[leam]

Okay, besides "shoot faster, aim better"...

I was looking at the Asheville July scores, my first USPSA match. I understand that I don't understand much, so I'm focusing on what I need to understand to allocate training time to. There were 17 people and 4 stages; I placed in the 13-16 range on all stages.

Is there a way to look at the score sheet and figure out bad habits I may be doing? What sorts of things are Penalties? In the first stage I loaded to many rounds for Production, in Stage 3 I shot a popper from the wrong box. Can't remember anything else I messed up on. Which does not say I didn't mess up, but I don't recall anything else. Well, okay, one measly non-threat hit on Stage four.

Overall I think I shot slightly faster than I should have, and need to deal with the smoke issue still. Is it safe to assume the penalties suggest I shot *much* faster than I should have?

http://apsagunclub.t.../BurnJulyStages

Stage 1--5 targets sideways through a window, run to next window and shoot 2 through it straight and then one or two sideways. One long shot, then run to 4 up close and overlapping.

Stage 2-- Classifier, 3 paper targets ( I think).

Stage 3-- boatload of poppers and paper in rows; box 1-shoot 2-3 poppers, and the paper, repeat for box 2, 3, and 4. Shoot through window at box 5.

Stage 4-- pick up gun and shoot 3-4 paper and one plate, move to doorway and shoot some, move to window and shoot some and avoid the non-threat.

Overall I had a blast and look forward to shooting more with these folks!

Leam

[HoMiE]

Get the 'most' points you can at the ability you are at. Most of the time you are tryinig to shoot 95% of the available points. If you got all As you are probably shooting to slow. To fast and you start dropping too many points, less than 90% and it starts to get ugly real quick. The penalties, well, that is misses, no-shoots and any procedurals you incur in a stage. If your shooting good points, then work on speeding up the 'non-shooting' aspects, movement and being ready to shoot when you get there are probably the two biggest you can shave time.

Check out this for a skills matrix to decide on what to practice...

http://re-gun.blogsp...o-practice.html

It also helps to practice standard stuff and build a strong shooting foundation, these drills really help. I like that you can practice dry-fire with the par times, then live-fire and keep track of your progress.

http://re-gun.blogsp...r-practice.html

[leam]

Taking it to work to study, thanks!

Leam

[Nik Habicht]

Leam,
you racked up 60 penalty points for the match --- so that's the first thing to focus on. If they were procedurals -- foot faults -- stop doing that. If they were FTEs, find all the targets and engage them...

If they were misses/hits on penalty targets --- practice harder shots, by putting targets farther out, covering part of them with hard cover, or by outlining the A zone in black masking tape -- a trick I use occasionally to remind myself where I should be aiming at various distances. Take all the time you need to hit the target, no more, no less. You're trying to learn how much you need to see to get an A. If you're always getting them, try to go a little faster --- but still make it vision based. Can you still get As with just seeing the front sight superimposed on the target? Do you need a flash sight picture, or do you really need to wait for the gun to settle to get that A?

Distance and experience/practice will dictate your progression here. When running a stage, ignore the total time. Do work on planning an approach with the fewest number of shooting positions and take the exact time you need to get your hits. The time will be what it is, and with enough practice will start to come down....

[leam]

Looks like 3 misses on Stage 1; that was where I had my "billowing cloud" experience. Couple that with excitement about my first USPSA shooting and I can see that happening. Stage 2 clean, Stage 3 Procedural for hitting a popper out of sequence, Stage 4 probably a miss from the heat and tiredness and the no-shoot.

Pack more water and snack food to keep my energy up, take a small note book when we do the scoring so I can track what I did and didn't do, and make sure my hits go where they are supposed to. I'm a older and heavier fellow so movement is still an issue. Diet and exercise will help cure that.

HoMiE--Nice pages! I've picked the top scores of each section to work on. At my level that's enough of a task and will maximize my training time and goals. If there's a coorelation between Stage % and the classification system then I'm at the cusp between D and C shooting.

Leam

[leam]

While patiently (ha!) waiting on yesterdays scores to be posted, I'll comment on some of the suggestions you guys have made.

I tracked the RO when scoring and I think I'm in the 90% or higher points range. Lot's of Alphas, only major issue was the last half of the last stage I didn't plan it well and just assumed I'd remember the complex order of the targets. It was one of those stages that really let the good shooters shine and my head wasn't good enough at that point in the game.

Took more water and Zone bars. Could have easily doubled the water and still not been too wet. Calories and energy level were still good at the end though.

One one stage you had to start with gun and magazine on the table. Four boxes in front of the table; move 7 yards NW to the first box, 5 yards North to the second, 10 yards east to the third, and 5 yards south to the 4th. That was the normal shooting plan but not required by the stage. Between each box to box movement was 1 or 2 targets that could be engaged from anywhere.

In that my moving is still developing and my moving and shooting is even worse, I shot the "from anywhere" targets right from the table. That let me get into a shooting position at the beep, use my good long range shooting, and then focus on just running from box to box. Had forgotten how fast 255 pounds can move but I made my best effort.

Had three "tasks" I worked on regarding movement. If the stage required movment at the beep my feet were ready to go. On move and shoot the shooting spot was mentally marked so that I didn't have to re-adjust. Lasty, the first foot that made it to the shooting spot was right where it needed to be for me to shoot from. Hit those goals about 50-75% of the time; something to work on.

I appreciate the suggestions you guys are providing!

Leam

[photog]

One thing that I think helps is to practice with a timer, all the time. It helped me get over the "buzzer anxiety" and be able to think while shooting.

I finally got it together at the last match, pulled it together to get 5th overall, against a M (Open), a B (Open), an A (Lim) and another U (L-10) shooter. I shot Limited. I just got my C ranking with that match. I feel like I have a long way to go, but my score went way up this last match. I attribute it to my match strategy and practice.

What I did:
I didn't volunteer to go first.
I watched each guy before me and thought about the stage.
I taped and set steels so I knew where they all were.
I scored stages so I saw the points traps.
I didn't let the buzzer change my plans.
I counted my rounds, and had a plan for missed steels.
I kept my eyes open.
I held my gun correctly.

My practice has been minimal lately. but when I go, I do it right. I set up stages and practice with a timer. Fundamentals and drills and stuff like fast splits and fast draws. I practiced weak and and one hand and freestyle (same stage). Each stage that I set up is short, 4 targets or less, so that I remember what I just did. Then I do it over and over till i see a good improvement in time and score. I also shoot slow groups, with a timer. I can now hit those long shots, and I have a good idea how long I'm taking to do it.

Hope that doesn't sound to cocky, cause I'm certainly not great at this game, but I'm having fun now that I'm shooting better. Now I'm shooting for for a B classification, which means I have to get faster.

[JKSNIPER]

Most people like to practice what they do well.
THis provides positive reinforcement.
"Hey..... look at that group... looks good right?"
Instead of focusing entirely on the scores (which has value also) try to look at your shooting and things you do not like or do not do well and force yourself to practice them.
How many guys shoot a lot weak handed or from roll over prone and yet we all know that those are things we may be asked to do in a match.
Yet we continue to practice shooting strong handed, from our greatest position etc....
In my limited experience I have found that practicing the things I do not do well or the positions I do not like has been beneficial to me.
Still examine your score to help find those weak areas and when you do then go to the range and practice something you messed up at the last match.
Good luck and hang tough.
JK

[Hi-Power Jack]

The biggest mistake I made when I started shooting
IPSC was to shoot TOO FAST. You see the good
shooters firing very quickly, and I tried to shoot as
fast as They could shoot, not how fast I could hit
the target - big mistake - when I slowed down so
I could hit the target 95% of the time, I was happy.

Also, spend time before each stage planning exactly
how you will shoot the stage - where you will reload,
etc.

Good luck = not a bad beginning = stay with it and
enjoy it - lots of fun.

[leam]

Okay, results posted at http://www.ncsection...AUG08/aug08.txt

Here's what I understand so far. Zero penalties for the entire match! Woo-hoo! Five stages; one 24 shot classifier (#1), the rest with either lots of challenging targets or lots of steel. Or both. On most stages, all but #1, I don't know the max possible score so I took the highest listed. On #3 I was one of two shooters with high score, on #4 I was one of 3.

Stage 1 -- 95.2% -- 116 of 120
Stage 2 -- 94.05% -- 114 of 119
Stage 3 -- 100% -- 130 of 130
Stage 4 -- 100% -- 85 of 85
Stage 5 -- 97.4% -- 128 of 130
Overall --- 97.33%

We started on stage 3, I think, and ended on stage 2. Looks like my energy level and focus paid a price, percentages steadily go down after the first couple stages.

Another match Sunday. Goals are to move fast, keep the accuracy, and shave off time. I've been practicing reloads and draws some this week and will focus on those tomorrow. Tools are hydration today and tomorrow, stretching, and some serious positive self-talk.

Leam

[Hi-Power Jack]

That's a Big Improvement, and in only
one match. Congratulations !!!

Now, since you're getting 95% A's, try to
go a little faster - accept a few more "C's"
and see if you can get your speed up a bit.

[Rocket35]

First of all great shooting - Now you just need to find where you can eliminate extra movement and save time on each stage. I wouldn't say go "faster", eliminate wasted time. A few ways this can be done is to learn to manipulate the gun efficiently with draws, reloads and malfunction clearing drills. Keep the gun high during movement and reloads. Also learn to get in and out of shooting positions quicker and more efficiently. Eliminate standing reloads by reloading between arrays. The good news is these skills can be improved in dryfire or a nice airsoft gun. The bad news is it takes alot of sweat and hard work!

Way to go and keep up the good work.

This post has been edited by Rocket35: 16 August 2008 - 05:44 AM

[leam]

Rocket35, on Aug 16 2008, 08:40 AM, said:

First of all great shooting - Now you just need to find where you can eliminate extra movement and save time on each stage.

Way to go and keep up the good work.

Well, after nearly a year of on again and off again matches, I'm back "on". My latest posted scores are at:

http://shootspsa.org...09/spsa0906.htm

Quick analysis: 0 penalties, and good accuracy throughout the match. Gun jam on Stage 2; Stage three was the classifier. Gun is actually Single Stack (regular score person out of the country) with GI issue sights. I was also shooting off-hand as my primary hand ring figer was broken.

Areas to improve are 1) Keping track of the stage and shooting the targets instead of having to go back for them 2) Faster reloads 3) Faster time to shooting spot.

Life is good! I've moved to a totally different area and already hooked up with a local shooter. He's pointing me to area matches and I'll see if I can improve things.

Thanks for the advice and encouragement!

Leam

[Pat Harrison]

I posted this in another forum, it could be a worthwhile read for you.
http://www.brianenos...showtopic=86718