Micah's Range Diary

[Micah]

^ Wow Aron... I don't usually laugh before 8am, but that had me rolling I will save my response for a face-to-face encounter

[inkballedtarget]

I am going back to the Lanny Bassham mental program approach and making an affirmation on the matter. In a nutshell: "The first stage is one of my best stages of the match! I have done all of the training beforehand, and once I hear "Make ready", I am more ready than ever. I feel myself grooving into the match the moment I load up, and smile knowing that I do my best on my first stage!"

Sounds like a great way to get back into the mental groove. When is you next match? I look forward to the new video. Not to sounds like a total Noobcake... But thank you for posting all the videos and pictures.. I have learned a great deal from your thread..

Hope all is well,

Cal

[Micah]

Cal, I am very glad that you are getting something out of this thread My next major will be the Indiana State Sectional this weekend, then maybe the W.PA and MI Sectional in August.

[Coach]

^ Wow Aron... I don't usually laugh before 8am, but that had me rolling I will save my response for a face-to-face encounter

Looking forward to it. I swear that is just how it happened.

[inkballedtarget]

Cal, I am very glad that you are getting something out of this thread My next major will be the Indiana State Sectional this weekend, then maybe the W.PA and MI Sectional in August.

Awesome dude! Well good luck with the match! Have safe travels and I look forward to hearing about it.

Hope you're havin a good one,

Cal

[Corey]

Looking forward to seeing you this weekend and actually watching you shoot when you roll through my stage.

[inkballedtarget]

Hey Micah.

So Ive been trying to work out when is the right time to start prepping the trigger after the draw.. I found a thread that was a poll about when you place the finger on the trigger.. Even though most of the members that posted shot 1911s/2011s, the right way to execute this unclear.. When do you start prepping your trigger?

Kinda on the same note... When you draw with your strong hand where is the proper place for your weak hand to meet the gun and take its place on the grip? Is it higher or lower? Closer to the body or a little further out?

I need to get some books and get to reading, so I don't have to pester you...

Thanks dude!! Hope all is well..

[Steve Anderson]

As you draw, you should be able to shoot as soon as you confrim an acceptable sight picture. This is whay dry fire draws should NOT end with a trigger press if only the draw is being practiced. You don't want to speed up the shot, (by itself) you want to speed up the acceptable sight picture that allows the shot.

Or to put it another way, prep the trigger as soon as safely possible.

With regard to the weak hand, start with your freestyle position and do the draw in reverse. This should reveal the proper path for the weak hand. Anything that deviates from this could be wasted time. I know a lot of people (very smart people) who like to pat their bellies and/or give the weak hand a planned detour. I'd rather get it on the gun.

[inkballedtarget]

As you draw, you should be able to shoot as soon as you confrim an acceptable sight picture. This is whay dry fire draws should NOT end with a trigger press if only the draw is being practiced. You don't want to speed up the shot, (by itself) you want to speed up the acceptable sight picture that allows the shot.

Or to put it another way, prep the trigger as soon as safely possible.

With regard to the weak hand, start with your freestyle position and do the draw in reverse. This should reveal the proper path for the weak hand. Anything that deviates from this could be wasted time. I know a lot of people (very smart people) who like to pat their bellies and/or give the weak hand a planned detour. I'd rather get it on the gun.

Thank you Mr. Anderson, I never thought about working it in reverse to map out the proper movements from the draw. I'm sending you a PM with a couple of questions.

Thanks for sharing your knowledge with me!

[Micah]

Great question, but as I drive back from Indiana I see that Steve has already answered it flawlessly. Thanks Steve! I'll have the vids and breakdown of the match tomorrow. I will say this though... This match was awesome and big props to the people that made it happen!

[redbird1976]

As you draw, you should be able to shoot as soon as you confrim an acceptable sight picture. This is whay dry fire draws should NOT end with a trigger press if only the draw is being practiced. You don't want to speed up the shot, (by itself) you want to speed up the acceptable sight picture that allows the shot.

Or to put it another way, prep the trigger as soon as safely possible.

With regard to the weak hand, start with your freestyle position and do the draw in reverse. This should reveal the proper path for the weak hand. Anything that deviates from this could be wasted time. I know a lot of people (very smart people) who like to pat their bellies and/or give the weak hand a planned detour. I'd rather get it on the gun.

Thanks Steve. You answered my question about dry fire drawing. I saw the answer in an older thread, but couldn't remember what you said about snapping when practicing the draw. I know what to be looking for now. BTW- I purchased your second book the other day. It's a good read. I'm looking forward to incorporating your movement drills into my nationals prep this week. I was also pleased to see I've already been working on several of the other drills just from my own experience.

[Micah]

Wow...the Indiana State match was amazing, and all the credit goes to the men and women that worked their asses off to make it happen

I felt that I had a strong performance at this one. When everything was said and done, I came out at 5th place in Production. Not were I wanted to finish up, but my competition certainly had to work for it. After watching my videos, I see an aggressiveness that was lacking when I shot SS...a trust that has been reinstated. I feel invigorated to start training daily again, and will be looking to fill August with a few more majors before school is back in session.

[Chris iliff]

Lions and Tigers and Bears, Oh my..............but let's not forget the spiders!!

You looked great shooting this past weekend. Good job!!

[dcarter]

Micah, Looking at your video I see a lot of stage planning that we did exactly the same and a couple where you came up with solutions I did not see. I guess I have a little more I can learn.

[Corey]

Lions and Tigers and Bears, Oh my..............but let's not forget the spiders!!

You looked great shooting this past weekend. Good job!!

:roflol:

Good seeing ya at the match Micah. Nice runs

[inkballedtarget]

Hey Micah!

Thanks for posting the video, They looked like really solid runs to me.. But then again I don't know anything.. Ive watched the video quite a few times, and I do have a question.. At 1:25 after you shot the popper you put three rounds in the stationary target. The first two shots looked like good shots, was the third shot just insurance??

I got my CRS belt in today, along with my blade tech holster! The belt is awesome, I love it! The holster is great too.. There is a little play in the retention of the gun, but nothing too serious.. As per your advice I also ordered Mr. Anderson's book! I'm super stoked about it getting here so I can really get to work.

Hope you are well

Cal

[Micah]

Glad to see that you are gearing up Cal! I NEVER do insurance shots! If I call my shots as groovy, then we are groovy. Insurance shots are kinda bullshit imho...if you see what you needed to see, then move on. In that instance, I called the second shot as a mike so I made it up knowing that I had the rounds to do so. The missed shot ended up being a delta...but the makeup was an alpha. So I made up four points with that split decision.

And there was no greater tool to me becoming a proficient competitor than dryfire, so I am VERY glad that you are getting into Anderson's books!

[Micah]

The worst mistake that I have ever made in a major match is approaching the last few stages with the knowledge that I have, up to that point, shot a clean match. This mindset robs me of fluidity, speed, and subconscious thought, and puts me in the mode of conscious shooting. I have lost several majors to this.

[alpha-charlie]

The worst mistake that I have ever made in a major match is approaching the last few stages with the knowledge that I have, up to that point, shot a clean match. This mindset robs me of fluidity, speed, and subconscious thought, and puts me in the mode of conscious shooting. I have lost several majors to this.

I made this same mistake at Indiana. With 7 of the 11 stages done I thought, "I'm shooting this match clean, I might make the 10 ten."

I had 3 mikes on the next 2 stages.

[inkballedtarget]

Thanks for clearing that up Micah, maybe insurance shot was a poor word choice on my part. Either way I have it down in my notes that 'insurance shots are bullshit'. It was pretty cool how quick it happened.

When learning to watch your front sight lift and calling the shot, do these take place hand in hand. Or do you learn to watch sight lift anddd then you learn to call your shots? Im not sure if that makes sense or not.

As far as dryfire practice Ive been practicing about an hour and a half a day. Right now Ive just been working on the draw and trigger control. Im videoing myself to make sure my head isn't dipping and my body is still, Im trying to stay honest. Im probably going to order Mr. Andersons second book... I dont know why I didn't order both at the same time..

Thanks dude!!

Cal

[ihatepickles]

Hey Micah, how that headshot on the fast clamshell turn out in scoring? Nice vids, a bit weird seeing the gun from that angle.

[inkballedtarget]

Hey Micah, how that headshot on the fast clamshell turn out in scoring? Nice vids, a bit weird seeing the gun from that angle.

I was curious about this too. Was is rigged to be that fast or was that just bad luck? I watched Mr. Keen's video shooting it, and it looked like it closed up slower.

[Micah]

Hey Micah, how that headshot on the fast clamshell turn out in scoring? Nice vids, a bit weird seeing the gun from that angle.

After the video, it seemed like I had plenty of time for my second shot. I'm not sure what happened, but the end result was alpha bravo. A VERY expensive bravo at that.

A good friend send me this question:

Is there a quick and dirty review on how to train correctly? Or do the answers lie in a book? Maybe Mr. Enos's, or if you have another suggestion Im all ears.

If you had to do it over again would you shoot production or go straight to limited? Do you think that the knowledge you gained from production helped become great in limited?

I made my most significant improvements when I began to dryfire and study the video of GMs in the sport. Hours and hours a day, practicing draws, reloads, transitions, table starts..all of that in my little one bedroom apartment. It does not take much space to ingrain the fundamentals into your subconscious.

Prod will teach you how to shoot and to break down stages in tens. Limited will teach you how to shoot and break down stages in one reload. Like I said earlier, you must shoot what you feel drawn to. If you don't, you will always have that remorse. Production has always been my home, and even though I have tried to venture off, it still calls me back!

[inkballedtarget]

[Eric Cartman voice on]

I'm sorry, I'm sorry. What I meant to say was you're very well liked around the asylum.

[Eric Cartman voice off]

So I'm 32 pages through your diary and there has been a ton of great info, but this is by far the funniest thing so far....

Edited August 13, 2011 by inkballedtarget

[Micah]

I feel like there should be some kind of reward for those brave enough to read this entire thread...perhaps some bourbon to calm the nerves.

Someone mentioned to me the other day something about the weird Glock tumor that I was toying with on my G24. The shooting certainly has been a odyssey in trial and error.