[rvb]

Post #1. Nothing exciting here. But it's time to get serious about a practice/match journal.

This is my second attempt at setting up a journal. I started one on some blog website that had a really poor user interface that became more hassle/headache than it was worth. I'm a bit of a private personal, so it's a bit of a leap for me to do a public journal... but the possible benefits of posting HERE vs elsewhere make it worth it.

I definitely won't be posting after every practice or match, but any time I hear "got to work on that" or even "ah-ha!" in my head I'll put it in here.

-rvb

for future reference, currently I am:
Open: B
Production: A
SSP: MA
ESP: MA
CDP: EX

This post has been edited by rvb: 14 January 2008 - 06:30 PM

[rvb]

Here is a link to something I'm currently struggling with:
Reloading question for guns w/ mag wells

I've worked on it this week in dryfire really slowing things up and trying to open what I SEE. The mag well, the bullet tip, my finger, the target, the lamp in the corner of the room, etc. Arching my finger so the tip is about 2/3 the way back seems to be the ticket. I'm feeling that things are smoother and the timer is showing I'm reloading just as quickly as I was before I started working on this (~1.2s) but I feel like I'm taking my time. I haven't yet pushed the par time. (Before I posted the question in the above link, I was reloading in about 0.9 on the par timer, but I wasn't consistant and realize now it was just luck of me craming it in there. In a couple weeks I'll come back and record progress and/or new discoveries.

-rvb

[rvb]

1/12/08 was the first match of '08. An informal fun-shoot at York. I shot Open.

The Good:

Dryfire and Steve Anderson's drills have really helped my indexing. The buzzer went off and the dot was just THERE. No sho/who to test that skill.

I ran timing drills a couple nights before the match and I noticed a difference in gun control. Very seldom did the dot dip under the target (my home-brew slide lightning also seemed to help).

I hit a noshoot. How's that good? I hit it on the 2nd of two shots required and put a 3rd into the A-zone of the actual target with a split equivalent to my first split..... ie. I called the shot quickly and correctly, made it up, and moved on with the stage. My shot calling is improving.


The Bad:

CHOPPY. Only my 4th stage (of 4) was smoooooth. I noticed the problem in my first 3 and focused on this on my 4th. Still need work programing my long courses. I still feel like I should be reloading a lot more, as if I were shooting PD. Lost a lot of time on the stages. Trying to figure out how to train for that away from the matches. A lot of mentally replaying/reshooting the stages?

Twice I left a steel array w/ the last steel standing. CALL THAT LAST SHOT. It's critical to stage time (stopping movement to the next position to go back and make up the shot is a real time killer).

-rvb

This post has been edited by rvb: 15 January 2008 - 10:33 AM

[rvb]

2008 Goals!

2007 was a good year for my shooting. I started dabling in Open. Got my A card in PD. 3rd in IDPA/SSP Nats (13th overall). Won SSP at the MD State IDPA match, learned a LOT (about my shooting and about myself). Hopefully 2008 is just as good to me.

My 2008 goals, in no particular order:

- Loose 50 lb.

- Move out of MD.

- Make Master in Production and Open

- Stay focused on a dryfire regiment

- improve 50 yd accuracy.

- MD State SSP Champ

- "Close the gap" with the top IDPA guys.

[rvb]

2" of slushy snow tonight so work let us out early... I don't mind getting pd to shoot so I tried to put the time to good use.
Got set up at the local indoor range to work on timing drills. Fired 2 rounds and the wife calls so I had to leave (was at the gas station, cc wouldn't work and their atm was down so I had to go w/ cash). Got back to the range and felt rushed, tense. Should have just gone home, a waste of 180 rounds.

I was WAY over gripping the gun. My first mag or so things were ok... dot would go up and come back down on target. Then I started TRYING. Of course that led to the dot dippipng and things got worse. Then I started trying NOT to try. Then the dot would go way the f$ up and then way the f$ under the target and then back on target. Now I'm afraid all I accomplished was engraining bad technique.

Tried a 7lb spring w/ buffer now that I had lightened the slide. As tense and off as I was who knows if it handled better. 3 feed failures so I'll be going back to an 8lb spring, or at least a variable 8. Until I fix ME I don't think it matters worth a damn. More timing drills next week.

Frustrated.
(and hungry... diets suck)

-rvb

edited to add: I should reflect on the positive... strong and week hand shooting went very well... about 30 rounds each. better sho/who dot tracking than ever. 25 yds I was getting all good hits w/ 0.4 splits... even w/ the f'd up dot control.

While peddling on the stationary bike pondering it all, I realized I should focus more on the fact that my first mag or so the dot tracked correctly. I -know- how to do something right if I don't think about it. Relax that grip!

-rvb

This post has been edited by rvb: 17 January 2008 - 09:43 PM

[rvb]

rvb, on Jan 14 2008, 08:27 PM, said:

Here is a link to something I'm currently struggling with:
Reloading question for guns w/ mag wells

I've worked on it this week in dryfire really slowing things up and trying to open what I SEE. The mag well, the bullet tip, my finger, the target, the lamp in the corner of the room, etc. Arching my finger so the tip is about 2/3 the way back seems to be the ticket. I'm feeling that things are smoother and the timer is showing I'm reloading just as quickly as I was before I started working on this (~1.2s) but I feel like I'm taking my time. I haven't yet pushed the par time. (Before I posted the question in the above link, I was reloading in about 0.9 on the par timer, but I wasn't consistant and realize now it was just luck of me craming it in there. In a couple weeks I'll come back and record progress and/or new discoveries.

-rvb

update: http://www.brianenos...?...st&p=688443

[rvb]

Well it's been almost a week of no real dryfire. Things are starting to heal from my surgery and I can move around w/o bleeding, so I put the holster rig on tonight. No movement, just slow draws and reloads.

I spent the last few days reading Brian's book while confined to the lazyboy, really reading closely. It's maybe the 3rd time I've read it (in addition to referencing sections at times) but I've never spent days reading and re-reading each section before. I'm trying to mentally apply what I'm reading (awareness vs focus vs concentration, etc) to what I've experienced in past shooting and what I'd like my shooting to be.

I also made some small changes to my grip on the pistol and spent a lot of time just getting used to the grip and working the trigger prep/followthru/reset. I'm working on rotating my grip around a hair (mainspring housing more towards my fingers. I've not made much change on the top of my grip at the web of the hand, but trying to get the heal of the hand a little more behind the gun. I found this makes it easier to get the trigger nearer the tip of the trigger finger (about in the middle of the nail) which makes the dot a LOT more steady dryfiring slowfire. Small changes I can barely see, but they feel huge.

Finally I'm working on getting even more camming in my left wrist. My "old" grip had my left thumb pointing straight at about a 20 degree up angle, so I'm trying to do a better job of pointing at the target.

I like the changes so far, and now I just have to get them into the subconscious. Going to be a couple weeks before I can get on a range.

Will be in Ohio Sat through Tuesday, so I'll take advantage of the 'rents big basement for some moving dryfire (esp reloads leaving a shooting position, and first shots into new positions).

[rvb]

Did a little bit of serious dryfire last night, but still with no real movement while I'm healing.

on reloads, per a couple posts ago, I'm really working on being aware of EVERYthing as I do the reloads, and here is what I'm finding...
with my "new" grip (see last post) I can hit the mag release a little easier.
I'm not getting a 90degree bend with my elbow, more like 60 degrees... too bunched up on the gun.
Some real KEY things.... 90 degree elbow bend means less arm movement. Being less bunched up means more relaxed. Gun needs to be around 60 degrees from vertical for the new mag to line up properly. Left wrist with new mag needs to be straight as the mag is inserted (not stiff... still relaxed, but not arched).

I did MANY standing reloads, including reload to sho/who.

Some interesting evidence I am opening my awareness and being more relaxed...
I never used to notice the old mag falling free of the mag well. Since I was trying out new things I decided to make sure everything was smooth and actually drop a mag during the dry reloads vs just hitting the button. I must have missed the first 10 reloads as seeing the mag fall out was distracting me. I've been aware of a lot of things when I shoot (brass flying, dirt kicking up on backstop, slide cycling) but never aware of mags falling during the reload. Once I brought my focus back on the mag well I was quicker/smoother than ever before.

This weekend I hope to spend a bit of time working on:
-reloads while transitioning between shooting positions.
-calling the shot on the critical last shot of an array before moving to another position. my ability when entering a box is far superior to my ability when leaving a box.

-rvb

[rvb]

ZERO practice for 4 days. Hauled all my gear to OH thinking I was going to have a bunch of free time... HA! Mom is still in hospital so all the time was spent there instead of at home like we hoped. I'm hoping the time away will have a positive benefit... I'm trying to be relaxed more behind the gun. Free of tension. Been really fighting that lately. Read that section of Brian's book a couple times this weekend.

-rvb

This post has been edited by rvb: 30 January 2008 - 08:22 AM

[rvb]

75 minutes on the stationary bike tonight and a little bit of arm/shoulders on the free weights. (5 lb lost so far). While peddling I read a little from Saul's book and a little from Brian's.

30 minutes of dryfire. Set up a 14-round "stage" with my 1/4 size targets with steel as the last shots. Shoot the targets, reload and move, re-engage. really focused on a) being free of tension and b ) really calling the last shot on steel.

Things I noticed tonight...
-Being relaxed as well as having something "else" to focus on really makes my reloads smooth (reloads as part of a drill vs doing reload after reload and getting so wrapped up in reload performance).
-My minor grip changes as well as putting the trigger more on the tip of my trigger finger have made the dot a lot steadier in dryfire. I can work the trigger as fast as possible w/o the dot moving.
-Dropping the hammer on the last shot in the string (1/4 scale "steel popper") before leaving the shooting position reveals a bad call or trigger press better than pulling the trigger with the hammer already down. Amazing how often I "flinched" this shot dropping the hammer after 6 pretend trigger pulls.

While not an extensive dry-fire session, it was good to get the rig back on and have a relaxed and meaningful practice.

tomorrow.... to the range!

-rvb

This post has been edited by rvb: 30 January 2008 - 09:11 PM

[rvb]

It was a good night at the indoor range. It was not crowded. Put 300 rounds through the open gun.

30 rounds of 25 yd group shooting, freestyle. Groups were about 3"-4", which made me happy as I wasn't really focused on "looking the shot off" for best accuracy but focused on being relaxed and getting good dot tracking (no dot dip) while still working the trigger as if I was trying to get good splits. Taking the tension of of my grip/shoulders really helped and the dot was going up and back down right on target. Still could settle a little smoother and more straight up and down but definitely making improvements (like at 25 yds it would settle on the A/C line vs on the "A", I'm getting nit-picky). Since I'm working with a slightly adjusted grip position, I'm happy so far.

Starting with accuracy really helped me be relaxed to shoot some timing drills, so I did just that. I caught dot dip sneaking in a couple times, so I'd stop the drill, get rid of the tension, and try again.

I also got in some sho/who work.

trigger finger placement: Moving the trigger farther out more to the tip of the finger (1/8" or so adjustment) is paying off huge!! Accuracy came easier, I felt I was following through easier, speed was about the same. After the timing drills I pulled the target up to 3 yds and hosed at it (6 to 10 rounds w/ 0.13 splits being the norm) just to watch the dot. MUCH improved tracking. felt a little slow than usual with the trigger finger position (never saw a single 0.11 and only a couple 0.12s) but the groups were better.

It was a good practice, one where you hate it when you run out of ammo and time.

put 45 minutes in on the bike.

loved re-reading the "wanna b speedy" threads.

-rvb

eta: weak hand... found some of the biggest improvements when specifically relaxing the support hand and putting even more "cam" into the wrist.

This post has been edited by rvb: 31 January 2008 - 11:22 PM

[rvb]

Dryfire was a little light this week, a few minutes here and a few there. Mainly working on trigger control and being relaxed behind the gun.
Started building steel stands and helping Dave w/ his rustyass 1911.

Was bored this afternoon and looking at my classifiers and figured out if I can get >62.1% on my next classifier in open, I'll get into A.

Tonight I got a solid 60minutes of dryfire in on the open gun. No timer. Focused on relaxation. The timer introduces tension. Took note everytime I felt tension creeping into my shoulders. Did my best to mimic the looser grip that was getting me good up-down dot tracking last time I was at the range (no dot dip).

EVERYTHING is more smooth and consistent with relaxation. draws, reloads, transitions, exiting positions while reloading, etc.

Things I worked on tonight....
WIDE transitions. Put targets 120-150 degrees apart. Snapped the head and the eyes. I used to be good at that but the last match I felt my eyes were tracking the gun, and I wonder how long I've been doing it. Perhaps because I was worried about loosing the dot in the lense where with irons there's a better reference for getting back on target? Really wanted to snap my focus, but get the dot to land/settle in the A smoothly. Also worked on reloading while stepping out of a shooting position.

Been dieting/exercising for 3.5 weeks now and I've lost my first 10 lb.

-rvb

eta: Changed my sig line. "Happy learned how to putt, Uh-oh!" from Happy Gilmore. Been spending a lot of "daydream" time thinking about past matches/stages (why I missed shots and where I wasted time) and trying to ID my weaknesses. Happy turned his weakness into his strength and it won him the gold jacket.

-Snapping focus ahead of the gun on wide transitions.
-Calling shot on the last shot in a position before sprinting out.
-Consistent dot tracking.
-too tense
-being smoother when shooting on the move, less choppy with less "stopped" motion when engaging targets
-many more

-rvb

This post has been edited by rvb: 08 February 2008 - 07:12 PM

[rvb]

One post for the last 3 days...

Sat: 90 minutes on the bike, 90 minutes dryfire.
Sun: 60 bike, 90 dryfire.
Mon: 60 bike, 60 dryfire.

The goal the last 3 days for me was to be relaxed driving the gun, free of bad tension*. Focused on As. Focused on wide transitions really snapping my eyes/focus and bring the gun on target. As came eaiser this weekend. Being more relaxed, especially in the shoulders really lets the gun settle smoother. I pulled out the prod gun for a few minutes to test my theory [above] on why I had lost my ability to snap my focus on the wide transitions. I let go of that fear of the dot not being in the lens when settling on the new target and sure enough the dot was there everytime, even doing eyes closed turn-indexing.

I ran the par timer some on Sat and the whole practice on Sunday. I was consistantly ahead of my previous baselines on Steve's drills. Amazing how you ran relax, take the focus off speed and put it on As, and actually be faster. Seems I've heard that somewhere before. Monday was no par timer, just slow mechanics repititions and trigger control.

Tuesday I'm taking the night off (V-day dinner w/ the wife).
Wed I'll be hitting the indoor range... more timing drills!

-rvb

* bad tension: tension that makes you slow, that makes As difficult, that makes the dot unpredictable, that puts a focus on speed.
good tension: muscles pre-"wound", ready to go into action. A desire to get to the shooting. Does not makes your muscles tired or hurt.
This is how I've been evaluating my tension levels the last couple weeks and names I've put to my performance. 'good tension' is needed as I found 'no' tension leeds to being snatchy with inconsitant results. and slower.

This post has been edited by rvb: 12 February 2008 - 11:50 AM

[rvb]

Feeling a little frustrated...
200 rounds at the indoor range tonight.

Accuracy was good. A couple of 10-shot 3" groups at 20 yds (25? i dunno, they say 25 I think it looks more like 20) focusing on dot movement and not really looking the shot off, ~1-2sec splits.

ran some timing drills. Still getting dot dip. I can tell it'll take a while to get this subconscious. I can get the right grip strength and tension levels "on command" and get the dot to go up and settle back on target, but I have to remind myself to do it. I should be happy I'm "getting it" but "I want it now!" Even with the dot returning under the target and springing back up, I'm still able to do 0.17s or so at 10 yds and not feel rushed. Am I putting too much emphasis on the "perfect dot track?" Should I just .... shoot when the dot's THERE? No, I know I have to get the timing down and let speed come.

Did a little SHO/WHO from table draws (no holsters allowed) and I'm very happy with progress in my natural sho/who index and splits of 0.3s sho and 0.4s who at 10yds were controlled and in the A-zone.

-rvb

[rvb]

Been about a week since my last post.
Dryfired about 4 of the last 6 days. Only used the timer on 1 night's practice. Focused on getting my A's, smoothness/efficiency of movement, did a lot of slow draws/reloads, and freestyle accuracy dryfire (focused on trigger control and followthrough). No major revelations this week except I am discovering on reloads I really see the mag starting in the mag well better, and I see the mag better lined up w/ the grip the more leaned over I have the gun. I'm probably at 75 degrees on a super smooth reload where the mag doesn't even hit the well. More importantly, I'm seeing things like that now... bigger awareness.

Ran timing drills at the indoor range this week.
Things I noticed: I did not notice any real difference with the egw firing pin stop. I got it fit with a new wilson extractor. I put about a 0.040" radius on the fps. Debating if I want to keep the egw fps and maybe open the radius to ~0.075 as suggested by hsmith or to back to stock. The stock is quite loose and I like my fit on the new fps, so I may just get a new standard fps and fit it better. New wilson extractor ran great, so I have a spare ready for this season. Asside from regular tensioning and chamfer/smoothing for feed smoothness, I had to take quite a bit off the stop pad. I -may- need to take another 1-2 thou off, I'll look at it this week. The wilson part has a considerably smaller hook than the sti part, but brownells didn't have sti extractors in stock.

What always seems to help my dot dip the most (outside of my grip tension) is adding a shock buf. However, w/ an 8lb recoil spring and buff I still have 2-3 of 100 that didn't feed, but only when I "overgripped" the gun.

Going to get some more powder ordered so I can quit being so stingy with the ammo on my timing drills. Always fighting tension... always overgripping. I can make the dot go up and come right back on target when I'm relaxed and focused on the target and keeping a loose grip. When I start consentrating on the dot, or when tension creeps in and I start adding grip pressure (when picking up speed) the dot starts its up-under-on track. Good news is I understand my problem. Good news is more shooting is the cure.

-rvb

This post has been edited by rvb: 19 February 2008 - 11:37 AM

[rvb]

I just walked in from the indoor range, and I have to put this down while it's fresh.
It was one of those practices where you wish you had 6 more hours and 1000 more rounds of ammo.

An epiphany. Discovery. Open and Aware.
Man I wish the range wasn't closed so I could grab more ammo and just keep instilling that good feeling, keep watching that dot, keep observing/discovering what I'm doing right.

I've been struggling to learn to tame this open gun, to eliminate the dot dip, to learn the timing. Tonight it all came together. Dot go up while I call the shot, and dot come down. repeat.

Observations...

-Concentration: NONE. watch the dot, but not concentrate on it. Watch what's happening. Tell it where to stop with my eyes.

-Tension: NONE. Arms, shoulders, neck relaxed.

-Grip: A -little- firm (the ol' "gripping a hammer" explains it well)

-Grip2: A compromise in position, not reaching the thumb around as far as I was trying to lately, letting it sit a little more natural in the web (which caused a little more finger on the trigger, but it I wasn't pulling it). Really splitting hairs here, but the difference felt huge (more natural = less tense?).

-Elbows: A little lower than I was used to. Struggling to put a number to the angle... 45 degrees maybe? It felt as if while holding the gun in front of me I just let my elbows fall to a comfortable position.

200-300 rounds per week for about 3 months running timing drill after timing drill and it's starting to come together. There were maybe 10 shots where I found the old ways slipping in and found myself trying to control the recoil.... it was obvious when the dot went way the F off the lens, then all the way to the bottom of the lens, then back up. I just said to myself to relax and let the gun work, to watch the dot go up and down, and immediately I was back on track.

Lots of technical stuff to put on paper and will go over some work on the Beretta, but had to get this on "paper!"

-rvb

[rvb]

part 2 from tonights practice...

I had been mucking a little with the gun setup to make it as easy as possible to get the best dot tracking. My setup tonight:
8lb ismi recoil spring, wilson shock buff, egw firing pin stop w/ ~0.040" radius (also running the new 'spare' wilson extractor).

With my 140mm mag w/ the grams baseplate (need to get the mags #'d), i'd get occassional feed problems (3 in 300 rounds) esp when running really fast (0.11-0.13 splits). No other mag seemed to have the problem. It can occasionally be a little stiff to load and I think the follower might need a little trimming to slide in the body smoothly.

Tonight I shot the production gun for the first time since Oct. WOW has shooting the open gun really helped my front-sight tracking and shot calling. I tested some 147gr zero ball ammo I loaded for the virginia indoor match (idpa) where no jhp is allowed. Last time I loaded fmj I forgot to switch the insert in the dillon seat die and I had a lot of crookedly seated bullets that got stuck in the chamber. Over the weekend I loaded 1500 fmjs, and case guaged the stuff I loaded for the big match. Even the few rounds that failed the case gauge ran fine in my EII so I think I'm good to go for the match.

From my above post, I still have some work to do... The dot doesn't always just "settle" back down on target. But if tonight convinced me of anything it's that time and practice will get it where I want it.

-rvb

[rvb]

The Good, The Bad, and the very very Ugly.....

Shot at va14, Fredericksburg, Sunday. Shooting Open.

My first stage was 03-18. String 1 went well. All those timing drills are paying off, dot tracked well and mid string I almost couldn't believe how fast I was hitting. First reload was smooth, second not so much. WHO I had trouble on the first target, lucked into the B and tagged a D. next two targets were better. Score came in at 7.7032 (109/14.15), which should be ~79%? I won the stage.

Stage 2 went well, except there was a lot of shooting on the move, at least how I shot it, and I got an M. Didn't even call it which is what made me mad, but I was moving pretty aggressively so I guess I need more practice shooting on move. Otherwise it was good.

Stage 3-5 I was very happy with. I won stage 3 (got it on vid, too). Stage 4 I lost a second to a gun jam (gripped too tight, didn't feed. Using 8lb spring w/ buffer the dot tracks well, but it doesn't like to be gripped hard or it won't feed). Good hits on two targets while half running...

Stage 6. Crash/Burn. Oh, You want me to shoot those TWO targets, also? There went 80 stage points (4 mikes, 2 FTEs, 20 lost points), and about that many match points. Lesson Learned, when you're not expecting to be first shooter, if you are not ready with mags/etc ask to be moved down a couple spots. I was hurrying to get shit together and did not do a good walk through Walked it once to make sure I saw the right # of shots and that was it. The "system" they were using to mix up order sucked which resulted in people who were last or nearly so on the previous stage being 1st on the next.... bassackwards.

Stage 7. who cares, I'm out anyway. I threw a M. Changed my plan while LAMR. not smooth. WRONG attitude.

Match: Came in at 88% of some very good shooters. Stage 6 cost me... I was 85 pts behind 1st, so I would have been right in with some very good Ms who were 1st/2nd.

The classifier should get me my A card (new ave should be ~78.1%).

-rvb


eta: stage 3: http://youtube.com/watch?v=wqL3N65xACg

This post has been edited by rvb: 03 March 2008 - 08:45 PM

[Al Capizzo]

Assuming your calculations are correct, congratulations on the A card!

[rvb]

Al Capizzo, on Mar 3 2008, 02:08 PM, said:

Assuming your calculations are correct, congratulations on the A card!

Thanks, Al.

Of course, ya never know until you see the update... when things get submitted, etc can always make a difference.
Although my last 4 valid classifiers (incl this last one) average over 82%, so I'm feeling good about it!

[rvb]

2nd match of the year today. Shot Open (B ). Special Classifier, 08-01/2/3/4

Place Name USPSA Class Division PF Lady Mil Law For Age Points Stg %
1 Jim L1158 M Open Major N N N N Senior 771.7562 100.00%
2 Todd TY28555 M Open Major N N N N 769.0182 99.65%
3 Dan TY31488 M Open Major N N N N 761.5393 98.68%
**4 Ryan A56060 B Open Major N N N N 672.0161 87.08%

I could probably repeat post 18 word for word.

Field course performance was hit or miss. Still working on smoothness. Todd spent some time talking with me about my walk-through. To concentrate on 1) finding marks where I need to be 2) visualizing. Thanks for the advice, Todd! The stage following his advice I won. Didn't keep it up, though.

Tossed a couple Ms on Steeler Standards, only one of which I called, and it was very close, I thought it snuck in there but it was fully in hardcover.
Six/Seven were my best classifiers today, 8.9506 and 9.5775 respectively. Looking at posted classifiers on the forum it looks like Six should be ~87.2% and none of the others should count (too low).

My dot is finally tracking perfectly. Really noticed it on 4 Bill Drill (though I admit to hosing on this one. I was cold and wanted to go home and by this stage I really didn't care anymore. Wrong attitude, but that's life). I was shooting too fast and sloppy, but I was also having fun watching the dot track up, then down almost exactly to the point where it left. A winter of timing drills pd off.

Oh. forgot two targets again. 80 stage points on a 135pt stage. Pissed me off to say the least. Had I not been so dense I would have been right up there among in the 95%+ range for the match. Two matches in a row? Really have to get my head in the walk-thrus. I was VERY frustrated w/ myself after (and during) this match.

-rvb

This post has been edited by rvb: 10 March 2008 - 06:15 AM

[rvb]

Open gun has been cleaned and hung up for a couple months. Time to get ready for VIR so I dusted off the Berettas.

Last night mainly practiced with the beater 92FS w/ it's heavier trigger. Two weeks to remember how to shoot the DA/SA gun. Not usually a big deal but I haven't shot it in almost 6 months. VIR is a dark match so working on some flashlight handling. I'm going to try shooting SHO w/ FL in WH, seems better on the timer and more comfortable than screwing with any of the popular techniques. Spent some time working on reloading w/ the FL in hand. Worked on the DA shot SHO.

-rvb

[rvb]

Spent last night at the indoor range. 350-400 rounds. 115gr practice ammo. Beater gun.

After 6 months of focusing on shooting the dot, I can't believe how much my shot calling, sight tracking, and speed in aligning the sights with the irons has improved. (Take that all you who said the dot would ruin my iron shooting! )

Shot about 150 rounds at 25yds, both slow fire and fast. < 10% left the A zone and those that did were all w/in 1" of the circle. Considering I was hadn't shot irons in a while and I was using my junk gun with the heavy trigger and blocky sights, I was shooting more accurately than I was 6 mo ago at that distance.

Did about 100 rounds of two shot drills at 5-10yds SHO (DA followed by SA). Was pushing the DA shot left fairly often (about 30% of the time). Need to dryfire w/ just a hair more finger on the trigger to keep from pushing it over. My grip is working better than it used to as the slide locked back all but once (very important for idpa).

Have to get mentally into the upcoming VIR match. Been a while since I shot a dark match, but I remember feeling like I had to move cautious lest I trip over something I cannot see. Walkthrus will be very important.

I am the VIR SSP champ.

-rvb

This post has been edited by rvb: 12 March 2008 - 07:11 AM

[rvb]

Tonight: 70 minutes on the bike
60 minutes dryfire with SSP gear.

While on the bike, a reality struck me about why I "forgot" those two targets this weekend at York. I was doing my walkthru, but at the same time watching everyone else wondering if their way was better than my way (probably was but that doesn't matter now). I wasn't focused on what I had to do. My attention was 50% elsewhere. I won't make that mistake again. I won't. Honest.

Oh, and I've now lost 20lb. 30lb to go.

update: looks like the classifier database got updated tonight, and I am now an "A" in Open! Woot!

OPEN Class: A Pct: 78.66 High Pct: 78.66
LIMITED Class: U Pct: 0.00 High Pct: 0.00
LIMITED10 Class: U Pct: 0.00 High Pct: 0.00
PRODUCTION Class: A Pct: 79.19 High Pct: 79.19
REVOLVER Class: U Pct: 0.00 High Pct: 0.00
SINGLESTACK Class: U Pct: 0.00 High Pct: 0.00

-rvb

This post has been edited by rvb: 12 March 2008 - 08:38 PM

[rvb]

30 minutes on the bike tonight.

went to On Target. 350 rounds. match SSP gun (EII). first time on that gun since early Oct.
idpa practice targets (kicked myself when I got there for not taking cardboard).
went through about 350 rounds. ammo was half 147 gr ball w/ win primers and half 147gr ball with Fed primers.

You know the ol trick of having someone put snapcaps in the mag... well, about 1/4 of the win primers wouldn't light in my EII. Always wanted to test that out. Now I know. Did 110 rounds at 25 yds. All but 8 rounds in the -0. Good flinch test with the win primers! Kinda enjoyed it!

Shot a lot of SHO preparing for using the flashlight. Out to 15 yds. incl lots of SHO DA. After practicing for a couple weeks with the heavier trigger in my practice gun, the EII felt like it shot itself, most notably SHO DA.

Did some 15 yds timing drills. I can't believe how much my hits and shot calling have improved after only shooting the dot gun for almost 6 months. More accurate, more confident, better shot calling, and faster!

Pulled the target up to ~4 yds for some fast trigger work. Wanted to focus on staying relaxed. Again I was calling the shots and tracking the sight so much better than 6 months ago. Jeff S (bassman) tells me that he notices that after shooting the dot for a while but it fades, so I need to keep up w/ the dot. I'll pick the open gun back up mid May after MD State IDPA.

Need to work on LH grip. Getting up too high and interfering w/ the slide stop sometimes.

While on the bike I read some more of Bassham's book. Changing your self image. I've been saying for almost a year now that I suck on the long 32-rounds field course; that I'm not smooth and can't keep it all in my head. No more. I rock on those stages from now out. When I occasionally win a long course I tend to think of that as the anomaly. From now on should I flub one I'll take the line right from Bassham, "that's not like me at all" so I'll purge it from my head. I can and do win those stages. That's proof that I CAN do it. Why shouldn't I focus on THAT?

Printed up directions, confirmation letter, info, etc for VIR on Friday.

I am the '08 VIR SSP Champ.

-rvb