USPSA - 7/13 matches

[rvb]

I shot production at Warsaw on 7/11. What a great match. Drew 40+ shooters, which is very good for the N-IN clubs. The guys obviously put a lot of effort into setup. The field courses had walls everywhere! Lots of options, and while running the timer on one of the stages, I don't know that I saw the course run the same way twice. They had some technical difficulties with some activators (I shot one of the stages 5 times!), but I think that's now experience gained by a new club and new designers. Activators asside, it was a VERY cool stage, and a very good match.

I had the vid camera with me, but forgot to use it... d'oh.

-rvb

 

[mongo404]

Warsaw was a blast I feel I had a good match. I just about got stage 3 figured out after the 3rd time shooting it. Had some activator problems on that stage. But it was a great match and better people. Good job Warsaw crew putting it together. They lived up to there rep with a ton of steel. But no big deal I needed the practice anyway. We will be back! Its a little closer for us than silver creek. We had a great squad to shoot with also. It was nice shooting with you again Bill.

 

[U.S. Patriot]

Silver Creek is down in Sellersburg, IN.

Just an hour down the road from you on 65.

Welcome to Silver Creek Conservation Club

Thanks again!

 

[downrange72]

I just about got stage 3 figured out after the 3rd time shooting it. Had some activator problems on that stage.

I re-shot stage 2 at Silver Creek 3 times. I still think my first run was better than the other two re-shoots. I also got a re-shoot on Stage 3. Again, first run was probably better.

 

[Skroggster]

Yes Warsaw was pretty intense. I just wish I would have finished the way I started. Mongo you shot that 3 times I did 2 Thank God. Then the Devil set into me and felt like crap today too. New Meds and too much fun the night before. I couldn't see straight for 3 stages. Oh well. It happens.

 

[HICKMAN]

I just about got stage 3 figured out after the 3rd time shooting it. Had some activator problems on that stage.

I re-shot stage 2 at Silver Creek 3 times. I still think my first run was better than the other two re-shoots. I also got a re-shoot on Stage 3. Again, first run was probably better.

yeah, but had they known you had wead-ass reloads mixed in with your Precision ammo, you would have been screwed.

 

[downrange72]

yeah, but had they known you had wead-ass reloads mixed in with your Precision ammo, you would have been screwed.

The last stage was all precision.

 

[Coach]

I shot production at Warsaw on 7/11. What a great match. Drew 40+ shooters, which is very good for the N-IN clubs. The guys obviously put a lot of effort into setup. The field courses had walls everywhere! Lots of options, and while running the timer on one of the stages, I don't know that I saw the course run the same way twice. They had some technical difficulties with some activators (I shot one of the stages 5 times!), but I think that's now experience gained by a new club and new designers. Activators asside, it was a VERY cool stage, and a very good match.

I had the vid camera with me, but forgot to use it... d'oh.

-rvb

Warsaw continues to put on good matches. There were plenty of good shooters there as well in many different divisions. I was nervous shooting single stack there. I doubted if I had enough magazines. But I made it through.

This is a great club match and it is nice to see them starting to draw more shooters. I hope the core crew up there begins to get some more help as well.

rvb how did you shoot stage 2?

My second single stack match ever. First one with this gun. Some rough places for sure. Only one Mike but it hit a no shoot. Had a reloading issue and a half on Stage 1. I shot my points there but I was 6-7 seconds slower than I should have been.

Very happy with Stage 3 and Stage 2.

Empty gun starts were not smooth. I worked on this today.

Picked up a Texas Star from Brent and Phil and it works great. Thanks guys. Look for this star to begin hurting people at Riley in August.

 

[rvb]

rvb how did you shoot stage 2?

2 was the one with the door, right?

I took the 8 through the door, reloaded while moving to the left side of that center wall to hit the two that were hard right. I took those retreating as hard as I could to the far back/left corner to hit those two. I then needed essentially a standing reload (took a couple steps forward) to hit the steel. After the steel I reloaded and did the same on the other side... went right of the center wall to hit the two that were hard left while retreating to the far right/rear corner, essentially a standing reload then steel.

There was no good way to avoid 2 standing loads for the 8/10 round guns.

I think if I were to do it again, I'd go to the far/rear corners first and hit those target behind the center walls second, then steel. The setup to hook around the center wall and two almost 180 gun swings killed the momentum...

Empty gun starts were not smooth.

I don't know how many other people caught this, but on the all steel stage the WSB just said gun had to be unloaded and flat. Didn't say slide fwd/hammer-down. I locked the slide to the rear to use the release instead of having to rack it.

-rvb

 

[BillD]

I don't know how many other people caught this, but on the all steel stage the WSB just said gun had to be unloaded and flat. Didn't say slide fwd/hammer-down. I locked the slide to the rear to use the release instead of having to rack it.

-rvb

Well, since I missed getting the mag into the well the first time. I don't think having the slide locked back would have helped me.

I thought I had a fairly good match but came in 3rd out of 4. But then, I am a bottom-of-the-class B shooter. I shot 96.57% of Coach's score.

The mag issue above and missing twice on a steel array and having to do a standing reload for the final shot were my biggest gotchas. That and having a miss on one target.

I feel like I'm struggling. I'm not fast enough yet. I keep practicing but I don't seem to be getting any better. I'm going to be knee deep in brass by the time I (and if ever) make A class.

I was the only one in SS not to have a miss or no shoot on the classifer but I shot it a second slower than everyone else. That's not good.

I was a lot better at the IDPA match on Sat. Won my division by 7 points.
Shot about the same though so what does that say?????

 

[rvb]

I feel like I'm struggling. I'm not fast enough yet. I keep practicing but I don't seem to be getting any better. I'm going to be knee deep in brass by the time I (and if ever) make A class.

Bill,

I've not seen you shoot, so take this for what it's worth....

It sounds like the frustration is causing you to really focus on the speed, which is counter productive of the goal to go fast. I talk about this a lot lately, because frankly I'm struggling with it too as I try to push myself to the next class.

You lost to Coach by 18 match points. Would going "faster" have really helped? Or would slowing down enough to stick that reload, clean up that mike, and not have to make-up steel with a reload have helped more? Those would have MORE than made up the 18 points. consistency is critical.

Taking the time to look the mag into the well, or call the shots on steel "feels" really slow while we are doing it... but it's not. We have to learn to trust the speed, because the stress time-warp is so misleading.

If you keep practicing, and nothing is improving, it may be time to look at how you are practicing. Both the drills you are using and your mindset. Are you pushing your ability, even to the point of feeling out of control? How is your shot calling and gun timing?

again, I've not seen you shoot.

where do YOU think you need to go faster? Shot to shot? Transitions? position to position? basic gun handling?

-rvb

 

[BillD]

Actually, I have been shooting more for points. To tell myself to make sure of the hits. And it shows, at Warsaw, I had one D, 13C and the Mike. I did make up a mike one of the other stages. I think my position to position is slow and possibly my transitions. Neither is as quick as I'd like it to be, of course.

For the last 3-4 weeks, I've been practicing exclusively with the timer and shooting mostly drills of one sort or another. The drills are from the Anderson book.

Like the flubbed mag insert on the steel stage, I know what I did wrong. I grabbed the mag, started it towards the gun and then started thinking about getting into shooting position before I had the mag seated. Trying to go-go-go to get to the shooting.

The mike, well this happens to me occasionally. I can't remember which stage it was but at some point you had 4 targets near to far on the left side of the bay. I think my Mike was on the 3rd target. A-M. Just pulled off too soon to get to the next target. I've gotten better about that but it still kills when it happens.

I practiced Friday. Shot 350 rds at a plate rack from varying ranges. And I still kinda cringe when I find steel on a stage. It's humbling for me.

I don't push myself in practice to the place I feel like I may be out of control. I miss when I get to that point. I miss a lot. I thought I had done good to "slow down" to get mostly good hits.

I've been thinking about getting a video camera and taping my practice sessions so I can break them down and see what I'm doing and where I can cut time.

I do appreciate your comments.

And I'm getting ready to leave for the range now.

I've heard lots of the top shooters will say something like:
"I've I knew then what I know now, I would have never shot that much ammo in practice."

I'm thinking they didn't LEARN what they know now without shooting that much ammo.

But hell, I've been married 3 times. I'm known to make mistakes.

 

[Coach]

practice

Actually, I have been shooting more for points. To tell myself to make sure of the hits. And it shows, at Warsaw, I had one D, 13C and the Mike. I did make up a mike one of the other stages. I think my position to position is slow and possibly my transitions. Neither is as quick as I'd like it to be, of course.

For the last 3-4 weeks, I've been practicing exclusively with the timer and shooting mostly drills of one sort or another. The drills are from the Anderson book.

Like the flubbed mag insert on the steel stage, I know what I did wrong. I grabbed the mag, started it towards the gun and then started thinking about getting into shooting position before I had the mag seated. Trying to go-go-go to get to the shooting.

The mike, well this happens to me occasionally. I can't remember which stage it was but at some point you had 4 targets near to far on the left side of the bay. I think my Mike was on the 3rd target. A-M. Just pulled off too soon to get to the next target. I've gotten better about that but it still kills when it happens.

I practiced Friday. Shot 350 rds at a plate rack from varying ranges. And I still kinda cringe when I find steel on a stage. It's humbling for me.

I don't push myself in practice to the place I feel like I may be out of control. I miss when I get to that point. I miss a lot. I thought I had done good to "slow down" to get mostly good hits.

I've been thinking about getting a video camera and taping my practice sessions so I can break them down and see what I'm doing and where I can cut time.

I do appreciate your comments.

And I'm getting ready to leave for the range now.

I've heard lots of the top shooters will say something like:
"I've I knew then what I know now, I would have never shot that much ammo in practice."

I'm thinking they didn't LEARN what they know now without shooting that much ammo.

But hell, I've been married 3 times. I'm known to make mistakes.

I would say limit the practice sessions to 200-250 rounds at a time if practical. If it is too far to make two trips to the range I would break the session into two parts. Take a break after 150 rounds and then go back to it. You will be mentally and physically more fresh. You might not be getting as much out of the practice if you are tired or worn out.

I did not watch you very closely on sunday, but I thought your issue over in Ohio was that your sight focus did not stay sharp though the whole array. I could not tell for sure if your eyes were just ahead of the gun or you were looking over the gun and had target focus.

I would also say don't be too frustrated. You are a competitor, and in the hunt every where you shoot. We all want to improve,but be patient so as not to run into the counter productive stuff rvb talked about. I think you are being a little hard on yourself.

I don't know that you move poorly, but I think you,shoot, move,reload,move,shoot and so on. I think you can compact some of that. Sometimes the order in which you engage and array could be better. I could give you an example but i am tired of typing here.

 

[Coach]

2 was the one with the door, right?

I took the 8 through the door, reloaded while moving to the left side of that center wall to hit the two that were hard right. I took those retreating as hard as I could to the far back/left corner to hit those two. I then needed essentially a standing reload (took a couple steps forward) to hit the steel. After the steel I reloaded and did the same on the other side... went right of the center wall to hit the two that were hard left while retreating to the far right/rear corner, essentially a standing reload then steel.

There was no good way to avoid 2 standing loads for the 8/10 round guns.

I think if I were to do it again, I'd go to the far/rear corners first and hit those target behind the center walls second, then steel. The setup to hook around the center wall and two almost 180 gun swings killed the momentum...



I don't know how many other people caught this, but on the all steel stage the WSB just said gun had to be unloaded and flat. Didn't say slide fwd/hammer-down. I locked the slide to the rear to use the release instead of having to rack it.

-rvb

Thanks

 

[HICKMAN]

Silver Creek Scores:

Index of /USPSA/SC201007

dunno why they haven't updated the website yet.

Fourth in Prod, probably would have been 2nd if I didn't blaze a stage trying to make up time and had 3 misses.
(which after looking at the other times and scores, I really didn't need to be in a hurry) lesson learned.

I achieved two goals though, managed a 50% classifier with a light primer strike

and beat Downrange72

 

[Coach]

Thanks

I went with a plan like you are talking about doing next time. It worked,but had draw backs of its own. Long time to first shot but the stage flowed better. I also shot a plate from the middle array from each side, which meant less steel from the middle with no added positions. I wanted to absorb the draw by moving first but it was a long way to move.

 

[BillD]

Bill,

I've not seen you shoot, so take this for what it's worth....

It sounds like the frustration is causing you to really focus on the speed, which is counter productive of the goal to go fast. I talk about this a lot lately, because frankly I'm struggling with it too as I try to push myself to the next class.

You lost to Coach by 18 match points. Would going "faster" have really helped? Or would slowing down enough to stick that reload, clean up that mike, and not have to make-up steel with a reload have helped more? Those would have MORE than made up the 18 points. consistency is critical.

Taking the time to look the mag into the well, or call the shots on steel "feels" really slow while we are doing it... but it's not. We have to learn to trust the speed, because the stress time-warp is so misleading.

If you keep practicing, and nothing is improving, it may be time to look at how you are practicing. Both the drills you are using and your mindset. Are you pushing your ability, even to the point of feeling out of control? How is your shot calling and gun timing?

again, I've not seen you shoot.

where do YOU think you need to go faster? Shot to shot? Transitions? position to position? basic gun handling?

-rvb

Yes Coach, in Ohio, there was extreme target focus. I don't think I could find my front sight.....working on that.

Ryan, last night I tried your pushing-to-the-point-of-feeling-out-of-control. I was able to lower my times significantly but the hits were predictably lousy. However, the draw and transistions were much better. But then, I didn't wait for the gun to settle before pulling the trigger either. I feel like there is something in what you have said. I will push more in practice on the transistions and try to slow down on the trigger pulling at the same time to get all my hits.

I'll experiment some more tonight.

Thanks for the help

 

[rvb]

I went with a plan like you are talking about doing next time. It worked,but had draw backs of its own. Long time to first shot but the stage flowed better. I also shot a plate from the middle array from each side, which meant less steel from the middle with no added positions. I wanted to absorb the draw by moving first but it was a long way to move.

Sorry, wasn't clear... I would still have shot through the door first, just would have gone to the far corner next before hitting the targets behind the middle wall. I don't want to have to re-setup for the door position. The fewer setups the better, imo, especially when the targets are blind till you get there.

-rvb

 

[Coach]

Sorry, wasn't clear... I would still have shot through the door first, just would have gone to the far corner next before hitting the targets behind the middle wall. I don't want to have to re-setup for the door position. The fewer setups the better, imo, especially when the targets are blind till you get there.

-rvb

By not shooting the door first i was able to flow from left to right, which was good. I never had more than 8 shots to make, which was good in single stack. I was able to take the back steel through the door from outside positions, which was good. coming back to the door is a down fall. I needed to be a little smoother, but the points were good. It was a long way to the corner for the first shot, and that was not a good thing.

 

[rvb]

Actually, I have been shooting more for points. To tell myself to make sure of the hits. And it shows, at Warsaw, I had one D, 13C and the Mike. I did make up a mike one of the other stages. I think my position to position is slow and possibly my transitions. Neither is as quick as I'd like it to be, of course.

And you shot ~94% of the points. That, imo, is right where you want to be! (and I didn't include the all-steel stage in that figure).

I've heard lots of the top shooters will say something like:
"I've I knew then what I know now, I would have never shot that much ammo in practice."

I'm thinking they didn't LEARN what they know now without shooting that much ammo.

I tend to agree. However, I think I wasted a lot of ammo, especially early on, going through the motions w/o learning anything.

Some people "get it" faster than others. I was one of the "others." I think how much ammo you have to burn to get it depends on how technical you approach things. People who go more by how they feel or what they see I think get it faster than people who annalyze. I use this analogy often, but when I was learning to shoot my open gun, I could not control the thing, could not get the timing down. I spent 15k rounds one summer ('07 I think) just doing timing drills and shooting into the berm, trying to figure out how to get the dot to settle back on the spot from where it lifted... Then it just... happened. I saw that dot lift and settle perfectly. And then I tried to make it happen, and I couldn't. I eventually learned I could control that dot by just being aware of it by watching how it was moving relative to where I wanted it to go. but I couldn't control it by technique alone. I remember that day still. I finally believed and understood Enos' book.

BTW, that translated over to irons perfectly when I switched back. I no longer care about split times, but seeing that sight [or dot] lift and settle back perfectly.

So while today I go through a LOT less ammo, and wish I had practiced better earlier, sometimes you just have to burn the powder. I think it's part of the curve.

-rvb