zhunter Posted December 16, 2006 Share Posted December 16, 2006 (edited) OK, I am preparing for the Florida Open, in which I am going to shoot single stack. 2 weeks ago, I took a lesson from Manny Bragg, then 2 days later went and had an extended practice session with Dirtypool. Manny knocked about 15% off of my drill times. The practice session with Dirtypool confirmed this improvement, and even clipped a bit more tip off of my drills. Last Sunday, I went to Frostproof and shot a match, it was a very difficult match. Problem was, I got back into my worst problem, did not have good sight pictures and just shot too fast. I was VERY disappointed in myself for the lack of discipline, and really questioned my commitment to improvement. I am going to shot a match tomorrow, locally that I would not normally shoot due to the range nazi's. Most of us have stopped shooting at this location, but I feel I need to 'jump back on the horse" and show some self control to get moving in the right direction again. I plan on dry firing some tonight. I plan to shoot a VERY slow and steady match tomorrow and NOT BREAK ONE shot that I do not have a complete sight picture and proper trigger prep to the point I know I am ready to hit the "A-Zone". I will fill you in tomorrow night. I just need to show more self control!!! BTW, My ultimate goal is to make Master. Edited December 17, 2006 by zhunter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Keen Posted December 16, 2006 Share Posted December 16, 2006 Horse jumping can be a very good thing. Keep it up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tightloop Posted December 16, 2006 Share Posted December 16, 2006 You shouldn't shoot faster than you can see......other wise you are just in the spray and pray mode.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dirtypool40 Posted December 16, 2006 Share Posted December 16, 2006 I've often thought of using a thread here as a training journal... I actually have one I keep in hard copy, hand written, and I HATE to hand write stuff. It's hard to find stuff, but it's neat to look back a few months or a year and go, ok that really WAS fast, keep working until you get back to that... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j1b Posted December 16, 2006 Share Posted December 16, 2006 I used to use club matches to prep for bigger matches. Honestly, for me, it never worked out. The two events are so seperate not only in terms of time, but in terms of intensity, mood, etc. etc. that one really can't indicate one way or the other how you're going to shoot the other. I like where you're at with the training stuff - Manny is superb. Practice is the place to get the kinks worked out. I know you're a golfer - so my approach is a little similar to golf (although I suck at golf) - When I'm on the range I have all kinds of time and flexibility to try this or try that. Or drive home a consistent swing. Because I'm not good at the game, it is always important for me to find little focal points that can pull me together. That's crucial because when I go to play I always hit bad shots. I tend to want to fix that, not recognizing that I'm not a great golfer and by virtue of that I'm not going to always hit good shots. Hell, even Mickelson doesn't always hit great golf shots. But my tendency is to try and change things in the round - change almost anything. Thoughts, swing like this, swing like that, aim here, aim there, keep this arm straight, bend that arm that way, "I don't remember my legs doing that before - do I need to fix that?" type stuff. I mean, in the middle of a round I can completely change everything - none of it being right. If I have those couple of tricks - just one or two - it never fixes my swing. Never leads to perfect shots. But it does give me consistency. Something to fall back on - and frankly - it helps my scores. All of this to say, I think the club match is there to execute what you've practiced. I tried hard to stop tweaking this or that during a match to get back on track. I knew I had the tools - I had to fall back on those. I didn't need to create new tools, I needed to remember the tools I used in practice and execute them. I guess I'm just saying practice hard. The local match doesn't mean anything as it relates to the Florida Open. All it means is you need to execute what you've been practicing better. One last comment. I remember the first year I broke into the top 10 at a nationals. I don't remember the year - but I do remember that the club match I shot before going to nats I didn't place in the top ten at that match. I shot horrid. I knew I had to get back to practice and just execute - which lead to my best match performance at a nationals to that point. Hope at least some of this made sense! Happy Holidays to all. J Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j1b Posted December 16, 2006 Share Posted December 16, 2006 Moderators After reading the guidelines for this forum - I may have overstepped my bounds with my previous post in this thread. If so - I apologize to the forum members and more specifically ZHunter - didn't mean to ruin the spirit of the exercise. Please delete the post if it merits that. I should have read the rules prior to posting J Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zhunter Posted December 17, 2006 Author Share Posted December 17, 2006 No harm at all, I welcome helpful hints. I am going to use the local match tomorrow, if the rain stops, to get back on the trrack that Manny had me on previously. I am going to shoot with self control, good sight picture and proper trigger prep every shot. Results to be posted tomorrow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XRe Posted December 17, 2006 Share Posted December 17, 2006 I am going to shoot with self control, good sight picture and proper trigger prep every shot. Hey, Z... there's the right attitude Here's the thing - in a class, you're shown new skills and way to improve or fix what you've been doing. It takes a lot of work afterwards to actually make those changes a solid part of your repertoire, and you're going to slip back into the old behavior occasionally. The important thing is that you recognize those slips, and know what to do to fix it. This is all natural, and normal. Beating yourself up over the normal cycle of change just leads to frustration, and that doesn't really get you anywhere... but out of the game... Let us know how the match goes - and good luck. Shoot 'em straight! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zhunter Posted December 17, 2006 Author Share Posted December 17, 2006 Discipline, Discipline Discipline!!!!!! I used it today. Today's local match had 4 very challenging stages and 2 stages of Steel Challenge. Wow, what a blast!!! The lack of self control that I showed last Sunday was a thing of the past. I once again shot single stack, as I plan to all year. Several of the stages were NOT single stack friendly, one ended in a 9 shot array. After a miss on the plate, I chose to take the miss and chalk it up to bad course design. But, the bottom line is, I was in control of my sights today. My sight picture dictated when I broke shots. I cleaned a Texas Star in 5 shots. nailed 2 plates in front of No Shoots. I was not super fast, as I can be, BUT I was very accurate!!! And that is what improvement is about for me. Slowing down and getting the points. Today was a big day, I finally showed in a match, albeit a local match, that I can have the discipline to shoot with both speed and accuracy. Now I just need to work on my weakhand grip pressure, as this is still inhibiting my long range accuracy and steel plate accuracy. This is a problem from my golfing days. In golf a light grip is fast and powerful, but my light grip that is a carry over from golf, just does not work in shooting. Today, after my first miss on a steel plate, I knew what caused it, and corrected it immediately. But, I need to ingrain my NEW grip pressure so I don't have to think about it. ALL IN ALL, today was ground breaking for me. NOW, back to the range for practice!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zhunter Posted December 18, 2006 Author Share Posted December 18, 2006 Results are in from the match. Unfortunately, I was the ONLY Single Stack shooter, so here are the results agains other divisions. Production, I was 4th in 5 stages, and 10th in the other one. Limited 10, I won 4 stages, finished 2nd in one and 4th in another. Limited, I won 2 stages, finished 2nd in 2 stages and 5th in the other. So, although there were not a lot of "top shooters" there, I rocked!!!!!! I am seeing progress!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XRe Posted December 18, 2006 Share Posted December 18, 2006 Production, I was 4th in 5 stages, and 10th in the other one.Limited 10, I won 4 stages, finished 2nd in one and 4th in another. Limited, I won 2 stages, finished 2nd in 2 stages and 5th in the other. Dude, nice!!! Must've been some stiff compeition in Production... Now its time to start taunting all those guys shooting fat guns, or even skinny guns w/ long mags... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zhunter Posted December 18, 2006 Author Share Posted December 18, 2006 Let's just say I am feeling good about myself today Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dirtypool40 Posted December 20, 2006 Share Posted December 20, 2006 (edited) Feels good when hard work is rewarded, don't it? Edited December 20, 2006 by dirtypool40 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zhunter Posted December 20, 2006 Author Share Posted December 20, 2006 Feels good when hard work is rewarded, don't it? YEP, but I have a LONG way to go!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zhunter Posted December 28, 2006 Author Share Posted December 28, 2006 After not having touched a gun in over a week, I decided to dryfire and get it on video. This is my first try at posting video from my new camera!! Gear used is Single Stack Division. Lets hear your comments. http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v91/Zhun...lv?t=1167278852 Hope this works!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zhunter Posted February 2, 2007 Author Share Posted February 2, 2007 Practice of late has involved a lot of load testing. FINALLY got it worked out yesterday. See MAYDAY thread in .45 reloading. DP, a friend of his and myself worked in plates, Bianchi style. I had my best ever outting here, left 3 less standing than ever before. My patience was rewarded. My biggest hurdle in shooting is slowing down. Then we shot a "course" that had very long transitions with long shots on partials, a DP specialty. I hit a 1.82 reload with a single stack on a 18 yard "zebra" international target. ( we are prepping for the Florida Open which uses these targets ) A "zebra" is a Manny Bragg deal. The target is hard cover vertically with the only portion score-able being the width of the "A-Zone". I was proud of that. Most of them were in the 1.9 - 2.05 range. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zhunter Posted February 9, 2007 Author Share Posted February 9, 2007 2-8 Drove the normal 1 1/2 hours north to go practice with Dirtypool. As is also normal, he set up an IMPOSSIBLE 3 target array, with No-Shoots covering the outsides 1/3 of the left and right targets, while the center target only had about 1/4 of the top of the target above the No-Shoot. OH yeah, forgot to mention, we are getting ready for the Florida Open, so we are shooting ameba or international targets. For a lowly "B" Class shooter, this is tough!!! We practiced at, in this order, 15y, 25y, 10y, and 20y. Just kept going around and around, probably about 5 times in 3 hours. Then to finish the day off, we did some 10y draw, 2 shots, reload and 2 shots. With my single stack gear I smoked a couple of 1.25 reloads, which made me pretty happy. So, then we go to lunch, and get talking about the Florida Open, then I get the bright idea, to go home, watch my daughter play in a tennis match, then drive 1 1/4 hours south for an evening match to test my practice for the last time in a match before next weeks Florida Open. Read below for the results I finally shot a clean match tonight. First EVER!!! What a feeling. 3 stages that totaled 110 (102 on paper and 8 Pepper Poppers ) shots. Not a super high round count, but a good test, in the dark no less under lights. Dropped 1 delta and about 7-9 Charlies. I was shooting a Single Stack .45 Springer Loaded I am Stoked!!!! A special thanks to Dirtypool40 for all of his help and encouragement during lots of long practice sessions lately. Also, Manny Bragg's lesson is really paying off too!! The trick was, a plan laid out over lunch with Eric, to just slow down and shoot points. Always easy to say, but I ALWAYS go too fast. So I just took my time and, in the end, was faster!!! NOW, if I can just keep that mindset for the Florida Open next week!!! Did I mention that I am really excited about this???????? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zhunter Posted February 18, 2007 Author Share Posted February 18, 2007 Well, my Florida Open is now behind me. I had some ammo/gun issues, but did what I set out to do, shoot points!!! In fact, I scored 88.25% of the available points. My goal was to be above 90%, so I was VERY close. Now I have 5 1/2 weeks to get ready for the Florida State Match. Gotta hit 90% there. But it should be a bit easier than the Open. Looking for ward to seeing results posted to see how I faired. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GentlemanJim Posted February 18, 2007 Share Posted February 18, 2007 Z Just saw your vid lots of smiles I could see you had a great time I also noted.....we have the same flinch great job buddy! Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zhunter Posted February 18, 2007 Author Share Posted February 18, 2007 (edited) Z Just saw your vid lots of smiles I could see you had a great time I also noted.....we have the same flinch great job buddy! Jim Interesting that you noted my "flinch" on the light strike round that did not go off. In my lesson with Manny Bragg, he actually loaded some mags that were less than full to watch for a flinch or push as he called it I believe. Manny indicated that this is NOT a flinch that you witnessed, but rather a push against the recoil that is coming. Manny did not make a big deal out of it, matter of fact he did not really even address it, except to say it is pretty normal. Apparently most non-open shooters do this. Here is the video that Jim is referring to above ZH "Flinch" Edited February 18, 2007 by zhunter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zhunter Posted February 18, 2007 Author Share Posted February 18, 2007 (edited) OK, after watching several of the video's that Sharyn posted of the TOP shooters at the Florida Open, and then watching myself, I am thoroughly disgusted!!! Travis Tomasie Stage 5 ZH Stage 5 OK, first the good things, even tho there are few: My cadence is good consistent The gun is shooting pretty flat ( 173 PF ) Second, the BAD: I look like I am in SLOW FREAKING motion when I am NOT shooting. My movements need to get a LOT FASTER!! I was shooting for points, but while not shooting, why am I lolligagging from position to position? GEEZ, that looks terrible. I can only shoot as fast as I can "see the sights", but the wasted time in between is ridiculous. I can see that I am going to have to incorporate some long courses into my practice to work on the movement thing, not just box to box, but real running. Edited February 18, 2007 by zhunter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dirtypool40 Posted February 21, 2007 Share Posted February 21, 2007 Z Just saw your vid lots of smiles I could see you had a great time I also noted.....we have the same flinch great job buddy! Jim Interesting that you noted my "flinch" on the light strike round that did not go off. In my lesson with Manny Bragg, he actually loaded some mags that were less than full to watch for a flinch or push as he called it I believe. Manny indicated that this is NOT a flinch that you witnessed, but rather a push against the recoil that is coming. Manny did not make a big deal out of it, matter of fact he did not really even address it, except to say it is pretty normal. Apparently most non-open shooters do this. Here is the video that Jim is referring to above ZH "Flinch" I agree, we all do it wether we like to admit it or not, Benos talked about it in that interview on Burkett's video. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zhunter Posted March 28, 2007 Author Share Posted March 28, 2007 OK, I have not shot much lately, but have been dong lots of Dry Fire to get ready for the Florida State match this weekend. Got out the timer to spice things up a bit this evening. Single Stack equipment of course!!! Drill was at 7 yards Draw, one shot, reload one shot Started the par time 2.50 and it was not too tough in the beginning. Moved it to 2.40 and it took a while to get a good sight pic on the draw to make the par time. Finally had it down and felt confident to move it to 2.30 This casued me to rush a bit and took about 15 reps to get under the par time consistently. In the end, it was not much of a problem. Sight pictures on the draw were not as good as the reload sight picture. Good drill, felt I made some nice progress tonight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zhunter Posted April 2, 2007 Author Share Posted April 2, 2007 (edited) OK, here are some videos from the Florida State Match this past weekend. My thoughts: The reloads SUCK!!!! I practice till my arms won't hold the gun, but I continue to drop the gun too low on reloads in matches. My feet continue to looks VERY slow in my movements Stage 3 Stage 5 Sharyn's Favorite Stage 8 Stage 9 My shooting was very poor in this match. I had, drum roll please..... 12 MIKES!! Had I shot 12 seconds slower and gotten 12 "C's" instead, I would have won Single Stack. But, "if, if's and buts were candy and nuts..." oh well, you get the idea. I shot GREAT points at the Florida Open, 92% of total points, but lost track of the points thing at this match. I need to focus on points, reloads being higher, and faster feet!!! Looking forward to Area 6 now!! Let the practice begin!! Edited April 2, 2007 by zhunter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GentlemanJim Posted April 3, 2007 Share Posted April 3, 2007 Nice draw and first shot...movement may not be extra fast ..but its smooth. It will get better!!! Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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