poopgiggle's shooting log

poopgiggle · Mar 29, 2015

Well I've started actually practicing so I figured I might as well start one of these shooting diary thingies. I've decided on a program of dry fire every weekday with 2-300 rounds of live fire on Saturdays/Sundays.

As a 62% B shooter, basically my whole shooting game is a dumpster fire so I have to prioritize things to work on and build on:

1. Transitions. This is without a doubt where I lose most of my time in matches.
2. Distance shooting and partial targets. My accuracy is OK untimed but I need to learn to step on the gas and make those shots quickly.
3. Gun handling. Draws and reloads, with emphasis on reloads. Slow reloads in Production are no good.

Yesterday I spent mostly running Blake drills, 7 yards with the targets about 1.5-2 yards apart. The biggest thing I learned is that I need to learn to relax while shooting. I was running .25 second splits and .35 second transitions all day, and if I pushed any harder I started throwing Charlies and Deltas like a beast. Towards the end, a light bulb went on and I focused on relaxing everything other than the muscles that I need to grip the gun. I saw the sights way better, splits were the same, transitions dropped to .30 seconds, and I wasn't even trying that hard.

In the short term I'm going to focus on staying loose while shooting, both in dry fire and live fire. I suspect that this will benefit everything and not just transitions.

poopgiggle · Apr 7, 2015

Girlfriend tagged along to last week's practice session so I spent most of the time helping her instead of working on my ****. Worked transitions a little bit on a popper array; once again, I'm fast if I relax but when I tense up and try to GO FAST I start missing a lot.

Just remembered one thing that got pointed out at the latest iteration of AP1: I'm not getting back on the trigger fast enough. If I just try to move my finger faster, I end up ADing a lot. The solution I've found is to watch the sights lift, and start getting back on the trigger as soon as I see that. When I do this, I get the trigger prepped before the sights return to the target and .2 second splits aren't even hard. I know I can do it if I focus; now I just need to practice until I don't need to focus on it.

I went to 2A to try to work on this yesterday. I need to stop going to indoor ranges. It's so loud in there that I start flinching before too long, and the lighting messes with my eyes. This tends to make watching the sights difficult. The only upsides are that it's a short drive, and it's open later than USSA.

E: The other thing with indoor ranges is that shooting with pubbies is an ego boost, which is a double-edged sword.

poopgiggle · Apr 20, 2015

Today I figured out a problem with how I was holding the gun. I was using some combination of shoulder and tricep on my left arm to drive my left hand into the gun, presumably to try and control it better. I had been doing it for so long that when I was trying to relax when shooting, it didn't even occur to me that I was tensing that up.

You ever wear underwear that didn't fit right, and it's crushing your balls all day, and you sort of get used to it? Then at the end of the day you take them off and it feels great? That's how it feels holding the gun without doing this weird **** with my left arm. The best way I can describe it is that my left elbow feels light.

This was all in dry fire. I need to actually shoot the gun like this to see how it feels. I'm confident that it will be better; keeping the sights still during wall drills is a lot easier than it was.

I'm pretty sure that being a C- to B-class scrublord means you're always finding stupid habits that you need to break. I wonder what the next one is.

Airic · Apr 20, 2015

dr poopgiggle said:
I'm pretty sure that being a C- to B-class scrublord means you're always finding stupid habits that you need to break. I wonder what the next one is.

That struggle doesnt end at GM/M...........

drmitchgibson · Apr 20, 2015

dr poopgiggle said:
Today I figured out a problem with how I was holding the gun. I was using some combination of shoulder and tricep on my left arm to drive my left hand into the gun, presumably to try and control it better. I had been doing it for so long that when I was trying to relax when shooting, it didn't even occur to me that I was tensing that up.

Is that why you hold your gun crooked? Serious question. You cant it to the right with a very noticable bias.

poopgiggle · Apr 20, 2015

Mitch Gibson said:
Is that why you hold your gun crooked? Serious question. You cant it to the right with a very noticable bias.

It's still crooked but not as much. I'm still tweaking my grip. Baby steps.

poopgiggle · Apr 25, 2015

Finally got to try my new grip today.

Accuracy is way better. It was a good change.

poopgiggle · Apr 28, 2015

Doing dry fire today I noticed that I tend to over-swing on transitions. Or, rather, I'm either smooth (and slow) the whole way, or fast the whole way and I overs-swing. I need to work on covering distance fast, then slowing down when the gun is almost on target.

SpaceFlunky · Apr 28, 2015

follow your eyes and your ass will follow.

Airic · Apr 28, 2015

How much lower body are you using during those transitions?

If you stand with your arms at sides and want to turn your shoulders to either side, there are two types of turns. One that uses your upper back to move your shoulders and one that uses your lower body, hips and knees. The lower body one is more stable and efficient for quick and precise movements like a transition. Like Luis said, get your eyes to the spot you want the sights then use your lower body to make the movement.

A 90deg or 180deg transition drill helps smooth things out. Also the widening transition drill will help hit precise spots on shorter transitions.

poopgiggle · Apr 28, 2015

Eric Gambill said:
How much lower body are you using during those transitions?

All my transitioning happens from the hip-to-knee area. Or at least I want it to.

A 90deg or 180deg transition drill helps smooth things out. Also the widening transition drill will help hit precise spots on shorter transitions.

I will try this, thank you very much.

Luis Renova said:
follow your eyes and your ass will follow.

If I could just get my eyes to stop following other people's asses I'd be in business.

poopgiggle · Jul 6, 2015

OK, after a total shitshow performance on Sunday (great match, I just shot it bad) here are some notes:

1. More grip fixing. I noticed that I was having trouble getting a consistent grip off the draw. After dry firing a little bit, I went back the the large M&P backstrap; it points better, and I noticed that with the medium backstrap I was having trouble fitting all of my hands on the gun. I also need to work on building my grip sooner out of the holster. My left hand is chasing the gun, so I have trouble getting a consistent grip. Finally, I found that my index point on my left index finger that I have against the trigger guard is wrong. If I clamp down with my left hand, it changes point of aim. If I move the index point closer to the 1st knuckle, it fixes that.

2. I was shooting when my sights were nowhere near the target. I was able to tell when I did that most of the time and make up the shot, but seriously WTF. Just need to focus more on tight shots in practice.

3. I actually have to practice. Taking a month or two off is no good.

4. No more wearing heavy blue jeans to summer matches in Oklahoma. That was dumb.

SpaceFlunky · Jul 6, 2015

Shoot for A's or close C's. Anything else, make it up.

Burk Cornelius · Jul 7, 2015

dr poopgiggle said:
OK, after a total shitshow performance on Sunday (great match, I just shot it bad) here are some notes:

1. More grip fixing. I noticed that I was having trouble getting a consistent grip off the draw. After dry firing a little bit, I went back the the large M&P backstrap; it points better, and I noticed that with the medium backstrap I was having trouble fitting all of my hands on the gun. I also need to work on building my grip sooner out of the holster. My left hand is chasing the gun, so I have trouble getting a consistent grip. Finally, I found that my index point on my left index finger that I have against the trigger guard is wrong. If I clamp down with my left hand, it changes point of aim. If I move the index point closer to the 1st knuckle, it fixes that.

2. I was shooting when my sights were nowhere near the target. I was able to tell when I did that most of the time and make up the shot, but seriously WTF. Just need to focus more on tight shots in practice.

3. I actually have to practice. Taking a month or two off is no good.

4. No more wearing heavy blue jeans to summer matches in Oklahoma. That was dumb.

Unrelated to your grip issues (or maybe not) Saturday was hot and hands were sweaty and slick, plus greasy sunscreen didn't help. I borrowed some Pro Grip and put it on my hands and it changed the rest of the match. My grip was fixed and steady, no slipping or readjusting during a string. I am a firm believer in that stuff now

Sorry for the hijack but I don't have a shooting log

poopgiggle · Jul 7, 2015

Burk Cornelius said:
Unrelated to your grip issues (or maybe not) Saturday was hot and hands were sweaty and slick, plus greasy sunscreen didn't help. I borrowed some Pro Grip and put it on my hands and it changed the rest of the match. My grip was fixed and steady, no slipping or readjusting during a string. I am a firm believer in that stuff now

Sorry for the hijack but I don't have a shooting log

It's OK. We can just make this thread a general clearinghouse for B- and C-class scrublord shooting notes.

Re progrip: get some Prince Grip Plus. You can find it at Academy with the tennis stuff. Sports Authority has it too. It's the same thing as Pro Grip, but you don't have to order it or find a gun store that carries it.

Re sunscreen: Get the non-greasy spray sunscreen. Just don't try to apply it outside on a windy day. I tried to do that on a trip to the lake recently and I ended up with a weird tiger-stripe sunburn.

LuckyDucky · Jul 7, 2015

Burk Cornelius said:
Unrelated to your grip issues (or maybe not) Saturday was hot and hands were sweaty and slick, plus greasy sunscreen didn't help. I borrowed some Pro Grip and put it on my hands and it changed the rest of the match. My grip was fixed and steady, no slipping or readjusting during a string. I am a firm believer in that stuff now

Sorry for the hijack but I don't have a shooting log

The gen 4 glock textured grip is perfection.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

poopgiggle · Aug 3, 2015

In dryfire I've noticed that my sights get misaligned on transitions. I just realized that it's because I've been subconsciously trying to push the gun over with my arms. I'll be working on this now.

Burk Cornelius · Aug 4, 2015

dr poopgiggle said:
get some Prince Grip Plus. You can find it at Academy with the tennis stuff. Sports Authority has it too. It's the same thing as Pro Grip, but you don't have to order it or find a gun store that carries it.

Done

drmitchgibson · Aug 4, 2015

dr poopgiggle said:
In dryfire I've noticed that my sights get misaligned on transitions. I just realized that it's because I've been subconsciously trying to push the gun over with my arms. I'll be working on this now.

Steer your gun with your lower body