Closing the gap on A class

[scroadkill]

weekend is almost here.. I'm finishing in the middle of the pack of the B class shooters. two matches lined up this weekend.. gun and gear all running silky smooth.

I want to close the gap some on 5 A/M/GM limited shooters I chase.
 

I'm thinking :

Don't think/worry about classifiers/classification - focus on the process.
I'm probably gonna have to start practicing again.
I'm staying with 9mm limited minor for now.
Video stages POV & 3rd person.
Don't get married to my stage plans - watch others and tweek mine.
Push harder on entry/exits/transitions
Squad with the As and Ms and study their plans and movements. look at the details and whys.


Tips? suggestions?

[Hi-Power Jack]

Instead of (or rather, along with) daily dry firing.    

 

9mm Minor ?    Try  .40 Major  -  bet that will bump you up a bit - low hanging fruit 

 

[Beef15]

Classifiers can be a mental obstacle, the just another stage advice doesn't work for me, confidence has helped.

 

Practice gives that confidence, and is pretty much the only way to progress.

 

Minor in limited makes very little sense to me if competition is the goal.

 

POV video is of limited utility IMO. 2 minutes of match shooting turned into 6 by blending views is a quick way to lose my interest, betting I'm not alone, something to consider if.you want video review. Ask an M or GM if they'll watch your runs and critique live. I have a GM buddy I met through matches. Helps me analyze my stage plans and critiques runs if he's not busy.

 

Minor tweeks to plans are ok to a point. A not completely optimized plan excecuted well will usually give better results than a perfect plan fumbled through cause the programming is incomplete. Avoid late changes, talk plans over with squadmates during walk throughs.

 

Everyone could use more speed and starting sooner on movements, push in practice, not on gameday.

 

I like squadding with Ms and GMs in open, seeing them shred is inspiring. Their stage plans are usually logical and efficient. I don't shoot open. 

[Foxj66]

Get film so you can review what you are doing and where you can improve.

 

Pushing isn't a good term. You can only shoot as fast/good as your current skill level allows. Doing stuff sooner is where gains will be made. (shooting sooner entering, Leaving sooner)

 

Film the runs from 3rd person view and review it to find what you need to practice.

 

Switch to limited Major,  or shoot production (if gear allows)

[scroadkill]

Thanks for the tips yall - I'm not reloading yet, so 40 is out for the moment. I have all the gear for it,  just don't want to feed it factory ammo.
 

[MemphisMechanic]

Then shoot production.

 

Minor in a “Major division” (Ltd and Open) is not how you get into A class because all of the classifiers assume you get to shoot at a “don’t fear the charlies” level of agession..

 

To exit B class, dryfire until your gun handling is M class worthy; draws reloads and target transitions. If you want to move up into A class, dryfire like mad.

 

If you want to finish matches with the guys in the higher classes but not necessarily leave B class? If the match results are your lust instead?

 

Get video of yourself from behind. Get video of an M or two. Watch them shave three seconds off your runs with their efficient use of downtIme; shooting as they exit, running faster, and shooting into the next position’s entry.

 

Edited May 21, 2018 by MemphisMechanic

[IronicTwitch]

Sounds easy enough! 

[scroadkill]

On 5/21/2018 at 10:22 AM, MemphisMechanic said:

Get video of yourself from behind. Get video of an M or two. Watch them shave three seconds off your runs with their efficient use of downtIme; shooting as they exit, running faster, and shooting into the next position’s entry.

 

^ This is what I'm thinking.. squad with the As/Ms/GMs running limited. plan my stage. watch them run theirs. *learn why they did it that way. learn how to stage plan for more efficient movement and then work drills that focus on each.

*video all.  and study the details. ask the right questions.

[MemphisMechanic]

2 key tips you figure out around the time you start hunting to move out of B:

 

1) You actually grip the gun like a feeble little girl.

 

2) You think you obey the advice to “get the gun up early” but you do not. If you don’t have a sight picture prior to the target peeking out around the wall, you wasted 0.5-1.0 seconds right there. Early means two full strides away from the shooting box or port.

[B_RAD]

On 5/18/2018 at 6:41 AM, scroadkill said:

 

I'm probably gonna have to start practicing again.
I'm staying with 9mm limited minor for now.



Tips? suggestions?

Any tips or suggestions?  

 

Uh. Yeah.....

 

Start practicing.

 

....and......... switch to major!  

 

You're alwasy going to be at a disadvantage to equally skilled shooters who are not dumb and are shooting major!

 

 

Seriously though, I think you hit on some things in your OP.  Seems like you gotta a good idea of where to start. If you don't have a book from Stoeger or form one of the other writers, you should pick one up. Tons of good info!

 

You really should switch to major as soon as you can.  

[Flatland Shooter]

If shooting minor means more trigger time, stick with it for now.   Just know that to a some extent you are not competitive.  Make going major one of your goals.

 

Even shooting minor, with practice, you will get better.  At this point you are still "learning to improve"  and that should be your goal.  

 

When you get a chance, review your past match performance and compare it to those you are chasing.  Not looking at the points, compare your times and number of A's and C's.  

 

And if you want to expand your math gymnastics, take the Practiscore numbers and score yourself at major.  Where does that leave you in the pack?  If you do not see you would have moved up in the standings, then going major would not help much at this time.   It will also mean you are shooting mostly A's and not losing many points to C's and D's.  Mostly A's is good as long as its not at the expense of time.

 

On the other hand, if you see your position in the rankings move up due to major, it may give you the little extra incentive to start reloading in .40 major.

[Racinready300ex]

On 5/18/2018 at 7:41 AM, scroadkill said:

weekend is almost here.. I'm finishing in the middle of the pack of the B class shooters. two matches lined up this weekend.. gun and gear all running silky smooth.

I want to close the gap some on 5 A/M/GM limited shooters I chase.
 

I'm thinking :

Don't think/worry about classifiers/classification - focus on the process.
I'm probably gonna have to start practicing again.
I'm staying with 9mm limited minor for now.
Video stages POV & 3rd person.
Don't get married to my stage plans - watch others and tweek mine.
Push harder on entry/exits/transitions
Squad with the As and Ms and study their plans and movements. look at the details and whys.


Tips? suggestions?

 

I think this says it right here, you're going to have trouble beating guys that practice if you don't do the work yourself. Pushing harder probably isn't the answer, it'll lead to mistakes. Pushing harder and making mistakes in practice and learning from them will lead to real gains at matches and you'll see improvements in the standings.

 

I know everyone is saying "shoot major" assuming were talking about local matches and not sectionals or Area's I wouldn't worry about not having a Major gun yet. Most likely the M's and G's aren't beating you as a B class shooter because they have major. It's probably costing you about 4-5% So if you're shooting 95-96% then it may be time to get Major.

 

It will be a little harder to get your classification up, I'd try not to worry to much about that.

Edited May 23, 2018 by Racinready300ex

[Shadyscott999]

Find a legit M or GM shooter in your are that will train you for a couple sessions for a few hundo.  You will gain more from that generally than you will in practice for a year

[scroadkill]

4 hours ago, MemphisMechanic said:

2) You think you obey the advice to “get the gun up early” but you do not. If you don’t have a sight picture prior to the target peeking out around the wall, you wasted 0.5-1.0 seconds right there. Early means two full strides away from the shooting box or port.

yep.. for practice I'm thinking live fire, 4 boxes, 2 targets.
2 2 move 2 2 move 2 2 move 2 2  .. video it .. gun up on entry .. first shot as last foot is legal. exit as last shot breaks. repeat.

[CrashDodson]

Theres a lot you can do with just 4 boxes.  25 yard bill drills are a go to for me also when trying to shore up my shooting after a break. 

[Supermoto]

I did this video for a friend to show him where he was losing time on a quick stage. He is a faster shooter, but hard stops on easy targets are huge time killers.  You don't need to push harder on movement into positions, just shoot sooner, leave sooner

 

 

[CrashDodson]

is that with adobe premier?

[Supermoto]

Just now, CrashDodson said:

is that with adobe premier?

 

I think is was, it was a while back

[CrashDodson]

Just now, Supermoto said:

 

I think is was, it was a while back

I really want to learn how to make those videos.  Maybe I can find some tutorials somewhere. 

[Ozy]

I’m kinda in the same boat... B level shooting ltd minor..... don’t want to spray and prey yet... lol.... still learning to improve.....

dry fire 3-4 times a week , local indoor matches once a week.... still making stupid mental errors.... qou Vadis  from here?

[wtturn]

On 5/18/2018 at 10:14 AM, Beef15 said:

Classifiers can be a mental obstacle, the just another stage advice doesn't work for me, confidence has helped.

 

Practice gives that confidence, and is pretty much the only way to progress.

 

 

 

*nods emphatically

[Doublehelix]

I just started shooting Major this year as I was tired of leaving points on the board.

 

The problem is, the .40 load at over 165 PF is harder to shoot than my 9mm minor loads (duh).

 

This makes it difficult to take your Minor scores from Practiscore and convert them to Major scores and see "where you would have ended up" had you been shooting Major. There is a reason why Major PF gets higher points because it is harder to shoot with the additional recoil. I do agree this gives you a feel of where you will eventually end up after a few months of shooting Major.

 

After about 3-4 months with my gun, I am just starting to get back to where I was before switching to Major with the number of A's per match. Not quite there yet, but getting closer and feeling more comfortable with the load. It should become a non-issue within another month or two and I have no regrets with the switch. Just know that if you switch to Major, it will take several months with a lot of live fire to make the transition. I dry fire a lot, but that does not help with the Minor to Major transition.

 

At my first match after getting my new .40 , I scored 29 Mikes!!! Yes, 29!!! Part of the reason was that the front sight fell off and I had to guess where to put it back on, but still... 29 MIKES!!!

 

Next match: 12 Mikes with a good front sight!!! (Ugh!)

 

Next match: 8 Mikes (Still Ugh!)

 

Now, I am finally down to 1 or 2 Mikes per match, and I need to get those down to zero. I never shot Mikes with my 9mm Minor gun. It feels like I am learning to shoot all over again, not just because of the .40 loads, but also using a 2011 that has such a different grip and feel to it.

 

I guess my point to all of this is that if you are chasing A class, if you are anything like me, a move to Major will give you a temporary setback before you start moving back up the ladder again. Ultimately, you will benefit significantly from the move however. My overall scores are higher, even with the few Mikes here and there, which is really encouraging.

[B585]

Doublehelix has a very good point. I started in Production shooting a polymer gun w/o a manual safety.  I found that I liked the fast movement and not reloading all the time so I switched to Limited with the same gun (just added magwell).  In the beginning, I would shoot the morning match with one gun and the afternoon with the other.  I shot better with the 9.  Finally, I decided to commit to.40.  It still took a little while before I got back to the level I was at with the 9, but I have now passed that level and will not go back to a 9 for as long as I shoot Limited.

[CrashDodson]

51 minutes ago, Doublehelix said:

Now, I am finally down to 1 or 2 Mikes per match, and I need to get those down to zero. I never shot Mikes with my 9mm Minor gun. It feels like I am learning to shoot all over again, not just because of the .40 loads, but also using a 2011 that has such a different grip and feel to it.

 

 

Not trying to be critical here, just wanting to help a brother out.  My impression from your post is you really should take some time and focus on your shot calling.  I've been in your shoes with the unexplained mikes, and its just shot calling.  The increase in mikes over your 9 minor gun says that you are likely pointing at the target and pulling the trigger twice.  aka double tapping.  You need to see both shots.  Now your mikes are reducing because of your improved grip shooting major, your improved grip is making up for the lack of shot calling.   You will quickly reach another plateau if you dont focus your efforts on learning to call your shots now.  It should be your sole purpose in your shooting life until you get it figured out.  Its boring, it doesn't make sense at first, its frustrating as hell...it seems impossible.  But it is the most important thing.  I promise.  

[stick]

On 5/18/2018 at 9:02 AM, Hi-Power Jack said:

Instead of (or rather, along with) daily dry firing.    

 

9mm Minor ?    Try  .40 Major  -  bet that will bump you up a bit - low hanging fruit 

 

I agree with Jack.  You're giving away points shooting limited minor.  Also you should remember  Matches are the answers to the test.  The questions are your training.  If you're looking to close the gap on M/GM shooters you need to be training 5-6 days a week otherwise, you're loosing ground.