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Chewy's training diary


TheChewycookie

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Damn man. Look at the growth you have had in just the last 6 months. You are already splitting and transitioning faster than me. Your movement looks soo good too. There are some wobbly spots for sure and I know you are working on it but damn. You are killing it. Keep up the good work and I'll enjoy chasing you and Tyler at Dragon's Cup.

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XMG USPSA 3/20/2021: https://practiscore.com/results/new/f99f0c12-eafa-4230-8fcc-d23a18734e3b?q_individual=mmShooter_3403877

 

89A 29C 5D 3M 2NS

2rd Carry Optics (98.50%) 3rd overall (87.53%)

Fastest CO time and 2nd fastest overall, so that's cool I guess.

 

Goals: Just work for my own points. Try pushing harder, but observe what happened after the stage is done if issues arise.

Good: Went for accuracy - got mostly there. Movement speed was mostly on point.

Okay: Vision - had instances of wandering off the center of target when pushing hard.

Were goals achieved?: Sort of, but I really know that if I push too hard I look off target early. Just maintain self-pace through the entire match.

 

Goals moving forward for Dragon's Cup and Double Tap Championship: Just focus on execution of the stages 1 by 1. Don't ever think about the match as a whole until I've completed the match.

 

Gear change: I angled out my first mag pouch to try to get it similar to the new JR Holster 45 degree pouches. From bullets forward I can only get a toe angle of maybe 30 degrees outward on a Guga Ribas mag pouch, but I am having a more consistent and confident grab of the first mag. I haven't felt the need for other pouches moving towards my back to also be angled, but I'll experiment with that after Double Tap Championship.

 

Next match: 4 classifiers and 2 field courses at M160 - Collin County USPSA. I'll push to make GM scores but probably won't be close until summer. Not in a rush, just want to justify skills and capability to myself.

 

Match Video: 

 

 

Edited by TheChewycookie
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  • 2 weeks later...

CC USPSA 3/28/2021

 

Starting to do some things right with classifiers. Messed up on 2 classifiers by thinking they were classifiers, and went immediately afterwards into silent mind mode. Anything that just wasn't shooting or an A zone was treated as extra noise and ignored.

At least I walked off with 2 GM classifiers, so I'm starting to "think" and visualize more correctly.

 

20-02 Deja Vu
5.42 seconds
10A 2C
10.5461 HF (99.4324% CO)

 

 

 

09-10 Life's Little Problems
5.42 seconds
9A 3C
9.9631 HF (96.1290% CO)

 

 

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  • 4 weeks later...

Big lesson learned of don't become too emotionally invested in the game especially if I'm close to GM, and I need to stop standing up tall. As proven by an okay-ish performance at Dragon's Cup. Did well at a steel match, then screwed up a USPSA match the day after. The local match for me had gotten to the point of "let's just mess around and have some fun"

 

 

 

 

 

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  • 3 weeks later...

Very simple post-Double Tap Championship self-review: Need to focus on visualization more and stay lower. It only started coming together at the end. Accuracy and speed are getting there, execution and choreography of movement will be the main focus of off-season 2. Have a long summer to work with other divisions before jumping back in for Area 4, NTXO, and CO Nat's if I can bounce it.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Observations of recent local matches I've been shooting

  1. I've hit a speed node of sorts with target transitions
    • There's moments of good vision and others where it wanders into a bare C or D zone hit. Need to focus again on A zones which can be worked on in dryfire.
  2. Grip - 2 shot groups have been okay but I start relaxing weak hand grip around shot 3-4 if more rounds are required.
  3. If I want explosive acceleration I have to STOMP the ground to have max acceleration. Lower my center of gravity will help as well; I tend to find myself standing up at times.
  4. Mud is super slippery; falling and eating mud is not healthy living. Use smaller steps as necessary for proper balance
  5. Should not shoot a match after completing a stressful week of assisting submissions of State and Federal grants, and assembling financials. Can however use that weekend as experimentation in practice.

I'm also starting to experience burnout again. So if I want to perform well at Area 4, North Texas Open and CO Nat's, I'm gonna need to hang up the guns for a bit during the summer to re-stabilize myself. Healthier eating, exercise, fishing, and helping watch over my niece will help as well.

 

Goal for Area 4 and Nat's: Just do what I'm capable of as these are my first Area and Nat's matches.

New things I'm trying this year: Designing stages, and shooting PCC for experimental purposes.

Edited by TheChewycookie
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Don't burn out homie. Dial back and have some fun. Take care of your health (physical and mental) and work on that stress at work. 

 

I have taken a bit of a forced break with a personal injury and the rediculous rain so I'm only working easy stuff for the time being. It's helped me refocus. 

 

You and I are doing the same crazy push for A4, NTXO, and CO Nats. It's gonna be nuts and fun as long as you aren't burnt out. 

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28 minutes ago, Reds_Dot said:

Don't burn out homie. Dial back and have some fun. Take care of your health (physical and mental) and work on that stress at work.

Maybe it was incorrect to call it burnout, but rather I am feeling a larger than norm  size of mental stress that requires me to take a break. The rain has been beating down up here as well.

 

But come major season 2 for this year and I'll be ready again.

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Made a video for unscientific overview of adding weight to a pistol.

Ammo: S&B .40 S&W 180 gr

Pistol: G35 + Dawson ICE magwell, Dawson mag extensions

Available mods: Glock Store Pure Tungsten guide rod and 17# recoil spring, LOK Grips brass WML

 

Drills performed: Practical Accuracy @ 18 yards

Bill Drill @ 7 yards

 

I didn't have an interest in doing any transition drills. That can be worked in dryfire, and understanding that something with more mass has more momentum. I am more focused on muzzle flip/dip and return to original POA. Accuracy and splits across the board is pretty equal for Practical Accuracy, the changes start happening at max trigger speed. For the money, I am seeing acceptable accuracy and muzzle flip/return with just a PTGR or heavy frame weight. However, there is a considerable amount of muzzle flip decreased with both a tungsten guide rod and frame weight at the cost of money. Skill and form is very much a deciding factor in recoil control

 

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Double header weekend for multi-day match simulation. Overall I did alright. I have good pace, mostly decent stage plans, split times, and mostly good hits. But I can afford to focus a bit more on the center. I do need to focus on not trying to leave too early, shooting on a footstep, and stabilizing hand tension.

 

 

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Had fun shooting production this past weekend. Suddenly shooting something significantly different makes you appreciate what division you were previously shooting.

 

Good - stayed to stage plans and made up shots if needed for the most part. Kept confidence through the entire day.

Needs work - confirmation of sights for the difficulty of target and moving before exit shots break.

2nd prod but low-cap raw time champ by ~6 seconds.

Stage order starts from stage 6 

https://practiscore.com/results/new/3ae42ba2-a704-4b4b-8d7f-85a133e88094?q_division=6&q_individual=mmShooter_3635368

 

 

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

XMG 7/10/2021

4th CO, 5th Overall

Video starts on the classifier Can You Count, Stage 6 in order of start, ending on 5.

https://practiscore.com/results/new/ce150a17-d52c-4312-8089-0082897fa34f?q_result=0&q_individual=mmShooter_3672517&q_division=0

Overall I'm making good on speed considering I made raw time champ. I have some cleaning up to do on vision and I need to be more aware of the "layers of difficulty" that I put into my stage plan as well as current skillset + things I have been working in dryfire and live practice. 

 

 

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XMG 7/17/2021

HOA and Raw Time Champ

Video starts on Stage 5 ending on 4.

https://practiscore.com/results/new/a52580b7-1724-4a52-90ce-86615b780146?q_individual=mmShooter_3706067&q_result=0

Ignored thinking about speed and just decided to track the A zone. Ended up making 80% As for a 146 round match (117A, 36C, 3D).

Overall really good mentality going in just thinking about how each stage will effect the overall percentages (I also ate breakfast, and it was also my grandmother's 91st birthday so I had to bring the bacon home to her). Classifier ended up being an 85%. Because of this and last weekend's 86% classifier, destroying my chance of GM for a while, my only goal now for the remainder of the year will be major match performance at A4, NTXO, and Carry Optics Nationals.

*I need to watch the boundaries of my feet, there was a "balance beam" of sorts on my first stage of the day and I broke some shots off with my feet just barely hanging above the ground

I am shooting a double header this weekend as part of a multi-day match simulation. So expect another video soon for CTASA.

 

Enjoy the tasteful video intro... and maybe the rest of the match.

 

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XMG 7/17/2021

3rd CO, 5th Overall and Raw Time Champ by 8.5 seconds

Video starts on Stage 4 ending on 3.

https://practiscore.com/results/new/3d1abe08-c9b8-4d19-b7e2-7488d4f0c8ce?q_individual=mmShooter_3689317

 

Had to rethink of how to attach the rest of the match. First stage had 2 NS (Less that 3-5 yards, so I need to be more aware of grip) and so I needed to drop thoughts about speed again and how to attack for points. Also changed thinking after realizing I hit a hard cover at the end of a stage WHILE STATIONARY. Need to stop thinking that it's the end of the stage. Overall the remaining points and stage executions were pretty good. Stages I didn't have a penalty were 97%-98% of stage winner, or won with sheer speed. Best thing about the entire match was that I stayed aggressive throughout the entire day.

Didn't care about the classifier because it's the most inconsistently setup and worst diagram of any classifier: 13-02 Down the Middle. It even needed to be changed after hammer down, but before the first shots were fired on it after other shooters realized it was setup "wrong".

 

Personal notes: need to work on cardio if I want to survive shooting 3 days at nationals. I learned things again today.

 

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Updates: didn't shoot CCUSPSA 7/25/2021 to an appreciable level due to dehydration. Helping setup a stage didn't help out so either. Need to chug some electrolytes day before, during, and after to make sure I don't crash due to 100+ heat and heavy humidity. Grip started to breakdown early so I decided to shoot an indoor GSSF match to knock some of that down. 

 

GSSF match Friday 7/30/21: won stock division by 2 points. Hits outside of x-ring were either due to pre-ignition flinch or not looking in the very center of the target. Shots out to 25 was 10 rounds in 30 seconds; had 2 8-ring hits that were caused by not returning the gun to center of target. I also had a very long time frame that I could have used for each shot, but decided to complete the string in less than 14 seconds. Grip however was solid throughout the entire match since that was my focus, so goal of that day was accomplished. 

IMG_20210731_004928_893.jpg

IMG_20210731_004929_158.jpg

IMG_20210731_004929_207.jpg

IMG_20210731_004928_617.jpg

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  • 1 month later...

August 2021 updates: started to really process down what fundamental issues I have been having got to self prove this at a GSSF match by shooting a little more cleanly with inly 2 points down. I could accept less X-ring hits as long as I got my points. Video below of the indoor COF so you can see how boring it is. "Simple. Not easy"

 

Sepetember 2021: again hammering down on fundamentals and making sure those become and stay solid. I want to focus on stage execution. I have been noticing that as long as I nail the positions I want and how to place myself in those areas I am capable of freely shooting all targets in the array how I want to without as much of the stress of time. I'll post my sepetember matches here sometime, just need to clip the vids together.

 

A concept I am keeping in mind and working on is "Calmed Urgency"

 

 

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CTASA 9/19

 

Giant moments of failure. Was ready to go for the March and somehow that energy just died right when I got there. Couldn't focus, couldn't get good hits, didn't hydrate adequately the day before and during. I also woke up multiple times early morning creating a lack of good sleep. I don’t remember the last time I had REM sleep. I've been having a poor sleeping schedule due to a lack of good exercise and worse sleep due to diet. This is something I intend to improve through CO nationals and beyond as I have continously gained weight through pandemic and I need to get out of these bad habits. 

 

The cool thing was that I did make raw time champ. Need to dial things back in and sleep better before A4 this weekend and NTXO next weekend.

 

 

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  • 3 weeks later...

Area 4 2021: Didn't mentally collapse during stage runs. Didn't have the best stage plans but I execute to what I had in mind. Early on had recoil anticipation errors that would force my 2nd shots on target low. Fixed that by the 3rd stage in. Shot calling also needs improvement as evidenced by 35 yard open and no-shoot partials. Started to see what I was missing by using my lunch and also time after the match to watch the super squad. Also learned how painful it can be to not be in the right mindset and shoot an Area match in one full day.

 

 

NTXO 2021: Didn't realize until midway that I was fluctuating between slow and getting hits, and hosing everything as fast as I can. Cleaning things up this weekend to find a better middle point and improve target sequencing.

 

 

I have one more local match before my first (of any) Carry Optics Nationals to use to focus on that balance and stage execution. I'm gonna use it to just be in the silence.

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  • 2 weeks later...

2021 Carry Optics Nationals

70.68% of JJ

127th place

 

General run down of each day

Day 1: Super nervous and probably sleep deprived as this was my first ever multi-day major match. Shot scared and much slower that I usually do. Figured I just get my hits but after a few stages of "just getting hits" I got a little over confident on a low port and had a M on a open paper through a low port that cost me a decent amount of points. Regrouped and just finished the day like I started, nervous and scared.

 

Day 2: Went to warm-up bay (more on this after day 3 as I have strong opinions now about this). Fixed 2 handed grip as I realized I had more muzzle flip than normal. Also worked on SHO and WHO+reload. Got the grip confidence I wanted, but I knew my main weakness for the day would be pre-ignition push. After a few stages of getting warm, I got a bit over confident and got knocked into place by Shannon's 1/2 IPSC swingers on stage 17. Dropping the 20# ammo can on stage 18 also got into my head a bit after burning a large amount of time on it. Benefit to day 2 was getting pre-stage coaching from JJ as some of his alumni (who are also local friends) were in my squad and section C was the stages he would finish on. It also served as his prototype plans for the final day, but I took away what I could currently get away with, and what will sting me on day 3. 

 

Day 3: I previously compared scores between a M-class friend/rival and I on the squad and realized it was mathematically improbable that I would overtake him in the standings. So I just decided to shoot the stages for fun after I heavily screwed up the first stage of the day. Second stage of the day even though it was a high value stage was decided to be an experiment stage to figure out what was wrong, I couldn't think of it in the 30 minutes between the last shot on the previous stage, and my turn to shoot. Ended up finding out that my shoulders were overtensed which I was able to figure out. Problems got ironed out by my last stage of the match and executed everything I wanted leading into a contingency that involved extra needed shots on a swinger. 

 

Moral of my story is to go into every match relaxed and just have fun with it. 

 

Training prior to Nationals: I don't have a set schedule or necessarily a focus on what should happen. I did have things I wanted to work on, but they were things that I would repeatedly work on in the past. I plan on randomizing my training in the future and increasing live fire practices by decreasing the local matches I go to. I'll probably be using Casey Reed's TrueCoach system throughout the 2022 early and active seasons (I plan on shooting production in the spring and CO in the summer and fall)

 

Nutrition: I ate like garbage prior to nationals, resulting in passing bad stools in Talladega. Need way more focus on veggies and meats. I did have nuts and beef jerky as snacks on the range, will supplement with fruits such as bananas and grapes going forward to have that small boost of sugar energy prior to each stage run. Previous experience made me realize that caffeine, especially those in energy gels, will not work with me and give practically Parkinson's shakes.

 

Mental state each day: Could feel a gradual degradation each day that was strong. Any negative thoughts would weigh me down and positive ones didn't lift me up unless it was the only thing I thought of after each stage. I also had somewhat of a bad attitude days 1, 3, and the night before driving back from Talladega to Dallas as I found out my roommate snores and needs "relaxing" noises at full blast. I couldn't sleep and going forward will be significantly more discerning of friends I room with for major matches. 

 

Logistical things/issues I noticed: Issues with doubled up stages - people always got held up at those bays. Issues with stages: if ROs say that they need help preventing a stage from being tossed, call the RM to address the issue because it's unfair to shooters who get inconsistent presentations (stage 15 had 2 double disappearing drop turners that wouldn't always present at exactly the same times which is unfair to all competitors for competitor EQUALITY, I'm willing to bet that the section RM will try to keep the stage, but in reality a lot of competitors day 1 had unfair results with the stage). That stage also resulted in one of my squad mates getting 4M on 2 disappearing targets because he activated them last, this I believe is something that needs to be addressed in the WSB to reduce the amount of penalties instead of telling the competitor that they're dumb for not remembering/reading all the rules associated with disappearing targets. Stage props that are carried: this may be controversial, but a typical man carrying a 20# ammo can is significantly different than a typical woman, forget trying to win categories but women also count as part of the overall scoring. Warm-up/demo bay: The warm up bay could not be used until 9AM, first shots fired are immediately at 9AM, which makes it unfair to the morning squads. CMP range doesn't allow shots fired until 9AM so either push back the AM start time by at least 30 minutes, or don't allow a warm-up/sight-in bay at all, demo bay be damned for shooters to try "demoing" guns. Shooting in the PM: If you're reading this you're probably aware that some competitors were shooting after dark; I'm willing to bet that those shots were fired outside of the range's times of allowed active shooting times and being forced to shoot when it's dark out is unfair and should've been granted a reshoot in a daylight condition that isn't close to dusk.

 

 

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CTASA GFDS Postal Match 10/24/21

Production: Locally 1st, currently 1st postal at time of log

 

I had a lot of fun just simply switching out division for this match. I also wanted to see if there was any major limitation in a match using the OFM sights on my 34.5 (I will switch these out for some Dawson fibers soon)

Good: Made sure to get hits on everything, moved almost if not as athletically as I could. Just simply had a good time and stayed really relaxed.

Things to work on: A few gun manipulations could've been better by programming body position so that I don't fumble the reload, understanding close distance risk shots (no shoot headshots lined up with the bottom of the credit card A box and on 2 separate stage that are high value I cut A/NS)

 

Thoughts on OFM Glock sights: Still very usable and I don't think the fat front blade is the limiting factor but instead the gigantic white dot. If they reduced the size to be more like a typical fiber optic 1mm size I think it could optimize it, reducing the amount of distraction to the front sight.

 

I will be shooting this match again at the same club this Saturday 10/30, but with a G35 for limited major for fun and to see if I can claim that (I already know Tyler Meisenheimer is gonna hurt me in prod), then back to production before Oklahoma Sectional Championship on Oct 14.

 

Local Results: https://practiscore.com/results/new/bbbeef3e-b3ff-493e-bd38-bbe95d2035fb?q_individual=mmShooter_3919951

 

Postal Results combined production: https://practiscore.com/results/new/147251?q_division=6

 

 

 

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  • 4 weeks later...

Oklahoma Section Championship 2021

Had a lot of fun in my first major match shooting production. Most of my misses were created due to shifting the gun off target before breaking and confirming the shot, or improper sight alignment (stand and shoot misses were above targets). Making locap raw time champ tells me I am moving at a competitive pace. I do want to work on smoothing out movements - a lot of my entrances to shooting positions were more jarring than I currently want.

 

 

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