Jeremiah's Ladder

[JeremiahD]

PT progresses, work on movement. DF is suffering from a lack of focus. No changes to plan, focus on completing each day as planned, giving it 100% attention. Half-assing DF is a sure path to staying in C class.

RO class went well, passed the practical just fine.  Need to turn in my exam and get my card so I can contribute.  was no match sunday, just a single COF. Have a lot more respect for those who take the time to babysit the rest of us as RO's.

Either PCSI Saturday or Oxford sunday (or both) on the fence at the moment.

 

I have the opportunity to further my career and return to school weekday evenings from 6-10pm for the next 6 months. this effectively erases any free time I have for anything other than work or school.  I am however determined to train and be the best I can be at this and will be up with the sun to do so as its my only time not taken with professional commitments.  Will start acclimating myself this week.

[JeremiahD]

8/6 Oxford match - Fun match, good stages. Good squad, lots of opportunities to learn. Slight rain throughout the match, kept the gun covered, realized I left my jacket on the bike. Did not do written stage plans like Mburg, wish I had. Did not move anywhere near as fast as I would have liked, was even slow on the draw and reloads. Not sure what happened, whole day was like moving through jello.  Shot well, watched the sights (with two notable exceptions) and got my points.  92A, 3B, 14C 3D.  3 penalties: 1 mike where I lost focus on the target, worried more about forgetting a different target, and one jamfest of a stage where I spent more time clearing FTF's than I did shooting and eventually switched to worrying about the gun rather than watching the sights. Went through 7 mags on a 32 round course. (More on that in a moment).  Long story short, no matter what happens I need to stay focused. There's no reason to press the bang switch if I'm not seeing exactly where that round will land.  Shot the classifier well (11A,1C), but in an 'average' time. Need to continue working on draws, transitioning with the eyes, and snapping the gun.

 

After the jamfest, I went to the safe area to wipe down the rails & feed ramp and swap the standard recoil spring back in (once the gun gets seriously dirty, I dont think the 15# spring has enough strength to overcome the added friction and strip the next round..). While I was there I managed to launch the recoil spring retainer into the berm. Packed up and informed the RO I was out for the final stage.  Order has been placed for two replacements: one for the gun and one for the toolkit.

 

Lessons learned:  No matter how many times something goes wrong in a stage, keep your focus on what  you need to do. Spare parts are good. Need to really work on movement. Written stage plan worked, bring it back, every match.

 

PT- continues as written.  should add more core, back needs work and I need to lose the gut.

DF- until my parts get in and the guns usable, no DF. Spend the time this week working on movement, specifically short bursts from point to point, chop-stepping into position, launching out from a dead stop, etc. By the time the guns back together, I'll try to put accuracy and movement speed together.

[Sarge]

My thoughts- 

Keep the gun clean or run a spring that will run in ANY condition. My gun runs better with a certain spring but if it gets very dirty it tends to start puking so I run one pound heavier and can go 1000 rounds easy.

 

Keep a few spare parts in case something breaks. (Or in case you lose something)

 

keep a 99 cent poncho in your range bag as a backup. I needed mine Sunday too

 

keep two pair of shoes in the trunk with one being soccer cleats. Not sure what you wear to shoot in but you may have been slower because the grass was wet and subconsciously were afraid of slipping. 

 

 

 

[JeremiahD]

On 8/8/2017 at 9:45 AM, Sarge said:

My thoughts- 

Keep the gun clean or run a spring that will run in ANY condition. My gun runs better with a certain spring but if it gets very dirty it tends to start puking so I run one pound heavier and can go 1000 rounds easy.

 

Keep a few spare parts in case something breaks. (Or in case you lose something)

 

keep a 99 cent poncho in your range bag as a backup. I needed mine Sunday too

 

keep two pair of shoes in the trunk with one being soccer cleats. Not sure what you wear to shoot in but you may have been slower because the grass was wet and subconsciously were afraid of slipping. 

 

 

 

I had switched out the 16# stock spring with a Wolff variable power 15# spring  as the gun was ejecting my lighter loads almost on my right foot.  It seems to make for better, consistent ejecting, but seems really touchy about how dirty the gun gets. At that point I was only about 250-300 rounds between cleanings.  I am getting some blowback from cases not fully expanding so thats not helping the dirt issue.  I'm switching back to the the standard 16# spring for now as the short ejecting wasn't causing any FTE issues. may experiment with lighter conventional springs before trying a variable power spring again, and will be doing some load development with a different powder to see if I can find a happy medium where cases seal better yet keeps a reasonable power factor.

 

I keep a spare extractor, set of springs, and firing pin in my kit. recoil spring plug never even occurred to me.... until it sailed off into the distance.  A spare has been ordered along with the replacement

 

Good tip on the spare shoes

Thanks for all the feedback and advice!

Edited August 9, 2017 by JeremiahD

[Sarge]

41 minutes ago, JeremiahD said:

I had switched out the 16# stock spring with a Wolff variable power 15# spring  as the gun was ejecting my lighter loads almost on my right foot.  It seems to make for better, consistent ejecting, but seems really touchy about how dirty the gun gets. At that point I was only about 250-300 rounds between cleanings.  I am getting some blowback from cases not fully expanding so thats not helping the dirt issue.  I'm switching back to the the standard 16# spring for now as the short ejecting wasn't causing any FTE issues. may experiment with lighter conventional springs before trying a variable power spring again, and will be doing some load development with a different powder to see if I can find a happy medium where cases seal better yet keeps a reasonable power factor.

 

I keep a spare extractor, set of springs, and firing pin in my kit. recoil spring plug never even occurred to me.... until it sailed off into the distance.  A spare has been ordered along with the replacement

 

Good tip on the spare shoes

Thanks for all the feedback and advice!

Wait, cases not expanding? What is PF? What powder? Generally speaking the blowback and black sooty  cases combined with weak ejection and only being good for 250 rounds just screams weak loads to me.

[Steve RA]

I'd agree that the loads sound pretty weak.  Have you chrono'd the loads, if so, what is the power factor as you might not be making the required PF.

[JeremiahD]

5 minutes ago, Sarge said:

Wait, cases not expanding? What is PF? What powder? Generally speaking the blowback and black sooty  cases combined with weak ejection and only being good for 250 rounds just screams weak loads to me.

 

I'll have to check the book when I get home but 200gr plated RN over 4.3gr Clays (Canadian), coal around 1.225, on a CE chrono outside in less than perfect lighting I was getting around 825, but with a considerable deviation, so its right on the bubble. I had been thinking something similar and wanted to test this week when the parts get in. I just finished putting together an Oheler 35P and have run off 20 rounds each of 4.2-4.5 clays to see how they read on a better box.  I'm leery of going over the 4.4 max load in the book...

I may switch back to Bullseye, unless you can suggest a better powder.

[JeremiahD]

4 minutes ago, Steve RA said:

I'd agree that the loads sound pretty weak.  Have you chrono'd the loads, if so, what is the power factor as you might not be making the required PF.

I have, but in less than optimal conditions.  Looking to remedy that this week.  I'm concerned I'm close to the powder mfg's max load already and may switch

[Steve RA]

I'd give E3 a try, since you can't get Australian Clays anymore.

[JeremiahD]

22 hours ago, Steve RA said:

I'd give E3 a try, since you can't get Australian Clays anymore.

Thanks for the suggestion.  I only went with clays to begin with as everyone kept suggesting it as the end-all-be-all of powders.  Probably going to move to one of the faster of the  Vihtavouri powders, or at worst, back to Bullseye should this next chrono session not work out. 

 

 

 

 

[JeremiahD]

DF note- no reason not to practice mag changes while waiting for the parts.  worked in an hour of mag changes on the old commander last night.  Didn't realize how sloppy I had become until I tried practicing w/o a magwell.   I may start doing no-magwell changes in the morning  before leaving for matches...

[JeremiahD]

parts for the gun came in Saturday, back on a proper DF routine.  Practicing reloads on a stock 1911 has improved magwell loads noticeably

 

Ran off and chrono'd a range of loads in Clays, VV N310 and Bullseye.  Long story short, my 4.3 Clays load I've been running turned out an average 829.6FPS over 20 rounds with a SD of 26.9.  Just slightly above PF.  Loads were run indoors, over an Oheler 35P, 2' spacing between screens and incandescent illuminated diffusers Had the overhead lights turned out.  Chrono was 10' from bench, 30 from target, and shot from benchrest.  I cant get more consistent than that.

Wasn't happy with the feel or PF of any of the other 9 loads tested, will play with them but keep what I've been using for now.

I may have found that my COAL is contributing to my load failures, rounds are hanging up on the edge of the barrel and indenting the case.  May be better off tweaking the length, not the load.

 

case dings:  https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B5qCNf6Yn9axb2JJajBEOUJCRzQ2ek9TX1NqNjFJSlUxdzdB

burnt brass: https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B5qCNf6Yn9axZVduRFNJVWdkODNEajdrNm9sWS1RU0VpOE9j

 

PT progresses, been bad about my runs.  Up weights last week, good progress

[Steve RA]

Are you using Australian Clays or Canadian Clays ???  Australian will generally give more velocity than the "new" canadian  with the same charge weight.  Unfortunately the Australian variety is no longer available - unless you have some or find an individual with some to sell.

[JeremiahD]

Canadian.  As you said, Australian is no longer available.

[JeremiahD]

First week of early drills, work, classes. having a hard time budgeting my time.  may trim PT back a bit, cant afford to trim DF.

 

movement note:  .  been trying to break runners habits of long stride efficiency and momentum and instead get to short, quick steps.  Found out my foot placement is partly whats holding me back.  Distance running needs a mid-foot landing, roll, push off using ball and toe/calf muscle. I didn't have time to put on shoes this am did df barefoot, and found if I nearly tapdance across the ground on the balls of my feet, I can move surprisingly fast, change direction at will, and still remain steady, topside.  It looks goofy as heck but who cares if it works.  Will continue to experiment with this.

[JeremiahD]

8/20 Miamisburg match- arrived later than I'd like, was a bit rushed. still walked the stages, brought stage plans, took notes, got on the squad I wanted and was able to learn from some very good shooters. Did less DF than I'd like going into this weekend, but did work on movement quite a bit. Speed is improving noticeably, accuracy isn't suffering correspondingly .

Felt like I shot well as it happened and everything came together.  Flubbed the classifier with a M/NS penalty and a poor time.  First stage had a minor mechanical issue where I couldn't get the slide out of slide lock w/o the release. Had thrown in a shock buff the previous night. My mistake for running with something untested before a match, I know better.

Other than that, I had 4 stages where I felt on top of everything, and scoring and times came out very solid. Scoring is still stronger than times for me, I think my biggest gains can still be made improving movement and efficiency. Stage planning is starting to be a factor.  

116A, 8B, 36C, 8D, 2M, 1NS

 

Other observations:

•   Hot somewhat humid day, wasn't anticipating that. Forecast was 82 high.  Hydrated well, ate, rested still came away with a mild case of heat exhaustion.  muscle cramps, headaches, heavy sweating etc. Will dress even lighter. 
•  Longer case length helped the FTF issues, still concerned with lack of case expansion, carbon buildup caused 1 FTF on a stage. May just load the next batch 0.1gr over max weight, suspect the Clays loading tables have not been adjusted. Considering simply going back to 230grn if nothing else.
•   Been considering getting someone to help give me some training direction, etc. getting a little burned out on DF not 'really' knowing if or how its helping, or if I'm drilling in something wrong etc. finally made a decision after the match and put out some feelers for training today.

 Overall, a good day. 

 

New match goals: Prepare and get there on time (early). Do your pre-match warmup before you go. Never do or use anything you have not thoroughly tested.

DF goals for this week: get at least 30 min of quality, %100 DF on the basics daily on my breaks in the evening

PT goals for this week: 1 hour lift in the AM.  Takes a concerted effort for me to get up for this, so I'll call it out specifically 

 

[JeremiahD]

September overall update:

Classes had been taking up significant chunks of time, and in order to balance out school, work, reloading, and occasional DF some things have had to be sacrificed.  One of those is time on the internet, so no range updates. Here's a synopsis:

 Oxford match, lack of DF showed, overall did acceptably well but had a hard time maintaining consistency.  You do in fact fall to your level of training.  Too many penalties and D's for my taste.

Monday night indoor practice matches started, so far so good.  did have a squib the first night and had to stop myself (no Stop from RO, must not have heard it). penalties hurt, but not as bad as a blown gun.  Latest Monday match had an interesting layout that gave speed options on the first string, then became exponentially harder as you moved back.  Maintained a reasonable sight picture for the conditions of each string and came away with 7th overall, and was only topped by one production Master and some limited and open guys.  One mike, and it was darn close (on the perf). 

took two weeks off to travel with my wife for our anniversary.  no shooting/gun handling/df/etc.

Oxford monster match this month was great.  Mag changes like a madman, decent speed, reasonable accuracy.  I can do better in the accuracy department, need to make watching the sights lift and calling it second nature.  bobbled the handoff to offhand on the classifier and pulled a mike.  would have been great otherwise... Been practicing offhand and handoffs all week since.

 

I'm at a stage now where I feel I should actually focus on classifiers and related skills and will work those into my DF schedule, full time.

 

Signed up for a midweek all-classifier match on 10/18 in Indiana.  Indoor matches every Monday, Miamisburg monster match 10/22, still mulling signing up for the Indiana sectionals at the end of the month.  School resumes next week.

Onward

[JeremiahD]

oh and switched to 4.9 grn bullseye under a 200grn rn plated proj. meters far far better than clays and is much more consistent.  makes major easily, recoil is pronounced but manageable.  cases seal well, function is good. only downside is muzzle flash.  will break out the chrono and test a few lighter loads but I think I'm close to the sweet spot already.  may test 230's as a comparison

[JeremiahD]

 disappointing Miamisburg match, its very apparent I'm not getting my DF or PT in. 

 

Did get some good range time Thursday, mostly bill drills. learned a much better draw (Thx Eric) and in just 3 attempts I was down to a 1.14 draw. will need to burn it in and practice to get sub 1-sec, but that may take some time since...

I managed to wreck my right elbow somehow during the match, been sore since the Sunday match.  I'm guessing overuse injury, although I've never had this issue before, do my wrist curls, etc. Cant bend w/o pain, Cant grip well, cant draw straight, cant bring the gun to eye level steady. Skipped the Monday practice night, withdrew from Wednesdays match (probably a good idea anyway given the lack of productive practice). 

Until this heals up, I'm going to have to baby it so no DF, etc. May be done for the year with competition

 

Time management note- School started this week.  After getting the lowdown on how this class will go, weekday evenings from 6-1030pm are completely shot, lunch hours will be taken by labs, weekends will probably be catch-up time with family.  May be best to concentrate on one thing at a time so I can give %100. Trying to work out how I can keep a toe in the pool so to speak so I don't completely detrain

[gransport]

Maybe you've already seen this? If not, check it out. It's helped a lot of shooters.

 

https://www.absolutept.com/shooters-elbow/

 

 

[JeremiahD]

18 minutes ago, gransport said:

Maybe you've already seen this? If not, check it out. It's helped a lot of shooters.

 

https://www.absolutept.com/shooters-elbow/

 

 

I have, he's the reason I started doing wrist curls at all.  I just revisited the article this afternoon. I'm going to start following his 3-set 20 rep 4 exercise recommendation he writes about and see if I can rehab this myself...

Thinking give it a few days and start edging back into DF. He seems to have good results from having folks stay active rather than rest.

Thanks, advice from you experienced folks is welcome..

[JeremiahD]

Mass update for october-november:

 

Still focusing on school.  Have tried to make time to get DF in on breaks and be up early for PT, but had decided to put the effort into passing my certs so every available moment besides work and class (of which are few) go towards study.  The current classes that are sucking up all my time end 1/4.  Windows server classes start January and should allow an hour or so a day for working DF skills and starting to get my cardio back.

 

Have managed a few Monday practice sessions, but none for the last 4-5 weeks.  Have been out for a few range sessions to work basics, but thats just reinforced the fact I need to DF.  Will return to DF/PT during week, 1-2 range trips to drill in for live fire, rinse and repeat in mid January after I pass my tests.

 

PT has been restricted to working my arms, specifically my right elbow thats been giving me trouble.  I am seeing very little improvement, and am now seeing signifigantly reduced grip strength in that hand.  Next step is a dr visit and referal to an orthapedist and or therapist.  Hoping to find one that understands shooting sports.

 

For now, goals are continue to work that elbow, focus each range session on fundamentals (grip, trigger, sights, two/one/off handed).  Will get back into movement later.  

[JeremiahD]

Monthly rollup update:

 

Done with my more challenging classes in school, which frees up time. Classes complete in April.

 

only managed 2 indoor sessions, but I have been plesently suprised at my accuracy.  Have been meeting a training partner once a week, weather permitting.  Continuing to focus on fundamentals in January.   Arm is improving, compression seems to help. have been taping the elbow.  Added a 15# dumbell to the office and work it every hour.

Oddly, I have found since I cant grip as much as I would like, I am "overcompensating" with the off-hand and have accidentially stumbled upon the key "feel" of properly gripping with the off hand.

 

Goals for the next 2 weeks: begin light cardio. work DF fundamentals hard for 1H daily. Continue to work right elbow. prep all joints for movement (major goal this year).

 

Signed up for Buckeye in May, planning on doing Battle in the Bluegrass in April. Will take a look at the remaining schedule of L2's for the year.  Longer term goals forthcoming

[JeremiahD]

 I had chosen to focus exclusively on school last August. School continues until late April; however, with the easier workload I can begin training again.  It may be a little late, but I thought it would be helpful to me to record at the beginning of the year where I want to go and how I expect to get there. 

 

Main Shooting Goals for 2018:
B class by 7/1
B field skills 
Shoot at least 3 major matches and at least 14 local matches. 
Shoot 10,000 PRODUCTIVE rounds in practice.

Have a good time.

 

To that end, I will be working off the following concepts and schedule (until reassessment)..

1- Improve Overall fitness-

• -No distance running races. In order to focus more time on shooting, and to maintain upper body weight, I am eliminating long run training. Time saved will be invested in dryfire and weight training.  Agility drills can double as higher intensity run workouts on interval days. Run goals: Improve fast footwork, maintain good form, Consistent sub-50min 10K's by May 1, Consistent sub-25min 5k's by April 1.
• Follow the program as written for the next 12 weeks, then reassess.
• -Continue joint building and technique first 2 weeks of Feb, then begin a standard schedule of lifting and weight progression through next 8 weeks.  Reassess progress April 1.
• -Continue light cycling in the AM. I'm not a morning person, this helps.  Add long rides as cross days 2x/week starting in March.

 

2- Improve "Shooting" skill

• -Take a quality 1-on-1 class before the season starts (scheduled for April)
• -Dryfire at a bare minimum :15 minutes/day every day covering one of the 'elements' in Stoegers book for 5 min each in the morning, after cycling.  
• -Dryfire 5x/week for :30 min covering standards (x2), scenarios (x1), Elements (x1) and practice stages (x1) prior to any daily workout.  Reassess April 1 for progress and schedule at the start of the season.
• -Between now and April 1, live fire 2x/week: 1 monday practice league, 2 train with partner Thursdays to reinforce DF.

3- Improve "moving" skill

• -Focus hard on agility drills, fast runs, explosive movement, and healthy knees.
• -Take the occasional mountain bike ride to change things up. 
• -Maintain solid 10k form (as above)

4- Improve "mental" skill

• -Focus on matches (including Mondays) strictly in match mode.
• -always use a written stage plan, in season. 
• -study national and world ranked shooters.
• -work on memory improvement using study material for exams.
• -Keep perspective, a positive outlook, and a professional attitude at all times.

 

Edited January 29, 2018 by JeremiahD

[JeremiahD]

joints improving, time to start progressing weights. 

elbow still problematic, but improving.  Out of everything, reverse wrist curls seem to give the best improvement. Compression helps.

cardio is progressing.

Still ironing out eye/sight issues with the optomitrist. Have problems with sight/target focus, they are on dramatically different focal planes currently. This wasnt an issue 6 months ago.

From what I gather from the last few weeks live fire and practice matches, basic shooting skills have degraded badly.  I will be focusing on slowfire basics, sight alignment and its relation to trigger press,  and mag changes (many many many mag changes...) for the next 2 weeks.