First match

[hijinx]

Had my first match this past weekend. Followed a lot of the advice given to first timers on the board here and didn't worry about time. Focused on safety and learning the rules. Had a great time and have been bitten by the bug.

[CSEMARTIN]

Welcome to the forum hijinx!

[CTJer]

Harvard?

 

How far is Bradford from you?

[hijinx]

Was at Harvard. Bradford is a 2 hour drive for me.

[Lastcat]

4 hours ago, hijinx said:

Had my first match this past weekend. Followed a lot of the advice given to first timers on the board here and didn't worry about time. Focused on safety and learning the rules. Had a great time and have been bitten by the bug.

 

Good for you, enjoy. Like minded people are in this Sport, easy to make friends. Get signed up for USPSA (if that applies) and Practiscore, if you have not done so already. Have fun and be safe. 

[MattBaker5745]

Congrats man! Only up from here.

[93notch]

hell ya man, congrats getting the feet wet. Its just a downhill spiral from here..... 

 

 

Fast is smooth and smooth is fast

[nikdanja]

Ah..if i could go back in time to tell my past self some things I would be SO better off. 

 

1. The guy who told me to “go fast on classifiers” I would punch him square in the dick. 

 

2. Dude, just see your sights and let that determine how fast you can go! 

 

3. Go as fast as you can when not shooting. 

 

4. Don’t be such a cheap ass and get training and books from guys who are nationally known.  No, not everyone can “teach you” USPSA. “Bill Belichick couldn’t play football, but he’s a hell of a coach!”  That’s a load of BS and run when someone tells you that. People have a pedigree and just don’t wake up one day and think they can teach USPSA. Get training from champions. Stoeger, Racaza, Anderson. 

 

5. Get quality gear! 

 

Top 5 things I would tell my past self!  Made limited GM about a year ago!  

 

Be be safe and have fun man!

Edited May 25, 2019 by nikdanja

[Smithcity]

1 hour ago, nikdanja said:

Ah..if i could go back in time to tell my past self some things I would be SO better off. 

 

1. The guy who told me to “go fast on classifiers” I would punch him square in the dick. 

 

2. Dude, just see your sights and let that determine how fast you can go! 

 

3. Go as fast as you can when not shooting. 

 

4. Don’t be such a cheap ass and get training and books from guys who are nationally known.  No, not everyone can “teach you” USPSA. “Bill Belichick couldn’t play football, but he’s a hell of a coach!”  That’s a load of BS and run when someone tells you that. People have a pedigree and just don’t wake up one day and think they can teach USPSA. Get training from champions. Stoeger, Racaza, Anderson. 

 

5. Get quality gear! 

 

Top 5 things I would tell my past self!  Made limited GM about a year ago!  

 

Be be safe and have fun man!

May as well add the rest:

"slow is smooth smooth is fast"

 

When missing steel: "just slow down and see your sights" or "front sight front sight!" Or "call your shot!"

 

"Just practice until you have muscle memory"

 

 Lots of great people in the sport that want to help but may not have the best answers. Be selective on who you choose to take advice from. Most common mistakes are shooters who think they know the rules but dont.

[nikdanja]

1 hour ago, nikdanja said:

Ah..if i could go back in time to tell my past self some things I would be SO better off. 

 

1. The guy who told me to “go fast on classifiers” I would punch him square in the dick. 

 

2. Dude, just see your sights and let that determine how fast you can go! 

 

3. Go as fast as you can when not shooting. 

 

4. Don’t be such a cheap ass and get training and books from guys who are nationally known.  No, not everyone can “teach you” USPSA. “Bill Belichick couldn’t play football, but he’s a hell of a coach!”  That’s a load of BS and run when someone tells you that. People have a pedigree and just don’t wake up one day and think they can teach USPSA. Get training from champions. Stoeger, Racaza, Anderson. 

 

5. Get quality gear! 

 

Top 5 things I would tell my past self!  Made limited GM about a year ago!  

 

Be be safe and have fun man!

 

[nikdanja]

I would highly suggest to get Steve Anderson’s books and listen to his podcasts 

[hijinx]

Been listening to a lot of podcasts and watching a lot of vids on Youtube. Second match is tomorrow. I did switch to single stack just because i like shooting 1911s more than the 320 X5 that I had.

[MJinPA]

May as well add the rest:
"slow is smooth smooth is fast"
 
When missing steel: "just slow down and see your sights" or "front sight front sight!" Or "call your shot!"
 
"Just practice until you have muscle memory"
 
 Lots of great people in the sport that want to help but may not have the best answers. Be selective on who you choose to take advice from. Most common mistakes are shooters who think they know the rules but dont.

I can’t tell if you’re busting chops or serious with the slow is smooth/fast comment. Slow is always slow. You should shoot as fast as you can see and move at the limit of human function when doing everything that is not shooting so you can get back to shooting as fast as you can see.


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[David.Hylton]

"slow is smooth smooth is fast" is an old saying.  It goes back to a slow hit is faster than a quick miss. Sometimes slowing down a little will help your scores.

[Smithcity]

10 hours ago, MJinPA said:

I can’t tell if you’re busting chops or serious with the slow is smooth/fast comment. Slow is always slow. You should shoot as fast as you can see and move at the limit of human function when doing everything that is not shooting so you can get back to shooting as fast as you can see.


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I hear folks deliver that saying to new shooters all the time and i think it is utterly unhelpful. It doesnt explain anything to help someone improve. If im missing, and the suggestion is to simply slow down and see my sights and shoot smoothly, depending on the technical problem im having, i will likly just miss but miss slower. Maybe im seeing my sights and aligning them perfectly but im jerking the gun early to anticipate recoil. Slowing down doesnt fix that problem, it only helps miss more slowly. Thats just one of an infinite scenarios. Aggravates me to see new shooters given advice of the sort when it doesnt actually help them with anything.

 

To a semi experienced shooter that starts missing when they increase speed by 10%, my advice isnt to slow down so they can be smooth and get their hits. It is to address whatever is causing them to miss the target so they can shoot at that increased speed accurately.

 

This is where a good eye comes in. Rather than listen to the pablum that is typacally barked at a match for new shooters or people struggling in general, i would suggest seeking out or listening to shooters that can specifically identify the problem you are having and address it in a coherent correctable manner. All the time shooters listen to the normal unhelpful improvement verbiage that may not mean anything,  then the shooter doesnt know why they arent getting better, and stay B rated for life. 

 

"Slow is smooth smooth is fast" none of the top competitors look to me like they do anything slowly. A slow hit may be better than a miss, slow hits also dont help you win at this game.

Edited May 26, 2019 by Smithcity

[MJinPA]

I hear folks deliver that saying to new shooters all the time and i think it is utterly unhelpful. It doesnt explain anything to help someone improve. If im missing, and the suggestion is to simply slow down and see my sights and shoot smoothly, depending on the technical problem im having, i will likly just miss but miss slower. Maybe im seeing my sights and aligning them perfectly but im jerking the gun early to anticipate recoil. Slowing down doesnt fix that problem, it only helps miss more slowly. Thats just one of an infinite scenarios. Aggravates me to see new shooters given advice of the sort when it doesnt actually help them with anything.
 
To a semi experienced shooter that starts missing when they increase speed by 10%, my advice isnt to slow down so they can be smooth and get their hits. It is to address whatever is causing them to miss the target so they can shoot at that increased speed accurately.
 
This is where a good eye comes in. Rather than listen to the pablum that is typacally barked at a match for new shooters or people struggling in general, i would suggest seeking out or listening to shooters that can specifically identify the problem you are having and address it in a coherent correctable manner. All the time shooters listen to the normal unhelpful improvement verbiage that may not mean anything,  then the shooter doesnt know why they arent getting better, and stay B rated for life. 
 
"Slow is smooth smooth is fast" none of the top competitors look to me like they do anything slowly. A slow hit may be better than a miss, slow hits also dont help you win at this game.

Well said


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[hijinx]

This went off the rails rather quickly....

[hijinx]

Second match went well. Need to make some gear adjustments but the 1911 performed well. Need to get some base pads as the magwell made it difficult to fully seat the magazine  a few times while trying to quickly reload. Also will be adding an ambi safety as well.

[Smithcity]

3 minutes ago, hijinx said:

Second match went well. Need to make some gear adjustments but the 1911 performed well. Need to get some base pads as the magwell made it difficult to fully seat the magazine  a few times while trying to quickly reload. Also will be adding an ambi safety as well.

Have you played with other people's gear to see what you like? Might not ve a bad idea to shoot for a couple months before investing in much gear.  Gives you time to learn yourself and your gun better,  hopefully get hands on other people's gear to figure out what you like.  It sucks to spend $$ only to dislike what you bought and repurchase another time or two. 

 

Be careful with the ambi safety, for some folks it makes it easier to accidently engage the safety while they are shootig, especially if they fumble their grip. 

[Helimech]

15 hours ago, hijinx said:

Second match went well. Need to make some gear adjustments but the 1911 performed well. Need to get some base pads as the magwell made it difficult to fully seat the magazine  a few times while trying to quickly reload. Also will be adding an ambi safety as well.

And so it begins. Shoot a little and make adjustments - shoot some more and adjust more. With more practice you will start to figure out what you need to make your gun run the way you need it to. Shoot safe and have fun.

[hijinx]

Fourth match was a complete disaster. My shooting was off and I couldn't get back into it all day. Looking back I think I was trying to go too fast too soon. Have another match this coming up weekend where I will slow back down and focus on target placement.

[gdboytyler]

1 hour ago, hijinx said:

Fourth match was a complete disaster. My shooting was off and I couldn't get back into it all day. Looking back I think I was trying to go too fast too soon. Have another match this coming up weekend where I will slow back down and focus on target placement.

 

You said you were listening to a lot of podcasts.  If you have listened to the Steve Anderson's "That Shooting Show Podcast" or  Ben Stoeger's podcast "Practical Shooting After Dark", both guys specifically say, DO NOT SLOW DOWN; YOU WILL JUST MISS SLOWLY.  My take away from that advice is move as quickly as possible between shots; but be more careful on your trigger press on difficult targets.

[OnceACowboy]

Keep shooting, keep practicing but have you learned to call your shots yet?  If not, then start there. 

[CTJer]

What’s your lowest hanging fruit right now?

 

seems like most new shooters don’t fully appreciate the walk through and stage plan. 

[hijinx]

On 6/4/2019 at 7:56 AM, CTJer said:

What’s your lowest hanging fruit right now?

 

seems like most new shooters don’t fully appreciate the walk through and stage plan. 

 

I believe I was trying to go too fast too soon. For stage planning, I generally will follow a seasoned competitor and watch what they are doing while keeping a shot count to reload in my head.