Right pistol and training for new guy questions.

[twodownzero]

1 hour ago, ima45dv8 said:

Take it easy, cowboy.

You know how to disagree better than that.

He joined my ignore list a long time ago.  The website is SO much better that way.

 

26 minutes ago, chrisrdba said:

I appreciate everyones input so far.
 

FWIW Id rather finish knowing I screwed up than knowing I gave up, so I don’t see myself quitting a stage because I had to reload more than expected.

 

Never give up!  But don't plan to run your gun dry--try to avoid it!

[chrisrdba]

47 minutes ago, twodownzero said:

Never give up!  But don't plan to run your gun dry--try to avoid it!

Makes sense, thanks!

[Kletus]

I'll give you a different standpoint... the standpoint of someone with 6 or 7 USPSA matches, some steel challenge, some steel matches and 3 or 4 IDPA matches.  Take it for what it's worth.

 

1.  You are doing it right.  Pick a gun you have and shoot well.  Movement and fundamentals are going to do you much better than a new gun, and ammo for practice is more important.  Once you get some matches under your belt you will see some other shooters and the gear they shoot and you might want something completely different anyway.

 

2.  If you really want to shoot production, go for it, but I don't think it's the best place for someone new to competition.  You have so much else going on when getting into action pistol sports that the focus spent on planning reloads will be much better spent planning movement and figuring out your stage plan.  Even if you are stuck shooting minor, I'd recommend loading up the big mags and shooting limited.  It's much easier to find one spot in the middle of the stage where you can make a mag change on the move and not worry about running out of bullets.

 

3.  Unless you are a prodigy, you aren't going to be competing in the top half when you start.  Fun and fundamentals are way more important than finishing place.  I was used to shooting in the top 5 or 10 at our clubs various mini-matches that could really be anything.  First real USPSA match I went to I shot production and was 99/100 overall.  Once I switched to limited and put in some work I was more relaxed and I worked my way up into the top 60 range when not taking any of the classes/divisions into account.  The reason I say that is that yes, it is very important to focus on fundamentals such as fast reloads, no standing reloads, and no slide-lock reloads.  That said... If you aren't competing at top levels then the occasional goof-up just simply won't matter.  It's definitely not something to worry about or give up on a stage over.  Odds are you will be losing MUCH more time on movement and target transitions.  You are initially competing against yourself and your only focus should be on doing YOU the best you can.  I might also mention that all the other people of your skill level (who are the only people you are competing with for score) will be making the exact same mistakes.  You don't have to be perfect.  You just have to be more perfect than them if score and placing is what drives you.

 

4.  Listen to everything Sgt. Shultz said about dryfire.  I can't remember if anyone else said it, but a shot timer is an absolute must.   If you have a good space, don't rule out airsoft.  It was easy to set up some steel challenge stages in my garage.  Not only did it help my steel challenge results, but my draw to first shot and my target transitions got much better.  Only caveat is that airsoft doesn't challenge your grip, so you have to be careful to not let your grip get weak.

 

5.  Don't limit yourself to USPSA.  I found Steel Challenge and falling steel matches to be a ton of fun without all the planning pressure and movement of USPSA.  Steel challenge will definitely hone your draw technique and improve your target transitions.  Falling steel such as pro-am has movement, but lots of target transitions as well.

[scroadkill]

yep.. production is such a dumb way to start. load them up and just shoot limited.

[jhowert33]

On 11/17/2021 at 5:20 PM, SGT_Schultz said:

Thanks for all this:

OK, first off most of the advice you've been give is very good with one notable exception that I already pointed out for you.  So some of what I'm going to say might be repetitive but you might find some of it useful.

 

Let's start with dry fire.  The point of dry fire isn't to play clickity click with the trigger.  Resetting the trigger after every pull in every dry fire drill is a complete waste of time.  Save that for trigger manipulation drills.  For everything else you do in dry fire: draws, reloads, transitions, movement with the gun, unloaded starts (from the holster and from a table), etc you don't even need to touch the trigger at all.  And let me assure you that it's all those non-trigger pressing drills the ones that will provide you with the most benefit.  That's not to say that you shouldn't work on a clean trigger press without jerking it.  But a strong, correct grip will fix most of your trigger press problems.

 

At the stage where you are the first live fire priority is basic marksmanship and developing a grip that will make the pistol recoil predictably and brings the sights back on target in alignment without having to fix it afterwards.  As soon as you have basic marksmanship down relatively well (to me that means you can land 10/10 shots in the A zone at 25 yards at a slow pace) then you need to start amping up the speed of your shooting in parallel to developing your grip.  A grip is useless if it can hold together when shooting one round per second but falls apart when trying to shoot two or three rounds per second.  I can't stress this enough, shooting speed will not happen on its own after you get "more accurate".  You have to force the issue and fail.

 

As to the gun, it depends.  If the Glock 19 is your carry gun, start with the G22.  But even if you start with Glock, put some time with the CZ.  As you develop you might find that the CZ might make shooting fast and accurately easier.  Whatever you do make sure the pistol you choose has an extremely rough grip.  You can get with in many ways.  With the Glocks you can add skateboard tape, you can stipple them, or you can glue on silicon carbide.  With the CZ, LOK Bogie grip panels are the ticket, as well as skateboard tape on the front and back straps.  Also get some liquid chalk grip lotion from Amazon and put it on your hands every time you dry or live fire.

 

[SteelCityShooter]

Back to the dry fire practice discussion.    You don't want to use a laser that you have to watch for the light strike, you want a laser that scores the target for you. You concentrate on your sights and trigger pull and  evaluate the hits after you fire. 

A company named EMLS (there are others) makes battery powered laser "cartridges" that you load into the gun like a regular round.  The firing pin strikes a pad where the primer would be and makes a quick flash.  You shoot at a paper target and the "hit" is recorded using a free app on your smart phone.  These cartridges are available in a variety of chambering and the price is modest.   They work well and provide good practice.  However, as you note you have to recock the gun after each "shot" unless it is a DA/SA.  

Edited June 3, 2023 by SteelCityShooter