2010, and the Shooting Continues...

Additional shooting occurred here and there since last I wrote. Final pistol match of 2009 went badly---somehow dislocated my thumb (!) while shooting a classifier. (And got a whopping 16% nationally on that one!) I put it back in afterward, but the rest of the stages went extremely poorly as I had almost no grip. Somewhere in there was also the last 3-Gun match of the year, in which I found that the shotgun rounds I had didn't have enough "umph" to make the action cycle on my new semi-auto, so it screwed up both my shotgun stage and Ardi's shotgun stage.

[sigh] So the last matches of the year were certainly nothing to be proud of.

We just had the banquet last weekend, which is always fun---lots of laughter. I got Top A Production, and also High Overall in Production, Steel Production, and 3-Gun Limited. Ardi got a medal for 3rd D! Hop on over to the ENPS Facebook site for various pictures. (Which will end up being posted when we all have time.)

Ok---so last year is over. What happened, and what did I learn?

1) Classes from this year, plus the past:

• Many people teaching defensive shooting classes are shooters who've learned defensive shooting techniques, and are teaching them. This is different from defensive tactics instructors who are teaching firearms as defensive tactics tools.


• My perception of what fundamentals that people should know for basic shooting seems to be correct--all of the courses I have seen/participated in/viewed the syllabus for have included the material I deem important for the fundamentals of shooting.


• My perception of what tactics people should practice diligently differs somewhat from others---not necessarily in technique, but mostly in direction and focus. Students in other classes learn defensive shooting. Shooters in my classes learn defensive tactics that include shooting, and the tactics are applicable to any given situation.


• Close Quarter Tactics seems to be a largely non-understood area of defensive tactics. Actual high-percentage movement, both in defensive movement, weapon retention, and weapons acquisition, seem lacking.

DT Goal: Attend other shooting classes. Observe DT, in additional to shooting techniques. See if anyone seems to really understand the "tactics" part of CQT. Use further information to refine the classes I intend to teach, particularly with regard to tactical thinking, and defensive thinking. Flush out curriculum guides with more depth and detail.

DT Practice: From a DT perspective, work on shooting on the move, reactional draw/move/shoot, and force-on-force drills for CQT retention, and CQT space/acquisition/shoot practice.

Classes I'm thinking of taking:

• USSA courses
• Bullet Hole courses (local)
• Signal 88 pistol and carbine courses (local)

2) Competition in the past year:

• I made A class without actually trying hard. Yes, I practiced, but nothing like last year. This summer included more shooting competitions, but less (much!) shooting practice. Thus, if merely shooting occasionally produces increase in skill, then consistent, decent practice will produce correspondingly greater increase.


• Looking at my videos from the year, plus adding comments from experienced and skilled shooters, the main things that seem to be holding me back currently are: slow reloads, and poor long-distance accuracy. Other problems exist, but those two are probably the largest current problems.


• I am fairly good at letting a match go one stage at a time---the outcome of one stage does not affect my run on the following stage. I do still occasionally have days in which my shooting is just poor overall. Perhaps too much thinking, or not a good enough "set" before the buzzer sounds. Need an increase in focus. Not in concentration, but in focusing on just letting the shooting happen.

Competition Technique Goal 1: Practice reloading such that in shooting videos, reloading no longer forces wait times between shooting episodes. A specific reloading speed is not the goal (so, no specific reloading time), but instead a consistent ability to reload within the time necessary while moving during stages.

Competition Technique Goal 2: Practice distance accuracy, such that consistently I can achieve 2 A hits at speed on a 30 yard target, and from 50 yards consistently hit steel plates during slow fire.

For the above, practicing reloading/dryfire at least twice a week (minimum) is part of the requirements for the goal.

Overall Competition Goal: In the long term, reaching Master class is the goal, but isn't the goal specifically this year--instead, the goal is to consistently shoot to my level of ability for all stages in a match. That, coupled with the technique goals given above, should be sufficient for the moment.

Larger matches to shoot this year:

• DoubleTap Championship in Texas
• Great Plains Sectional at ENGC
  
• Area 5 in Polo, IL
• Area 3 in Grand Island, NE

(Less than last year!)

Also looking into the Appleseed project, shooting rifle. If it goes well, might try to see if they'll come to ENGC to run one. Other things to try, given time: lever action silhouette at ENGC, GSSF matches, and hopefully WWGC 3-Gun will work out this year.

Busy year for shooting---but that's good, since it is a lot of fun.

And learning more is a good thing.