AzShooter Posted March 20, 2018 Share Posted March 20, 2018 It was a perfect day and you out did yourself. Great shooting Bob. I has a great time shooting my 617 instead of one of my autos. It was the second best match I've had in a year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GunBugBit Posted April 12, 2018 Author Share Posted April 12, 2018 (edited) My friend recently shot his first match, a very happy occasion. I know we are going to have a lot of fun shooting together. Three years into competing, with nearly one full year off, and I'm still not that far down the road in my journey of improving raw skills. Like most people, in matches I'm going for smooth and sure draws and reloads, and definitely an accurate first shot. If I work hard at improving speed in dry fire sessions, then my live fire speed tends to improve of course, but not by huge leaps. I do notice that stages tend to go better because my gun handling is more automatic, and my accuracy consistency is better, from dry fire work. Occasionally I'll get comments that my reloads look pretty fast or that my draw seems fast. That's fine, I'm not very impressed with myself, I know what my times are whether it be in dry fire, live fire practice, or match shooting and all of it has plenty of room for improvement. Reps reps reps. The number one thing I want to improve currently is shooting tempo across a whole stage. I still live in the mid C to low B zone of shooting tempo, so say the hit factors from my better classifiers. Edited April 12, 2018 by GunBugBit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GunBugBit Posted April 12, 2018 Author Share Posted April 12, 2018 On 3/20/2018 at 1:08 PM, AzShooter said: It was a perfect day and you out did yourself. Great shooting Bob. I has a great time shooting my 617 instead of one of my autos. It was the second best match I've had in a year. Cool Steven! It was indeed a great day. I almost got DQ'd, whole 'nother story! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GunBugBit Posted April 16, 2018 Author Share Posted April 16, 2018 I left yesterday's Steel Challenge match thinking I had a mediocre match. Lo and behold, it was my best Steel Challenge to date. I had all-time best scores on Outer Limits, The Pendulum, Speed Option and 5 to Go. I was telling myself I was on a plateau, but apparently not so much. Regular matches and dry fire practice keep one moving forward in spite of oneself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GunBugBit Posted April 16, 2018 Author Share Posted April 16, 2018 <brag on>Just realized I was the top irons shooter in the match. Beat all the production and limited guys.</brag off> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GunBugBit Posted July 5, 2018 Author Share Posted July 5, 2018 Made ‘B’ after last Sunday’s USPSA match. It was nice to see the scores going from the club to USPSA so quickly, and the classification being updated just 3 mornings after the match. The next classification advancement I expect soon is ‘A’ in Steel Challenge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GunBugBit Posted July 7, 2018 Author Share Posted July 7, 2018 (edited) In the spirit of this being a training diary, I’ll mention my training. While I am not putting the time and energy into shooting that others do, I am nevertheless improving steadily, if slowly. A few months ago, I came up with a set of dry fire drills that I believe have a good reward:time ratio, so these are the core of my training. For me, I find it more effective in a day to do several sessions lasting 10 minutes to 30 minutes each, rather than doing, say, 90 minutes straight. In addition, as soon as I arrive at a match, I do a short dry fire session in a gun handling area, using 1-inch sections of patching tape as targets (the ones I taped to a wall a few months ago are still there), and I sometimes do more between stages. I carry two CoC grippers in my vehicle and use them during my long commute to work and back home. I do full body resistance workouts, not as often as I’d like, but I do them. So, nothing fancy, nothing innovative, just meat-and-potatoes stuff that I know for sure helps me. To make further progress, I know I will need to do more training that pushes my limits, continually learn from better shooters, and watch for any bad habits that could be creeping in. The great part is, I’m having more fun and appreciating/enjoying the guys at the club more than ever. Edited July 7, 2018 by GunBugBit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GunBugBit Posted October 25, 2018 Author Share Posted October 25, 2018 I improved every match in my first dozen Steel Challenge matches. My last two, I failed to have all-time best stages on any stage, so my aggregate score isn't improving. I don't think this means I'm on the decline, I'm just not going at it as hard as I was. I will have to increase my commitment to improving to move up class-wise in either SC or USPSA. I have a hair over 4 percentage points to go to make 'A' in Steel Challenge Single Stack. I'll make it, it's just going to take some time and serious effort. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GunBugBit Posted January 28, 2019 Author Share Posted January 28, 2019 Having been exclusively a .45 1911 competitor since the beginning, I've been shooting matches in the Limited division with a Glock 22 outfitted with a KKM 40-9 conversion barrel. I recently shot a Steel Challenge match with that gun and was able to make 'B' in Limited on the results from that match and a prior match where I only shot 3 stages. Somewhat to my surprise, I was able to do better with that gun in three Steel Challenge stages -- 5 To Go, Showdown, Roundabout -- than in any of the matches with 1911s. I attribute this primarily to the 130 PF of the 9mm loads. The Glock is very shootable indeed. A light and crisp 1911 trigger is great to have, but the Glock does fine despite the clearly inferior trigger. Mine is a Johnny Glock configured at about 3.5 lbs, with pre-travel and post-travel optimized about as much as they can be before the gun starts to have a stuck trigger safety tab, or not reset. This gun has also done well for me in Thursday night club matches. As much as the gun is agreeing with me, I have plans to acquire 9mm 1911s and 2011s for future Single Stack, Limited 10 and Limited competition. I'll shoot the .45 1911s once in a while (for old times' sake and because they're reliable guns), but I'll pretty much be reloading only 9mm for competition for the foreseeable future. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AzShooter Posted January 28, 2019 Share Posted January 28, 2019 Quote Sounds like a great plan. Looking forward to seeing you at the next match in March. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GunBugBit Posted January 29, 2019 Author Share Posted January 29, 2019 Thanks Steven, see you at the range! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GunBugBit Posted May 20, 2019 Author Share Posted May 20, 2019 The Glock will become a safe queen for a while, as much fun as I had with it, as I ordered two Dan Wesson PM9's and will take delivery of them soon. It's back to the 1911 for me, the gun I started and will probably end with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GunBugBit Posted May 23, 2019 Author Share Posted May 23, 2019 Picked up the two PM9's yesterday. I field-stripped them and had a look, all I had time for. One of them has a tiny ding in the disconnector head where the underside of the slide hits it, causing a mild hangup. This can be cleaned up in short order without reducing the height of the disco. Other than that, the guns appear to be top shelf in every way. I'll know much more about them after I've shot them, detail stripped them and had a magnified look at everything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GunBugBit Posted July 1, 2019 Author Share Posted July 1, 2019 (edited) Had the PM9's out for a practice match last week. The guns are as nice for match shooting as I hoped they'd be. My shooting hasn't deteriorated too much. I had been attending Steel Challenge matches without a long break. With a couple of weeks of daily dry fire under my belt, things are coming back, including all of the calluses. I have switched to bullets out with the mag pouches, having reconfigured a belt as a new and I hope improved Single Stack rig. I've decided I like bullets out a lot and wish I'd done it from the start. Edited July 1, 2019 by GunBugBit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GunBugBit Posted July 22, 2019 Author Share Posted July 22, 2019 Finally breached the 140-second barrier in my Steel Challenge aggregate time. Another nice thing: now I can shoot two SCSA-sanctioned matches every month at my home range - the smaller club finally got their match sanctioned and got on board with Practiscore. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AzShooter Posted July 22, 2019 Share Posted July 22, 2019 Great shooting Bob. I knew you could do it. You are going to love the other match. Wonderful people there too. Good luck at the State Championship. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GunBugBit Posted July 22, 2019 Author Share Posted July 22, 2019 Also wanted to mention the big difference between my last two Steel Challenge matches. July 14 2019, I shot with the smaller club and had a bad match. Part of it was the brutal Phoenix heat. July 21 2019, I shot my regular sanctioned match and did much better (17 seconds better than the prior Sunday, even though this day's Smoke and Hope was worse). I was able to rattle off a few good strings on most of the stages, more like my better shooting from 2016. Accelerator was an all-time personal best regardless of division, and Roundabout was a new all-time personal best in Single Stack (did a little better in Limited). The weather wasn't as brutal and I had put in over an hour of dry fire work the day prior. I stayed well hydrated and nourished and took a couple of breaks by necessity since the squad in front of us was taking more time to get through their stages. All of this helped with my ability to focus. Had a squib, though, imagine that (first one in about 30,000 rounds of reloading). Having the second PM9 handy was great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GunBugBit Posted July 22, 2019 Author Share Posted July 22, 2019 Just now, AzShooter said: Great shooting Bob. I knew you could do it. You are going to love the other match. Wonderful people there too. Good luck at the State Championship. Thanks Steven, hope to see you there! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GunBugBit Posted August 12, 2019 Author Share Posted August 12, 2019 (edited) Last Sunday's Deer Tribe Steel Challenge was really good because I shot with Joe DePetro (Open Grandmaster) and Brian Green (PCC Optics Master). Both are very nice guys and great to shoot with. Excellent shooters, too. They passed along their thoughts on plate sequences and gave some other nice tips. Speed Option - now convinced to shoot it 4-3-1-2-S not 4-3-2-1-S, even though this entails changing directions twice (something I always avoided). Brian was 0.3s to 0.4s faster with 4-3-1-2-S. He was able to execute both sequences smoothly, but the first way was clearly faster. It seems a wider lateral transition at a similar range can be faster than a narrower lateral transition but at a different range. I tried 4-3-1-2-S and I liked it. I didn't execute it great, but I see why it should be faster. Outer Limits - Finally, I heard a logical reason to shoot it 1-2-3-4-S: Joe pointed out that with your gun tending to bounce a bit as you settle into the middle box, the far rectangle plate is more forgiving to vertical error. And the final 4-S transition is fast. Accelerator - Joe confirmed 1-2-4-3-S and I do have my fastest time with this sequence. So naturally I'll stick with it. Edited August 12, 2019 by GunBugBit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AzShooter Posted August 12, 2019 Share Posted August 12, 2019 Bob, glad they could help you. I know you will stick to the best plan you have. See you in October at the State. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GunBugBit Posted August 13, 2019 Author Share Posted August 13, 2019 You bet Steven! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GunBugBit Posted August 19, 2019 Author Share Posted August 19, 2019 (edited) Had my best official total Steel Challenge match time last Sunday. Still a ways to go to make Single Stack 'A'. So few single stackers lately. If I'm competing with other people, it's the Limited shooters since they represent the largest centerfire irons division. I do all right. It's time to push my speed in Steel Challenge. Not a little but a lot. The worst that will happen as long as I'm safe is people will point and laugh. They do that anyway so... Edited August 19, 2019 by GunBugBit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GunBugBit Posted November 4, 2019 Author Share Posted November 4, 2019 Contrary to what I said 3-1/2 months ago (above), I stayed pretty conservative in Steel Challenge shooting leading up to the State match, including what I did in that match. I'll need a strong push to go anywhere, classification or otherwise. Yesterday's USPSA match reinvigorated my desire to do more of that versus Steel Challenge. Lately I'm getting more out of pursuing squat/bench/pullup goals than shooting goals. I'm 60 so physical vitality is a priority. Somehow I got fortunate enough to not have joint pain anywhere despite a couple of army and recreational sports injuries, which were minor. That alone is a huge blessing. Two of my good 1911 shooting buddies have improved over the last year or so while I have not. I know exactly why my shooting is where it currently is, there are no surprises. I know what I have to do to get to the next level. I have plenty of drive but it's not all directed toward shooting. I'm good with that. But next time I log an entry here, I might be back to seven matches per month and regular dry fire, with better match scores to show for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GunBugBit Posted January 8, 2020 Author Share Posted January 8, 2020 My training has consisted of more exercise over the last five months, but few matches. I dry fired a good bit before the last USPSA match. The effect is what I'd expect. A match is not very physically draining due to consistent workouts. Gun handling is smooth and quick due to dry fire. Finer accuracy at distances over 10 yards would be better if I did more live fire practice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GunBugBit Posted January 10, 2020 Author Share Posted January 10, 2020 Got into some kind of crazy good zone a couple of nights ago during dry fire. It was after a full day's work and the usual 2-3/4 hours of round-trip driving I do every day for my commute. I'm in decent form (for me) since I recently shot a USPSA match and have been dry firing more than usual. I have some live fire training ideas that I'll share once I'm doing them. Steel Challenge coming up Jan 19. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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