September Steel Challenge Match...

[sigh] I lost this match right on the first stage.

And you know why? I forgot to smile.

Seriously. One of the things I've started to do before the start signal---is smile. I remind myself how much I enjoy shooting, and how much fun this is going to be---and naturally, I smile. I relax, I stay in balance, my shoulders drop, and when the signal happens I move and shoot. And when I start relaxed and happy, I shoot better.

Big surprise, hmm?

My pre-shooting ritual for the first stage was messed up today due to various things, so I just didn't relax--and so my shooting was too fast, too tense, and I didn't spend a whole lot of time aiming. As such, I shot the stage in ~36 seconds, instead of the 25-28 seconds that I really could have. And that extra 10 seconds took care of any possibility of me winning for the day.

The rest of the stages actually went pretty well---I had the best times of the Production Division for three of the other four stages, and was less than half a second behind on the other stage. However, all of those good times couldn't make up for the 10 seconds I was behind from my first stage.

On every other stage, I smiled, relaxed, and shot just fine---not always up to my level, but consistently well.



See how that first stage was messed up? My magazine stuck on the first reload, I didn't reload during movement but instead when I was just standing there burning time, and that last star...!

Other things for me to work on: my draw is smooth--but it really could be faster. I have quick hands, and really could flash it out of there faster, but when I do I tend to rush my shots badly. So, just like my last post said, I need to dry fire practice---fast draw, slow shot.

Matter of fact, the drills from my last post really haven't changed. I just need to do them more often.

Oh---the ENPS year-to-date standings are available here. I'm currently 1st in Production (with Dennis a close second), 1st in 3-Gun Limited (with Rich about 40 points down), 2nd in Steel Production (second to Dennis, by 4 points), and 3rd in Iron Man Aggregate.

Big difference from where I was when I first started!

I can be better, though.

Just remembered--this next month's match contains a classifier. Need to remember to smile for that one!

USPSA September Pistol Match...

Comments forthcoming. In the meantime...





Won. Shot fairly well. Specifics later.

[edited to add comments...]

And now that it's later...

Looking at it stage by stage:

Stage 3: Not too bad overall---accuracy pretty good, speed pretty good. Specifics that can be improved: Faster reaction to start signal, step on draw, not step after draw, faster reloads, better trigger control for aim. Most aiming was fine, mind you--but there were several situations of misses that just shouldn't have happened (even on small plates) at this range.

Stage 4: What was I thinking?! That last shot cost me two seconds (at least!) and even the makeup of 3 points (one D hit turning into an A hit) wasn't even close to making up for what the lost time cost me. Arg! Other accuracy and speed was pretty good--I'm glad to see that after my draw, I took the time to make sure I was on target before the first hit--and it showed in the way the plate rack fell.

Stage 5: Brief design comment first--that clamshell was WAAAY too far away--I may have been the only person to bother trying to hit it before the no-shoot went in front of it. Most people just activated it, then ignored it until they went by down the aisle. Less chance for A hits, for them, but most thought it was too far and didn't bother trying it.

I did, obviously, and the stage went well, so it could be done---but most people wouldn't try it. Next time on a stage, I'll somehow make it so that everyone HAS to try it. Some evil thoughts come to mind...

Back to things I could do better on stage 5...what was with the slow shooting in the first sections? Ports don't normally bother me, but I took a long time between the shots on the poppers, especially on the second side. I think I wasn't sure if I hit the first popper on the right side, so I waited to find out--and I know better! No matter what, I should have moved on to the other popper, and by the time I had shot it, I would know how the first one went. As it was, I wasted close to a second just waiting for something to happen.

I also should have fired while moving in the middle of the stage--instead, I stopped, shot all three targets, then ran to the end. Probably would have been faster to shoot while moving. The question is, am I accurate enough to get good hits that way? Need to practice so that I know for future reference...

Looking at the video, I also see that I need to work on starting my movement faster. At the end, when I am reloading while moving from one side of the wall to the other, I just stand there while I get the magazine out---then I move to the other side as I replace it. Could have saved time doing it all simultaneously. So, drills for reloading while moving. (It occurs to me that up until now, I've only been reloading while standing. My reloads certainly aren't perfect, but I supposed they are decent enough so that I should also start adding moving reload practice.)

Stage 1: I didn't follow my plan for this stage at ALL. After I screwed up the start (with the step back and the trigger freeze), I just kept shooting and reloading whenever I felt I needed to do so, as opposed to when I had planned to. It worked out---but next time it might not. Need to keep my plan in mind, even when I screw up. The shooting itself, and the reloading, was fine. (Other than the beginning.)

Stage 2: Do ya think I shoulda aimed somewhere in there? Sheesh! I run full plate racks 2 seconds faster than that! Let myself shoot faster than I was aiming---then when I had to go back, I took the time to aim. Which meant my second time was slow, AFTER I had already wasted time. [sigh] More small steel target practice for accuracy.

So, drills for the next couple of weeks:
Dry fire practice, of course -- single shots, and transition shots
Reloading practice, both static and moving

Those two, scarily enough, will handle most of the physical problems I saw in the last match. And I can do both at home, which is good since free time is something I don't have much of. Now that school has started, definitely not getting to the range as much.

Steel match in a little over a week. Julie and Ardi both are going to shoot with me, and we'll be (hopefully) wearing our new NHA Firearms shirts. :)