TennJeep's Training Journal

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  • TennJeep1618

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    and thanks to this MutherTrucker^ spanking my ass last match, I'm back to practicing....dammit.....
    Better keep practicing. I hit it hard tonight and had to keep dropping my par times because I kept killing them. Magazines flying all around and lots of imaginary holes in paper.

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    JWlineman

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    Figured I'd ask it here for everyone...in your video you talk about your scaled down targets to simulate 5-7 yds. Do you have some measurements for those or a picture maybe? Thanks JW
     

    TennJeep1618

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    barebones1

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    Figured I'd ask it here for everyone...in your video you talk about your scaled down targets to simulate 5-7 yds. Do you have some measurements for those or a picture maybe? Thanks JW
    I made a mini plate rack. Welded up from hinges , blanks from commercial electical covers and a piece of angle steel. Shooting a tanfoglio 1911 blowback bb gun. I can shoot in my back yard. It helped me to shoot and move at the same time.

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    TennJeep1618

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    Shot the USPSA match in Biloxi this morning. I shot my new Mink Shadow and I really feel like I've found the gun I'm going to stick with for quite a while. Here are my thoughts on the match, followed by the video.

    Stage 1 - Classifier - Unfortunately we started on this stage. It was very cold and I forgot that I need to aim a little high on the long shots. Not my best performance by far. Luckily my match got better after this stage.

    Stage 2 - Lots of reloads and my first mag didn't want to fall free. I also had a couple "trigger freeze" kind of moments. I wasn't letting the trigger reset. I'm not sure if it was becuase my hands were cold or if it is the way I've been dry firing. Definitely need to work on that. My hits were good, but I still need to transition faster.

    Stage 3 - Unloaded start and lots of reloads. Same issue with not letting the trigger reset. Good hits and need to speed up transitions, again.

    Stage 4 - Probably my best stage. Unchambered start. All my C's were close. Transitions need to be quicker.

    Note: Select HD and 60fps for best quality.

     

    TennJeep1618

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    I hit the dry fire hard again last night, focusing almost exclusively on transitions. I feel like that's the biggest piece of low hanging fruit that will help my times get much faster, but I'm open to suggestions if anyone else has some feedback.
     

    TennJeep1618

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    I did a few minutes of dry fire last night after being busy the last couple days. I still focused on transitions more than anything, but I also tried a few things to help my draw.

    I noticed a week or two ago that when I draw from the "arms above shoulders" position, I really need to focus on getting my weak hand in a position to receive the gun. If I don't, then my week hand struggles to catch the gun as I'm presenting it to the target. If I focus on getting my weak elbow down into my stomach, reaching slightly across my body at the beep, then it naturally catches the strong hand shortly after the gun comes out of the holster.

    I saw a thread on Enos yesterday where a gentleman had a breakthrough doing the same thing on a normal "hands relaxed at sides" draw, so I tried it last night as well. When I'm concentrating on getting my weak hand into position, my strong hand just naturally goes when it's supposed to and the entire draw feels smoother. Tonight I'm going to try it isolated on the timer and see how what it shows.
     

    TennJeep1618

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    I've dry fired every night this week, mostly some version of an "el prez" drill. I like it because it's simple, yet factors in a lot of the major components of shooting: drawing, reloading, and transitioning. It's also easy to use the drill as a base and change things up to focus on different types of draws, etc.

    Going to do a little dry fire tonight before I pack up everything for the MPSA USPSA match tomorrow. After that match, my next two are GSSF and an IDPA Classifier, so I'll be splitting my time between both of those styles of shooting for the next couple weeks.

    I ordered a couple sets of Dawson sights for my G17 and G26 because I hate how wide the factory Glock front sight is. GSSF is accuracy focused, so I want to give myself the best chance of being precise.

    I'll spend some time at the range either on Sunday and/or next weekend to verify my POI (on the clock) at 20yds for both the GSSF match as well as the IDPA Classifier.
     

    TennJeep1618

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    My match recap from Saturday:

    Stage 1 - Way too complicated for first thing in the morning (thanks, Ed!). It actually wasn't terrible, it just seemed daunting at first because of the number and placement of the targets and the requirement that all reloads must be done from the table. I'm pleased with my stage plan, but I spent so much time figuring out which targets I was going to shoot between which reload, that I didn't pay close enough attention to my positioning and footwork. I ended up shuffling too much (especially after the first reload) when I could have positioned myself to shoot all the targets from one spot. My hits were pretty good, but I pulled 2 into the hard cover. They would have been close C's, so I guess I just need to focus a little more on my sight picture on those targets.

    Stage 2 - Classifier - My draws could have been a touch faster, but I'm pleased with my transitions. I pulled the last shot into the D zone, which made me mad. The good thing is that I called it as a D shot. The bad part is that it was a Virginia count stage, so I couldn't pick it up. Should be a B class score.

    Stage 3 - JWlineman and I designed this stage, much to the chagrin of a few folks. I called hits on the first shot on the mini popper and the first two shots on the star. I wish I could tell where those shots went from the video, but I can't see any dirt splash. Luckily the 2nd plate knocked the 3rd one off, so I was spared from squirting even more bullets at the darn star. My hits were good, considering the partials. Got a production win and was one of the 6/30 to not have any penalties on that stage.

    Stage 4 - Great hits on this stage (all A's), minus barely catching the NS on the last target. I picked up an extra shot (upper A zone), but it turns out that it wasn't needed. I came dangerously close to breaking the 180 when my arm got caught on the wall moving out of the first position.

    Stage 5 - I either didn't seat the mag fully at the start, or the mag release was pressed when I sat the gun on the barrel (barrel start). Either way, the mag wasn't seated when I started the stage and that cost me quite a bit of time. I had the most points in Production, but my time was the slowest by far. Can't complain about too much on this stage other than the start.

    I had problems with my mags not falling freely throughout the entire match. I was originally thinking that my my mag catch was pinching the magazine on the right side, above the hole, but now I'm not so sure. Gas Port noticed that the first round was pushed forward in those mags that wouldn't fall free. At first, I figured that it happened after they hit the ground, but research has shown that sometimes the bottom of the slide can push the top round far enough forward that the nose catches the feed ramp when ejecting. There are a couple ways to fix this, so I'm going to tinker with it this week to get the problem solved before the IDPA classifier in a couple weeks. Overall, fighting those mags probably cost me a few seconds over the match.

    Anyway, here are the videos:





    Many thanks to jogan for manning the video camera for the 3rd person view. It really helps me see my footwork and evaluate more about my match performance. I'll return the favor one day when I'm not feeling so selfish. :decision:
     
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    jogan

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    I'll remember to charge my gopro next match! Good shooting. Was back and forth between us the whole day. between your mag issues and getting your sleeve caught on the fence, I almost got away from ya! As far as the start at stage 5...with your overcompensating mag release, would it be possible to have pressed down on the gun while grabbing it off the table? That thing sticks out like my nipples when it's cold outside!
     

    JWlineman

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    ^^^Maybe it's your kitten teeth that help out...

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    TennJeep1618

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    I didn't do any dry fire or any "on the clock" practice before the GSSF match and it was evident. It was a very poor showing on my part. I didn't put in the time to get used to the stock Glock trigger again and I pushed too much during the match to squeeze it properly.

    I got back into some dry fire practice last night and it's amazing how good and confident you can feel after only 25 minutes of practice. I practiced a lot of the skills I'll be using in the IDPA classifier this Saturday and I was pleased with how it went. I'll probably work on the same sort of skills the rest of the week.
     

    jogan

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    since I'll only be running the timer at this week's classifier, I practiced pushing the button on a PACT timer and rehearsing my lines...
     

    JWlineman

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    Since I have to work I'll just do nothing...

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    TennJeep1618

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    I dry fired Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of this week, but I took last night off. Wednesday night I dry fired stage 2 and 3 of the IDPA classifier. I set conservative times on stage 3 to emphasize achieving a crisp sight picture and good trigger press, which I hope will help me after the buzzer sounds. I'll hit it hard again tonight before I pack up for the match.

    Also, I recently discovered the "repetitive mode" on my timer. It allows me to set the par time, the down time and the number of reps I want to do. So it goes: Initial beep, par time beep, then it rests the set down time before sounding the next initial beep. It's easy to get in a rhythm that way and I feel like I get more reps per session than I did before I starting using that mode. Anyone that has a CED 7000 or 8000 should have this mode.
     

    TennJeep1618

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    I shot the IDPA Classifier on Saturday. I didn't try to burn it down, I just tried to shoot a smooth, solid match. I accomplished my goal for the most part, my biggest screw up was a miss on Stage 3 caused by a poor trigger pull. I finished squarely in Expert, which is where I expected to be. That will be my classification for the state match in April, which will be my first and probably only major IDPA match. I might still shoot a match every now and then at ERGC, but I'm going to mainly focus on USPSA from here on out.

    Classifier breakdown:

    Stage 1 - I'm still getting used to the DA first pull during live fire, especially when accuracy is as important as it is in the Classifier. The first shot on the WHO string was horrendous, but somehow ended up in the "down 0" area. I have no idea how, and I cringe every time I watch the video. I fumbled my reload a little on String 6, but the stage wasn't bad overall.

    Stage 2 - I ended up down 7, which is a little less accurate than I was hoping. Overall, nothing too good or bad here.

    Stage 3 - I yanked the 7th shot on String 1, which ended up being a complete miss. I shot at the pace I wanted to on this stage, but my sights were wobbling all over the place, resulting in less than desired accuracy.




    Now I'll be converting my SP-01 into a Limited Minor gun for the Jabs Extreme Steel Match in Dothan the first weekend in April.
     

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