  For the match I ended up with 297 out of a possible 350 points (84.8%) which isn't all bad.  I only had one proceedural on, and that was on the classifier (DAMN!!!!) when I shot the first steel above the bar on CM 99-50, but at least I KD'd all the steel (baby steps, I didn't do that in the first match).  I figured that without that proceedural, I would have been high overall Limited 10.  Oh well.

Accuracy wise, I would say I did well.  The first stage is what they called "Down the Hall", its is a variation on a classifer, but I don't know the number.  It is 11 paper and 5 steel on a star shaped holder.  On the stage, I my A count was 21 or 22 and the combined BCD count was less than 8 or so.  I kept hearing 2 alpaha and was amazed.  That, however, is a bit of concern to me as well.  I don't remember the seeing the sights as much as my first match, but the results I think were better.  I do remember my alignment when I first engaged the targets and when I pressed the shot (which in reflection, I guess I was subconsciously calling my shots, in some sort of way).  My second shots I don't recall at all.  But again, my A counts were pretty high (for me that is).  I guess now that I am typing this all out, I should be excited for myself with what I do remember and the end result.

One thing I haven't done that everyone else seems to is walk through the stage.  I do look it over throughly and pick up tips from the shooters in front of me.  I walk through the stage to the point of where I first plan a reload, which I think is very important for Limited 10, b/c a dry gun can be a killer when you are faced with 3 targets without holes in them and the clock is ticking.  The reason I don't do a thorough walk-through is that I want to just hear the buzzer and go totally free style (aka, just grip it and rip it).  Am I really cheating myself by doing this?

Anyhow, I am still grinnin'....

(Edited by BigDave at 1:51 pm on Aug. 6, 2001)

[Chriss Grube]

Take the time and have everything down. I mean right down to where you're feet are going to be for each position. Then run it over and over as much as possible. Then keep going over it in your head until you get to the LAMR. Visualization is very important in this game. Don't worry your mind will take over at the beep. It's a little hard to run on Autopilot if you have no clue where you're going!

[Bill H]

Dave it sounds like you are hooked.IPSC is pure adrenalin. The more matches you shoot the more you will realize (hopefully) what to look for in your walk through.You need to keep your movement to a minimum and look for the best place to engage the different targets and what order. Look at it from every angle. You will be surprised what you will sometimes find. Don't always do like the others.Find your own way if you think it will work better for you.The best thing to do is make every mistake possible and then you will know what not to do.I wish I could tell you how long that takes but I have been doing it for 15 years and I still find bonehead things to do now and then.

Bill Hearne

[BigDave]

I didn't mean to say that I just ignore the stage setup till I get called to the line, it is not that raw.  I know where the targets are and where, approximately, I will be when I come to engage them.  Right now, I don't get anal with the walk-through because I am so new, I don't want to miss the opportunity to make something up along the way if in a nano-second it appears to be a better option.  Example:  one of the stages we had had a popper that activated two bobbers.  From the start box, the steel would have been a 25yd shot or so, and I am not cumfy with my distance shooting, even on steel.  Many of the more experienced shooters took the steel at the buzzer and had slow bobbers to finish up on.  That same popper was my 2nd to last target, withe the bobbers being last.  This worked for me, b/c then the shot on steel was the std. 10 yds and it was more comfortable.  My fear (strong word) was that if I, in the begining, decided to engage the steel from the start box and missed (quite possible), that might have thrown my whole plan off.  This is probably where one of you tell me, 'well, go to plan B then!'.  For now, it is working.  Probably in a few matches it will be more comfortable and necessary for me to do some more planning.  Gotta learn to crawl...

[Flexmoney]

Dave,

Sounds like you are doing great.  You sound "aware" of your shooting and you seem to be doing what you need to do at this time.

If you are getting all those Alpha hits then you are probably calling your second shoots.  You would be getting Alpha-Charlie's if you didn't. (Don't ask me how I know)

Are you back in Indy yet?

[JFD]

The best thing I've found is to watch anyone better than me very closely.

I'd like to get better at managing mag changes but most L-10 shooters are not people I want to copy, and Open and Limited shooters aren't much of an example.

I've also found that if I'm unsure of what to do, asking the better shooters always results in good advice.

[BBoyle]

Dave

Glad to see you did another match.  It definately (sp?) hooks you and it sounds like you are hooked to the gills.

The most important thing to remember is to be flexible and accept whatever happens. You start out with a sound plan and if something goes wrong, adapt with it.

Chris, sorry if I might interpret wrong but you should never plan every step and say my feet will be here and I will have to shoot it here and shoot it like this.  Plan your reloads if you have to but when you start putting too many variables in your head about how it has to be done it can hurt you more than help you.  If you are off of a spot that you thought you had to be in at a certain time for a certain target it will throw off your concentration and affect your stage time and hits.  

Just make sure that you are aware of where the targets are throughout the stage and engage them to the best of your ability.  If you are unsure of far shots, practice them.  As you get experience in the sport you will start to know if it is better to take the time to take a far shot or get closer to it when you know you can engage it a little faster.  You will ask and answer for yourself whether you can take the shot or if it is worth the extra time to move down range to take it.

Brian