What are your goals for USPSA shooting?

[a matt]

Well after shooting the Nats this weekend. I have a whole new out look on our game. Lol. Glad to know what I learned this past week. Great match but hardest I have ever shot by far, 2 or 3 times harder. Long partials, hard leans, choppy, prone awesome stages. What a great match..see you at the Gator...

[Zoomy]

Well when I started three years ago and was improving I had visions of A class Limited in two years. That would have been as far as I probably would go at my age ( 55 yo now) Well D class took longer than I expected and now I'm stuck at middle C for the last two years. I purchased all the books and the right gun. Practiced dry fire and shoot 5 matches each month. Hit the sectionals and a couple of area matches each year. My occasional knee problems have become constant. So I guess goals are out for me. It's especially frustrating watching a guy 9 years older than me with worse vision than me make A in two years. I guess my goal is to maintain my middle C class status.

[CHA-LEE]

Zoomy> Given that the classifier stages rarely test your Knees they shouldn't be a limitation from a classification perspective. Most of the classifiers are "stand & blast" with zero foot movement at all. If you are stuck in C class it is probably due to more to slow or inefficient gun handling verses actual shooting issues. You say that you dry fire practice so that is good. But practice in its self does not make perfect. Perfect practice makes perfect.

You have tried to figure it out on your own long enough. It's time for you to invest in some effective one on one training to take your skills to the next level. Most shooters need one on one training to point out their issues and provide solutions as people usually don't even know or realize what they are doing wrong. If you can't identify what you are doing wrong then there is no way that you can develop and deploy a practice/training plan to fix the issues.

[crazygiant]

For me right now as an unranked shooter and my first year with USPSA my goals are as follows;

1. Have fun and try to make at least 1 match a month.

2. Form a solid stage plan and stick with it.

3. Don't get buzzer brain/and or classifier chills, and be consistent the whole match( when I shoot normal stages I tend to get 65-80% of the stage winner, but classifiers I'm down in the 25-40%.)

4. Watch the sights every shot. (I will catch myself going back and forth between target and sight focus)

5. Get ranked and try to make a major match next year.

[Zoomy]

Zoomy> Given that the classifier stages rarely test your Knees they shouldn't be a limitation from a classification perspective. Most of the classifiers are "stand & blast" with zero foot movement at all. If you are stuck in C class it is probably due to more to slow or inefficient gun handling verses actual shooting issues. You say that you dry fire practice so that is good. But practice in its self does not make perfect. Perfect practice makes perfect.

You have tried to figure it out on your own long enough. It's time for you to invest in some effective one on one training to take your skills to the next level. Most shooters need one on one training to point out their issues and provide solutions as people usually don't even know or realize what they are doing wrong. If you can't identify what you are doing wrong then there is no way that you can develop and deploy a practice/training plan to fix the issues.

Our ounce a month shoot has a classifier which always seems to have some kind of position change. I don't know how to attach a file to my post but last month the classifier was CM 03-12 Ironsides. It requires the shooter to squat and shoot under a bar and around a wall then get up and move to the other side of the eight foot wide wall and squat again to shoot under the bar and around the wall. My knee problems got me a 1.988 hit factor. Really very frustrating. Even if I could get easier classifiers and make a B shooter, I still look like a D shooter on the running stages. I would love to get some lessons with Steve Anderson but he never comes to my area. Seems like there is no one within a two hour drive of me that is giving lessons. Edited October 14, 2015 by Zoomy

[CHA-LEE]

You don't need a top flight trainer to get good quality training. Ask around at your local matches to see who does good training locally. Or simply schedule a training session with someone 2+ hours away and make a weekend of it. Or do neither and continue to let your skills stagnate.

People are either motivated to get better and do whatever it takes to get better. Or they are not really motivated to get better and hope that the magical shooting skills fairy will grant them better skills over night if they wait long enough. One of these methods works, the other does not. I will let you decide which is more effective.

[bret]

I would ad; never, ever run your gun to slide lock.

There have been some practice stages where we were limited to 6 or 8 shots per box, and because I lost count of my shots, I would have been better off downloading my mags to the max number of rounds. Noticing that I need a slide drop and executing it doesn't take much time, although more than some will accept. I'll live with that over procedurals.

Or I could just learn to count.

I had a classifier, 1st string turn draw put 6 shots on target as fast as you can, no shoots on each side of the Alpha.

I thought I would be slick and put only 6 bullets in my gun, so I could fire as fast as I can and just worry about aiming.

Great plan and it was going good until the 5th round I had to rack the slide, so I shot 5 Alpha's and 1 Mike real fast.

2nd string was turn draw, 6 shots on a target, reload 6 shots on another target.

I already had 7 rounds in the 1st magazine and 5 in the 2nd, so I got lucky and the 2nd string worked out.

Overall even with a Mike I did OK on that classifier but the Mike hurt quite a bit.

Next time I loaded my magazines up.

[Balliet]

there is a subtle hint here that you should recognize whenever you talk to a top shooter ..... the best shooters focus on the process of shooting ... things like: "get the gun/sights on target as fast as I can" & "call ever shot".

The rank & file shooter focuses on results and just hopes he does everything right ....

there is a hint in there somewhere ....

i see what you're saying. i need to stop hoping, and dryfire in a more serious manner.

[a matt]

Well when I started three years ago and was improving I had visions of A class Limited in two years. That would have been as far as I probably would go at my age ( 55 yo now) Well D class took longer than I expected and now I'm stuck at middle C for the last two years. I purchased all the books and the right gun. Practiced dry fire and shoot 5 matches each month. Hit the sectionals and a couple of area matches each year. My occasional knee problems have become constant. So I guess goals are out for me. It's especially frustrating watching a guy 9 years older than me with worse vision than me make A in two years. I guess my goal is to maintain my middle C class status.

I would cut back on a few if those 5 matches ea month and just practice what you know you need to improve. Practice as perfect as you can maybe start slower then get yourself squared away then pick up the pace....

[NickBlasta]

GM in 2016!

[Nimitz]

If you're actually serious about getting better (most say they are but don't actually do the things required to get there - ala Cha-lee's post) one or two matches a month are plenty to check your match skills to see if you are improving. My goal is at least 30 training events (live fire/dry fire) per month. In addition to that I only shoot a max of 2 matches a month. That' s a 15:1 ratio between training & matches. Most people are unwilling to do that because "matches are fun" & "Training is boring" .... Of course 90% of all shooters never make it out of B class either ...

WRT taking training ... it will literally shave YEARS off your learning curve. And as for Steve Anderson, he does what the other "name" instructors do which is if you volunteer to organize a class at your range (setup the dates, sign up students, collect $, etc) you shoot the class for free.... no offense but stop making excuses and go get some instruction - it's the smartest single thing you can ever do to improve your shooting ....

Edited January 15, 2016 by Nimitz

[eric4069]

My goals when shooting a major match have greatly changed over the years.

Here is my current list:

1. Visualize.

2. Visualize.

3. Visualize.

Eric

[BenBreeg]

Last year was my first year shooting USPSA and I got in four matches. Right now my training routine is 5 dry fire sessions a week, general physical workouts, gripper and expand a-hands, plus Seeklanders vision exercises.

My goal for this year is mainly to really get a good sense of what my abilities are. I think being able to self-assess is going to help me make training adjustments quicker than following a generic template. Right now my reloads are really frustrating. For a while they were getting better but as soon as I loaded up some dummy rounds and filled the mags, they went downhill. That was a good discovery. Hopefully I will be able to continue that learning process. Basically I want to be able to always know why I M performing at the level I perform at.

Other goals include shooting a couple Level II matches and live firing once a week, whether it is a match or practice. Want to keep matches at max 2x month and prioritize practice.

Like was said above, I don't want results to be my goal, they will be a metric for sure, but I have more control over the process so need to focus there.

[ChrisG19]

My next USPSA match will be my first.

I haven't done any shooting other than standing still at an indoor firing range (other than a few IDPA matches over 10 years ago) so everything will be new and different.

I'm still a bit torn between shooting my Glock 19 in Production out of a Blade-tech holster and just enjoying the 'game' while improving my gun handling skills, etc...or shooting Limited Minor so I can us my AIWB and work all my draws from my CCW gear and still improve all of the same skills while having to accept that I'd be facing an even steeper competition curve due to minor power factor.

Either way.....I need a real assessment of my ability to put rounds on target under a variety of stressors. I'm willing to go slowly and improve the gamesmanship over time.

But I'll literally be starting from the standpoint of walking and chewing gum at the same time.

My indoor range offers an evaluation where an RO observes you and signs off so you can shoot from the draw and rapid fire. I did that yesterday and had no issues with the draw but the rapid fire, as described by the RO, took me a couple of attempts.

What's funny is if I previously used the standard he held me to last night I would not even have bothered. He wanted a string of 10 rounds, 2 rounds per second at 7 yards inside the 9 ring on a B-27E target.

I've been dry firing a bit, and trying to really focus on seeing the front sight rise and reset during my normal rate of live fire. So i didn't really want to fire faster than I could see the front sight, because that is what is rapid fire to me, at my current skill level.

But he wanted 2 per second, uninterrupted for 10 rounds. Mind you, this wasn't timed in any way with a shot timer or even a watch. Just the RO observing. But I digress.

First string I shot it how he wanted and rode the recoil a bit up the target. Second string of 10 I shot as fast as I could call my shot and he said that was too slow to be rapid fire. Third string satisfied him, but I'd still not feel comfortable firing at that speed.

Anyway, off on a tangent here.....

My goals are to safely improve my skills by continually improving my ability to be rounds on target under a variety of conditions at faster pace than previously possible.

[NickBlasta]

...

Edited January 18, 2016 by NickBlasta

[NickBlasta]

My next USPSA match will be my first.

I haven't done any shooting other than standing still at an indoor firing range (other than a few IDPA matches over 10 years ago) so everything will be new and different.

I'm still a bit torn between shooting my Glock 19 in Production out of a Blade-tech holster and just enjoying the 'game' while improving my gun handling skills, etc...or shooting Limited Minor so I can us my AIWB and work all my draws from my CCW gear and still improve all of the same skills while having to accept that I'd be facing an even steeper competition curve due to minor power factor.

Either way.....I need a real assessment of my ability to put rounds on target under a variety of stressors. I'm willing to go slowly and improve the gamesmanship over time.

But I'll literally be starting from the standpoint of walking and chewing gum at the same time.

My indoor range offers an evaluation where an RO observes you and signs off so you can shoot from the draw and rapid fire. I did that yesterday and had no issues with the draw but the rapid fire, as described by the RO, took me a couple of attempts.

What's funny is if I previously used the standard he held me to last night I would not even have bothered. He wanted a string of 10 rounds, 2 rounds per second at 7 yards inside the 9 ring on a B-27E target.

I've been dry firing a bit, and trying to really focus on seeing the front sight rise and reset during my normal rate of live fire. So i didn't really want to fire faster than I could see the front sight, because that is what is rapid fire to me, at my current skill level.

But he wanted 2 per second, uninterrupted for 10 rounds. Mind you, this wasn't timed in any way with a shot timer or even a watch. Just the RO observing. But I digress.

First string I shot it how he wanted and rode the recoil a bit up the target. Second string of 10 I shot as fast as I could call my shot and he said that was too slow to be rapid fire. Third string satisfied him, but I'd still not feel comfortable firing at that speed.

Anyway, off on a tangent here.....

My goals are to safely improve my skills by continually improving my ability to be rounds on target under a variety of conditions at faster pace than previously possible.

Sounds like you're off to a good start. Shooting as fast as you can see your sights is pretty much perfect, don't worry that it's not as fast as that RO wanted at your current level of skill. If you stick with doing that, you'll start seeing (and shooting) faster in no time at all.

As you get a few matches under your belt you'll learn that you don't need to have a perfect sight picture every time, but what the minimum acceptable sight picture is for you to get hits on target. Wide open targets at 7 yards the minimum acceptable sight picture is pretty generous.

[bradsteimel]

Hey, goals are meant to be fluid... for several matches, try pushing the speed and not worry so much about accuracy. Then when then speed picks up, you'll probably notice, you're loosing too many points by hittting C's and D's and Mikes. That's when it's time to dial it back a bit and continue to push but with more control.

It's also easy to set goals like, never leave on steel. Or be intentional with your "splits" - close wide-open target needs FAST splits, longer distance target or one with a partial no-shoot demands more focus and slower splits. Don't shoot everything at one pace.

[Rangerdug]

My goals are more long term. One classification step per year.

I agree completely... As long each match I am not making the same errors that I have identified and worked through, I can live small improvement.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Txpastorbob]

Goals change...I try to focus on one or two. First was just figuring out the game, then accuracy, now working more on speed. having fun, learning and giving myself a break when I just absolutely blow a stage is always a part.

[tha1000]

My goal is to suck less than the month before.

[a matt]

For all the new or newer shooters. Try to have someone Video you runs, then watch them a few times then really see if you can find things that are quick & easy to fix or improve and fix em in practice and do them better at your next match. Wash rinse and repete. Good Luck, and welcome to cool kids club. Lol

Edited January 22, 2016 by a matt

[EEH]

At 68 years old,I want to shoot well enough to make it tough on the Younger shooters that I shoot matches with.

Let them know an old man just may beat them. Then what you gona say.

And still be shooting next year,,

[ducky0811]

For me I keep it simple, I'm pretty new to the sport so I try not to focus of trying to be like the best.

1. Be safe at all times.

2. Hit all targets

3. Meet new shooters and friends

4. Have as much fun as possible.

5. Don't think about match points or hit factors yet, just focus on shooting an efficient, accurate stage, speed will come with experience.

[GunBugBit]

For me I keep it simple, I'm pretty new to the sport so I try not to focus of trying to be like the best.

1. Be safe at all times.

2. Hit all targets

3. Meet new shooters and friends

4. Have as much fun as possible.

5. Don't think about match points or hit factors yet, just focus on shooting an efficient, accurate stage, speed will come with experience.

This is excellent, but I want to respectfully comment on the last thing.

I found myself shooting pretty accurately in my first matches so of course I wanted to push speed right away. It occurred to me soon into that endeavor that I couldn't do it successfully -- maintaining accuracy with increased speed -- without a foundation of good practice to raise my skill level.

Speed won't increase very soon with only match experience, not that match experience is bad because it has a lot of value, just not in the area of providing dramatic increases in raw skills. Pushing speed during frequent dry fire and live fire practice is a proven way to get faster. Then our skill foundation will be such that we have the ability to go faster in matches with good accuracy as well.

Steve Anderson, Ben Stoeger, and others offer excellent resources to help us along in the effort to improve our skills. Ben does an especially great, comprehensive job covering how to practice.

[ducky0811]

I completely agree, range time or dry fire time is essential to progressing forward. I always try to push my limits in practice and see what just how fast I can go without becoming wild. But that speed at the ragged edge is where I try to keep myself while improving the accuracy.