Ironequalizer

[IronEqualizer]

1-26-07

Dry fired 30mins.

Working on movement, barricade shooting, tac loading between positions. I set up my two cardboard bianchi barricades 8ft apart and practiced movement both ways and added a tac load between postitions. I noticed today that when I shoot from around a barricade my shots tend to be sloppy. Toward the end of the session I really started noticing this. I don't know if I am in too big a hurry to exit the position or what but I definitely need to focus on this some more in training. I had 3 targets at one position and the first one I would call the shots ok but the further I had to slice the pie the worse my shot placement became. These were not extreme slicing either.

I also have been noticing that the closer positions....5yds and less I have trouble with foot placement and smooth entering. The further stuff when I can really get moving I seem to enter a lot better. Maybe it's because I have more time to pick that spot I want to hit with my foot. I guess I just need to keep practicing 5yds and closer. (after some thought)Tac loading took some of my attention leaving me only a few steps to time it right. Hmmmm.....

Overall I seem to move better left to right. That will change. Soon it will be of no consequence which way the course flows.

(positive thought) I am a Master class shooter, I am smooth, I always see a perfect sight picture and shoot all targets zero down.

[IronEqualizer]

1-29-07

Dry fired 1hr. 2-30min sessions.

Worked on movement, barricade shooting, reloading between positions, tac loading between positions.

Great sessions today. Had a really good work out both technically and physically. Everything felt a lot smoother and quicker than my last dry fire session. I still need to focus on getting a better sight picture slicing around those barricades. Reloading between close positions definitely takes away from smooth entering a new position. I have the reload done in the first 4ft but only having another 4ft to the next position I tend to get my footwork off because I do not have time to pick the spot to land my entry foot. Now that I am typing this I think as soon as the reload is done I look at the targets then to try to find my entry spot. With a solid wall this would not be a problem. Since I already know where the targets are I think I should concentrate on getting set up properly to shoot them. (duh) I will continue to work on this and hopefully have a chance to do some live fire tomorrow.

(positive thought) I am a Master class shooter, I am smooth, I always see a perfect sight picture and shoot all targets zero down.

Edited January 29, 2007 by IronEqualizer

[IronEqualizer]

1-30-07

Dry fired 30mins.

Live fired.

Dry fire I continued to work on barricade shooting and movement from position to position with a tac load in between. Everything started to smooth out today and I made a conscious effort to pick my entry spot at each position then find the targets.

Live fire I worked on barricade shooting at 20yd targets. My visual patience is getting better as I realize how critical it is to get a more refined sight picture at that distance and really watch that trigger control.

(positive thought) I am a Master class shooter, I am smooth, I always see a perfect sight picture and shoot all targets zero down.

[IronEqualizer]

1-31-07

Dry fired 30mins.

Worked on head shot drills, strong/weak hand, and tac loads.

Strong hand drills I kept having trouble getting on the grip safety. I definitely need to work on this and figure out what I need to change.

Weak hand went better today as I picked up on a few subtle things that helped smooth things out. The correct angle coming up is getting better hence I am picking up a good sight picture quicker. I will keep practicing this.

Tac loads are really getting better. Sometimes I just have to say to myself "damn that was fast". I know I can still refine my technique some more but I have really improved at this.

(positive thought) I am a Master class shooter, I am smooth, I always see a perfect sight picture and shoot all targets zero down.

[IronEqualizer]

2-1-07

Dry fired 45mins.

Did 30mins of El Prez drills. My current par time is 4.10 and I bumped it down to 4.00 and was meeting or beating that pretty consistantly today. I am not to the point of moving my par time there officially but soon I will be. The new turn of stepping through with the left foot has helped my consistancy but I feel I am too slow getting the gun on the first target. My turn feels pretty quick but I feel as though I am looking at the target for a long time before the gun comes into view. I think next time I practice this I will just work on the turn this new way and the old way (military turn) and see what my par times are for each on just the turn.

Saturday I shoot the IDPA classifier for the first time. This month 1 year ago I shot my first match and have been hooked ever since.

(positive thought) I am a Master class shooter, I am smooth, I always see a perfect sight picture and shoot all targets zero down.

[boo radley]

2-1-07

Did 30mins of El Prez drills. My current par time is 4.10 and I bumped it down to 4.00 and was meeting or beating that pretty consistantly today.

That's amazingly fast!! Isn't around 5 seconds with hits, a 100% classifier? Good deal!

[IronEqualizer]

2-1-07

Did 30mins of El Prez drills. My current par time is 4.10 and I bumped it down to 4.00 and was meeting or beating that pretty consistantly today.

That's amazingly fast!! Isn't around 5 seconds with hits, a 100% classifier? Good deal!

I'm not sure about that but I am definitely not that fast in live fire. I think the last time I shot the El Prez in live fire my fastest times were around 6.5ish. It's been awhile so who knows I might just give it a try soon and see where I'm at now.

[IronEqualizer]

2-2-07

Live fired.

Ran through the IDPA classifier 2 times with a friend. We will both shoot it for our first official classifications tomorrow. My first run I had a couple of easy misses on the close head shot strings. Most everything else went well until the 20yd stuff where I am still dropping too many points. The one string that is similiar to the El Prez I did in 6.05 with 7pts down which kinda answers the questions to my last post. I could get sub 6 on a good run but definitely not on demand. My first run was high Sharpshooter around 113ish and the second run was 106ish (low Expert) where I have been hanging lately. My best run on this ever was a 103.XX. I am not upset about the 113 run because if I do not classify Sharpshooter my chances at state are slim. If I get Expert I believe I will be over classified right now. The problem is morally I will not tank the classifier purposefully. Tomorrow I will just shoot my best and see where I end up just as I will do at state.

(positive thought) I am a Master class shooter, I am smooth, I always see a perfect sight picture and shoot all targets zero down.

[IronEqualizer]

2-3-07

Live fired.

Practiced a few classifier drills today strong/weak hand stuff then shot the IDPA classifier for my first official classification. I scored 106.XX which puts in Expert class (CDP). That is right where I have been scoring the last few times I set it up. What this really means is if I plan on having a shot (pun intended) at state I had better really focus on practice sessions the next 8 weeks.

(positive thought) I am a Expert class shooter , I am smooth, I always see a perfect sight picture and shoot all targets zero down.

Edited February 4, 2007 by IronEqualizer

[IronEqualizer]

2-5-07

Dry fired 30mins.

Worked on some barricade/movement stuff. My session today really lacked structure and therefore I became bored with it quickly. I will think about tomorrows session tonight and get me a plan of what I want to practice or need to practice in the next few months preparing for state.

Everthing was smooth today though.

(positive thought) I am a Master class shooter, I am smooth, I always see a perfect sight picture and shoot all targets zero down.

[IronEqualizer]

2-6-07

Live fired.

Set up 6 boxes 5yds apart and 5yds in front of each other forming a large square. I placed 3 barricades at 3 of the positions and a 55gal drum at another. 2 plate racks set up in front of each set of 3 boxes. Racks were at 10 & 15yds & at 15 & 20 according to which boxes you were shooting from. (Adapted from Burkett's how to practice)

I am a firm believer that the plate racks is where I am going to learn to call my shots. I have done it more on the plates than on any other type of target. Today was no different as I was calling multiple shots at speed which I have never done before. This was not every time but it definitley was happening. Today I also had to consciously shift my focus from plate to front sight and really see what I needed to see. I don't know if that was caused from all the movement I was doing or it was just that the shots were more difficult. Either way my conscious effort of this really improved my hits. (duh) I left this set up and I will continue to practice on this later in the week.

(positive thought) I am a Master class shooter, I am smooth, I always see a perfect sight picture and shoot all targets zero down.

[IronEqualizer]

2-7-07

Dry fired 1hr. 2-30min sessions.

Worked on plate drills today and I absolutely had a blast. Dry fire was exceptionally fun. I noticed today that when I miss my grip it is usually with my support hand not being in the correct position. When I started focusing a little more on that part of the draw movement my index and first shot speed really got faster. Of course when you get to that first target fast and smooth everything else seems to follow suit. The last 15mins or so I was practicing the plate shoot off and I was imagining I was at state and shooting against the top shooters. My runs were faster and faster. I was waiting on my par time to beep a good .3secs. That was so much fun because I was smoking my par time, which was my competitors time, and I was almost late for work because I lost track of time. Maybe I will do some more constructive imagining in other dry fire sessions as it really seems to boost self confidence and self perception. Done enough it may really help.

(positive thought) I am a Master class shooter, I am smooth, I always see a perfect sight picture and shoot all targets zero down.

[IronEqualizer]

2-8-07

Live fired.

Worked same drills from 2-6-07. Today I concentrated on seeing the sight rise out of the notch. I still need to have more visual patience. I am breaking the shots before the sights settle on the target. I see the target, I see the sights, but before everything is lined up well enough to hit those damn little evil bastard, unforgiving plates, I break the shot. I think maybe next session I will practice transitioning from 1 plate rack to the other. 10-15yds between racks so I have to get a good swing going and settle on the next rack.

(positive thought) I am a Master class shooter, I am smooth, I always see a perfect sight picture and shoot all targets zero down.

[IronEqualizer]

Vacation in for:

USPSA GA State Match

IDPA TN State Match

Summer Sizzler

Southern Regional Championship

Vacation in for:

2-23-07 to attend SO class at South River Gun Club near Atlanta.

Edited February 9, 2007 by IronEqualizer

[IronEqualizer]

2-12-07

Dry fired 30mins.

Starting out working on the standard classifier drills but I was really having trouble with reloads. I had gotten a lot faster and smoother on my reloads over the past several months and since it had become noticeable that I had greatly improved on my reloads I had really been neglecting them over the past month or so. I was not really sloppy with the loads, let's just say I had become careless with them. I will work reload practice back into my dryfire routine as a stand alone drill and not just within other drills. I spent 20mins or so today just trying to smooth everything back out. I need to remind myself that a Master is well rounded not just good at one thing.

(positive thought) I am a Master class shooter, I am smooth, I always see a perfect sight picture and shoot all targets zero down.

[IronEqualizer]

2-13-07

Dry fired 1hr.

Worked on draws and reloads all from an IDPA concealment vest. Figured it was about time I actually practice with it on. It definitely changes everything. The way you go for the gun, the mags, tac loads everything is different with that damn thing on. Things did not go bad and I think it may have mainly been because I had to pay a lot more attention to what I was doing. I will definitely practice while wearing it some more. 2 months till state.

(positive thought) I am a Master class shooter, I am smooth, I always see a perfect sight picture and shoot all targets zero down.

[IronEqualizer]

2-14-07

Dry fired 30mins.

Worked on barricade shooting, moving from barricade to barricade, and tac loading between positions, all with IDPA concealment garment on. I will continue this and try and smooth things out a bit while wearing the vest. Smooth is fast.

(positive thought) I am a Master class shooter, I am smooth, I always see a perfect sight picture and shoot all targets zero down.

[IronEqualizer]

2-15-07

Dry fired 15mins.

I worked on draws today after switching to an IDPA approved holster. My holster I had been using was too borderline of the rules to take a chance at being screwed when I get to the state match. Damn it sux changing equipment and I don't know how this will affect my USPSA shooting. The gun rides a lot closer to my body and you really have to be sure of your grip before coming out with it. AHHH it never ends. Just a small hump in the road to Master. I have been pretty slack this week on training but I think I needed a slight break to get caught up on other things.

(positive thought) I am a Master class shooter, I am smooth, I always see a perfect sight picture and shoot all targets zero down.

[IronEqualizer]

2-16-07

Live fired.

Worked on plate draws, straight plates, and plate transitions. Everything went well today. My visual patience and visual awareness were both up today. Damn, the plates just kept falling. Misses were fewer than they have been in a while and when I did miss the make-up shots were quick. Shoot with awareness. I have to remember to tell myself that. Be aware. Things go so much better when you actually see what is going on.

I mailed out my application and fees to the Alabama and South Carolina IDPA state matches today.

(positive thought) I am a Master class shooter, I am smooth, I always see a perfect sight picture and shoot all targets zero down.

[IronEqualizer]

2-17-07

Live fired.

Worked on the plate rack again today. Plate draws, straight plates and shoot off. I shot about 300 rnds and also tested a new extractor and firing pin I had installed. I will take them back out and place them in my range bag as my backups. The plates are helping me to learn to call my shots but I am still a little slow at it. In other words I call the shot but not until I am on my way to the next plate. I can say damn that was left or such. As far as calling the shot the instant the shot breaks I am still unable to process the information I am seeing that quickly. The good thing is once again I was aware of my shooting. I could see things that 6 months ago I didn't know could be seen.

(positive thought) I am a Master class shooter, I am smooth, I always see a perfect sight picture and shoot all targets zero down.

[IronEqualizer]

2-18-07

Live fired.

Worked on the plate rack once again. Did 50 1 shot draws then about 250 rnds just running straight plates. The plate rack can be very frustrating at times but I guess that is because it is teaching you so much. It's either hit or miss no C or D zone. I did notice today that on misses I was breaking the shot before the front sight had settled back into the notch. The sights were aligned well enough for a full size target but those damn plates require an extra millisecond to settle out. The good thing is I kept my mind open and tried to stay aware of everything going on. I called a lot of shots and also saw the splatter coming off the plates a lot of times.

(positive thought) I am a Master class shooter, I am smooth, I always see a perfect sight picture and shoot all targets zero down.

[IronEqualizer]

2-19-07

Dry fired 1hr 15mins. 1 - 45min session, 1 - 30min session.

Worked on rwr from each side of a barricade, table draws with the gun loaded and unloaded, stowing extra mag in mag pouch before leaving position, reloads using concealment garment, reloads without garment, rwr before moving to a barricade, rwr moving to a barricade and engaging targets kneeling.

Dry fire was absolutely great today. I feel whatever it was that had been missing last week is back. Everything felt smooth and fast today. I liked the practice of stowing the mag back in the mag pouch. I had previously been stuffing it into my belt only to find on retreival that my grip on the mag would be incorrect for a proper reload. After a little practice the mags just went right in. I do have to glance at the pouch but I feel this is better than any other way I have done it before. Besides I do this a thousand times a week I am just speeding it up a little now. Using the concealment garment is becoming a non issue in most circumstances now. It did not take long to adapt to the sweep on the draw and reload. I wish I had more time to practice today

(positive thought) I am a Master class shooter, I am smooth, I always see a perfect sight picture and shoot all targets zero down.

[IronEqualizer]

2-20-07

Dry fired 15mins.

Worked rwrs and el prez.

Another smooth dry fire session.

Live fire.

Started with a simple 2-2-2 drill at 10yds just trying to observe my shooting. This drill went as it normally does dropping a few points here and there. Went back to 20yds and this drill went as it normally does dropping too many points. On about the third run I was determined to do this right and really focused on getting a clean trigger pull and follow through on the shots. Well what do you know only dropped maybe two points. I did this drill several times really focusing on separating the trigger pull. My accuracy improved greatly. I moved back to 10yds and applying the same fundamental I had lost somewhere along the way I received snake eyes X3. Next run, snake eyes X3. All of a sudden I stopped dropping points. I ran through an el prez and dropped no points. Next el prez dropped maybe 2 points. I can't wait to get back on the plate rack. What a great practice session today. Talk about waking up. Just do what you know to do and everything falls into place.

(positive thought) I am a Master class shooter, I am smooth, I always see a perfect sight picture and shoot all targets zero down.

[IronEqualizer]

2-21-07

Dry fired 30mins.

Worked on classifier skills. Strong/weak hand stuff and lots of reloads. Things are still looking pretty good as they have been the past few days. Did not get to live fire today. Friggin rain. Yeah, I know, I'm a wuss.

(positive thought) I am a Master class shooter, I am smooth, I always see a perfect sight picture and shoot all targets zero down.

[IronEqualizer]

2-22-07

Live fired.

Worked on the plate racks again today. 50rnds on draw 1 shot, 100rnds on strong/weak hand, and 200rnds straight plates.

My rediscovered lost fundamental of proper trigger control has definitely carried over to the plates also. I had fewer misses today than I think I have ever had. Visual patience and trigger control. What a combination. I do need to continue to work on strong/weak hand shooting. I can hit em slow fire really concentrating on the trigger pull but I do tend to jerk them when I speed up. I will practice this more in dry fire to help refine the proper technique. A good practice session today and I think if I continue to shoot and practice as I have done over the past week it will carry me to the next level.

(positive thought) I am a Master class shooter, I am smooth, I always see a perfect sight picture and shoot all targets zero down.