ZH's Quest

[zhunter]

The quest, well, right now it is a quest for my "A" card, which may or may come next week when the Single Stack classifications come out. Truly, my quest is just to be the best shooter I can be in the limited amount of time I can dedicate to the shooting.

So, WSSS is this weekend, and I have been practicing a bit the past two weeks trying to get ready.

Most likely, this mornings practice will have been the last live fire I get before the match.

I primarily worked on draws, both hands relaxed and surrender. Everything was done at 7 yards today, as I did my long distance practice last week with Dirtypool40

Both relaxed and surrender were similar at about 0.95 - 1.05.

My transitions are slow, as I worked on a draw, 2, transition 2 drill. Splits are comfortably in the 0.20 range, but the transitions to a target 3' away hovers in the 0.35 - 0.45 range. I think this is too slow. I would like to get this down to a consistent 0.30

On the Draw 1 shot, reload 1 shot, I averaged about 2.35.

Most draws once again were in the 1.00 range, and the reloads averaged 1.35. The fastest of the 100 I did was 1.19, which was part of a 2.17 with it's 0.98 draw. I was pretty happy about that one!!!!

I hit a lot of reloads in the mid to low 1.20's, but honestly, I would say that with the "botched" ones averaged in, I averaged about 1.35 for the reload.

So, more dry-fire to follow to prepare for the biggest match I have ever shot, it should be fun.

[Catfish]

Great start, Z! Have fun, the journey really is the best part.

[dirtypool40]

waitin' to help wherever I can.

[Chris Keen]

waitin' with the popcorn to see how this story turns out.

[zhunter]

OK, I got my "A" Card today in Single Stack, so that is awesome!!! Finally made it!!!

So, now the quest is to reach "M"

As for today

I need to find a way to practice swingers!!!! I was TERRIBLE today on swingers!!! All shots on steel and static targets were great, I was very please, but the rest made for a frustrating day.

I need HELP!!!!!!

ERIC!!!! OH Eric, let's practice some swinging targets, SOON

[j1b]

If you build it, it will come.

Build the base. Screw the swingers for now. Eventually they just become targets. And if they are targets, you can hit them.

As you get better, the skills to get that much better become that much more finite. Which, as they say, is more in your head than about what you can or can't do physically.

Trash expectations. Trash standards. Trash what you believe to be true versus what you don't. Just shoot. It'll come.

Winning is not a skill. It's a thought process.

Know the difference and M will only be a stepping stone to GM. Inevitably the end goal is a win. GM is just a stepping stone to that as well.

J

[dirtypool40]

If you build it, it will come.

Build the base. Screw the swingers for now. Eventually they just become targets. And if they are targets, you can hit them.

As you get better, the skills to get that much better become that much more finite. Which, as they say, is more in your head than about what you can or can't do physically.

Trash expectations. Trash standards. Trash what you believe to be true versus what you don't. Just shoot. It'll come.

Winning is not a skill. It's a thought process.

Know the difference and M will only be a stepping stone to GM. Inevitably the end goal is a win. GM is just a stepping stone to that as well.

J

Man, re-read that post, over and over.

[zhunter]

If you build it, it will come.

Build the base. Screw the swingers for now. Eventually they just become targets. And if they are targets, you can hit them.

As you get better, the skills to get that much better become that much more finite. Which, as they say, is more in your head than about what you can or can't do physically.

Trash expectations. Trash standards. Trash what you believe to be true versus what you don't. Just shoot. It'll come.

Winning is not a skill. It's a thought process.

Know the difference and M will only be a stepping stone to GM. Inevitably the end goal is a win. GM is just a stepping stone to that as well.

J

Man, re-read that post, over and over.

Rereading now

Rereading now

rereading now

All kidding aside, That is a GREAT post!!!!

Thanks for the simplicity of the idea!!!

[Catfish]

If you build it, it will come.

Build the base. Screw the swingers for now. Eventually they just become targets. And if they are targets, you can hit them.

As you get better, the skills to get that much better become that much more finite. Which, as they say, is more in your head than about what you can or can't do physically.

Trash expectations. Trash standards. Trash what you believe to be true versus what you don't. Just shoot. It'll come.

Winning is not a skill. It's a thought process.

Know the difference and M will only be a stepping stone to GM. Inevitably the end goal is a win. GM is just a stepping stone to that as well.

J

This post needs to be a sticky somewhere.

[zhunter]

OK, reflecting on my VERY poor performance at the WSSS:

It was the first time I ever "traveled" to a match, meaning air travel. I was really excited and let it get in the way of the discipline I had relied upon the past year when shooting SS. I let the timer control me, I tried to go too fast and lost track of the big picture, which is POINTS!!! I shot sloppily and had a LOT of misses. I am disappointed in my self control, not my shooting, as I DID NOT allow myself to shoot like I normally do.

It was a great lesson to learn, no matter if it is a local or a big match, it is about sight picture, front sight, and getting points, forget about the speed, it will be there.

I feel like I went back 2 1/2 years in my shooting this past weekend.

I am going to go back and really focus on slow, front sight, calling my shot for a couple of weeks to get back the discipline I threw away at the WSSS.

Also, the 180 PF at sea level and 75 degrees was also 180 PF at 50 degrees at 2000 above sea level.

NOTE TO SELF: Don't be afraid of the chrono, set your PF at home and have confidence in it!

Lessons learned the hard way!!!!

[dirtypool40]

get your ass up here and let's train!!!

[GentlemanJim]

Jay

only take the good things from the match.

On a number of stages you really did quite well.!

never let new things intimidate you...this whole game is about new things...gimmicks and choices...you will find them everywhere...just shoot em!!

Jim

[Catfish]

The sucky thing about lessons is that they're usually not very pleasant.

Learn from it and move on, Mr. Z.

[j1b]

Experience is what enables you to get through situations without making mistakes.

The way you get experience is by making mistakes.

Unfortunate but true. And not my quote by the way. I don't recall where I saw that, who posted it (if in these forums). I just know it's true.

J

[boz1911]

Just something I've tried lately. On the first stage I try to shoot all alphas irregardless of time. Seems to get me looking at the front sight and stay looking at the front sight for the day. I tend to forget about that damn sight so this gets me on track.

Only done this for a couple of matches but so far working OK.

May be the "trick of the day"........who knows?

[tightloop]

OK, reflecting on my VERY poor performance at the WSSS:

It was the first time I ever "traveled" to a match, meaning air travel. I was really excited and let it get in the way of the discipline I had relied upon the past year when shooting SS. I let the timer control me, I tried to go too fast and lost track of the big picture, which is POINTS!!! I shot sloppily and had a LOT of misses. I am disappointed in my self control, not my shooting, as I DID NOT allow myself to shoot like I normally do.

It was a great lesson to learn, no matter if it is a local or a big match, it is about sight picture, front sight, and getting points, forget about the speed, it will be there.

I feel like I went back 2 1/2 years in my shooting this past weekend.

I am going to go back and really focus on slow, front sight, calling my shot for a couple of weeks to get back the discipline I threw away at the WSSS.

Also, the 180 PF at sea level and 75 degrees was also 180 PF at 50 degrees at 2000 above sea level.

NOTE TO SELF: Don't be afraid of the chrono, set your PF at home and have confidence in it!

Lessons learned the hard way!!!!

Z:

Everyone has to learn what you have now also learned....and sorry to tell you, most of us, can't do what we know to do, 100% of the time even after we have learned the lesson...You learned and will keep on learning the more BIG matches you go to...It will bore you, but perhaps make you feel better as well, so I will relate the point in my shooting that I learned the same thing you just did..

In 1979 IIRC, I went to the US Nationals...I had been shooting just over a year and had done really well in my local club, which contained a couple of really good shooters and we drew some good ones as well..I, like you was a local B rated shooter, but there were no National ranking categories, just local. Anyway, went to Virginia to shoot and it was my first big match, out of state, the whole thing you just went thru....I was in awe, simply put. Here I was shoulder to shoulder with Mickey Fowler, Mike Dalton, Mike Fitchman, Raul Walters, lots of great shooters of the era (the Whiz Kids Rob and Brian had not yet burst on the scene), it was a trip.

It was either July or August and was hot, over 90 and I was standing in line for a coke on the day before we shot, looking at the stages and getting a feel for it all...and in line just ahead of me was a young girl or maybe 16 or 17. We struck up a conversation waiting to get to the counter. Her name was Heidi Lippmeyer. We compared shooting credentials, she was a relative newbie and said she hoped to finish in the top half of the 350 shooters there, while I told her I was a Big Toad from Texas and felt I surely would make the shoot offs, cause I was really good...she smiled and said she would look for me on the podium when the trophies were given out...I thanked her and we laughed about it all , got our drinks and went our own way...

You have already guessed the outcome...yep, I tanked almost the entire match, finished a sterling 151st of 350, while Heidi went on to become Ladies US Champion...it was I who needed to look for her on the podium

It is human frailty that our ego gets in the way of doing what we know we need to do...take us out of our comfrot zone (local shooters, and familiar faces and places) and things seem to suddenly become lots more difficult...it is like we suddenly have a brain seizure and can't make our bodies do what we want anymore. It is like Jack said in his quote, the more you do it the more it becomes mental, and when you cross over the thresh hold you find yourself shooting the stage and literally the entire match in your mind only, your body seems to operate on remote control...rather an out of body experience....you have been there a few times playing golf I would imagine. Relate to it anyway you can, but you are heads above some others cause you have already had that feeling before...draw on that, use it...keep after it and you'll get there...and don't forget that even the great Jack Nicklaus jumped when Trevino threw the rubber snake at him before they teed off in the playoff for the US Open, which Lee Buck won BTW...so Jim did not set the precedent, just followed Lee's...

Keep smiling and working, it will happen...

Tloop

[zhunter]

TL

Interesting thoughts and analogies for sure.

The funny thing is, in golf my game traveled fairly well I had a routine that never differed, so the size of the occasion was less likely to have an effect on my performance. This is new for me in shooting, and surprisingly I did not apply those same things I add in golf to my shooting this past weekend. It was odd really, as I have shot at or above my expectations in 1 of the 2 Florida Opens, and the same for a Florida State match. I guess I was out of my comfort zone and allowed it to effect me negatively. I am amazed I did not recognize this with my prior competitive experience. But I have now and this knowledge will pay dividends in the future.

Keep the good stuff coming, I am happy to draw on all of your own learning experiences.

Thanks again

[zhunter]

Practiced today, 300 shots, 10 yards

All but 6 "A's"

First 100 were .65 - .75 splits ONLY looking at front sight

Second 100 were .55 - .65 Splits ONLY looking at front sight

Third 100 were .50 - .55 splits ONLY looking at front sights

The split numbers are approximate, but for the purpose of this diary, I will use these rounded numbers.

I ONLY broke shots when I have a PERFECT sight picture and could call the shot 100%

Those are very slow times, but my intent was to retrain my eyes to watch the front sight track up and back down to the A-Zone.

I felt good about the practice.

[dirtypool40]

Q: What did you see?

A: the serrations on my front site, settled in the A-zone.

[CAB33]

Practiced today, 300 shots, 10 yards

All but 6 "A's"

First 100 were .65 - .75 splits ONLY looking at front sight

Second 100 were .55 - .65 Splits ONLY looking at front sight

Third 100 were .50 - .55 splits ONLY looking at front sights

The split numbers are approximate, but for the purpose of this diary, I will use these rounded numbers.

I ONLY broke shots when I have a PERFECT sight picture and could call the shot 100%

Those are very slow times, but my intent was to retrain my eyes to watch the front sight track up and back down to the A-Zone.

I felt good about the practice.

I did a similar thing about 2 weeks ago with a zebra target at 10 yards after having problems with my sight tracking inconsistently.

The black of the zebra really made me notice when the sight wasn't tracking like I wanted it to.

The entire practice was just this and by the end I was on cloud 9 because I new I just had my best practice ever.

[zhunter]

Here is a photo of yesterday's practice session

[j1b]

Z

Quick question, because I've never ran a drill like this before.

Interesting having set par times, at a specific distance, just drilling in vision. I like the idea.

The question I have is vision versus par time. You made mention of the fact that you broke the shot when everything was perfect. But the practice was also structured - first 100 in x par time, second 100 in Y par time.

If the sights were perfect, and you were shooting "the first 100" did you break the shot early?

If not, can you dive a little deeper into objectives?

Hope you don't mind me asking. For myself, I always like to understand what my objectives are with a given drill. I'm either misinterpreting your post (which is ENTIRELY possible) or I'm conflicted in understanding the shot breaking when the vision is perfect versus within the par time goal.

Thanks!

J

[zhunter]

Z

Quick question, because I've never ran a drill like this before.

Interesting having set par times, at a specific distance, just drilling in vision. I like the idea.

The question I have is vision versus par time. You made mention of the fact that you broke the shot when everything was perfect. But the practice was also structured - first 100 in x par time, second 100 in Y par time.

If the sights were perfect, and you were shooting "the first 100" did you break the shot early?

If not, can you dive a little deeper into objectives?

Hope you don't mind me asking. For myself, I always like to understand what my objectives are with a given drill. I'm either misinterpreting your post (which is ENTIRELY possible) or I'm conflicted in understanding the shot breaking when the vision is perfect versus within the par time goal.

Thanks!

J

j1b

Essentially, I was not going for a set par time in the beginning, but rather just a nice slow totally controlled sight picture. The timer showed me that the first 100 were in the .65 - .75 area.

As I once again became comfortable with a perfect sight picture/called shot, I sped up slightly in each subsequent 100 rounds.

I will continue on the same path next week, retraining my eyes to get the sight picture/front sight/shot calling back down to a normal match speed.

I am really just trying to restore my confidence in accuracy after last weeks undisciplined match at WSSS

I hope that explanation helps.

[carinab]

If you're going to use a par time, why not try setting the target out a bit further to where you can't easily see the holes - say 20 yards. You can try for the perfect sight picture but with the press of time, it won't always happen. So instead work on calling where it hit by reading the sights. I've borrowed one of Brian's drills for this. At 25 yards I shoot 5 rounds. On a reduced ipsc target printed on a sheet of paper, I mark where I believe the shots hit based on my reading of the sights when the shots broke. I compare them to the actual hits.

[zhunter]

Great Practice session yesterday.

Finalized my load for matches as I had adjusted the OAL of the load from 1.257 to 1.250 ( new digital calipers make a big difference ) and got it set at 170.430 PF

Use my video to tape about 1/3 of my practice session, hope this will be helpful when I have a look at it, have not had time to do that yet.

All work was at 10 yards

Start with Draw 1 shot drills, nice and slow at first to just work on technique. Then slowly got down to match speed, which now is about 1.03 - 1.12

Next I worked on draw, 2 shots, transition to a target 6 feet to the side, and 2 shots. Total front sight focus was used for every shot Draws were the same as above and the splits were in the 0.33 - 0.43 range, depending upon sight picture. My transitions are still very slow and hovered in the 0.43 - 0.54 range. I feel that with splits in the mid to high 30's, my transitions should be EXACTLY the same for a nice steady cadence. My eyes are CONSISTENTLY following the front sights and NOT snapping to the next target

Next was Draw 1 shot, Reload 1 shot.

Draws were the same and the reloads started about 1.55 -1.65, certainly not acceptable. I noticed that I was not really SEEING into the magwell, so........

I made sure to FOCUS on looking into the magwell, and viola!!!! I started smoking the reloads in under 1.30 most of the time with NO sloppy ones. It actually seemed slower, but the timer told me otherwise.

At the end, I had about 15 rounds from the box of loose ammo I brought out for the practice session ( 300 rounds ) and thought I would play around and try to see how FAST I could hit some draws. Remember this is all out of SS legal gear, but the results were great. ONLY pure speed was on my mind. Slowest was 0.93, fastest was 0.87.

Need to put some paper plates up on my sliding glass windows and work on my eyes snapping to the target.

Edited January 26, 2008 by zhunter