My foray into USPSA/Training diary

[nick779]

This will serve as my ongoing journey into shooting sports and progression in USPSA. Ive always been into firearms since I was young, but never had a way of facilitating owning or shooting one with my previous living situation. Ive since gotten a little older, married and moved out. Wife is good with me shooting more often and going to matches, so I figured I would dig deeper into the sport. 

 

Never handled/fired a gun in my life until October of 2017 at a basic pistol course

December 2017 - Bought my first pistol (Springfield XD Mod 2 4" 9MM)

Winter 2017 - Shot twice a month through winter at the indoor range until Spring (~1200 rds)

Summer 2017 - Explored other hobbies/life events and didnt shoot until Winter

Fall 2018 - Took defensive pistol class

Fall 2018 - Bought Springfield XDs Mod 2 9MM to carry

Winter 2018 - Primarily shot CCW - (~1200rds)

January 2018 - Sold XD Mod 2 and bought CZ P10C

January 2019 - Shot Indoor "Action Pistol" match - First taste of "Action Shooting"

February 2019 - Dove headfirst into USPSA rules/match etiquette

March 2019 -Took Intro to USPSA class

March 2019 - First USPSA Level 1 match - Production 41% 102/152

March 2019 - Started Dryfire practice (BS Dryfire Reloaded)

 

2019 Ongoing Season Goals:

 

1-2 matches a month; at least 1 match every 3 weeks or run 1 double session a month.

Dryfire 3-4 times a week

Dont DQ

 

2019 End of Year Goals:

No DQs

High C/low B classification.

Join 1-2 local, more private ranges with pistol bays.

Edited April 2, 2019 by nick779

[nick779]

First Match on March 24th overall went well, shot with a great group of guys and had some good observations.

 

I tried to plan the stages beforehand on paper, it was useless and getting to the match a tad early was definitely the way to go.

Ive always had issues getting my sight acquisition speed going for my first box at the range, and it definitely showed as I bombed the first stage which happened to be the classifier. I practically point shot the entire stage. 

On the last long stage, I thought I had a better idea than everyone else and did my own thing (and got video of it) and I dont know why I thought it was a good idea as it was slower than just taking an extra reload down the course. I also realized how slow I was going compared to how it "felt"

 

Oh, and the swingers were "interesting" as ive never fired at a moving target.

 

Still a good experience, im hoping that the weather holds out for this upcoming weekend and we have another good match.  

Edited April 2, 2019 by nick779

[nick779]

Shot a morning and afternoon match yesterday.

91 of 129 45.62% - Morning - Slow, deliberate, accurate

68 of 129 54.90% - Afternoon - Just tried to go a little faster

8 and 12th of 22 in Production.

 

Everything for the most part went fine, No equipment issues, gun/ammo ran fine.

 

In the morning session I had an issue with a long stage plan, but it was just a memory thing.

 

Observations -

Still having trouble acquiring the sight quickly, especially after a target transition. Im nearly positive I did a significant bit of close range point shooting. Dryfire helps, but Ill acquire a target with target focus, shift to sight focus, break shot, move eyes to next target (target focus), transition gun, acquire iron sights and break shot. Im wondering if I should fight through this or look more into Carry Optics.

 

My footwork and stance is atrocious, I shoot from weird angles that force me to bend my left arm as I shoot through an array. Im contorting my entire upper body instead of moving my feet and maintaining arm lock. I tend to take a wider stance and fall back into a weaver stance (which im trying to break) and move on the balls of my feet instead of taking steps.

 

Still had fun, and also got my sponsor to join that club.

 

[nick779]

In the process of acquiring to a CO setup. Production is fun, but im not sure if its for me just yet. I want to test hi-cap + an optic since I am mostly target focused and sometimes have trouble with my vision focusing where I want it to.

 

Limited Major / Open look fun, although expensive to dip into and seem a bit hosey since A/C are so close in points. 

[nick779]

CO setup acquired, will be testing and transitioning to in May. On a short vacation this week, going to probably shoot prod at my 1st Sunday home club match this month with the P10C and work on transitioning to a dot as the month goes on.

 

Gen 5 Glock 34 MOS (Production is my backup division)

Double Diamond Tungsten Guide Rod with 13 & 15lb springs to test

TTI GM Spring & Connector kit

3x TTI +5/6 basepads

Leupold DeltaPointPro

 

Also bought a test batch of Fenix 124gr and 147gr "training" ammo. Going to see if I can feel a big enough difference between that and the Lawman 124 I usually run.

[nick779]

Finally got to test the new setup. Shoots great on 124gr, doesnt cycle with 147 gamer loads. Probably need a slightly lighter recoil spring. 

 

Mainly been working on grip strength since my last update, started dryfiting with the 34 this week in prep for a club match on Sat. Im itching to shoot a match something fierce.

[nick779]

Shot a morning and afternoon match on Saturday

53 of 101 62.90% - 1 no shoot

81 of 101 52.60%  - 3 no shoots

5 and 13th of 15 in CO

I was roughly 20-25 seconds slower over 6 stages than everyone above me. Stages heavily favored PCC. 16 of the top 30 contenders were PCC.

 

Everything for the most part went fine, No equipment issues, gun/ammo ran fine. This was my first match with the G34, first match with a dot. First encounter with a Texas star. Ive been itching to get out and shoot and it was an awesome match.

 

Observations -

Aiming with a dot is significantly faster and better for my focus style. I dont see myself going back to irons anytime soon. I also like being able to focus on shooting and less on reloads with the 23 round mags. I did notice that I slowed down to let the dot settle, especially on double taps and long shots. I just need more time on the dot and the glock platform. My stance, footwork, and movement speed were significantly better this match. Despite working on grip strength and grip technique overall, It was not a conscious thought during the course of fire.

 

Still shooting 124s, gonna try to make it to the range this week to test the 147s and a lighter recoil spring. 

Edited May 14, 2019 by nick779

[nick779]

Shot a morning match yesterday

I felt pretty good about it, totally missed a target on one stage. (shot at the wrong target through the port) Footwork was better, shooting on the move was good. Still placed 3rd in CO and did a 63% on the classifier (it was an easy one though) 

 

Im having an extremely hard time loosening my accuracy standards to go faster, not that im super slow, but I need to go faster.

I also feel like my subconscious fundamentals need work, muscle memory of how hard to grip is just too weak. Trigger control seems to slip up occasionally too.

[nick779]

Well, after 3 weeks of not sending a round downrange I shot a club match on Saturday, 5 stages + classy. 3rd match in CO, 6th match this year/ever.

My allergies were freaking out and were super distracting, but it ended up being one of the best matches ive shot to date. I was listening to Steve Anderson on my way there and I unintentionally embraced the "think about nothing during your run" technique.

Everything felt good, runs were smooth, stage plans worked, gun ran great.

Came in 24th out of 87, 3 positions behind my class leader. (Paper A)

2nd in Carry Optics with a few division stage wins.

 

I feel like my movement is so sluggish, but its definitely improving.