[xcelr8hard]

Just looking for tips on improving my technique for speed and efficiency.
I have been shooting different disciplines for about 1 1/2 years now.
Shooting STI Trojan 9MM in single stack. I am currently a unclassified shooter.
Hopefully the link will work.

draw and reload

Thanks,
Butch

[zhunter]

Looks like your draw movements are too slow, especially your right hand. I know what you are doing with your left hand, but it is too high, as it should contact the gun and help bring it up into position.

Why are you only practicing slide lock reloads? I would practice 19 - 1 non slide lick to slide lock. Most slide locks are after you have had to make up a shot and are on the move anyway, so you have plenty of time.

[jkrispies]

1. DRAW: It almost seems like you're pushing the gun down into the holster to get your grip right and then pulling it out-- just get it straight out of the holster and move that support hand to the gun faster so that you can use it to do any hand adjustments that may be necessary on the way up to the target rather than before it leaves the holster. Practice this, and I think you'll find that you can trust that 90% or more of the time your grip is just fine straight out of the holster.

2. RELOAD: It's a little hard for me to see due to the speed and angle of the camera, so I can't 100% tell if you're using the "tip-to-tip" method of reloading (ie, your fingertip to the bullet tip of the top bullet and "pointing" the magazine into the gun with your finger). I think so, but I'm not sure. However, it looks to me like you might be pulling your hand away from the magazine too much when you slam it home so that you're having to refind the gun with your support hand. If you can keep the support hand closer to the grip all the way through the insertion (I know, it's scary and I've had some bloody digits practicing this), you'll find that the support hand will naturally go right from insertion to where it's supposed to be on the gun, which will result in a faster split. I tried to do a screen capture but couldn't pull it off. Look at your hand position when there is 42 seconds remaining in the video (Note: 42 seconds remaining, not into the video) and you'll see that your support hand is pretty far out of position for an efficient follow through.


Edit for speeellling

This post has been edited by jkrispies: 31 May 2009 - 10:58 AM

[Flexmoney]

Are you missing the target?

[xcelr8hard]

Thanks for the insight guys. I appreciate it.

Flexmoney, on May 31 2009, 03:27 PM, said:

Are you missing the target?

Flex, I am missing way more than the target. I'm missing alot of things.

Thanks,
Butch

[Flexmoney]

I'd rather see you work on just pressing the gun out to extension from hi-ready..smoothly arriving at extension...seeing the front sight...and applying the trigger without disturbing the sights.

[Audifn]

I agree with flex. No sense practicing draws with misses.

If you are determined to start with the draw, then go ahead, but do not break the shot until your sights are properly aligned and you know you are going to hit the target. Forget the speed! ...if you can't draw slowly and smoothly and hit the target, then there is no way you can do it going fast.

[CHA-LEE]

Draw....

(1) Get in your complete shooting stance before the draw. The only thing that should move during your draw should be your arms and hands. Everything else should be in the right place. As you are doing it your are raising your right shoulder, bending your knees, bobbing your head to the sights and so on. Start in reverse. Get in your stance, draw the gun casually and shoot 2 – 3 shots. Then keep everything perfectly still and only moving your arms and hands reholster the gun. Then perform your draw from that stance/body position.

(2) What are you waiting for after the gun is drawn and pointed at the target?? There is a good .15 - .25 sec delay between the gun being fully drawn and breaking the shot. That is nothing but pure wasted time. Your grip, stance, and body index should present the gun in a perfectly sight aligned manner as soon as the gun is out and at full extension. If it isn’t and you are having to realign the sights after the draw something isn’t right in your Grip, Stance, or body index. For example, I see that you are bobbing your head down to the gun to see the sights. You need to bring the sights up to your eye, not your eye to the sights.

(3) Any wasted movement is just that, wasted movement. When you pat your belly with your weak hand during the draw, you could just as easily be meeting your strong hand to build your grip instead. The pat on the belly is just another wasted motion.

(4) Your movement is at a comfortable pace. That will work for a stage where you can draw while moving to your first shooting position. But if you have to draw instantly to a target you need to step it up to the next level in the movement department. I have found that relaxed muscles can react a lot faster and more consistent than constricted ones. Try completely relazing your hands and arms then when the buzzer goes off explode the movements to the gun. Shooting in a match is a RACE, so race speed is needed to win.

(5) Practice what you will experience. You are doing one shot draws. How often in a match will you draw and shoot only a single round? Not very often. When I practice my draws I will fire at least two rounds on a single target as that is what I will have to do 99% of the time when I am in a match. You are instantly breaking down the mount of the gun after that single shot. What do you think is going to happen when you have to draw and fire two shots on a target when you have practiced 15 – 20 one shot draws? At a minimum you will have a longer than average split time between the first and second shot because you will actually have to think about breaking the second shot. Then you will not be use to picking up the sight post shot so that will take more time as well.

(6) Where are your hits on target with the draws? They darn well better be in the “A” zone or you are wasting your time. Why would you practice not hitting the “A” zone anyway? Practice makes perfect right? If you practice poor hits then you will be really good at making poor hits.


Reloads….

(1) ANY time you load a mag into the gun have it up in the same position where you will perform the reload during a stage run. When you load your weapon between shooting strings its down near your belly. Keep it up close to your face.

(2) I can’t tell by the video but either the gun or the mag are not canted correctly to mate smoothly as you go to seat the new mag. You are turning the load into a two step process. First you are finding the mag well with the tip of the mag then you over exaggerate the seat of the mag with a totally new arm motion. Try different angles of the gun, mag, and arm dept until the seating of the mag is one smooth process. It should be one single arm movement with your weak hand. Not find it then drive it home.

(3) Same as above with the delay of the shot post reload. When you extend your arms after the reload you should be able to break the shot as soon as your arms are fully extended. If the sights are not aligned then you have some grip, stance, or index issues.

(4) Same as above on the urgency of movement. Speed it up. The longer it takes to reload is 100% wasted time. The sooner you get it done the sooner you can be shooting again.

[xcelr8hard]

Thank you for taking the time to look, and post responses. Great observations and tips. I will take them to my next practice session.
Greatly appreciated.

Butch

[MemphisMechanic]

The weak hand is too high. Closer to the belt level - offset a little toward the gun-side isn't a bad idea, either. You want it to come up under the pistol, contact the underside of the triggerguard, and close around the strong hand while the gun is still below your ribcage. You can see that your hand hits you ribcage, then dips DOWN, hooks under the gun, and comes back up.

You are also making a straight line (diagonal path) from the holster to the target. Try this (slowly): As you bring your weak hand up under the pistol 4-6" above the holster, CONTINUE to bring both hands straight up the side of your body. As soon as the meat at the base of your thumb rubs the side of your pec/armpit area, bring the gun out in front of your eyes, and extend it there. The pec-to-hand thing is something I focus on whenever I find myself "rounding the corner" too much on draws.

Ideally, the draw would be an "L". Straight up in front of your eyes, then extend. This lets your eyes acquire/adjust the sights for most of the draw. The method you're using now gives a peek-a-boo snapshot as the gun arrives. All sight alignment must be done AFTER the draw is complete. Advanced shooters get away with this because they have done 15 million draws, and their index is near-perfect. Yours isn't, so take the longer path to the faster first shot.

Find a paper targets, or a steel plate that's SMALLER than the A-zone, or close to the same size. Shoot at that while learning the draw. If you miss, fix the draw and make it smoother (not necessarily slower, but smoother is key). Stay relaxed. Breathe. A tense shooter CANNOT be smooth. Relaxed muscles are faster at the beep.

Watch the last few draws (1:15 remaining and on). Notice how you brought the gun higher - closer to your face - and extended? Notice how you hit the target? I think those two might be related.

This post has been edited by MemphisMechanic: 09 June 2009 - 09:47 AM