ColoradoNick Posted May 25, 2023 Author Share Posted May 25, 2023 13 minutes ago, TheChewycookie said: I think this is how most people initially see themselves when they progressively get better. Improved results create more questions that have double the unknown answers. I believe if you switch your mind to see 3 good things in your stage performance and have 2 things you'd like to improve, then you'll have a more positive self-image and faster progression to M/GM. You're already analytical with what you do, it's just a matter of building upon it. If you can add video then that can only help you more. I think we can look forward to how you progress Definitely and lately I’ve felt afraid of halting progress by falling into bad habits. I’ve corrected my draw back to where it should be (eliminating unnecessary movement), as well as seen real progress in my reloads. I hit a few 1.2’s on a 10 yard target on my reload and am consistently hitting 1.5. Keeping the gun high allowed me to break into the 1.2’s now it’s just muscle memory. I was getting nervous my accuracy was turning to s#!t but I recently got my shadow 2 orange back from slide milling and in practice it’s a lot more accurate. I also changed my reload recipe up a little so I don’t think it’s just the gun but it had to help. I also feel like the lower optic mount allows me to index faster but that might be in my head as well. My next match is 6/4 and I’ll hopefully be able to make some comparisons. I need to be better about getting video. Both for myself and to make this post more entertaining! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ColoradoNick Posted June 2, 2023 Author Share Posted June 2, 2023 (edited) As promised here's a couple videos. Felt generally sloppy this whole match. My movement was pretty sluggish and out of the norm for me. I had drive more than 15 hours out of the previous 36 hours which I think was to blame. My stage programming was good and I shot the classifier well. I was able to shoot a 77.9% on 22-04 with all Alphas and two Charlies in 9.07. My average is now 73.7% This is the second time I've shot 22-04 so it did not bump me to A but my last 5 classifiers have all been "A" times. I've still been having issues lately with accuracy which I now believe has to do with my grip. I don't believe grip strength is the problem as I've ridden dirt bikes/downhill Moto for the last 10 years and generally have above average fitness but I'm going to test my grip strength just to have an idea where I stand. I'm going to take a set of worn out G10 Lok grips and silicone carbide them in the mean time. I'm going to test them out tomorrow at the indoor range before shooting a match sunday. I also recently got my hands on 8lb of Sport Pistol and have switched to jacketed 124gr bullets after getting frustrated with lead build up in my barrel. A lot of changes but so far not really setting me back and I think they will work out for the better in the long run. Hopefully I'll have some more video to post after Sundays match that's more representative of a normal match for me. Here's a slow-mo video of the gun moving a bit in my hand. Some of these splits were .14's which is pretty fast for me! This was taken testing the 124 jacketed bullets with a power factor right around 130 and using a 10lb recoil spring. I also got the SBGW occlusion trainer as you can see in the above video. I plan on using it in dry fire and live fire practice. I think it will help to remain target focused. Edited June 3, 2023 by ColoradoNick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ColoradoNick Posted June 4, 2023 Author Share Posted June 4, 2023 (edited) Everything outdoors here is getting rained out so I ended up going down a bit of a rabbit hole. I grabbed a hand dyno to test grip strength. Checking my grip strength with both hands in the shooting position with both palm swells and "thin" flat grips. The extra width of the palm swells doesn't allow me to grip as strong with my support hand as the flats even though I have relatively large hands. My glove size is an 11 or XL. For reference- Regular grip strength - support hand 170lb - strong hand 150lb -without trigger finger 130lb "palm swell" thickness - support hand 115lb "flat" thickness - support hand 130lb The goal is to reproduce about 100 pounds of grip force onto the gun with my support hand and a little less with my strong hand. I'll test this out tomorrow at an indoor match that hopefully won't be rained out. Edited June 4, 2023 by ColoradoNick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ColoradoNick Posted June 12, 2023 Author Share Posted June 12, 2023 Shot a match yesterday and felt a lot better. This was a sectional qualifier and I ended up 6th in CO after botching the classifier. Movement was much better this go around and my stage programming was really good. Still struggled a bit with accuracy and I think I'm just moving too fast. I need to work on some doubles at 12-15 yards. The difference in these two videos was 14A/15C/3D (14:34) below and 25A's/3C's (16:53) in the second clip The first clip I had the second fastest time in carry optics but wasn't visually patient enough. The second clip I slowed down just a hair and got the points. Slowing down just that little bit helped me call a shot on the last target that needed a makeup as well. I shot my stage program in both stages and ended up in 7th and 4th respectively in these two stages. My next match is indoors on thursday where I'm going to focus on the classifier. This classifier will be one of my two lowest after my next match so I still need a 73.9 or better to bump to A. I've been shooting a good amount of 75% or better classifiers lately and have been finishing at the top of B or lower half of A in matches overall. I would have had a much better finish in this match without missing the reload in the classifier. I was focused too much on speed, and failed to seat the mag aggressively enough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ColoradoNick Posted June 16, 2023 Author Share Posted June 16, 2023 (edited) Shot the indoor match tonight and was able to shoot the classifier twice due to a no show. First attempt I shot a 75% on 22-05 “win some lose some” in Carry Optics. Second attempt i shot my Shadow 2 in limited optics for fun and shot an 82%. Next match is saturday. I need to put in some serious training time before considering the push to M. I’m going to work on overall match performance and getting better hits while trying to keep speed. Mainly grip, and vision. Edited June 16, 2023 by ColoradoNick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ColoradoNick Posted August 14, 2023 Author Share Posted August 14, 2023 (edited) Haven’t posted in a bit, we had a family vacation for a few weeks that kept me away from gun games. Shot a match yesterday and kinda felt like I was starting over. My plan has been to switch to LO come 1/1, and with a 77% average in CO it seems like making M by then might be a little bit of a challenge. I’m considering shooting my DWX at the match next weekend and making the switch now… Edited August 14, 2023 by ColoradoNick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ColoradoNick Posted September 10, 2023 Author Share Posted September 10, 2023 (edited) So I ended up going back to my shadow 2. I wasn’t getting along with the DWX after a handful of mediocre performances. First match back (small indoor match) with my S2 in CO and I took the overall shooting no deltas or mikes and no make ups. Lately I’ve really struggled with accuracy. This match I felt like I took a split second to focus and it paid off a lot and only cost me minimal time. By the end of the match I was feeling pretty confident in my shots. i havent shot “controlled” doubles in awhile and took an opportunity tonight to confirm my recoil spring choice. The last time before this last match that I was shooting accurately I was using an 11lb spring. A few months ago after watching slow mo the 9lb looked flatter so I switched to it. Attached are some photos from tonight. Other than needing to shoot doubles more,I learned the 10/11lb springs were a much tighter group at 7 yards, but the 8lb spring was a much better group at 12/15 yards. Thoughts? These were fired as doubles with the second shot breaking as quickly as the dot streaked the target. 7 yards roughly .18 splits and 12/15 more like .23-.25 Edited September 10, 2023 by ColoradoNick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ColoradoNick Posted October 6, 2023 Author Share Posted October 6, 2023 I feel like I hit a turning point recently in my shooting. I was able to shoot top Carry Optics A class in a sectional qualifier and two other local matches. I shot my first level 2 match and got 13th in Carry Optics with 4 very stupid Mikes. My aggressiveness in movement has improved significantly though while being able to simulatenously be patient with shooting. Accuracy has improved significantly while not really losing any speed. That was something I read recently from Tim Herron and didn't really believe would happen. Shooting an all classifier match this weekend and I'm hoping they aren't all the super old speed shoots... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ColoradoNick Posted October 10, 2023 Author Share Posted October 10, 2023 Little update, I was 1/4" away (No Shoot) from making M this weekend. I added a couple more M times shooting 09-13 and 13-05 as well as 19-02. I should be just a hair under 83% right now. Shooting another match Sunday and then two more the following weekend and hopefully I'll get there. Two steps forward one step back.... While I've been focusing on efficient aggressive movement most recently I noticed my draw speed has suffered pretty significantly. Before this match I spent a lot of time in dry fire on draw and dot presentation and getting my support hand to my gun early. Most of my first shots were right around the 1 second mark this weekend which is a big improvement to where it had been. I also fumbled a couple reloads in the match trying to go too fast. Last night in dry fire I was consistently able to hit a .8 draw on a par time #1 followed by a 1.2 second reload back to dot presentation for par time #2. This felt pretty smooth and probably fast enough. Live fire practice on this friday before the match Sunday to work on more transitions and some weak handed shooting which I realized I haven't done in a long time (after shooting 22-02 Lefty Loosey). After shooting our state match and then an all classifier I'm excited to get back to the local level 1 match. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boomstick303 Posted October 11, 2023 Share Posted October 11, 2023 Nice work!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ColoradoNick Posted October 14, 2023 Author Share Posted October 14, 2023 On 10/10/2023 at 6:11 PM, Boomstick303 said: Nice work!! Thanks, feeling really good lately! Shooting Weld tomorrow we’ll see how it goes, unfortunately there’s no classifier. Did some flat range work yesterday and started to push speed on 25 yard open targets. If I want consistent alphas a 1.3 draw and .3-.4 splits is about as fast as I can go before I get too sloppy. Continued to work on draw speed also, this time on an open 7 yard target. Consistently under .9 now as well although I’m not there “cold” mostly because of site index’ing. I’m giving myself a little slack though as Last week I switched from an SRO to a 507 Comp. Bill drills consistently under 1.8 and feeling good. I need to stay on the gas and get it done! It sounds like a couple matches next weekend got cancelled so now I’m only shooting a local level 1 tomorrow and another classifier match next friday. Planning on a good training session before hand. Weather is getting cold and outdoor matches are going to start fading out. Need to stay on the gas though Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ColoradoNick Posted October 21, 2023 Author Share Posted October 21, 2023 (edited) I don’t want to jinx myself but if my math is correct I think I made master tonight with an 86.4% updated average. Recording it here to time stamp it. Hopefully it goes through Tuesday night My initial goal was to make Master in CO in less than 12 months and if I’m right I did it in a week less than 8. Time to make some new goals! Edited October 21, 2023 by ColoradoNick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ColoradoNick Posted October 21, 2023 Author Share Posted October 21, 2023 New goals: Short term: -Develop a dry fire schedule 5-6 days a week addressing specific skills -x1 day a week outdoor live fire practice -Develop better "cold" match performance (performing at or near max on first stage) -Small group two day class spring '24 -Further develop stage programming specifically difficult stages -Carry Optics Nationals '24 Long term: -Get 10% better on classifiers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ColoradoNick Posted December 4, 2023 Author Share Posted December 4, 2023 Haven't posted here in a while so I'll give a little update to keep myself accountable. I've been more organized in dry fire for the last month or so. Outdoor matches have slowed down so instead of my normal 5-6 matches a month I've only been shooting a few indoors. Match performance has been steadily improving. My latest struggles have been with fighting with the perception of what's "good". Resisting the urge to "go fast" or match someone else's performance and learning that "the time it takes is the time it takes" results in a good personal performance. More notably I've started doing some "light" 1 on 1 coaching- So far match video review with critiques. My plan is to do one every month or two. So far I've only done one but it has helped identify a few things that weren't on my radar. The current low hanging fruit is vision and transitions which for me isn't very low hanging at all. My transition entry is slow and dry fire training this feels very uncomfortable. This is going to be my focus for the next few months. I have a baby due next month so my focus is going to shift heavily towards dry fire training until at least the end of April. I've never shot an IPSC match but I'm signed up for Nationals in April in Arizona. From what I can tell IPSC favors short course stand and shoots quite a bit more than the local hoser rage blasting stages we see around here. This should be a good test of the vision work between now and then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boomstick303 Posted December 4, 2023 Share Posted December 4, 2023 50 minutes ago, ColoradoNick said: From what I can tell IPSC favors short course stand and shoots quite a bit more than the local hoser rage blasting stages we see around here. I you have not already invest in some ISPC targets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ColoradoNick Posted December 4, 2023 Author Share Posted December 4, 2023 1 minute ago, Boomstick303 said: I you have not already invest in some ISPC targets. I ordered a 100 pack like 37 seconds ago Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boomstick303 Posted December 4, 2023 Share Posted December 4, 2023 I need to shoot ISPC targets more in that we almost never do in our section. I find I aim too high on the targets collecting unwanted Charlies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ColoradoNick Posted December 4, 2023 Author Share Posted December 4, 2023 6 minutes ago, Boomstick303 said: I need to shoot ISPC targets more in that we almost never do in our section. I find I aim too high on the targets collecting unwanted Charlies. Yea IPSC partials are foreign to me for sure! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shred Posted December 5, 2023 Share Posted December 5, 2023 Most people aim too low on IPSC targets by default. That A-zone goes to an inch or so from the top, although it's narrow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crsuribe Posted December 5, 2023 Share Posted December 5, 2023 Great thread and holy crap you are putting a lot of work into this and the results show! Congrats and it’s motivating and inspiring to crappier shooters like me so I hope you keep going with this thread! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ColoradoNick Posted December 6, 2023 Author Share Posted December 6, 2023 (edited) On 12/4/2023 at 10:05 PM, crsuribe said: Great thread and holy crap you are putting a lot of work into this and the results show! Congrats and it’s motivating and inspiring to crappier shooters like me so I hope you keep going with this thread! Hey thanks for the kind words! I’ll keep at it here, it’s been kinda boring lately so not a whole lot to talk about. I had some errands to run yesterday so while driving around I was using my eyes to “transition” license plate stickers. It sounds funny and slightly embarrassing to type but I feel like my eye speed is improving, or maybe it just doesn’t feel as uncomfortable to do. Hopefully this translates well to being behind the gun. I’m going to the indoor range in a little bit here to put some work in as well as shooting an indoor match tomorrow night. If anything interesting comes of it I’ll be sure to post. I’m hoping to get an outdoor practice session in next Wednesday where the plan is to work on the Blake drill and some designated target setups. Specifically transition entry. Edited December 6, 2023 by ColoradoNick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChuckS Posted December 6, 2023 Share Posted December 6, 2023 17 minutes ago, ColoradoNick said: Hey thanks for the kind words! I’ll keep at it here, it’s been kinda boring lately so not a whole lot to talk about. I had some errands to run yesterday so while driving around I was using my eyes to “transition” license plate stickers. It sounds funny and slightly embarrassing to type but I feel like my eye speed is improving, or maybe it just doesn’t feel as uncomfortable to do. Hopefully this translates well to being behind the gun. I’m going to the indoor range in a little bit here to put some work in as well as shooting an indoor match tomorrow night. If anything interesting comes of it I’ll be sure to post. I’m hoping to get an outdoor practice session in next Wednesday where the plan is to work on the Blake drill and some designated target setups. Specifically transition entry. I used to have some ~1" tall IPSC and USPSA paper targets taped to the wall behind my computer monitors at work. It was handy to train eye transitions while appearing to be working. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ColoradoNick Posted December 8, 2023 Author Share Posted December 8, 2023 (edited) Couple classifiers from last night. Both low M’s. My transition entry is still delayed in live fire (as evidenced in El Prez). I need to get some live fire practice to break the bad habits of over confirming. I had a realization about a week ago- as you get better you just notice more mistakes regardless of how minor. Forever chasing the “perfect” stage. These two stages are probably the closest I’ve ever gotten to “perfect” although there is still some lost transition speed and footwork issues. Edited December 8, 2023 by ColoradoNick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ColoradoNick Posted December 13, 2023 Author Share Posted December 13, 2023 (edited) I was trying to get outside today to work transition exits but weather has really not been cooperating lately... I ended up going to the indoor range and trying to replicate it. Luckily I had empty lanes on both sides of me. They don't allow shooting at the target next to you so I could only work on exits or entries. I spent about 250 rounds doing exits in both directions between 7 and 15 yards. I'm having a hard time training my brain to snap my eyes to the next target when the trigger breaks. About 50% of the time I'm lingering and seeing the dot jump and return. When I do it correctly it feels REALLY good. I'm guessing this is going to take at least 1000 rounds in practice until it feels natural and happens unconsciously. Back to the range tomorrow for more of the same for an hour. Then an outdoor match sunday (60F!), indoor match Monday, and hopefully a practice session OUTSIDE on Wednesday. Edited December 13, 2023 by ColoradoNick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ColoradoNick Posted April 20 Author Share Posted April 20 New goal- GM by July. We'll see how it goes. I haven't focused on classifiers in a good bit. Going back to basics in dry fire and trying to do "good" again. My current average is 89%. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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