Encumbered by idjits he pressed on

[Shepard]

I’ve been out of shooting sports for 10 years now. First match back in 2 weeks. Only match I’ve ever been nervous about. 

I’ve never blogged, vlogged, or chronicled anything about myself on the internet but I decided to give a try as I start shooting again.  I’ll try to get some video up and would appreciate any input. 
 
When I left I was a reasonably competitive limited master. Mine is the same old story, life and eyesight teased away my energy and focus until I stopped shooting. Recently I found a Doc who spent the time to get my eyesight back on track. Its not as good as it used to be but I can clearly focus on the front sight with my dominant eye now. 

Its kinda funny, I didn’t really believe I’d lost that much off my shooting skills until I started practicing a couple weeks ago. I started out just shooting groups and it looked like a drunk monkey had thrown a handful of crap at the target.  Groups tightened up but still have a long way to go. I thought I’d throw a few classifiers together and see how I measured up. When the buzzer went off I lost complete control of all motor function and the sights looked like a grainy 8MM movie shot from atop a jackhammer.  Soooo, back to the basics. 

In addition to the standard dryfire I’ve started back today with some of the drills that I think helped me the most when I first started. 10 yrd “bill drills” helped me start tracking the sights. El Pres did the same plus mag changes and close transitions. Also, plate rack from 15 to 25 yards. 

I thought the results were kinda interesting. My timer display decided to crap out after only 10 years of disuse but the buzzer still worked.  So, instead of chasing what I know to be good times on those drills I focused all my attention on the sights and feeling the gun run. My shooting wasn’t very impressive but I eventually started getting glimpses of what I remember seeing 10 years ago. 

The positive that I took away from the session was that I know what I need to see and had flashes of it today.  Years ago when I started I didn’t have a clue what I needed to see. 

I think this will be a metric buttload of work/fun.   Now,  I just gotta keep my ego out it and enjoy the grind. 

[Shepard]

Whew! Tired today. Up till 3:30AM. I took some sinus medicine that kept me up and then got hooked watching Red Dragon (not as good as Manhunter despite the awesome cast.)    

I managed to get my dryfire in before getting the kids to school. I spent a lot of time waiting for the front sight on my draws. Eventually I realized how much tension I was carrying from my hands through my shoulders. I started focusing on being relaxed and less rushed through the motion and predictably I got a little smoother. Still got a loooong way to go. Reloads also started out pretty ugly.  Once I got the gun up a little higher they started to smooth out a bit also.  Having short, wide hands I always hated reloads. I remember long ago doing drills with a buddy and he was hitting ridiculous splits on his reloads.  I asked him to show me how he was manipulating the gun. That was when I realized the World was not fair. He was able to hit the mag release without dismounting and turning the gun. The Matrix hates me.  

I used to force pistol manipulation without giving much thought to the mechanics. I’d just do it my own way and didn’t want to go through the pain of changing even if it made me faster.  Now that I’m starting over with a clean slate I’m going to enjoy the process and focus on the mechanics and relaxing.     

This evening I did airsoft drills outside rather than live fire. I really feel like airsoft lets me pay attention to all the movement and trigger skills without being distracted by the explosion going off in my hand. Airsoft keeps me honest. I've found that sometimes what I think I see in dryfire isn't always whats happening. While practicing movement drills I discovered the longest measurable period of time known to man. It’s the time from when I enter the box until my sights decide to cooperate and settle on the target.  Nonetheless, I got a solid session in before mental fatigue told me it was time to call it a day.

Best part, my 13 year old son is really enjoying all the shooting and practiced with me all afternoon. 

9 days and a wake up till my first match in 10 years! Woohoo!

Edited August 25, 2016 by Shepard

[Shepard]

Live fire day.  Had to take the wife in early for a root canal so I didn’t get to do my morning dryfire. After bringing her back from the dentist I snuck out to the range while she slept off the dentist drugs. 

I started out with 20 yard groups. Its been so long since I shot that I figure I need all the accuracy work I can get. Surprisingly, groups were tighter than I thought they’d be this soon. It was mentally relaxing and after letting go of the tension around my eyes and in my hands it went well. 

After groups I worked on 25 yard A-zone zebra targets. I’m taking one step forward and bringing my trail foot up. I’m not ready for wide-open-to-brake for 25 yard zebras but I did want the element of coming into the target to be a part of the drill.   This didn’t go as well as I’d like. I think subconsciously I was trying to break the first shot as my trail foot came down and was missing the A zone by a couple inches to the right.  Frustrating. Next time out I’ll make this a one shot drill and focus on making that first shot.     

Next up were the 10 yard, 6 shot bill drills.  The first run was fast with all As. I tracked the sights perfectly. Woohoo! I’m back!  Whatever.  I should’ve left then.  Instead I made the mistake of chasing that run. Pushed a little harder, tried to squeeze a little faster. Of course I was slower, saw less, and hit less. For the rest of the Bill Drills I couldn’t mentally get out of my own way. I was irritated for pushing too hard when I knew better and frustrated that I couldn’t let it go and stop being irritated with myself. Whether I want to be or not I’m rushing myself to get my skills back.  Like we all know the mental component of this game is the real skill that has to be mastered. 

Changing to El Pres must have helped clear my head. The first few runs went pretty well. My mag changes were a little clunky though, I’m still reloading down around my sternum. I want to bring those mag changes up. I’m too caught up in the run sequence to mentally change gears and make my mag changes up in the new position. So, I’ll start working just mag change drills into my live fire sessions. 

I finished out with 20 yard plate racks at a casual pace.  This turned out to be just what I needed to end on a good note. I’ll work on 25 yards next time. Just in my opinion, when you can confidently clean a 25 yard plate rack you can pretty much hit what you need to hit at a USPSA match. Hmmm, that “was” 10 years ago. Just watch, my first match back will start out on a 50 yard texas star :-) 

8 days and a wake up till my first match in 10 years! Woohoo!

[Shepard]

Spent the whole day shooting, reloading and airsofting. Awesome!

I did, however, break my front sight and my back up gun is out of pocket getting some finish work done. I thought I might make it through the first match without my backup but the Matrix was paying attention and got me. Ordinarily I’d have a couple extras but I’m not restocked on everything yet. Hope I can get a replacement by the weekend but if not there’s enough blade to get by. 

All drills were close up, sight tracking sorta stuff today. Bill Drills, El Pres, Golden Bullet Standards classifier, Times Two classifier, etc.  I threw in the Golden Bullets Standards 1) its close up tracking and 2) so I could do strong hand and weak hand shooting and transitions just to be safer since I haven’t done them in so long.  I did Times Two just to work coming in fast to the shooting position. 

For me, I feel like tracking the sights is the numero uno priority.  I don’t even care how accurately I’m shooting right now.  Transitions may be where the game is won or lost but tracking the sights and calling the shots is the limiting factor. I wish I’d known that starting out. I’d have saved a ton of time trying to do super fast draws and reloads. Tomorrow I plan to Bill Drill the berm for a few hundred rounds.  I’ll finish off with some fun accuracy shooting for confidence. 

I built a barricade yesterday and set up Works For Me classifier at home to airsoft and get a little off balance/around barricade work in. I love me some airsoft. I got lucky and found a .177 steel BB blowback airsoft that will shoot an inch group at 45 feet (yes, 1" inch at 45'.) I use the steel BB airsoft because I practice outside and the steel BBs don’t get pushed around by the wind. The steel will also penetrate cardboard and dent a 16 gauge popper at 15 yards.    

 6 days and a wake up till my first match in 10 years! Woohoo!