Brazos SC Shooter

[XRe]

I had the same thought Mick did... Glad you made it out alive. Hope it comes out better than worst case for you in May

[Brazos SC Shooter]

4/2/07

1hr dry fire - Worked through my normal routine today. I have started to see improvements in my par times. I am measuring them once a week and I have seen consistent reduction in my times. It is encouraging to see the progress.

I am looking forward to the Circleville match on Sat. I am going to play in Production since I won't have my new gun in time.

Sunuva, Chris and XRe I really appreciate the support. I won't be able to stay out of NY since we have our corporate offices there, but in the future I will just have to visualize my practice sessions. I wouldn't even take my blue plastic gun for fear of having a repeat scenario.

[Brazos SC Shooter]

4/3/07

1 hr Dry Fire - Switched up my equipment this morning to begin practicing with it in the "Production" setup in preparation for this weekend's Circleville match. I needed to do some reload practice so that I can get used to the magazine placement.

I noticed this morning that I was impatient with my sight picture. I need to be less concerned with my times improving and more concerned about consistent A-Zone sight pictures. It is easy to get so focused on just getting faster but I could really do myself a disservice by engraining bad sight picture discipline.

I have not done my cardio work out in a few days. There has been a real lack of motivation for that part of my training since my NY trip. I continue to watch what I eat but that is only have the equation.

Lastly, I received confirmation that I have a spot to Limited Nationals. I am very excited about the opportunity. This has really provided a bright spot out on the horizon and has given me something extrememly challenging (understatement of the year ) to focus on. I have no preconceived notions of how I want to perform at this point. I am just excited for the opportunity to go.

1 1/2 hr live fire session - focused on drawing to a single A-zone shot. I also did some work on strong/weak hand draw and single shots. As stated above I am fighting the urge to want my times to go down and need to stay focused on the consistent A-zone site picture. I will go back and reevaluate my dry fire par times. I know that I have some that are to low to deliver consistent accurate hits. Now is the time to take a step back to ensure I am not reenforcing bad habits.

Edited April 4, 2007 by Texas HK shooter

[Brazos SC Shooter]

4/4/07

1 hr 15 min dry fire session - I spent time working on slowing down the excercies to make sure that I wasn't sacrificing a good sight picture for speed. I must apply more strict discipline.

I had the sensation tonight on a couple of excercises which has been mentioned by numerous folks on here. I felt no tension and total relaxation and when that happened I saw great sight pictures and then smoked the par time I was currently working on.

At least I know it is in me. Now I just need to make it happen consistently. I realize this only comes with "Refinement and Repetition".

[Brazos SC Shooter]

4/5/07

45 min Dry fire session - Spent time working on reloads. I am continuing to work with my production gun and gear placement in preparation for this weekend's match.

Here is a video clip of Draw 2 Reload 2. First clip has a mag in the gun and the second one doesn't. I wish I could say this is what my reloads look like all of the time. Unfortunately I only hit them this smooth about 50-75% of the time. I did notice that if my front sight is in sharp focus the transition from there to the magwell and back is quicker and results in hitting the reload. If it isn't in sharp focus or if I am focusing more on the target then I almost always have a hiccup in the reload.

There are tons of excellent shooters on this site so I look forward to any and all feedback. Please let me know the places I can refine this. (Excluding my video editing skillz )

Edited April 5, 2007 by Texas HK shooter

[Brazos SC Shooter]

4/6/07

30 min Dry fire

Today has been a great day. I have been looking around for a new 1911 since the NYPD has mine and it doesn't plan on giving it back.

I called Bob and Ingi at Brazos to order a Trojan with an Ambi safety, mag well, FO front sight and then paid the $125.00 for Bob's performance tuning. The gun will be shipped on Monday and in my hand Tuesday afternoon, in plenty of time to get ready for the IDPA match next Sat.

But to make it all that much better, I was also notified by Ingi that my Brazos SC Limited gun was going out to chrome. That means there are only 3 weeks left until I have that bad boy.

This is a much better end to the week than what I was dealing with last week.

I am looking forward to tomorrow's match in Circleville. I have practiced quite a bit since my last outing and am looking for a much improved showing.

[Brazos SC Shooter]

4/7/04

30 minutes of dryfire - warm up for the match

Shot Circleville match. This was a fun outing. I enjoy meeting more and more BE folks at matches it makes the shooting that much more fun. Flyin40 was very helpful with some tips after the match and he also cooked on kick ass batch of chili for us.

The match provided continuous insight in to the items I need to work on.

1. My mental game is in need of a make over. On the suggestion Flyin40 and Pharaoh Bender I ordered "With Winning in Mind". I also got some gems from talking to Steve Anderson on this same topic.

2. I still need to shut out things in a run that don't go smoothly and prevent them from compounding. Finish strong and critique once the match is over.

3. Shoot even more on the move.

I have reviewed my match videos and have made notes of the things that I need to improve. I am going to take Steve's advice from today and not rehash the mistakes again and again. I have what I need to improve.

Here is video of the run that I was most pleased with. My plan went exactly as I had worked it out. Unfortunately the filming starts a little late. It missed the start position which was lying face down on a piece of carpet with the gun unloaded on a table and all ammo on my belt.

Here is a clip of the craziness we had to shoot in today.

http://www.brianenos.com/forums/index.php?...st&p=537927

Match conditions won't always be ideal and lesson #1 from above needs to be applied in this situation.

Lastly I must lose weight before Nationals. Let's just say that seeing myself from behind in the videos made it clear that I am "a$$ rich"

Edited April 8, 2007 by Texas HK shooter

[Steve Anderson]

Yeah, seeing yourself on film is a great motivator to lose weight.

Especially if said video is nationally distributed.

I don't know who that fat guy WAS, but if I catch him wearing my shirt again I'll beat his A$$.

SA

[Brazos SC Shooter]

4/8/07

2 hr Dry fire session - focused on some of the tips provided by Flyin40 on reloads. I also had a very efficient practice session today. In a very "V-8 a-ha" moment I discovered the repetitive mode on my timer.

Of course I felt kind of stupid for not figuring it out earlier. I suppose it is indicative of learning this craft. As time goes on you mind expands and you see things you didn't see, even hours or days before.

With the timer in repetitive mode I was able to crank our drill after drill. I found this very helpful for three reasons.

1) I was able to do many more drills in the same time frame.

2) With little time to think of anything else but executing the drill I felt I was getting more benefit from each repetition.

3) I was actually working up a sweat during dry fire. While this isn't expending enough energy to really burn a bunch of calories, it did let me know that the muscles I am using for shooting are getting worked hard and that has to be a good thing, right?

Edited April 9, 2007 by Texas HK shooter

[Brazos SC Shooter]

Here are the results from the match on Saturday.

Stage Place Time Hit Factor Points Percent

Stage 1 Winter Wonderland 6 26.00 2.577 48.2367 48.24%

Stage 2 Walk It Off 2 20.99 5.717 134.8264 89.88%

Stage 3 Trail Braking 3 28.52 4.663 104.7751 69.85%

Stage 4 Peek-A-Boo No-shoots 3 9.67 4.550 43.9661 73.28%

Stage 5 Ambi Standards 9 15.65 1.981 23.5554 29.44%

The video I posted from the match where I executed my plan was my best stage finish. I finished 3rd overall in Production out of 10 behind Pharaoh Bender and Flexmoney.

I have plently to improve upon.

Edited April 11, 2007 by Texas HK shooter

[Brazos SC Shooter]

4/9/07

30 on the elliptical

30 min dry fire

I am working on bringing the cardio/aerobic piece back in on a regular basis. Obviously there is now way to hit my weight goal with out it. It is certainly easier to just dry fire in the morning. I have to fight the "lazy" factor.

Even though I only had 30 min. of dry fire this morning, I am able to do about 50% more drills in the same amount of time not that I am using the repetitive mode on my timer.

[Brazos SC Shooter]

4/10/07

2 hr dry fire session - My son woke up at 4:15am and then proceeded to wake up my wife and I. I tried to go back to sleep but it wasn't happening. I got up at 4:45 and got in a nice long practice.

I was able to complete every excercise with the exception of the shooting on the move drills. This was a very good session. The tips Flyin40 provided on my reloads have been very helpful. I am already starting to see improvement. My reloads have been an area of focus for a while but have not felt like real progress was being made. Today was a different story. I won't get excited until I can start to string days of practice in a row where this is the case.

Edited April 11, 2007 by Texas HK shooter

[Micah]

The video I posted from the match where I executed my plan was my best stage finish. I finished 3rd overall in Production out of 10 behind Pharaoh Bender and Kyle.

I have plently to improve upon.

YOu've come along way Drew! Kepp it up brother.

[Brazos SC Shooter]

Thanks PB. I appreciate the feedback. Eventhough the phrase was coined by a Chinese Marxist Military Leader, it is very wise. "A journey of a thousand miles begin with just a single step."

I have taken few steps but there are many left to be taken.

Edited April 11, 2007 by Texas HK shooter

[Rob Boudrie]

I did some additional research last night and if I would have said I was going to or had been to match it turns out I would have been ok. There is a provision to allow non-residents to be in possesion of a weapon if they are attending a shooting competition.

The section of law to which you refer in NY penal code 265.20(13). The exemption covers +/- 48 hours surrounding a match approved by or under the auspices of the NRA or IMHSA.

The NRA will grant "special match status" to USPSA events in NY at no charge, and even grant recognition on one form for a club's entire season. If you're running a match in NY, it's worth doing this in case anyone is victimized.

It cannot offer any assurance against abuse, but I'd bet someone would be in a much stronger position if the affidavit taken at attest time contained the statement "possessed pursuant to NY penal code 265.20(13)." In fact, I wrap the gun up in this section of the law, a copy of the NRA recognition paperwork, and that chapter of NY law when traveling through NY state.

[Brazos SC Shooter]

4/11/07

30min on Elliptical

20 min dry fire

This morning's session was a short one. I will spend some additional time this evening. Worked on eliminating wasted movement in my reloads and my draws.

The last two days in a row I have finished my practice with a drill that really burns my shoulders. I set my timer to my "Burkett Reload" par time and then set it to repeat 100 times. With the 2 second pause to rest included, it takes just under 5 minutes. Holding the gun up with arms extended and cranking reload after reload really starts to burn at about 80-85. It has also allowed me to focus solely on execution.

[Brazos SC Shooter]

4/11/07

1 hr live fire

30 min Dry fire

The live fire was breaking in my Trojan 5.0. Just checking the sight picture with the new fiber optic front sight as well as seeing where I made it group. Normally I have a tendency to shoot my groups left of center, but these were slightly right and low maybe by an inch at 30 feet. Has everything to do with me for sure.

In my dry fire session I worked on drawing from concealment in preparation for this weekend's IDPA match. I previously was able to match my drill par times from my IDPA gear but not so much with the concealment vest. I will spend the rest of this week's dry fire sessions on IDPA related skillz.

Edited April 12, 2007 by Texas HK shooter

[Brazos SC Shooter]

4/12/07

45 min Dry Fire

I began tracking par times with my concealment vest for the R&R drills. I noticed that my par times on average are .2-.3 seconds slower. The vest really impeeds the draw and reload motions. I have been working so hard to eliminate all unecessary movement from these two actions to the point where doing this from concealment felt cumbersome.

I realize it is all relative since everyone has the same issue to contend with. I am viewing it like a puzzel and working to eliminate any unecessary movement, given the constraint of the vest.

I printed off the course descriptions for this week's match and have begun to lay out and commit my plan to memory. The stages can change once they are in 3 dimensions but at least the baseline will be there.

Here are the stages if you are interested.

Stage 1 - Night Moves

Stage 2 - X Marks the Spot

Stage 3 - On the Upper Pad II

Stage 4 - Shoot & Scoot

Evening Session

45 min of dry fire - worked on more par times from concealment and more reloads with the Trojan.

Edited April 13, 2007 by Texas HK shooter

[Brazos SC Shooter]

4/13/07

30 min Elliptical

1 hr dry fire

Continued to work on draws and reloads from concealment in preparation for tomorrow's match. I am excited to break the new STI in and begin incorporating the other half of my 2007 goals related to IDPA.

My match goals for tomorrow

1. Shoot with visual patience

2. Break only A-zone shots

3. Have fun

4. Win CDP and HOA.

[Brazos SC Shooter]

4/14/07

IDPA Match - once again was the weather was really crappy. It presented another opportunity to put the distraction of the weather out of my mind and just shoot. I did a decent job of this.

I learned, once again, to leave Bob's work (Brazos) alone. I put a lighter slide spring in the gun yesterday (12# from 16#), thinking I would speed up the cycling rate. I had three failures to feed. I believe the light spring through off the timing. In all cases it was the first bullet out of the magazine after the +1 round was shot. All of them went straight into the feed ramp and did not go up in to the chamber. After the second stage I swapped them back it ran like a sewing machine.

I will post some videos of the match tomorrow.

I received my copy of Lanny's book this afternoon. I am going to begin reading it now. Talk to you all tomorrow.

Edited April 15, 2007 by Texas HK shooter

[Brazos SC Shooter]

Stage 1 - Night Moves

Stage 2 - X Marks the Spot

Stage 3 - On the Upper Pad II

Stage 4 - Shoot & Scoot

4/15/07

2 hrs dry fire practice - Switched back to my production rig for today's practice. I also added par times for all of the plate rack drills today.

The results from the IDPA match are in. Woo Hoo.

Results of my goals.

I shot with patience, only 34 points down.

I had a really good time even when the gun did not run as smoothly as I had hoped.

I won CDP. I also won 2 of the 4 stages.

Not too shabby for my first time to ever compete in that division. These aren't excuses, just the reality of what kept me from meeting my HOA goal.

Stage 4 - gun jammed because I messed with the recoil spring. When you compare my first run of 41.83 vs. my reshoot at 25.68 with no jam, I was fast enought to take HOA.

Stage 3 - my barney bullet mag fell out of my vest pocket while running to P2 which resulted in a 3 second penalty.

Here are the clip from a couple of runs.

[Brazos SC Shooter]

4/16/07

30 min on Elliptical

30 min dry fire - short session this morning. Nothing significant to note. I am seeing par times start to decrease so that has been exciting. Reinforces that all this work will pay off as long as I stay commited to it.

1st weigh in - down 5lbs

[Brazos SC Shooter]

4/17/07

1 hr dry fire - continue to work and refine the basics. The weather in central Ohio seems to be turning a corner. I will be setting up an outside course to practice shooting on the move this weekend.

In perparation for Nationals, I started reviewing the "match screw ups" threads to learn from the mistakes of the thousands of shooters who came before me. However, after reading the first the first part of Lanny's book I realized that since the brain can only hold one visualization at a time I did not want to fill my mind with the images of multiple mistakes.

I am learning.

I have posted additional videos of my my son practicing. I am not biased at all but he is the cutest damn kid I ever did see. His Dad must be one handsome devil.

Love it!!

Edited April 18, 2007 by Texas HK shooter

[Sunuva]

The results from the IDPA match are in. Woo Hoo.

Nice Job!!

[Brazos SC Shooter]

4/17/07

30 min - Elliptical

Did not dry fire today. I did read more of Lanny's book however.