Firearms Training - Sharing Experience (Read 81743 times)

drck1000

Re: Firearms Training - Sharing Experience
« Reply #180 on: March 02, 2020, 01:25:56 PM »
When the thumb thing returned, was it right off the bat, or more as you fatigued?  So it would be more an endurance issue.
You mean the gap between my left hand thumb pad and the grip?  I believe that sort of developed over time as I was trying to clamp/close the fingers of my support hand more as well as apply more pressure near the top of the frame (bending a horseshoe open) for better recoil management.  While I already shoot the 17/34 pretty flat, shooting more with the RDS I was working to further reduce the dot movement during recoil.  I found that my left hand sort of crept further clockwise around the grip. 

drck1000

Re: Firearms Training - Sharing Experience
« Reply #181 on: March 10, 2020, 04:48:12 PM »
Did lots of shooting this past weekend. 

Had a day off, so headed to the pistol range to get some good reps in getting back to solid fundamentals that I found that I had gotten away from.  Also recently got a gun back after sending it back to the mfr.  Swapped out the sights on that gun as well, so checked POI.  It was a nice and cool day on the range and was actually pretty crowded for a week day.

Shot a match on Sat.  After having shot like $hit the previous match, I was really looking forward to this match.  My focus was getting back to solid A zone hits and then pushing the pace.  Speeding up the draw and target transitions are also things I've been working on, but decided to focus on getting solid A zone hits first.  Shot pretty well with much less mikes, but still had two.  One I sort of felt, but it was on a far target with an awkward angle around a barricade and the target obstructed by a barrel.  The second what I assume is a total brain fart.  That part of the stage was pretty easy.  Two stations with two fairly easy targets (distance and amount of target exposed) each, but had to shoot each target 3x as opposed to the typical 2x.  When we were scoring, in the second station, I had shot the first target 4x and the second 2x.  Can't explain it as they were all A zone hits and the targets were separated by a decent amount.  :facepalm: 

In previous matches, I had also shot terribly on the classifiers.  Overall, I ended up with decent scores, but the classifiers had been my downfall for total match scores.  Did much better than previous matches on the classifier this past match, but still not quite as well as I could have.  I could have pushed it more, but I was trying to make sure I A) shot it clean, no mikes and B) at a decent pace.  Shot it clean, but time was, well, I'll call it at a "smooth pace" (it was slow. . . ).   :rofl:

To finish up the weekend, had a training session with some like minded individuals/friends.  It included working on fundamentals to start, then progressing to some timed and competition to induce some stress.  Had some free shoot time after as well and had a fun competition with friends. 

Notes:

1) Shooting on a consistent basis really helps, but quality reps in that is really important.  The folks that have been shooting consistent in recent training sessions have shown a LOT of improvement.  It was truly impressive to see.  Both in fundamentals as well as when pushing things in some friendly competition.  For me, I have been shooting pretty consistently for the last 3-4 months, but had gotten away from solid fundamentals, so it was good to get back to that and see improvement there.

2) Having a new gun that doesn't function properly is super frustrating on many levels.  I had picked up a "Gucci Glock" end of 2019, but had to send it back to the mfr after experiencing some malfunctions.  Got it back a couple of weeks ago and since then have about 500 rounds without any issue.  Have a handgun class coming up and that should be another 300 rounds or so, so hopefully close to trusting the new gun.  Then there was a shooting buddy who was having all sorts of problems with his older gun, but one that he doesn't shoot often.  When I shot with him in the past, he would make comments about my plastic 9 and that I should get a "real" pistol made of steel and shoots 45.  Well, his "real" steel pistol that shot 9 was having all sorts of problems.  While I felt sorry for him for having to endure that, of course there were some comments sent his way.  None of the other shooters who had Glock, HK, etc were having problems. . .  ;D

3) While I will always enjoy shooting a variety of firearms, going to stick to shooting a "base" platform for now.  Glock 34 for pistol matches and Glock 17 or 19 with RDS for training as primary, with 17/19 with irons mixed in.  The CZ will have to stay in the safe for a while more. 

4) Magpul Glock mag pros and cons.  My 19s came with Magpul mags and overall I'm impressed. They have functioned flawlessly, they are about half the price of OEM Glock mags, and they seem to eject more positively than OEM Glock mags.  However, they only have an indicator for the full 10 rounds, so can't really tell how many you have in the mag say between 3-10.  Not really a big deal, but having more ports to see how many rounds are loaded in the OEM mags really help checking how many are loaded up in say a class or training session.  Yeah, yeah, I can tell about how many rounds by the weight, but I like to know how many rounds are in there and have gotten used to the ports in the OEM mags.  That said, moving forward, I think I will be buying more Magpul Glock mags.



Coconut-kid

Re: Firearms Training - Sharing Experience
« Reply #182 on: March 10, 2020, 07:07:39 PM »
Did lots of shooting this past weekend. 

Had a day off, so headed to the pistol range to get some good reps in getting back to solid fundamentals that I found that I had gotten away from.  Also recently got a gun back after sending it back to the mfr.  Swapped out the sights on that gun as well, so checked POI.  It was a nice and cool day on the range and was actually pretty crowded for a week day.

Shot a match on Sat.  After having shot like $hit the previous match, I was really looking forward to this match.  My focus was getting back to solid A zone hits and then pushing the pace.  Speeding up the draw and target transitions are also things I've been working on, but decided to focus on getting solid A zone hits first.  Shot pretty well with much less mikes, but still had two.  One I sort of felt, but it was on a far target with an awkward angle around a barricade and the target obstructed by a barrel.  The second what I assume is a total brain fart.  That part of the stage was pretty easy.  Two stations with two fairly easy targets (distance and amount of target exposed) each, but had to shoot each target 3x as opposed to the typical 2x.  When we were scoring, in the second station, I had shot the first target 4x and the second 2x.  Can't explain it as they were all A zone hits and the targets were separated by a decent amount.  :facepalm: 

In previous matches, I had also shot terribly on the classifiers.  Overall, I ended up with decent scores, but the classifiers had been my downfall for total match scores.  Did much better than previous matches on the classifier this past match, but still not quite as well as I could have.  I could have pushed it more, but I was trying to make sure I A) shot it clean, no mikes and B) at a decent pace.  Shot it clean, but time was, well, I'll call it at a "smooth pace" (it was slow. . . ).   :rofl:

To finish up the weekend, had a training session with some like minded individuals/friends.  It included working on fundamentals to start, then progressing to some timed and competition to induce some stress.  Had some free shoot time after as well and had a fun competition with friends. 

Notes:

1) Shooting on a consistent basis really helps, but quality reps in that is really important.  The folks that have been shooting consistent in recent training sessions have shown a LOT of improvement.  It was truly impressive to see.  Both in fundamentals as well as when pushing things in some friendly competition.  For me, I have been shooting pretty consistently for the last 3-4 months, but had gotten away from solid fundamentals, so it was good to get back to that and see improvement there.

2) Having a new gun that doesn't function properly is super frustrating on many levels.  I had picked up a "Gucci Glock" end of 2019, but had to send it back to the mfr after experiencing some malfunctions.  Got it back a couple of weeks ago and since then have about 500 rounds without any issue.  Have a handgun class coming up and that should be another 300 rounds or so, so hopefully close to trusting the new gun.  Then there was a shooting buddy who was having all sorts of problems with his older gun, but one that he doesn't shoot often.  When I shot with him in the past, he would make comments about my plastic 9 and that I should get a "real" pistol made of steel and shoots 45.  Well, his "real" steel pistol that shot 9 was having all sorts of problems.  While I felt sorry for him for having to endure that, of course there were some comments sent his way.  None of the other shooters who had Glock, HK, etc were having problems. . .  ;D

3) While I will always enjoy shooting a variety of firearms, going to stick to shooting a "base" platform for now.  Glock 34 for pistol matches and Glock 17 or 19 with RDS for training as primary, with 17/19 with irons mixed in.  The CZ will have to stay in the safe for a while more. 

4) Magpul Glock mag pros and cons.  My 19s came with Magpul mags and overall I'm impressed. They have functioned flawlessly, they are about half the price of OEM Glock mags, and they seem to eject more positively than OEM Glock mags.  However, they only have an indicator for the full 10 rounds, so can't really tell how many you have in the mag say between 3-10.  Not really a big deal, but having more ports to see how many rounds are loaded in the OEM mags really help checking how many are loaded up in say a class or training session.  Yeah, yeah, I can tell about how many rounds by the weight, but I like to know how many rounds are in there and have gotten used to the ports in the OEM mags.  That said, moving forward, I think I will be buying more Magpul Glock mags.


Good seeing/shooting with you as always.   Its been a minute since I've shot uspsa.  But always a good time with good people.  Damn clasifier.   :wacko:

drck1000

Re: Firearms Training - Sharing Experience
« Reply #183 on: March 11, 2020, 08:32:35 AM »

Good seeing/shooting with you as always.   Its been a minute since I've shot uspsa.  But always a good time with good people.  Damn clasifier.   :wacko:
Yup.  Always good to see friendly faces and shoot with like-minded people.   :thumbsup:

I didn't shoot matches for about 3 years as well, but when got back into shooting matches again it was good to see many familiar faces along with many new faces.  Hope to see and your buddies more often.

Yeah, damn classifiers.   :wacko:  :rofl:

WTF?Shane

Re: Firearms Training - Sharing Experience
« Reply #184 on: March 11, 2020, 02:09:54 PM »
Did lots of shooting this past weekend. 

Did you end up shooting the MPX? Thoughts?

drck1000

Re: Firearms Training - Sharing Experience
« Reply #185 on: March 11, 2020, 02:26:29 PM »
Did you end up shooting the MPX? Thoughts?
Naw, I didn't.  Though Coconut-Kid did offer to let me tryout his. 

I'm pretty sure I'll get a PCC.  Right now it's the Sig MPX and Noveske, but I'm waiting for some work stuff to clear to decide. 

WTF?Shane

Re: Firearms Training - Sharing Experience
« Reply #186 on: March 16, 2020, 08:51:04 AM »
Good training this weekend, but might have to cut back on shooting now due to ammo supply. Time for more dry firing.

drck1000

Re: Firearms Training - Sharing Experience
« Reply #187 on: March 16, 2020, 10:50:19 AM »
Good training this weekend, but might have to cut back on shooting now due to ammo supply. Time for more dry firing.
Awesome!  It was great seeing ya on the range!   :thumbsup:  I'll get around to posting some thoughts, probably later tonight. 

Regarding ammo, unfortunate timing.  Supply down and pricing going up in a time when I have been shooting more often than I had been and was planning on ramping it up even more.  Will likely be doing more dry fire as well. 

drck1000

Re: Firearms Training - Sharing Experience
« Reply #188 on: March 16, 2020, 03:30:51 PM »
Attended a handgun class this weekend with a group that I've trained with a number of times now.  Another great class and at perfect timing as I had been struggling with pistol shooting as of late and over the past week or so felt I had gotten back to a solid path with focusing on fundamentals again as well as some other adjustments.  Noticed that I had developed some bad habits and while I think I corrected most, good to have the keen eyes of experienced instructors providing feedback. 

It was a cool and overcast day that made for good training.  It rained quite a bit in the morning (not surprising for this group and location), but the rain let up by the time we got to shooting with just some light showers here and there.  This was a foundational level handgun class with a pretty wide range of experience levels.  From some folks who had never shot a gun before to some who have quite a bit of shooting experience.  As I have mentioned before, I always enjoy working on the fundamentals, especially with this group.  Was particularly looking forward to this one to get me back on track toward solid pistol shooting. 

Highlight/Notes:

1)   Overall, it was good to see that the time I have been spending on the range as well as dry fire seems to be paying off.  I was happy with how I shot early on in the live fire session.  Later, was able to push things and there were times where I found that I either pushed things a bit too far or just got sloppy at times with the fundamentals and noticed that on paper.  Good to find that “a bit too far” point of pushing it and find where I need to focus training.
 
2)   I shot the class with my “Gucci” Glock 19 that I recently got back after sending it back to the manufacturer for some issues.  Shot about 320 rounds in this class and not one malfunction.  So that about 600 rounds total since I got the gun back and no malfunctions, so was quite happy about that.  Want to put at least another 400 rounds or so, hopefully without issue. 

3)   This was my second handgun class shooting with RDS and am feeling a lot more comfortable with all aspects of shooting with RDS.  Particularly with picking up the dot quicker on the draw (really helped with dry practice) and reducing the splits. 

4)   Having newer shooters in the class often helps with my own shooting.  As mentioned previously, always good to work on the fundamentals, but listening in on instruction for newer shooters is an opportunity to pick up things in a different light that I usually pick up things that help me.

5)   Want to work on target transitions more.  Noticed some errant shots in specific instances when pushing things in those drills.  Trannies is definitely an area that I want to work on more in general from shooting matches, but also from the class.  A few of the drills were such that it diverted more attention to the shot strings and noticed my hits suffered.  Wasn’t wildly off, but I did notice “coloring outside the lines”. 
No equipment issues or desires to get something after the class.  Pretty happy with the current setup and put the “gun funds” toward more ammo. 

Another great day of shooting with like-minded individuals.  Lots of familiar faces and always good to see folks new to shooting coming out for firearms training. 

macsak

Re: Firearms Training - Sharing Experience
« Reply #189 on: March 16, 2020, 05:28:43 PM »
Attended a handgun class this weekend with a group that I've trained with a number of times now.  Another great class and at perfect timing as I had been struggling with pistol shooting as of late and over the past week or so felt I had gotten back to a solid path with focusing on fundamentals again as well as some other adjustments.  Noticed that I had developed some bad habits and while I think I corrected most, good to have the keen eyes of experienced instructors providing feedback. 

It was a cool and overcast day that made for good training.  It rained quite a bit in the morning (not surprising for this group and location), but the rain let up by the time we got to shooting with just some light showers here and there.  This was a foundational level handgun class with a pretty wide range of experience levels.  From some folks who had never shot a gun before to some who have quite a bit of shooting experience.  As I have mentioned before, I always enjoy working on the fundamentals, especially with this group.  Was particularly looking forward to this one to get me back on track toward solid pistol shooting. 

Highlight/Notes:

1)   Overall, it was good to see that the time I have been spending on the range as well as dry fire seems to be paying off.  I was happy with how I shot early on in the live fire session.  Later, was able to push things and there were times where I found that I either pushed things a bit too far or just got sloppy at times with the fundamentals and noticed that on paper.  Good to find that “a bit too far” point of pushing it and find where I need to focus training.
 
2)   I shot the class with my “Gucci” Glock 19 that I recently got back after sending it back to the manufacturer for some issues.  Shot about 320 rounds in this class and not one malfunction.  So that about 600 rounds total since I got the gun back and no malfunctions, so was quite happy about that.  Want to put at least another 400 rounds or so, hopefully without issue. 

3)   This was my second handgun class shooting with RDS and am feeling a lot more comfortable with all aspects of shooting with RDS.  Particularly with picking up the dot quicker on the draw (really helped with dry practice) and reducing the splits. 

4)   Having newer shooters in the class often helps with my own shooting.  As mentioned previously, always good to work on the fundamentals, but listening in on instruction for newer shooters is an opportunity to pick up things in a different light that I usually pick up things that help me.

5)   Want to work on target transitions more.  Noticed some errant shots in specific instances when pushing things in those drills.  Trannies is definitely an area that I want to work on more in general from shooting matches, but also from the class.  A few of the drills were such that it diverted more attention to the shot strings and noticed my hits suffered.  Wasn’t wildly off, but I did notice “coloring outside the lines”. 
No equipment issues or desires to get something after the class.  Pretty happy with the current setup and put the “gun funds” toward more ammo. 

Another great day of shooting with like-minded individuals.  Lots of familiar faces and always good to see folks new to shooting coming out for firearms training.

heads

drck1000

Re: Firearms Training - Sharing Experience
« Reply #190 on: June 15, 2020, 04:37:18 PM »
Attended a handgun class this past weekend and it felt GREAT to be out shooting again.  Great class, great weather, and even better people in the class.  The last time I shot before this class was actually the class that I posted above on 16 March.  I had gone from shooting pretty regularly, shooting at least once a week on the bullseye range, silhouette, match, smaller group training, etc to nothing for almost three months.  The rust really showed.  It took a little bit to shake off the rust, which was to be expected.

This class was next step in the foundational handgun from the class back in March.  I had taken this level class with this group previously, but again, always good to work on the fundamental.  Especially after a long break from shooting.  When I started working from home back in March, I was doing a lot of dry fire with both handgun and rifle.  I would say that lasted a few weeks and was probably over a month since I was doing dry fire regularly and it showed.  Particularly in the speed on the draw and picking up the dot.  I felt I had it down pretty well in the last class, so it was definitely a step back.  Again, that was expected though.

Highlights/Notes:

1) Need to do more dry fire, especially during a long layoff in live fire.  There were things that I felt I could have kept sharper on during the layoff.  This class came up a little bit unexpectedly with not much notice between signups and the course.  I should have spent more time dry firing in that time, but I was also sort of curious on how I would do after the layoff.

2) Solid fundamentals on newer shooters really can pay dividends, along with keen eyes of solid instructors of course.  A bunch of the new shooters from the last class joined us again this past weekend and after a little but of jitters to start with, they were doing awesome.  It was truly awesome to see how they progressed and how well they were shooting.  Unfortunately, a couple of them were caught in the process of acquiring their first handguns in the COVID shut down. 

3) We started the day off with a standards drill shot cold (first rounds of the day).  I was able to shoot it cleanly, but my times were no where near where I know I could.  I did take a bit more time to ensure hits, which was kind of the point, but I also could have pushed things further.  The pushing it came in later drills, but I definitely need to lay on the gas a bit more and "mess up" my target and find the training zones. 

4) A good portion of the class was target transitions and incorporating efficient movement.  Both things I was working on prior to the layoff, particularly for USPSA matches.  Lots of takeaways there on shooting "smarter" and where time can be "made up". 

5) I ended up being relay partners with a very good shooter that I met in the last class.  Friendly competition is always good and to push yourself against experienced shooters.  The opportunity to see how other shooters do, particularly the things that they aren't aware that they are doing.  I was caught a few times doing something "not correctly" where I thought I was doing it as instructed.  Besides video, next best thing to that awareness. 

Always fun to be on the range with this group and always leaves me looking forward to more.  I was definitely out of shape shooting wise and was the most smoked after a single day of shooting that I've been in a while.  It was great weather and felt great to be out shooting again, but boy did I pay for it the next day. 

macsak

Re: Firearms Training - Sharing Experience
« Reply #191 on: June 15, 2020, 08:01:57 PM »
Attended a handgun class this past weekend and it felt GREAT to be out shooting again.  Great class, great weather, and even better people in the class.  The last time I shot before this class was actually the class that I posted above on 16 March.  I had gone from shooting pretty regularly, shooting at least once a week on the bullseye range, silhouette, match, smaller group training, etc to nothing for almost three months.  The rust really showed.  It took a little bit to shake off the rust, which was to be expected.

This class was next step in the foundational handgun from the class back in March.  I had taken this level class with this group previously, but again, always good to work on the fundamental.  Especially after a long break from shooting.  When I started working from home back in March, I was doing a lot of dry fire with both handgun and rifle.  I would say that lasted a few weeks and was probably over a month since I was doing dry fire regularly and it showed.  Particularly in the speed on the draw and picking up the dot.  I felt I had it down pretty well in the last class, so it was definitely a step back.  Again, that was expected though.

Highlights/Notes:

1) Need to do more dry fire, especially during a long layoff in live fire.  There were things that I felt I could have kept sharper on during the layoff.  This class came up a little bit unexpectedly with not much notice between signups and the course.  I should have spent more time dry firing in that time, but I was also sort of curious on how I would do after the layoff.

2) Solid fundamentals on newer shooters really can pay dividends, along with keen eyes of solid instructors of course.  A bunch of the new shooters from the last class joined us again this past weekend and after a little but of jitters to start with, they were doing awesome.  It was truly awesome to see how they progressed and how well they were shooting.  Unfortunately, a couple of them were caught in the process of acquiring their first handguns in the COVID shut down. 

3) We started the day off with a standards drill shot cold (first rounds of the day).  I was able to shoot it cleanly, but my times were no where near where I know I could.  I did take a bit more time to ensure hits, which was kind of the point, but I also could have pushed things further.  The pushing it came in later drills, but I definitely need to lay on the gas a bit more and "mess up" my target and find the training zones. 

4) A good portion of the class was target transitions and incorporating efficient movement.  Both things I was working on prior to the layoff, particularly for USPSA matches.  Lots of takeaways there on shooting "smarter" and where time can be "made up". 

5) I ended up being relay partners with a very good shooter that I met in the last class.  Friendly competition is always good and to push yourself against experienced shooters.  The opportunity to see how other shooters do, particularly the things that they aren't aware that they are doing.  I was caught a few times doing something "not correctly" where I thought I was doing it as instructed.  Besides video, next best thing to that awareness. 

Always fun to be on the range with this group and always leaves me looking forward to more.  I was definitely out of shape shooting wise and was the most smoked after a single day of shooting that I've been in a while.  It was great weather and felt great to be out shooting again, but boy did I pay for it the next day.

heads

changemyoil66

Re: Firearms Training - Sharing Experience
« Reply #192 on: June 29, 2020, 10:17:06 AM »
Took a Handgun skill builder this weekend after not shooting since February.

The skill builder focused a lot on 1 handed shooting, support and strong side.  Then a little bit of no sights shooting (RDS or irons).

For the 1 handed, we had to hit a target a little smaller than an index card at 5 yards and a 8 inch circle at 5 yards.  No time limit.  Many struggled.

For the no sights, we had to use tape to cover any sights. The thought is that things can fail.  Sights fall off, RDS goes down, etc...So shooting a 8x11 paper at 10 yards I was hitting low for most of my shots.  I would say intestine hits.  It's interesting that some shooters shot better with no sights than they did with sights.  Had a few Glock guys who were able to cant their pistol and use the corner of the frame as sights.

What looked like a dragon fly landed on my slide toward the front sight during 1 of the 1 handed drills.  I waited a few seconds to see if it would fly off, but it didn't.  So I shot and it flew off. That was pretty cool.

Overall a fun class.  Mrs. CMO enjoyed it.  Forgot how hot it gets wearing body armor.  Lower back and traps all buss up.

macsak

Re: Firearms Training - Sharing Experience
« Reply #193 on: June 29, 2020, 10:29:39 AM »
Took a Handgun skill builder this weekend after not shooting since February.

The skill builder focused a lot on 1 handed shooting, support and strong side.  Then a little bit of no sights shooting (RDS or irons).

For the 1 handed, we had to hit a target a little smaller than an index card at 5 yards and a 8 inch circle at 5 yards.  No time limit.  Many struggled.

For the no sights, we had to use tape to cover any sights. The thought is that things can fail.  Sights fall off, RDS goes down, etc...So shooting a 8x11 paper at 10 yards I was hitting low for most of my shots.  I would say intestine hits.  It's interesting that some shooters shot better with no sights than they did with sights.  Had a few Glock guys who were able to cant their pistol and use the corner of the frame as sights.

What looked like a dragon fly landed on my slide toward the front sight during 1 of the 1 handed drills.  I waited a few seconds to see if it would fly off, but it didn't.  So I shot and it flew off. That was pretty cool.

Overall a fun class.  Mrs. CMO enjoyed it.  Forgot how hot it gets wearing body armor.  Lower back and traps all buss up.

"they" want you to think that the tracking drone is a dragon fly...

drck1000

Re: Firearms Training - Sharing Experience
« Reply #194 on: June 29, 2020, 10:53:40 AM »
Took a Handgun skill builder this weekend after not shooting since February.

The skill builder focused a lot on 1 handed shooting, support and strong side.  Then a little bit of no sights shooting (RDS or irons).

For the 1 handed, we had to hit a target a little smaller than an index card at 5 yards and a 8 inch circle at 5 yards.  No time limit.  Many struggled.

For the no sights, we had to use tape to cover any sights. The thought is that things can fail.  Sights fall off, RDS goes down, etc...So shooting a 8x11 paper at 10 yards I was hitting low for most of my shots.  I would say intestine hits.  It's interesting that some shooters shot better with no sights than they did with sights.  Had a few Glock guys who were able to cant their pistol and use the corner of the frame as sights.

What looked like a dragon fly landed on my slide toward the front sight during 1 of the 1 handed drills.  I waited a few seconds to see if it would fly off, but it didn't.  So I shot and it flew off. That was pretty cool.

Overall a fun class.  Mrs. CMO enjoyed it.  Forgot how hot it gets wearing body armor.  Lower back and traps all buss up.
Awesome!  Thank you for sharing! 

Overall, how did you feel you did after the layoff of about 4 months?  Having gotten back into shooting live rounds the past couple of weeks have reinforced the perishable nature of shooting skills.  I had tried to do dry fire/manipulations at the start of the shutdown, but I hadn't for weeks prior to the handgun class a couple of weeks ago.  While not good, I think the layoff was interesting to me as it allowed me to see just how much a total layoff affected me, as well as good in a way as it allows some time for a reboot or sorts and get away from some bad habits and work on solid fundamentals.

One handed shooting is something that I notice that I need work in, but don't really spend as much time on. 

I was very much wiped out after my first day on the range after not shooting since March.  Being out in the sun after being mostly indoors during the shutdown really showed.  Normally, just one day on the range like the handgun class would've been no big deal when I was shooting often.  I was totally wiped out after the handgun class.  Reminds me that there's such a thing as being in shape in that aspect. 

drck1000

Re: Firearms Training - Sharing Experience
« Reply #195 on: June 29, 2020, 11:18:49 AM »
Attended in a rifle/carbine class this past weekend and another GREAT time shooting.  Another great class, great weather, and a couple of shooting friends that I've shot with quite a bit in other groups were able to join in, so that was awesome!  Always good when good people invest the time into getting quality training. 

This was my first time back shooting a carbine since mid-March.  A little rusty, but not nearly as rusty as I was with the handgun, which is to be expected.  Long guns are way more forgiving on the perishable nature of shooting skills than handguns.  This was a foundation level carbine class with this group and included a number of people new to shooting.  Many had shot in the previous handgun classes or had their friends or spouse out for the first time, so it was a good mix of people.  Firearms safety is essential and always highly stressed with this group and it showed over the course of the day. 

Highlights/Notes:

1) Shot my "trusted" AR with EoTech in this class.  I've been wanting to shoot other uppers with different optics, but after the layoff, I decided to go with the upper with the EoTech.  In a previous rifle course, I shot my LPVO.  I thought about shooting that one as well, but figured best to stick to the basics for this one.  I've gotten very used to the EoTech reticle over the years, but I also want to spend more time with the simple red dot optic like Aimpoints.  I have a couple of ARs with the "simple" Aimpoints, so I should spend more time shooting those as well in a class/training environment.

2) No gear changes, tweaks, or failures this class.  There were a couple of shooters that had some kinks with their gear and it seemed like a couple were new rifles.  Totally understandable that they didn't have time to have shot the new rifles during the shutdown, but a reminder even for me that I need time to try/test things out when trying new stuff. 

3) Was actually "good" to see folks finding out that their setup had issues during the class and trying different arrangements to find what works, or at least what worked better.  I'm a big advocate of needing to shoot in class/training to iron stuff like that out.  I've learned lessons the hard way showing up to a class with a new setup and finding I didn't like it.  Part of the learning.  Always learning.  As mentioned previously, also good to see what other shooters have and able to pick their brains on it.  Also for newer shooters to see what's out there and get gear recommendations, especially what gear types or companies to avoid (because they sell crap). 

4) The live fire started out with stuff that worked on fundamentals with a logical progression.  The drills eventually transitioned to include opportunity to really test stuff like recoil management.  One of the things that the instructors in this group typically comment on for me is to push to find the point where things start to "mess up" my target.  There were times that I really thought I was pushing it and the target was still decent.  Need to focus more on pushing things and progress. 

5) I ended up being in the same relay as my two friends that were in this class for the first time.  That was an awesome experience on many levels, particularly for the friendly competition aspect.  It also allowed time in between relays to ask some things while the instructors were on the line with the other relay. 

6) Total round count wasn't that high, but if really felt like there was "quality" in the rounds shot.  The day ended with the feeling that I had shot more than I did.  I mean yeah, I would have loved to have continued to have kept shooting given the layoff, but probably a good thing that we stopped where we did because I was pretty sore the next day. 

Again, always fun day on the range with this group.  Little better "in-shape" and hopefully I'll be able to shoot more consistently ahead of some other classes planned for later this summer.  I've definitely got the shooting bug back.  Thankfully I'm mostly ok on the ammo stores right now, but I'll probably need to start keeping an eye on ammo deals. 

changemyoil66

Re: Firearms Training - Sharing Experience
« Reply #196 on: June 29, 2020, 12:33:05 PM »
"they" want you to think that the tracking drone is a dragon fly...

Damn, fakka was looking right at me too.  "they" now have my full frontal head shot pic.

changemyoil66

Re: Firearms Training - Sharing Experience
« Reply #197 on: June 29, 2020, 12:48:54 PM »
Awesome!  Thank you for sharing! 

Overall, how did you feel you did after the layoff of about 4 months?

I didn't really see a difference.  I don't think my shooting is at that expert state yet where not shooting for a while will totally show.  I would say I'm slightly better than average.  When doing the shooting at the smaller than index card.  10 rds strong side and 10 rds support un-timed from 5 yards.  Strong side I got 9/10 and support side I got 7/10.  Most of the group was less than half that and we all took about the same time to complete all rounds shot.

For the 8 inch circle at 10 yards strong side 10rds, they had score rings.  Golf ball size was 10pts, then 9 pts and 8 pt rings.  I scored a 63/80.  Most scored 16-30s.  But those same guys whooped me on the no sights shooting the 8x11 paper at 10 yards.  I think I got like 2 hits on paper, the rest were low.  Everyone else got like 8 hits on paper.

Over CV, I did some dry firing.  But I noticed my dry fire is 10000% better than my shooting.  There is a mental block when using live ammo.  Either that or I'm using shitty range ammo.  I'm going with the mental block.  Last week I ordered the G-sight barrel laser.  I wish I knew about this during the lock down.



Mrs. CMO wanted it also.  The gen 2 is $40 on Amazon, but I got the gen 3 which was $60 direct from G-sight.  Amazon didn't have the gen 3 laser.  I've seen other training lasers that run way more than that.  Plus I can use my VP9.

changemyoil66

Re: Firearms Training - Sharing Experience
« Reply #198 on: June 29, 2020, 01:20:19 PM »


3) Was actually "good" to see folks finding out that their setup had issues during the class and trying different arrangements to find what works, or at least what worked better.  I'm a big advocate of needing to shoot in class/training to iron stuff like that out.  I've learned lessons the hard way showing up to a class with a new setup and finding I didn't like it.  Part of the learning.  Always learning.  As mentioned previously, also good to see what other shooters have and able to pick their brains on it.  Also for newer shooters to see what's out there and get gear recommendations, especially what gear types or companies to avoid (because they sell crap). 



The most valuable thing these skill builders/classes taught me is to work through the problem.  The drill doesn't end just because X thing went wrong.  Just like in real life.  Bad guy is coming at you and you fumble the reload (magazine backwards).  Well fix it and resume fire.  Like the video of the vegas Metro shooting from his car window.

drck1000

Re: Firearms Training - Sharing Experience
« Reply #199 on: June 29, 2020, 06:19:17 PM »
The most valuable thing these skill builders/classes taught me is to work through the problem.  The drill doesn't end just because X thing went wrong.  Just like in real life.  Bad guy is coming at you and you fumble the reload (magazine backwards).  Well fix it and resume fire.  Like the video of the vegas Metro shooting from his car window.
Agree that is important for a defensive mindset for training (assuming that is the context for that individual).  Work the problem, work the solution, fix the problem, etc are things I've heard from various instructors. 

I still have vivid memories of getting caught up in my rifle sling in a course of fire on one of my first rifle courses on the mainland.  There was a section where you were to transition to sidearm if presented a specific situation and it did come up for me.  Somehow the rifle sling got twisted up as I was shooting with my pistol and it was a mess when I tried to transition back to the rifle.  Was practically strangling myself.  I could hear the instructor yelling at me to fix the problem, along with some pretty funny choice phrases in an Aussie accent.   :rofl: