[Seth]

I've finally decided its time to add some online public humiliation to my shooting. My name is Seth. I'm 34, married, and am a stay at home father. I retired from the off road industry (manufacturing) when my daughter was born and started shooting competitively in August 07. In 07 I shot a regular Monday nite IDPA- lite match and 4 local IDPA matches.

This year, I decided to focus strictly on USPSA. I started shooting single stack and shot at least one local match every month since March. I also shot A8, Summer Blast, VA-MD Sectionals and NC Sectional. I classified C Single Stack in July and moved on to limited in August. My initial classification in Limited is C at 49.41%.

My strengths are in determination, attention to detail and a willingness to drop what I know and learn something new. I'm learning WHAT to see and have started to prove my ability to see what I'm supposed to. I have learned visual patience and I get my hits. I don't miss much... but how can I when I shoot so slow!

My weaknesses are in physical conditioning, which translates into jerky movements. I have gained about 15# since my daughter was born 18 months ago and am about 25# heavier than I should be. I'm not a natural born shooter, but I can get the job done.

My current focus is on my own physical conditioning and improving my speed and efficiency on range.

Ultimately, I have no excuses. I have invested in top shelf gear, I have time to practice and currently can afford to make it a go. So today is day 1 of the rest of my life.

This post has been edited by Sethmark: 17 October 2008 - 10:07 AM

[Seth]

I have developed a relationship with the owner of my local range and he's allowing myself and a buddy to do live fire training after hours.

Last night was our first session.

We isolated 3 drills.

1. Practice drawing to 1 shot
2. Drawing to 2 shots
3. Drawing, 2 shots, transition to a 2nd target and 2 more shots

On average, my draw to first shot was about a 1.5 (I'm C limited at 50%). His average was about 1.03 (A class at 83%)
On splits I was shooting a consistent .29 while seeing my sights consistently. I can pull the trigger faster, I just can't see faster, yet. My real disaster was transitions. I was averaging about .5 splits between targets. That's SLOW.

So I established a baseline.

To Do's - 1/2 hour of Cardio today and tomorrow. 1 hour dry fire today, live fire tomorrow.
Physical weight - 202#. Jeez. I'm a fat bastard.

This post has been edited by Sethmark: 17 October 2008 - 06:44 AM

[Thomas Moore]

Seth, work on movement. This game is more about the economy of motion than shooting. Granted you have to get your Alphas but a 1.5 draw versus a 1.03 draw can be beat in a field course if you're shaving off more steps than the other guy.

[Seth]

Thomas,
Economy of motion is critical for me. I waste a lot of time farting around --- been watching IPSC Secrets DVD lately and focusing on the transition stuffs that Magill (and Brian) identify. The last 2 matches I shot, I've been very consciencious of footwork and picking places on the course where to move to so I can get my shots. Its finally starting to sink in that a 12 yard shot isn't harder than a 10 yard shot and if I can save some time in motion zig zagging, I'll be better off.

I AM starting to feel better about my shooting. I made a pretty big leap forward in seeing over the last month and have finally figured out how to see through the gun and track the sights. I got a long way to go, but I now understand what its supposed to feel like.

[JThompson]

Thomas Moore, on Oct 17 2008, 08:51 AM, said:

Seth, work on movement. This game is more about the economy of motion than shooting. Granted you have to get your Alphas but a 1.5 draw versus a 1.03 draw can be beat in a field course if you're shaving off more steps than the other guy.

I'd have to agree.... stage planning and getting in shooting and going out the same way. Reloads. Also, shooting on the move. Next, transitions and lastly, draw and splits. Draw and splits can be important on classifiers, but are less so on field courses.

Good luck and practice often......

JT

[Thomas Moore]

I would also like to see you change the title of your diary to something more positive. Positive thinking promotes positive results.

[Seth]

I'm motivated by lots of things, but the thing that gets moving fast is displeasure with my current situation. If I'm aggravated, I act with greater decision.

I like the title.

[Seth]

Good morning at the range. More live fire practice from a draw. Faster I push, the slower I go. SMMMOOOOTTHHH is fast. I am however EXTREMELY consistent. 15 yards from a draw takes 1.5 sec to the first shot and .3 second to the 2nd for 2 Alphas --- and I must've done 50 of them.

I spent a LOT of time reading Brian's book and watching lately. Observing the gun. I've now seen 2 pieces of brass during a control pair. I've seen the hammer fall. I've see the flash every shot. Neat.

Double plugging has made epic leaps for me in terms of the blink. I'm going to dump the Peltor 6Ss I have and spent the money for the Pro Ears. They're 33 NRR, while the Peltors are only 19NRR. I'm thinking that the Pro Ears alone might be enough sound reduction with out the 2nd pair of plugs.

Seth

This post has been edited by Sethmark: 18 October 2008 - 11:07 AM

[SDM]

Sethmark, on Oct 18 2008, 02:02 PM, said:

Double plugging has made epic leaps for me in terms of the blink. I'm going to dump the Peltor 6Ss I have and spent the money for the Pro Ears. They're 33 NRR, while the Peltors are only 19NRR. I'm thinking that the Pro Ears alone might be enough sound reduction with out the 2nd pair of plugs.

Seth

Seth,
My I wear a pair of Howard Leights with a 30 NRR and the plugs still make a significant difference. I think it's worth the trouble.

[Seth]

I feel like I'm talking to myself.

Seth,
By the calculations I've found by wearing a 32nrr plug and a 19 muff, I'm only getting about a 34ish nrr. The ProEars are 33 straight away. I just wish I could find the new Gold series for a little cheaper.

S.

[SDM]

is right

They seem to work for you but I've never liked electronic muffs at all. I've tried Pro Ears, Radians, and whatever the Dillons are and didn't like any of them.

How are you doing that calculation, what would a 30 muff and the 32 plug (I'm not sure what the rating of the plugs I have is) be?

[Seth]

The plugs I wear are a 32nrr. The Muffs are rated at 19nrr. The metric I've read is that you take the higher rating and add 5NRR. That's fine and dandy, as long as you get a perfect seal. I figure I'm not perfect, so instead of seeing 37nrr, its probably a little lower.

The one thing I LIKE about electronic protection with the plugs is that I can still hear conversations, as the electronics amplify the voices. Otherwise, I'd just pickup a set of passive 33nrrs.

[Seth]

Today was Monday nite, IDPA lite. 2 stages --- 15rd USPSA style, 12 rd IDPA bad breath stage. 1st stage was 5 targets shoulder to shoulder, 3 shooting boxes, 1 round to each target from each box.

The gun is definitely starting to provide me input I haven't seen before. Clearing my head and just being aware of it coming up, sights intersecting my vision. Each shot was good. Speed was acceptable, but not blazing and out of control. The guys that CAN shoot blazing were 5-7 seconds faster and more points down....

I am definitely starting to see the gun differently. I'm not sure if I'm seeing EVERYTHING I need to see, but there's definitely been a change and a progression. My hits are better and my speed is higher.

25 minutes on the stairmaster, no dry fire. 75 rounds of total live fire tonite.

[Singlestack Dan]

You GO man!

Not only will your shooting benefit from taking a more active part in your fitness, but LIFE will as well!!!


GOOD luck to you sir!

[Seth]

Not the best week for fitness or dryfire. Too much errand running all week in preparation for my sister's wedding in NYC on Sunday. I did get a solid 2 hours at the range tonite and our usual monday nite match. Monday match was good, I finished 4th overall out of 20+. Practice tonite was draw from Surrender to 2 shots, and shooting on the move with a wide transition between targets.

I'm still struggling with being graceful. I need to learn to move on my feet better and more confidently. My shooting skills are fairly solid. Its everything else that's dragging me down.

I have noticed that I'm seeing lots of stuff I never noticed before. On our shooting on the move drill, I found that I not only had solid sight pictures, but also was catching the 2 pieces of brass in the air in my peripheral vision. Neat.

The new hearing protection was nice. The advantage for me was not just the reduction in volume, but actually the improvement in being able to hear a conversation while double plugged.

[Seth]

Variation on a theme from last week. Not a good week for fitness or dry fire, since I had to go to NYC for 4 days. But I did get an hour on the stairmaster over the last 2 days. Diet is going to require some attention with the holidays approaching. My slow ass metabolism will make a mess if I'm not careful.

Last night's practice was El Pres and the same 3 targets moving from box to box with a reload. The El Pres averaged at about a 7.5 sec with around 52pts. By the classifier calc, that's a 63%. I can live with a B run. That's a step in the right direction.

I'm still having issues with the mag release button/ reloads. I tend to flip the pistol in my hand when reloading to get to the release.... obviously that's getting me close to the 180. With the paddle I found myself buttoning out mags unintentionally. The big button is fine, but might be TOO big. I gotta figure out something soon.

[Seth]

Match day. Not quite crash and burn... but close. I trashed the classifier with a no shoot and nearly slipped on my ass.

Other stages weren't spectacular, but I functioned. I had some mikes that I shouldn't have and dumb me tried to pound a few forward falling poppers instead of calling my shot. I finished 55th of 110. Dead middle. Sigh. I finished where I should, considering my classification and skill level.

Now back to the woodshed.

[Seth]

Last night was a good visual experience. After practicing transitional splits between targets at 15 yards, I was dog slow. With a timer, we started pushing to see how fast I could transition between targets (spread about 5' apart).

With a concentrated sight picture, I was shooting about a .58 transition split. However, when I started standing on the gas a funny thing happened... instead of concentrating on the sight picture, I was more 'aware' of the sight picture. Obviously, as my numbers got lower towards a mid .35, my accuracy deteriorated... but I wasn't out of control. The hits were still on paper, but substantially faster....... It was like the sights were a confirmation of awareness instead of the focus of my awareness.

I've seen something different and I don't know how to process it and what to do with it. I'm definitely SEEING something I wasn't seeing before, especially at speed....

IDPA match tomorrow.

[Seth]

Match day. 6th place finish behind 4 Masters and One Expert....

Stage 1 was a complete disaster. 2 no shoots, 2 procedurals and 2 mikes. How? The mistakes started to make me laugh and I lost all awareness...
Stage 2 - El Pres with 2 pieces of steel flanking the targets. Fast and accurate
Stage 3 Plate rack, strong, weak, free. Strong was fine, weak was... well... weak, free was acceptable. I need to work on getting stronger with the weak. The gun shakes so damn much I have to time my pull. Meanwhile, being IDPA, I only had 11 in the gun and made sure to get my hits without a reload.
Stage 4 - 5 targets, 2 body shots, reload with retention, drop to a knee and 5 head shots. 1pt down.
Stage 5 - Bianchi barrier, 2 forward falling poppers with 5 minis, must engage from both sides. Decent run.
Stage 6 - 2 body 1 head from 5 strong hand, 7 weak hand, 10 free style. Zero down, one make up shot
Stage 7 - 6 reload 6 --- just over 6 seconds, 1pt down. Happy as hell with that one. It was FAST.
Stage 8 - 5 targets separated by no shoots from seated at a table. Table draw and reload. 2 body/ 1 head. Plenty fast.
Stage 9 - side by side texas stars. I was good on the first one, sloppy on the 2nd. 14.05 sec.

Things that went well today were transistions and splits. I have developed a stutter in my draw which is weird. I meet with my weak hand, pause, then thrust. Gotta dry fire that out. The site awareness was good, but not the zen stuff I've been flirting with.

Not a bad day.

This post has been edited by Sethmark: 08 November 2008 - 05:43 PM

[Seth]

Yippeee! First ever stage win last night. Beat some good shooters too...

Life is starting to get back on track following the NYC trip. Between my kids cold and my/my wife's flu... then the kids flu, its been a little hectic.

2 good sessions of cardio today and yesterday, better diet, and good dry fire tonite.

Big goals for the woodshed time this winter:
- smoother/ faster transitions
- smooth draw
- no more farkin' no shoots. visual patience on those targets.

Match schedule won't change too much with the exception of there being no big ones. Still shooting one USPSA match per month, one IDPA match and a weekly IDPA lite.

Attainable class goal for next year is B Limited. That's a 11% increase to make it.... That's doable.

[Seth]

Dear Diary... its been 11 days since we talked....

Range time today. 200 rounds of slow fire. WATCHING. A few load related hiccups that I worked out last week are gone for good.

Splits aren't improving yet, but they're more accurate and I'm not jerking the trigger so bad right now. Gotta work more on transitions. I watched the videos of the big matches I shot this year and I waste a LOT of time between targets.

Tripp gun is still running like a scalded dog. If only I could be nice to it.

S.

[SV-COP]

Sethmark, on Nov 30 2008, 01:25 PM, said:

Dear Diary... its been 11 days since we talked....

Range time today. 200 rounds of slow fire. WATCHING. A few load related hiccups that I worked out last week are gone for good.

Splits aren't improving yet, but they're more accurate and I'm not jerking the trigger so bad right now. Gotta work more on transitions. I watched the videos of the big matches I shot this year and I waste a LOT of time between targets.

Tripp gun is still running like a scalded dog. If only I could be nice to it.

S.

At least you went to shoot!! We're having 20-30 winds today which isn't the best outdoor sports weather for me!! Good luck and keep shooting. Any more hammer follow?

[Seth]

Nope. Must've been a little unburnt powder or debris in there. I have beat another 550 rounds through it without issue, including some just plain eggregious hammering.

I spoke with Colby and he indicated that it was unlikely that there was a problem, as they setup the triggers with plenty of engagement. He agreed that it wasn't a 'problem' unless it happened again. After the last 2 range sessions, I ain't concerned.

[Seth]

A good day. Ran the Sir Walter match with G-Man Bart. Lots of shooting and not a lot of mistakes. I ran past a single target and got an FTE, but otherwise it was a good day. Finished 15th overall in Limited.

Shot a decent classifier....HF of 5.8997 on cm99-08--- about 63%.

[G-ManBart]

Sethmark, on Dec 6 2008, 10:14 PM, said:

A good day. Ran the Sir Walter match with G-Man Bart. Lots of shooting and not a lot of mistakes. I ran past a single target and got an FTE, but otherwise it was a good day. Finished 15th overall in Limited.

Shot a decent classifier....HF of 5.8997 on cm99-08--- about 63%.

Yep....solid match and don't dwell on running past that target...plenty of other folks do that and the better you get at burning a stage into your head, the less that'll happen. Saw lots of really good things going on, nothing "bad" to be worried about and it's interesting that one of the pervious posts was about movement....exactly what we were talking about! Mucho improvo from your previous descriptions. R,