Revelations

[mgood]

I'm new here. I've posted a few times, but never made a "Hi, I'm new," post. So I guess this is it.

I started shooting rifles when I was about seven. (I'm forty now.) My dad taught me well. Shotguns came not long after that.

But I taught myself to shoot pistols when I bought my first one in my twenties.

My accuracy is not bad at all. But I've always had trouble shooting fast and actually hitting anything.

On a good day with a handgun, I felt like was probably shooting maybe two shots per second.

Most times it was more like a second, second and a half, two seconds . . . three seconds per shot.

(I've never used a shot timer to check. That's on my list of things to purchase. So these times are mostly guesses.)

It always seems like after every shot, my muzzle flips up to about a 45-degree angle, completely off the target. Then I have to find my sights and reacquire the target. I'm amazed when I watch videos of other shooters where it looks like the muzzle never leaves the target. How do I do that? I know my choice of weapon handicaps me some because I have a 3" 1911 with an aluminum frame. I'm also shooting full-power .45 ammo. A heavier, longer gun would have less muzzle flip. Ammunition loaded to just barely make major would have less recoil. But surely that's not all of it. I have the same problem with other pistols I've shot which are heavier and longer. So there's something. I just have to figure it out.

I recently started shooting competitively, after fifteen years of procrastination. Now I'm hooked; it's my new obsession.

I shot my first USPSA match in February. I knew I couldn't shoot fast, but figured I could shoot as accurately as most. So I intended to just go slow and not make mistakes. Yeah, that strategy lasted until the first buzzer sounded. I got in a hurry and was neither fast nor accurate. I pretty much sucked.

Shot my second USPSA match last Saturday. This time I was able to slow down and do my thing. I fired 100 rounds exactly. I'd bet that 95 of them hit an A or knocked over a piece of steel. When I looked at the match results at home, I took time completely out of it and added up everyone's points on each stage. I had the second highest number of points over all. But I was one of the slowest shooters there. Hey, it's a start. I played to my strengths.

So I came in 23rd out of 27 over all and 6th out of 9 in Single Stack. I shot well and didn't make mistakes (one 10-point penalty). I'll work on speed later.

http://www.leaactionshooters.com/results/Mar09.txt

I haven't posted much, but I've been spending a lot of time reading these forums.

I've seen references to seeing the sights rise. Um, ok.

I've rarely, if ever, seen the sights rise. Gun goes bang. I try to bring it back down to the target.

So I read a post that said many shooters don't realize the blink when they fire. It might be years before they realize it, or until they see video of themselves or someone else points it out to them.

I'd never given this a lot of thought. I don't blink as I squeeze the trigger. But do I blink as the gun goes off? I don't know.

I've also read a lot about grip. I've been wanting to try a couple of slight changes to my grip, partly things I've read here and partly things I've picked up elsewhere.

And I've begun to think that maybe I'm just not gripping tight enough. Growing up shooting rifle slow-fire, it was drilled into me that I should not "grip" the gun but just let it sit in my hand. So I was gripping a handgun a little harder than that, but maybe not enough.

So the last few days I've been trying to find time to get to the range for a quick practice session.

(I've been drawing from the holster and dry-firing at home as well as practicing mag changes.)

Today I went to the range to concentrate on not blinking and keeping my front sight in view through the entire cycle and also to try with a firmer grip and slightly modified hand position.

IMMEDIATE IMPROVEMENT! From the first mag, I saw a drastic difference in my shooting.

I didn't even put a target up. There was a 2x4 about 12 inches or so long on the berm. From 40-50 feet I just shredded the thing and feel like I was easily shooting sub-.50 splits in complete control. All I had with me was a fifty-round box. This was just a quick trip to try a couple of new things. I wished I had another hundred to shoot. This was really an eye-opening experience. (May seem like a bad pun. But describes it perfectly.) I feel like with some work, my times are going to improve dramatically.

Tomorrow we have a little match. Not USPSA or IDPA, just a local match we call Concealed Carry. There's supposedly a rulebook, though I haven't seen it. I've heard it's only one or two pages. Basically no race guns, no race holsters, realistic carry gear only. Divisions are single-stack and double stack and you shoot major or minor. No chonos, on the honor system. Targets are like the USPSA "metric" targets, scored the same. You draw from under a shirt or jacket; draw from concealment. You must score eight points on each target for it to be considered "dead" (or "neutralized"). No limit to number of shots. Your time is your score. Any target with less than eight points scored on it costs you a ten second penalty. Any no-shoot that gets shot costs you twenty seconds. Each stage starts from behind a door or wall or with the shooter's back to the targets. While the shooter can't see the targets, the people who've been taping targets will randomly switch a couple of no-shoots with shoot targets, so you can't memorize and plan as much. They throw in a few plates, poppers, swingers and turners for variety. Less movement and more shooting that USPSA. It's a helluva lot of fun. Some of the people who show up are old guys who used to be real good at USPSA but now say their knees aren't up to all the movement. But when it comes time to "stand and deliver" they're tough. I got waxed last time. I'm hoping to kick butt tomorrow! Wish me luck.

Mike

Edited March 15, 2009 by mgood

[atbarr]

Welcome Mike! I started USPSA and IDPA last May. Great fun! I'm still having similar problems, but I can tell I'm getting better. I'll be 64 in October, so I'm pretty durn slow. My hits are,.... well getting better.

You should purchase from our host here "Practical Shooting, Beyond Fundamentals". Check out his store, he also has some great videos for purchase.

Good Luck,

A.T.

[HRider]

Welcome to the forum. USPSA is fun indeed. You seem to be on the right track for this sport. I started by going slow to insure safety and accuracy. Speed will come with practice. Have fun, shooting is the friendliest sport I have ever been around.

Hurley