Little Kahuna's Range Diary

[little_kahuna]

Lol, he also needed a shave, got some white coming in...

All righty, shot the SoCal Speed Shoot this last weekend. It was lots of fun, I won a Stage in Lim.

I actually did some things right this time, I hope it becomes a tradition lol.

Definitely have to work on the first and last shots when coming into/going out of shooting positions. I pulled a mike on one target due to visual impatience

Any tricks to "cushion" yourselve into/out of positions to relax the shots?

Also need to calm down right before a stage. Dad said that I look calm, but I don't feel calm at times. When I was calm though I had good stages. I think I am getting better at identifying problems with my shooting now. Had a few stages that were completely clean, all alphas.

Practiced Thur. and Sat., both good sessions. Worked mostly on hitting the target in the middle, then smoothly moving to the next one, and doing it again. I can feel the slow but sure crawl of progress.

Now its time to drill in these good habits, and fix the entrance/exit visual impatience.

Planning on a few trips to the range for some livefire practice this week, working up to the Golden Bullet in a couple weeks.

-Nick Santiago

p.s.

Thread about my stage win.

First Lim. Stage Win

Edited June 10, 2008 by little_kahuna

[little_kahuna]

So I just got back from the NorCal Sectional: Golden Bullet, and it was totally rad. Friday morning I put about 350 rds thru the gun just before we left for the match. Ran smooth as usual. We got to the match in the blazing heat and shot 7 stages on Sat. Finished up Sun. morning, which was more moderately temperatured. Cool stages, and lots of good competition. I shot a most stages at my potential, and a couple which I got a little squirrelly on. I had a nice chat with Peter Quan about consistency. He said that it is not about beating the other guys, but simply letting them lose. Between any certain number of competitors of a similar level of skill, he who makes the least mistakes will emerge victorious among them. I believe that is a great peice of advice, and one in which I need to spend some serious time working on. I can feel it coming together, and I'm more easily finding issues with my performance which need tweaking. Came out; 7th Lim. overall, 2nd "B" Lim., and High Lim. Junior. It was a ton of fun, and I got to see a bunch of great people. Thanks to the RO's and match coordinators, it was really a pleasure.

-Nick

[HoMiE]

That's awesome, consistency is key. Shoot your own game and worry about the results later.

[coltgov]

As Dirty Harry (Clint Eastwood) said in Magnum Force, the sequel to the Dirty Harry movies:

"A man's got to know his limitations".

You certainly don't want to follow Dirty Harry's other memorable quote:

"Do I feel lucky?"

[little_kahuna]

That is very insightful, and easy to relate to lol

thank you both

Edited June 26, 2008 by little_kahuna

[little_kahuna]

Within the last few weeks, I've been out to the range a couple times, trying new loads. Prepping for the Pro-Am. I think it's gunne be a blast.

Round count up to ~4395, still no malfunctions

Benny replaced my FO Front with a plain black. Thank you!

I can really focus on the corners of the FS and am not so distracted as I was getting with the FO. I think it will really be a big help especially in the upcoming matches.

I'm feeling like I'm getting the hang of this 2011 thing now; finally losing my Glockiness lol.

More practice and some big matches coming up. Pro-Am, and LPR Natls.

Should be tons of fun.

-Nick

[little_kahuna]

I've been practicing tons of steel in preparation for the Pro-Am. With ~700 rds downrange in the last two days, I can feel progress. Been practicing man vs. man steel and plates. Tried some minor loads and I think I'm going with the 137 pf load. It's light and fast in transitions, and is powerful enough to put steel to rest.

Almost 5,000 rounds thru this gun and still awaiting a malfunction

I'm going to try to get to the range every day before we leave for Tulsa. With this new black FS, quick accurate shots have become easier. Visible improvement in accuracy. Sometimes I get ahead of myself, being visually impatient, thus resulting in a miss. I think I should allow myself enought time to properly align my sights, then press the trigger, call a good shot and move on. I wouldn't expect misses if I shot like that all the time.

Man Vs. Man steel shooting is fun and really helps with the ability to ignore distractions. The first time I shot it, I was really confused, and startled, because I was not used to multiple shooters shooting on one bay. The direct confrontation/competition between shooters gets the adrenaline pumping. I like it.

More practice to come, more steel to knock over.

-Nick

[little_kahuna]

Back from the 2008 Pro-Am. It was a sweet match. Run smoothly, and administered well. Thanks to everyone working there to make it happen.

It was so much fun, and a fairly different style of shooting sport than I'm used to shooting. Being a little different, I didn't expect to blow it away, but I was very pleased with my performance on most of the stages. A few little things that need attention: visual patience (as always, I'm not sure WHEN I'll get this down lol), and pre-stage calmness. I am getting better at relaxing before I shoot and it really helps. Calling shots and actually taking the time to properly align the sights is vital when I'm shooting steel. I feel much improvement from shooting this match, as well as all the practice sessions I had before it. Now preparing for nationals. I hope i can get into L10 as well as Lim. I've already got a slot to LPR, L10 would be awesome.

Practice a couple times this week, and hopefully a few times a week till Nat's, hope to see you all there!

-LK

[little_kahuna]

I practiced yesterday. Burned about 300 rounds on 3 paper and 7 steel. We did some 35 yd practice on the paper, like draws, draw-two shots, turn draw, el prez. Then at around 30 yards did work on the plates. Since my buddy was shooting open, it was hard to compare, but on a lot of the draws and two-shots, we had really close/overlapping time. After those we moved up a bit and did more el prez style stuff. I then did el prez head-shots, and body- reload-head's. Pretty relaxed practice, working on basics. I had fun and it helped to solidify a lot of the basic skills. Not rushing too fast, but still going smooth and quick. My mentor/shooting buddy said that a few weeks ago I was "trying to win stages", but now I'm just shooting the match, which I think is a big improvement.

[little_kahuna]

Just wrapped up some dry practice at the house. I feel like I'm seeing a lot faster. It feels good. I believe that most all of my mechanics and technique have transcended from Glock to S_I. Few-none mechanical errors in tonights practice. The issue of visual patience seems to be a recurring theme in my shooting. At times it is excellent, and well paced, but at other times it is sporradic, and unpredictable. Consistency in visual patience is what requires my attention at this stage in my shooting career. Probably going for some live practice tomorrow. It will get posted.

-LK

p.s. I try to dissect and apply everyone's input, so keep it coming!

Thanks

[HoMiE]

I would say don't get caught up in the mechanics. When you do, you just go through the motions and you don't pay attention to the fundamentals. Your just pulling the trigger, doing the mechanical. When you have the visual patience, you see where the sights lifted and you know where that shot went. Then you are executing the fundamentals. I will pick a different spot on the target to get back to what I need to see, like I will aim for the upper-right or lower-left of A zone instead of just blasting at brown. Try not to keep shooting the same drill over and over, switch it up more or at least change the order in which you engage the targets. That's what helps me anyways.

[little_kahuna]

Thanks HoMie, thats good advice, I'm going to apply that to my next sessions. I think I'm at a point where mechanics no longer require my focus. Specific points on the Alpha will probably help me a ton as well, thanks

-LK

[HI5-O]

[little_kahuna]

I've been to the range and have been drypractice the last few nights. At the range practice, I outlined the A zone with a fat sharpie, and drew a nickel-sized dot in on the A. That really helped, I called my shots and watched where they were in relation to the dot and outline. I drew a mental line between the dot and the shot, and it really helped. Same with the head. I've been practicing all sorts of visual exercises and through calmness and emptiness-of-mind, I can observe progress. The emptiness-of-mind is a really big part of my consistent performance. It really helps me. Practicing lots of raw skills, in preparation for the Nats, I'm going to try to shoot both.

I almost get ahead of myself when transitioning or splitting, as if I'm looking ahead for what i'm expecting. I think that is really burdening me. Recently I have not been simply allowing the shot to happen, I seem to be too eager to get ahead with it haha. If anyone has any more help with visual patience, please help me! lol

Thanks everyone

-LK

~improving every day~

Edited August 13, 2008 by little_kahuna

[HoMiE]

I got this little nugget from a GM the other day...

Detaching the "desire" is the hard part once you can shoot. - L2S

[little_kahuna]

Detaching the "desire" is the hard part once you can shoot. - L2S

Wow...Epic...

Thanks for sharing HoMiE, I gotta let that sink in...

-LK *stunned*

[little_kahuna]

Detaching the "desire" is the hard part once you can shoot. - L2S

I just put that as my banner on my celphone Thanks L2S for saying, and thanks HoMiE for sharing it!

I felt like I had a breakthrough practice today consuming a mere 88 rounds. It was simple, 4 USP's, 3 plates, 1 texas star. My first run was comfortable, smooth, but I had a few make-ups. Next few runs were very very smooth, I saw EVERYTHING, it was amazing...I realize what it's like to SEE smoothness happening consistently throughout a run now! It rules. Every shot was in the middle. Dad was calling shots. Thanks dad, you're the best. My last run was golden, it was very relaxed and especially smooth, which in turn evolves into our concept of speed. Everything felt so clear, so definitive, and so efficient. I hope I can continue observing myself shoot calmy and naturally for a very long time. It's the paradox; the less concious effort put forth, the more smooth and effective you become.

-LK *feeling profound*

it was a good day, may there be many more to come

Edited August 16, 2008 by little_kahuna

[little_kahuna]

OK! Sorry for the late post. The last match was Sunday the 17th. It wasn't scored properly so I was going to wait, and they never got fixed. It was a consistent match. I saw everything, and I didn't try to DO anything. It all just happened. I observed my body executing the actions that I planned out in the walkthrough, and it was smooth. I bobbled one reload on the classifier though lol

I won two stages, which is just an effect of consistent shooting. It seemed like everyone else's performance was fluctuating while mine was maintained at a calm level. This whole "consistency" thing really works. I should have started doing this earlier!

I won Limited, and I came in second overall, at ~95%, even though the scores were whack lol

It was my best (for consistency and smoothness) match I have shot. I recall maybe two misses? At least one. But I had a ton of good hits and my mechanics and technique were an obvious display of the amount of practice I have been putting in. I feel like this is a major stepping stone in my shooting career.

May this trend continue with the support of my family, mentors, and competitors. Thanks everyone, the hard work is paying off!

I have been dry practicing during the week. More good drills; a combination of reduced-size IPSC targets and plates. I have been using vocal positive affirmation, and it has a very good result. I've also been study a bunch of "self-analysis" books, and have been using those principles to reassess my personal shooting image.

Working full time to pay my way to Nationals. Doing plenty of odd-jobs around town. I just picked up my college books yesterday too Man, growin' up is crazy!

I shall continue a vigorous training routine, and study sessions. More dry-practice this week, and hopefully some live fire this weekend.

-LK

p.s. I "detached the desire" and look what happened!!!

Thanks!

Edited August 21, 2008 by little_kahuna

[little_kahuna]

We went to the range to practice today. I worked on 4 targets at 40 yards, 25 yards, and 15 yards. At 40 yards, when I used clean match ammo, I slowed down and put ~30/30 in the A zone. It was rad. I practiced some drills similar to standards, and kinda got a feel for it. When I relaxed everything kinda fell into place. It was a good practice, and I plan to continue more fundamental skills practices like this one at least until nationals. Mechanics and technique felt good also. Visual acuity and patience are catching up now. It is tangible progress.

-LK

[little_kahuna]

This weekend was a first for me. I shot two matches back to back; Saturday I shot Norco Running Gun/Gen X IPSC, and Sunday I shot SouthWest Pistol League. I am still working on consisntency of visual patience. At Norco, I shot a ton of penalties, simply because I did not see enough to call good shots. My dad and I believe that right now, speed is an absolute nonissue in comparison to getting good hits. He said at my current "natural" speed, with good hits, I will do fine. So my focus/visual patience was way off on Saturday, but it was still a pretty good match. I learned a bunch.

Results are here:

Norco Running Gun/Gen X IPSC Results 23 Aug 08

Sunday, at SouthWest Pistol League, I really tightened it up. I called one funny shot in the whole match, and it turned out to be a mike. I shot one stage with insufficient visual patience, and it really showed. I had a ton of C's, and D's on that stage. All the other stages were pretty respectable. I felt really good on every other stage. My focus was just right, and my speed felt really smooth and efficient. The results are a little messed up; apparently I shot production minor with my Major Limited 6" STI,

I'm a revolutionary. It's ok though. I will post them if/when they get fixed. We did some math, and the scores say I was twelveth overall, but I think the accurate scores will put me somewhere between 5th and 8th. I'll probably end up 2nd or 3rd Limited

I'd say that if I can consistently call between 90%-95% of the available points at my natural speed, then I will be in business. That is what I'm working on for nationals. For me, D's, Mike's, and No-Shoots are absolutely unacceptable. It is completely within my capability to shoot the mojority of my shots A's, and accpet C's, with a reasonable time. I just have to turn up the visual patience a bit, and let the speed part happen.

Goal: Shoot 92.5% of the available points, without regard to speed, and observe the outcome.

Feel free to share exercises or drills that could very well compliment my current shooting performance.

Thanks for reading,

-LK

Edited August 26, 2008 by little_kahuna

[LadyinBlue]

Hey Nick

Keep up the good work...you're doing great!

Say Hi to Mom and Dad for me...

[little_kahuna]

Thank you =)

So over the last few days I've been practicing basic stuff, in preparation for the LPR Nats. I have about 9,500 rds thru the gun, and its running like a champ. I feel pretty solid, as far as the fundamental skills and knowledge goes. I think Fundamentals is all that you really need. The ability to shoot the middle, on demand, and see it all while its happening.

I'll be leaving this week for Tulsa, I hope to see you all there.

-LK

[HoMiE]

There you go thinking again. When you think you know it all, you'll find yourself in trouble. Just go out there and execute the fundamentals. Good Luck at Nationals!

[little_kahuna]

thank you

-lk

[little_kahuna]

Ok, so i got back from the back-to-back Nationals and analyzed scores. Nationals was a blast, even with the mud and rain and all that mess, it was still cool. It was also great to meet so many cool people, and BEnos.com Members

Here it is...No fluff, this was my match(s)!

Results:

LPR

27th B

138th Limited

OL-10

4th C

74th L10

mistakes/areas for improvement:

too fast

not calm/relaxed

a ridiculous degree of inconsistency in accuracy

Good stuff:

smooth/efficient movement/transitions

mechanics (draw, reload etc.) were textbook and consistent {i had only one bad reload between both matches!!!}

quickly adapted to enviornment (mud/rain)

Stats:

LPR

-56% Alphas

-03% Bravos

-23% Charlies

-10% Deltas

-05% Mikes

-02% NS/PEN

OL-10

-58% Alphas

-04% Bravos

-26% Charlies

-05% Deltas

-04% Mikes

-01% NS/PEN

So there was slight improvement between LPR and OL-10, but i still had way too many D's, M's, and NS's/PEN's.

Diagnosis:

Slow down until I consistently shoot between 75% and 80% Alpha's at my NATURAL SPEED.

Attitude:

I call 100% Alphas

I accpet 75-80% of the called Alphas

I accept between 20-25% tight Bravos/Charlies

I accept <1% Deltas/Mikes/NS/PEN

Trust in my current abilities, and allow my subconcious to control my actions without interference from my conscious mind.

I know that I can shoot 100% of the Alphas I shoot at, so its simply a matter of slowing myself down enough in practice so that I am naturally accurate in matches.

HOW WILL I FIX IT?

I'm resuming my training regimen and have added a set of drills to my current ones.

New Drill(s):

AT LEAST ONCE PER DAY

With ZERO emphasis on speed, balance a dime on my front sight, and execute 33 CORRECT trigger presses on a 1/4 scale NS-obscured Metric Target without dropping the Dime FREESTYLE. Repeat Drill for STRONG and WEAK hands.

Regular Drills: (on 3 NS-obscured Metrics)

10 X 6 reload 6

10 X 6 reload Strong

10 X 6 reload weak

10 X El Presidente

10 X 6 Draw to strong

10 X 6 Draw to weak

10 X Empty Chamber 6 reload 6

10 X Table Start 6 on 3

I shall continue this routine every day i'm not shooting a match until I leave for the camp. After that I MAY reassess my training schedule. Unless otherwise notified, I'll continue this at least until Area 2, and most likely throughout the winter/offseason.

I have 13 days until I travel to Ft. Benning, GA for the USAMU-MGM Targets Junior Camp. I am extremely excited to spend valuable time with some of the best shooters in the world. Thanks a bunch for putting this on guys, I sincerely appreciate your efforts. Many thanks to the contributors as well.

I'll see you all in 13 days

*sigh*

phew, that was long hahaha

Well that is what has been going on, and i definitely have a lot to work on besides the technique/accuracy. I am consistently fighting match pressure. (which shouldn't be a problem, but it is, and i wont deny it)

Everyone tells me that I'll get over it and its simply a function of time/experience. Since I've just competed in the largest/most prestigous match in the United States, i shouldn't have any more match pressure right?

I feel like i've crested a hill as far as nerves go. Nats was a big deal, and i survived without Crashing on EVERY stage hahaha

Well I look forward to your very helpful input. Thanks for reading!

-Little_Kahuna

(Nick Santiago)