Ironequalizer

[IronEqualizer]

6-6-07

Dry Fired 1hr. 2 - 30min sessions.

Continued focus on draw and reload grip, performing 6 reload 6. Things looked a lot better today as I had less, less than perfect grips. I know it will take time to refine a new technique and I need to keep that in mind and stay diligent. I think tomorrow I will start working a variety of drills.

Live Fired 250rnds. 1 - 250rnd session.

Worked same drills as yesterday. After about 100rnds today the visual patience I had been looking for came to me. I stopped missing. Well not completely but mostly. I slowed down enough to make the shots and slowing down seemed so much faster. So maybe I did not actually slow down I may have just smoothed everything out. Hmmmm. After I started having so few misses I moved back 5yds making the small plates at 20yds. I still was able to consistantly hit them just by seeing what I needed to see and having good follow through. I finished the session with 50rnds strong/weak hand. I will continue to focus on perfect shots in practice.

[IronEqualizer]

6-7-07

Dry Fired 1hr. 1 - 1hr session.

Worked Anderson's drills 2,3,4,5,6,7,8. Things continue to get smoother and smoother with the technique refinement. Very few missed grips on draws today and reloads were all higher and more in my face. I am still having a little trouble re-establishing a good grip after the reload but will continue to focus on that in dry fire. I noticed today on strong/weak hand drills that since I have started stepping into the targets while shooting one handed that I have been too sideways while engaging the targets. I stepped but stayed square to the targets and things felt better and the sight picture came to me easier. I think this may be why my live fire strong/weak hand has went downhill lately.

Edited June 8, 2007 by IronEqualizer

[IronEqualizer]

6-8-07

Dry Fired 30mins. 1 - 30min session.

Dry Fire sucked.

Live Fired 250rnds. 1 - 250rnd session.

Live fire started out well as I still managed to have the patience to wait on the sight picture while transitioning to a small target. I then started shooting across the large plates spaced about 5yds apart putting two on each. Now, I seem to not be waiting on the second shot sight picture. I was having trouble completing this cleanly until I really beared down and stayed on top of the gun. I seemed to get more aggressive and things got better. I am wondering if maybe I was too relaxed to begin with. That is something to think about next session.

[IronEqualizer]

6-9-07

Live Fired 250rnds. 1 - 250rnd session.

I am very pleased with my performance today. I set up 3 full size targets at 10yds and the 8x19 plates spaced behind them at 20yds. I started out just doing 2-2-2 on the paper to check and make sure I was actually seeing what I was supposed to see. The sight was tracking up and down and hits all looked good. My splits were .24 - .26. I know I can go faster because on a few runs I had splits of .17 on the third target. Why I speed up going across I don't know. I have not practiced on paper in several months and I was happy to see that my accuracy and split times have all improved. One big thing I noticed today which will be my main focus in dry fire until I get it down is landing the weak hand in a good grip on the gun every time. If I had a bad run today it was due to an improper grip while firing. My trouble with this is due to the change I have made in my draw and I just don't completely have it down yet. Another thing I noticed today was how my stance felt. The more agressive I felt behind the gun the better the runs. I did not necessarily change my body position it was more of a little tighter grip with the weak hand and a more pushing into the target kinda feel.

I did several runs putting 2 on each paper and 2 on each plate in between the paper and I managed to wait on what I needed to see to make the shots. Putting 2 on the far plates every time after the fast full size target felt good. Smooth is fast and these runs felt smooth.

[IronEqualizer]

6-11-07

Dry Fired 1hr. 2 - 30min sessions.

Worked draws, 6 reload 6, and some head shot drills. Everything went pretty smooth today. I was pleased with my grip on the draw and after reloads. Reloads are still up higher, more in my face and I am seeing my mark in the magwell every time.

Live Fired 250rnds. 1 - 250rnd session.

Practiced on the plates at various distances with them spread out in a basic stage format. Ranges from 10-40yds. Accuracy was good today and I have a new description of the feeling of being more aggressive behind the gun. A couple of days ago I was describing this feeling of being agressive or being on top of the gun, but today the way I felt was tucked in. This is how I felt two days ago when I described it as aggressive. I seem to bend my knees a little more pull the gun a little closer to my face (closer than my normal position) and have my feet basically running heel to toe or a little less. To me it is a tucked in feeling that allows me to shoot more aggressively. I seem to be able to drive the gun around a lot better in this position.

[IronEqualizer]

6-14-07

Dry Fired 30mins. 1 - 30min session.

Worked draws and 6 reload 6. Everything went fairly smooth today. I have been having trouble staying focused over 30mins lately. I am pretty sure it is because I have still not changed up to do a variety of drills lately. I have also not used a timer in a few weeks. I hope to get grooved back into the routine next week.

Live Fired 500rnds. 2 - 250rnd sessions.

I just felt like shooting today and not working on any drills. I basically just wanted to have some fun and blast without the worry of training. Although I still noticed things and practiced some things I did not stress about anything and just kept having fun. I missed my grip on the draw more than I should today but kept on going on several runs and still did well with a less than perfect grip. Most of my shooting was transitioning from plate to plate that were scattered at various distances from 10-25yds. I want to be able to slow down and speed up according to course demands better. One thing I want to work on in future session is targets that are set up gradually increasing distance. 9,12,15,20yds. Something like that. Once I get to 20yds I am still shooting at the speed/sight picture of 9-12yds. Hmmmmm.......I did not realize till I wrote this that the speed is fine. I am shooting the wrong sight picture. I am not waiting on the refinement I need to get from the sights before breaking the shot. Damn I learned something today. It was still fun though.

[IronEqualizer]

6-15-07

Live Fired 250rnds. 1 - 250rnd session.

Worked same plate arrays as yesterday concentrating on seesing what I needed to see to make the shots. The 20yd plate I found I was not having the proper follow through to make the shot. I also noticed that on different days I come up with a mental picture or thought that gets me straightened out for the rest of the session but may not work the next session. Today I just had to tell myself to stay with the sights. Other times I have told myself to stay on the trigger, watch the sight rise, trigger pull trigger pull, etc. They all mean the same thing in the end. Maybe it doesn't matter what I think. Maybe the whole thought process thing just allows me to not think of anything and just shoot subconsciously. Maybe as long as the thought clears my mind of all other thoughts, that is what I need.

[IronEqualizer]

6-16-07

Live Fired. IDPA Match CAGC.

I felt like I had a pretty good day. Everything felt fairly smooth and I felt like I let the sights be the *thumb rest [generic]*. I had 1 hit on a non-threat on a strong hand stage and it was not even close to the threat target. I am pretty sure it was the first shot after the reload but all other shots strong hand felt controlled. I did not let that one mistake phase me at all. After that stage was over I did not think about it again until after the match. I feel good because I accomplished my goal and that was to let the stage set the pace and shoot at the correct speed for each target.

Edited June 17, 2007 by IronEqualizer

[IronEqualizer]

6-18-07

Dry Fired 1hr. 2 - 30min sessions.

Worked on box to box forward with a reload in between. Everything went pretty smooth. I noticed my reloads were slightly lower than where I wanted them and buy the end of session 2 I had started to bring them up. The thing I have really been noticing with my reloads is that I am seeing my mark inside the magwell every time.

Live Fired 250rnds. 1 - 250rnd session.

Worked on box to box movement left to right. Exiting seems to going well as I am starting to fall out of the box toward the next position on the next to the last plate. So I am basically starting to move with a transition and 1 shot to go. Entering the new box, I feel needs a lot a work. I can get into the box and have the gun up and on target as I enter but it does not feel smooth. I do not feel I am stable as I fire the shots. My entry foot seems to still be pointed in the direction I was going instead of turned facing the targets. I am sure this is an issue that can resolved in dry fire.

(edited to add) Todays thought - "watch the sight rise, watch the sight rise" That is what I had to tell myself today to maintain enough visual patience to make the longer shots.

Edited June 19, 2007 by IronEqualizer

[IronEqualizer]

6-19-07

Dry Fired 30mins. 1 - 30min session.

Worked on entering boxes, side to side. Did most drills in slow motion trying to figure out if I should brake inside or outside of the box. After watching the sights and the way they react to the different entering techniques I am leaning toward braking inside the box. Braking outside of the box I fire the shot as I bring the outside foot up. This causes me to be firing the shot as I am shifting my weight from the outside foot, to the foot in the box. This shift also causes the sights to move back and forth pretty violently. Braking inside the box, my weight stays on the braking foot and I do not get the shift in my sights as I get when having to shift my weight. Maybe I am doing something wrong with braking outside of the box, but other than having to completely plant both feet evenly then lift the outside foot and fire, which seems a lot slower I don't know what I could be doing wrong. I will have to experiment with this some more in live fire and dry fire. For now I will worry about it too much. I know I need to have the gun up and ready to fire as soon as I get in the box no matter how I end up in it. At this point I am just trying to figure out which way allows me to get the most accurate shot off the most effecient way.

[IronEqualizer]

6-20-07

Dry Fired 30mins.

Worked on Anderson's plate drills.

Live Fired 150rnds.

Worked on plate transitions, entering boxes, and timed some turning draws. I would not have believed it but I was .1-.2 tenths faster turning to my left. My only thought against this way is the possibility of getting the gun out too soon on the turn and breaking the 180. I will have to experiment with this and entering boxes more in dryfire before I come to any concrete decision on which way I want to do each. Then again why make either way concrete.....an open mind and remaining open to new ideas and techniques is what will keep me sharp and keep me constantly learning. Every thing else is still going pretty well and I was happy with accuracy today. I still want to keep just making the shot my main focus. Every shot a good sight picture, crisp trigger pull and watch the sight rise, every time.

[IronEqualizer]

6-21-07

Dry Fired 1 hr.

Worked on turning draws and entering boxes from right and left.

Turning draws I experimented with turning left and then compared turning right. Turning left I feel I am very close to getting the gun out too early on the turn. Both turns allow me to get in a stable shooting position that is the same as my normal shooting position. I will not discredit turning left for a right hand shooter but I do not think I will use it. I want to be familiar with it and may actually practice it from time to time. I never know when it may be a big advantage to turning this way. Having experience with both ways just makes me more well rounded

After practicing entering boxes at speed during dry fire today I feel I will continue to brake outside of the box and step in. Burkett style, at speed, I feel like I can enter harder but it just takes me longer to stabilize a sight picture. Braking outside the box and stepping in I feel like I actually have two steps to brake on. Moving left to right I brake on the left foot right outside the box, the right foot comes in and squares to the target and is absorbing any left over energy the main braking foot did not get. After the right foot lands square all that is needed is to pick up the left foot from where it stopped and fire as soon as it lifts before it ever touches in the box. The one thing I need to work on is landing in a good stance upon entering. It will take no more time but it will allow quicker shooting following the initial shot and quicker movement out of the box if I have to move again. I feel this was a very productive/learning session. I'm just ready to shoot now.

[IronEqualizer]

6-22-07

Live Fired 150rnds.

Today was an excellent learning session. We started out with a few slowfire groups at a target between 40 and 50yds working on reading the sights and calling the shots. This was a new exercise for me and I called about 65-70% of my shots correctly. Basically I was just seeing exactly where the sights were in my wobble zone when the shot broke. Slowfire, at that distance, I was only seeing very subtle movements in the sights, so I had to read any sight missalignment at the instant the shot broke. At speed where everything is closer and faster, I usually can only call gross missalignments like way left or way high but not like lower A zone or left C. I hope this will teach me to do that. I also learned that my .45 load at that distance drops about 6 inches. Something good to find out in practice and not at game time.

Next I ran a few drills just transitioning across the plates scattered from 10-20yds. (6 plates 8X19) I wanted to check my split times compared to Joe's with his open gun, as I thought I was much slower. Ended up we both were cranking them off with .21-.22 splits. Decent for both of us, and acceptable at this point. I also wanted to check my transitions times since we had the timer out. This is where I had a huge discovery. My transition times were way behind Joe's. Even if I were not comparing the dot gun with an ironsighted gun my transitions were way behind. Running the same split times, on the same drills I would be 1 to 2 secs behind his time. So what am I doing?

After the shot , instead of moving to the next target I may be bringing the sights back to the current target, then moving......maybe.

Is it just taking me that long to get a good sight picture?.....maybe, but I don't think so.

Am I not leading with my eyes?.....No, I see the sights coming onto the target.

Am I just not driving the gun?.....Yes, those runs I was like....boom, good hit, move, stop, good sight picture, boom, good hit, move, stop. The gun should stop where I am looking and the sights should be aligned when it stops. So the instant it pauses I fire and am moving to the next plate as I am recovering from that shot, and I am moving because when the shot fired I saw the sights lift off the exact spot I was looking at, and I saw that the sights were acceptably aligned. Sounds simple enough.

I am not sure exactly what I am doing wrong and it may be a combination of things. This definitely needs more focus. On the last couple of runs when I was really trying to speed up my transitions, Joe told me to try what he calls a "gorilla grip." I really held the gun tight and had my best transitions of the day that way. I sped up a couple of tenths. I also tried the same very tight grip going across all the plates and my transitions were good as well as the gun felt/seemed to really stop "HARD" almost "INTO" the plates and very precise. Maybe I have become too relaxed behind the gun. I was more into the run and felt like , what I like to call tucked in and on top of the gun. Hmmmm. Maybe I am still struggling with staying aggressive. Now that I think about it, those last few runs are the only ones that felt aggressive, and they were the best. That could be my problem. Practicing with a HO-HUM attitude instead of a DIE YOU STINKING, LITTLE, EVIL, BASTARD PLATES, attitude. I also need this attitude in dry fire instead of just going through the movements as I have been doing lately. I am maintaining not improving. Damn.....I have all this stuff I want to try, and practice but I have to work this weekend and will not be able to. I will be able to shoot a match on Sunday before I go to work though.

[IronEqualizer]

6-24-07

Live Fired.

USPSA Match. Cool Springs Gun Club.

A couple of things today. On a difficult stage with targets that can be engaged a multitude of ways and seen in a multitiude of positions, keep the stage plan simple. Try to either shoot it right to left or left to right. Trying to jump from 1 array to another and back is too confusing. I found this out the hard way.

I need to work on continuous movement on run and gun courses. Simple, close targets with lots of running I noticed myself and my buddy noticed that I would haul ass, stop, shoot, haul ass, stop, shoot. I know I have shot field courses before and kept moving the entire time. I think since I could get so much speed built up going from array to array on this stage, (as they were all a good distance apart) the only way for me to get a good sight picture was to slam on the brakes. We discussed this on the way home and running slower but continous movement through the stage would be so much better. I will remember that for the next field course.

[IronEqualizer]

6-26-07

Live Fired 250rnds. 1 - 250rnd session.

Worked on transitions from plate to plate. I managed to speed up quite a bit from the session of a few days ago with just the desire to go faster. I tried a really tight grip to begin with and I could not get very many hits. I kept breaking the shots left with a good sight picture. I loosened my grip back to my 60/40 grip and the first run, all hits, 2nd run, all hits. I know I had too much left hand while the right was staying loose to get a proper trigger pull. I did find myself trying to go too fast and basically slinging shots and depending on my index to make the shot. I had runs just as fast with a focus on watching the sight rise and getting all my hits. I noticed on quite a few misses I called, I was overswinging the target. The other misses I had were because of a speed focus and basically breaking the shot on index with no sight picture at all. I also still have trouble really zoning in and picking a certain spot to shoot at. I still shoot with a sight picture on the plate not on the center of the plate. I think right now I am at a level where I know all the things I should be doing but they all have to be thought about in order to perform them.

[IronEqualizer]

6-27-07

Dry Fired 1hr. 1 - 1hr session.

Today was the best dry fire session I have had in several weeks. I went back to Anderson's book and the timer. I had not used either in a while. I did drills 2-8 and was very pleased with them. I seem to have picked up at least a tenth but this may be because of the race holster. Pars are without the race holster. I still am having trouble hitting my grip after the reload. I am not camming my weak hand forward enough and really extending my thumb toward the target. I tend to get more af an upward direction with my weak hand thumb. This is hampering my grip after the reload and I am sure recoil control. I do not think I have this trouble on the draw. I will focus on this and get it corrected in future sessions.

Live Fired 250rnds. 1 - 250rnd session.

Worked on transitions and a few shooting on the move drills. My transition speeds are a lot better than the other day and I know now that if you half a$$ something you get half a$$ results. I tend to practice mostly from left to right so I wanted to try right to left to see if the transition speed was still there. At first I was a lot slower right to left but by the end of the session I had picked it up to where it needed to be. Several runs I found myself going too fast and even though I got the hits I think I indexed on the targets, even the 20yd target. I saw the sights but I do not recall a clear sight picture. Maybe I saw what I needed to and I need to leave it at that. The shooting on the move drill is something I would like to continue to work on. I want confidence in this ability, and the the only way I will do it automatically, is with the confidence that I can do it. I ran a few el prez drills and the first one was a 4.87 but after that every other one I would have trigger freeze. I guess I was tensed up big time after that first run. When I did not have trigger freeze I was getting splits of .16 and lower. I had a .11 split and that is as fast as I have ever pulled the trigger. I have never pulled it that fast even when I wasn't aiming at something. I feel I had a good day of practice and look forward to more live fire Friday.

[IronEqualizer]

6-29-07

Dry Fired 45mins. 1 - 45min session.

Worked Anderson's drills. Spent a lot of time on the el prez. Speed was very good today. Everything was smooth. I need to remain cautious of making sure I see all As though. Pushing myself to get faster I do not need to neglect technique. Reloads seem to be a little too low when I go all out. I may be reverting back to pure muscle memory as I go all out. In time I know that will change, but it will take a lot of reps.

Live Fired 150rnds. 1 -150rnd session.

Live fire was not good today. I kept doing what has been plaguing me for several weeks now. Breaking the shots left. I was even breaking the shot left on a straight presentation from the high ready. I see a good sight picture on the plate but the shot will be left. I was thinking I may be jerking the trigger but the shots are not low and left, they are just left. Joe told me to really slow down and shoot 2 plates one step at a time. After some experimenting one thing we did find was that my trigger finger is rubbing the frame. I moved my finger out as far as I could, just the very tip on the trigger and had 2 good hits, both centered and faster than any other run. After really thinking about this I realized that about 4 to 6 weeks ago I changed from slimline grips to regular thickness grips. This had to change the way my finger is on the trigger. The fatter grips force me to reach for the trigger more, thus rub the frame. I am sure the faster I go the further my finger goes into the trigger guard and the more rub on the frame I get. I have a shorter trigger and will install it to see if the problem goes away. This is a good lesson I learned. If you make changes to equipment, think about what all it will effect. The different grips effected my grip, (DUH) which in turn has affected the position of my trigger finger on the trigger. I hope this cures my problem. If not at least I prevented it from becoming another problem. Little things.....add up to big things. Every day I learn.....and every day I become a better shooter.

[IronEqualizer]

6-30-07

Live Fired 250rnds. 1 - 250rnd session.

Worked transition drills on the plates with the new trigger installed. Things were better today but it was not a (oh my God what a difference) day. I like the feel of the new trigger as I feel I have more control over the trigger press not having to reach as far. I do wish I had more time to become more accustomed to it before tomorrows match. Dry fire will allow me to get the feel of the new finger placement but it will take a little time. I noticed today one of my problems or the problem today was lack of follow through. I have been pushing so hard to speed up transitions and splits I am diverting my attention to the next plate before I have completed what I am doing on the current plate. That said it does not cure my problem of breaking the shots early before I get the gun on the next plate. I feel as though I am firing as I pick up the sights coming into my line of sight periphally on the plate and firing before the gun is all the way on target. Shooting is easy.........you line the sights up on the target, hold the gun there until it fires.

Edited to add....When installing the new trigger bow I was shown how to stone where the trigger parts mate every so gently and smooth them up. This lightened my trigger pull by a 1/2 pound. I did not change any shapes or do anything major.....just made the parts smoother...amazing.

Edited July 1, 2007 by IronEqualizer

[IronEqualizer]

7-1-07

Live Fired. USPSA Match CAGC.

What did I learn today? Shoot against yourself and the course of fire. If I am squadded with much better shooters......then realize that....they are better....the only thing that will change that, is more training and practice.....going faster on match day is not the answer. Check each mag before the match for dropping free. I guess I bent one up a little in practice and did not realize it until the 2nd time it did not drop free. Dumb me assumed the first time was a fluke.....because they ALWAYS drop free.....the 2nd time it hung up.....the friggin classifier. I found it and fixed it after I got home. I will pay attention to this from now on until I have dedicated practice mags and dedicated match mags. You think I would have learned this lesson when I found the same problem with my 8rnd mags the night before the SC IDPA State match. Luckily I found the problem the night before instead of match day. Maybe that's why it did not sink in as well.

1 - 250rnd session.

Worked on the large plates (8x19) trying to figure out why I feel like the gun is all over the place the last several days. I also wanted to get grooved in on the new short trigger and I also reconfigured it today after the match from a typical bow shape to a flat face. This way no matter where my finger ends up on the trigger, being flat, each pull will feel the same. By the end of the session the only thing I really figured out was that I was shooting too fast. If I slow my splits down a little I am able to get a good sight picture and make the shots. Speeding my splits up all I see is the front sight bouncing around. I wish I would have had my timer to check the splits of the ones when I felt like I slowed down to make the shots. I know sometimes when you feel like your going slow, in fact you are just as fast as before, you just focus your attention on something else. I need to get back to an accuracy desire. Speed will come.

Edited July 2, 2007 by IronEqualizer

[IronEqualizer]

7-2-07

Dry Fired 1hr 30mins. 1 - 1hr session, 1 - 30min session.

Draws were very smooth today and felt good. The support hand really snapped into place and my hands were meeting at the high ready right where I wanted them. Reloads were good and I consciously kept them up in my face.

Live Fired 400rnds. 1 - 400rnd session.

Continued practice from yesterday. What I thought yesterday is total BS. I do not need to slow my splits down to get good follow up shots. If I have a good grip, stance and stay into the gun I can see everything I need to see to make the shots. Today I focused on driving the gun into the target and driving it onto the next target. I started bending my elbows a little more and pulling the gun closer to my face slightly and this seems to be where I have the best times and the best accuracy. I have been and used this position in practice and this is where I am when I always say I feel I am tucked in and on top of the gun. I absolutely HAVE to remember to do this for now until I get it ingrained.

The last part of the session I shot 150rnds on the plate rack. I wanted to shoot the rack for a while now since it has been so long since I spent any time on it. I used the tucked in position and had a lot of really good runs. I can comfortably shoot them clean in the mid 3s and getting to the lower 3s I would usually leave 1 standing. Best run today was a clean 3.01. Draws were running in the low 1.2s consistantly. I like shooting the rack for the visual patience practice. You absolutely have to watch that front sight come onto and off of each plate.

Biggest problem today, which does not make sense because they went so well in dry fire, is my draws. I missed getting my support hand in the proper place more times than I want to recall today in live fire. I don't know if it was just tension or what but I did this a lot today and it really stood out to me in todays session. Guess it's time to dry fire this some more.

[IronEqualizer]

7-3-04

Dry Fired 30mins. 1 - 30min session.

Worked on getting my weak hand placed on the draw and on being in the more tucked in stance/position. Even though I think if I relax and be really smooth on the draw I will be slow.....that is not so. I confirmed a smooth draw in live fire today. Being tucked in, even in dry fire, I can tell how much more agressively I can drive the gun around. I like it.

Live Fired 300rnds. 1 - 300rnd session.

Did some plate transitions being tucked in and driving the gun and everything felt really good. Speed was good, accuracy was good it felt easy today. Since it felt easy I decided it was time for a new drill. I worked a bit on shooting on the move. I would charge a couple of plates and turn at the 10yd fault line and engage the others moving diagonally toward them. I wanted to work on shooting on the move but mainly having all out speed then getting slowed down to a proper speed to get the hits. Having the gun in closer and staying low is the key here. Just gliding across the positions. This felt good today and hits and speed were both very acceptable at this point. I wanted to confirm my draw was not slow if I stayed loose and smooth. I did shot about 30rnds between the 15 and 10yd plate. 8x19 size. At 15yds draws were running in the low 1s to 1 flat. 10yd draws are running from mid to low 8s. I hit my fastest draw ever today which was a .77. The thing that surprised me is that I am still seeing the sights at that speed. They might not be perfectly aligned but I know from the front sight the shot will be there. I finished the session with some strong/weak hand shooting and the only way to describe this is I suck. It is all just jerking the trigger because I can slowly hold a good sight picture and miss the hell out of the target. I have to get at this. I think it is time to start group shooting strong/weak hand to work out the jerk issues.

[IronEqualizer]

7-5-07

Live fired 250rnds. 1 – 250rnd session.

Fired 150rnds strong hand only today. I started out with group shooting on paper at 10yds and things went pretty well. I moved to the plate rack at 15yds and this is where things went back to normal. I started having trouble getting my hits. I was calling the shots breaking just off the plates. I then realized that 7” plates at 15yds is not that easy for me freestyle. I moved to the 10yd line and strong hand only I cleaned the rack. I did this another time and I think I may be expecting too much trying to hit the smaller plates at 15yds at this point in my training. I have always practiced strong/weak hand exclusively on the plate rack and I have always had to really slow down to get my hits on the rack. I think this may be what causes me to have good shots strong/weak hand in matches but have an extremely slow time. I am shooting at the speed to get my hits on the plate rack. I moved to the larger plates (8X19) and decided to transition between them strong hand only. I was getting most of my hits and transitioning well out to the 20yd plate. I will continue to train on the larger plates until the time comes when I feel I need more refinement strong/weak hand. The runs I had on the larger plates were a great confidence booster in my ability to fire strong hand only. I finished the session with 50rnds freestyle and 50rnds on the el prez. The el prez I still have trouble with trigger freeze and my hits were awful today. I blazed through the motions instead of just shooting the damn el prez. My runs were from 5.00 flat to the mid 5s but there would be just as many mikes as hits. I seemed to be shooting everything high. I was basically depending on index to make the shots instead of the sights. If I decide to continue this drill I need to shoot at a pace to get my hits instead of seeing how fast I can go. I believe if I would wait on my sights I would still be in the upper 5s to low 6s.

[IronEqualizer]

7-6-07

Dry fired 15mins. 1 - 15min session.

Worked on plate draws and straight plates. I concentrated on hitting my weak hand under the trigger guard today and really drawing into a clapping position at the high ready.

Live Fired 250rnds. 1 – 250rnd session.

Worked on shooting on the move and general transitions on the large plates. Again today I found myself just shooting and not training hard. I approached the drills, most of the time, with a ho hum attitude, instead of like it was a stage in a match. The runs where I was aggressive and into the run were all good. Others I found myself more or less standing more upright by the end of the drill. When shooting on the move, when I stayed low and really drove the gun toward the targets the hits and speed were all good. What do I need to do to stay aggressive and make every run count? I will pre plan the drills I will work on and keep up with the times and hits as if each session, or each ten runs or so were a match. In order to beat a previous set of times I would have to remain aggressive and focused the entire session. Making each of the runs count. This is how it should be. Training half ass, I am getting half ass results. Train hard!

[IronEqualizer]

7-9-07

Dry Fired 1hr. 1 – 1hr session.

Worked on Anderson’s plate drills today and really wanted to focus on the quality of the session. What I learned was that on drills that I find to be more difficult, such as the plate transition drill and the plates on the move drill is that I have not put the refinement work in, I have just did a lot of repetitions. I was constantly calling misses on these drills. I even saw the same problem I have in live fire today. I was breaking the shots left. I kind of feel like when I transition to another target I see the target, my eyes focus on the target, and I am breaking the shot as I see the sights coming into my peripheral vision whether it is lined up on the target or not. I am firing when I think I should fire not when I see I should fire. Focusing on follow through will cure this. I did quite a few draws today really squaring off the movements and making them precise. I focused on presenting from closer in at the high ready and really pushing the gun toward the target. I also stayed aggressive throughout the session and was pleased with that. I want to continue to focus on making each session a quality session, both in dry and live fire. I plan on making some tighter shots in live fire to force myself to really refine my sight picture and force myself to watch the sight rise on each target.

[IronEqualizer]

7-10-07

Dry Fired 1hr. 1 – 1hr session.

Worked Anderson’s plate drills, and today was a really good practice session. I stayed focused, aggressive, and really had a quality practice. I figured out why I had been missing my weak hand getting on the gun properly over the past several weeks. I had rounded my draw to the point I was actually chasing the gun with my weak hand way out in front of me. I started getting my hands together on my gun close in and higher up where it is supposed to be and the draw and grip are solid every time. I kept my focus on being smooth and tried to stay away from focusing on speed. I remained in control for most of the session and broke my shots when my eyes told me to. I am trying to make myself start doing make up shots in dry fire when I call a miss so that this will become a reflex skill with no actual thought about doing it. Overall this was a good solid day of practice. Things go well when you pay attention to the right things.

Live Fired 250rnds. 1 – 250rnd session.

Worked on nothing today except shooting on the move. I worked on the same array of plates I keep set up but lay out some fault lines to force myself to engage everything while moving to the last position behind the Bianchi barricade and firing the final shot in the array on a plate on the plate rack. I was starting 5yds outside of the first box so I would have enough speed built up to make myself slow to the proper speed to make the shots. Coming in fast I would really get low and push the gun toward the first plate while keeping the gun pulled closer back with a more aggressive feel. That kind of sounds contradicting pushing the gun toward the target while keeping it pulled closer to my face. That is how it feels though. I am not fully extending, but I am driving the gun toward the plate. If I were able to allow myself to get in this position the runs would be good and smooth. I just have to remember to continue to see the sight rise off the target. I have to call every shot, and moving makes shot calling more critical because of the time it would take to go back to a target. Things I learned today, stay low, keep the gun closer in, stay aggressive pushing the gun into the target, and watch the damn sights.