Dedicated practice?

[Shooting Bull]

With EOT only a few short weeks away I figure it's about time to start getting ready. 

 

What are your most effective practice techniques?  When I say effective I mean, what actually leads to noticeably improved performance in a match?  

 

I've seen a lot of folks say their monthly matches are their practice.  I can see how that would improve performance under match conditions.

 

Other folks say they break down every movement they make and practice each one individually either during dry fire sessions at home or live fire sessions at the range.

 

Something in between?  What works for you? 

[Reverend P. Babcock Chase]

Howdy Shooting,

 

What is this "practice" of which you speak?

 

Rev. Chase

[Widder, SASS #59054]

As many a great shooter has told us......... TRANSITIONS.   Practice your transitions.

 

For me personally, one of the gremlins that seems to bite me more often in a match is reholstering my pistols SMOOTHLY

and quickly.    We're all a little different and we all have weaknesses and strength.    And because reholstering is a MUST on

every stage, I want to make it a fast and smooth operation for me.  And as a GF, its a two headed gremlin.

 

Mileage varies.   Good Luck pard.

 

..........Widder

 

Edited January 11 by Widder, SASS #59054

[Snakebite Dust SASS 75484]

Since we have to load shotguns on the clock, that is something I try to work on most. 

[Doc Shapiro]

28 minutes ago, Shooting Bull said:

With EOT only a few short weeks away I figure it's about time to start getting ready. 

 

What are your most effective practice techniques?  When I say effective I mean, what actually leads to noticeably improved performance in a match?  

 

I've seen a lot of folks say their monthly matches are their practice.  I can see how that would improve performance under match conditions.

 

Other folks say they break down every movement they make and practice each one individually either during dry fire sessions at home or live fire sessions at the range.

 

Something in between?  What works for you? 

 

Haven't we talked about this?  You're about 2 months late getting started.

 

As Widder said, "best bang for the buck" is in transitions.  All of them, ever conceivable combination.

[The Original Lumpy Gritz]

In the OP's case....

He needs to practice his landings 

[Wild Eagle]

Practice whatever your weakness is.  For a long time I spent 80% of my practice time on shotgun because that was my weakest point.  I still practice that, but I am now spending more time on my pistols because that is now my weakest point.  My other big weakness is keeping my mind ahead of my shooting when transitioning from target to target.  I find myself hesitating between targets because I don't have the shooting sequence down pat, or I'm just not thinking about my next shot as soon as, or maybe a little before, I break my last shot on target.  And the list goes on.....

[Shooting Bull]

1 hour ago, Widder, SASS #59054 said:

For me personally, one of the gremlins that seems to bite me more often in a match is reholstering my pistols SMOOTHLY

and quickly.  

 

 

 

You sure nailed that.  As a Double Duelist I SHOULD be able to reholster the first pistol and be grabbing my next gun while shooting the second pistol.  Far too often I mess up the first step, reholstering the first pistol.  

1 hour ago, Doc Shapiro said:

 

Haven't we talked about this?  You're about 2 months late getting started.

 

As Widder said, "best bang for the buck" is in transitions.  All of them, ever conceivable combination.

 

 

Oh yeah, more than once.   Only two months late?  Dang, I'm doing better than I thought. 

[Shooting Bull]

44 minutes ago, The Original Lumpy Gritz said:

In the OP's case....

He needs to practice his landings 

 

Whatchoo talkin' 'bout?  I nailed that landing.  Got ripped off by the Russian judge though. 

[Sarge]

1.  Dry Firing

2.  Transitions

3.  Movement (especially important as mobility issues increase)

[Edward R S Canby, SASS#59971]

I practice for side matches.  I will shoot my ROAs to get ready for the Plainsman.  I will practice with any long range rifles I intend to shoot.  My wife will spend time on a clays range to be prepared for any pop-up targets she might encounter.  

[Oak Ridge Regulator]

Shotgun is my killer, getting those two shells lined up and in the barrels smoothly. Everything else will go ok if I can just get that part to work so it’s something I always practice and it can be done with plastic dummy rounds so they even shuck like empty hulls

[Colorado Coffinmaker]

 

PLUS ONE for Rev. Chase.  "Practice??"  What is this stuff about . . "Practice???  Must find my Funk & Waganalls - Look Up Practice.  Hummmmmmm

[Hells Comin]

6 hours ago, Doc Shapiro said:

 

Haven't we talked about this?  You're about 2 months late getting started.

 

As Widder said, "best bang for the buck" is in transitions.  All of them, ever conceivable combination.

He's always been a slow starter. 

[Hells Comin]

1 hour ago, Oak Ridge Regulator said:

Shotgun is my killer, getting those two shells lined up and in the barrels smoothly. Everything else will go ok if I can just get that part to work so it’s something I always practice and it can be done with plastic dummy rounds so they even shuck like empty hulls

Widder only puts one in at a time *

[Widder, SASS #59054]

31 minutes ago, Hells Comin said:

Widder only puts one in at a time *

 

And sometimes, ONE out of 2, 3 or 4 ain't bad........ 

 

..........Widder

 

[Widder, SASS #59054]

Hey Shooting Bull,

PM me your phone number and I'll try to share a particular 'Theory' with you.

 

Its something you may want to consider.   Thanks

 

..........Widder

 

[Shooting Bull]

16 minutes ago, Widder, SASS #59054 said:

Hey Shooting Bull,

PM me your phone number and I'll try to share a particular 'Theory' with you.

 

Its something you may want to consider.   Thanks

 

..........Widder

 

 

 

Oh great.  You gonna be like Lumpy with the prank calls at all hours of the night? 

[Widder, SASS #59054]

2 hours ago, Shooting Bull said:

 

 

Oh great.  You gonna be like Lumpy with the prank calls at all hours of the night? 

 

I'm gonna give your number to your local Las Vegas 'Chippendale Dance Club' and have them put you on

Robo Call.   

 

..........Widder

 

[Hells Comin]

1 hour ago, Widder, SASS #59054 said:

 

I'm gonna give your number to your local Las Vegas 'Chippendale Dance Club' and have them put you on

Robo Call.   

 

..........Widder

 

To late Creeker has  already beaten you to it. 

[Creeker, SASS #43022]

16 hours ago, Hells Comin said:

To late Creeker has  already beaten you to it. 

Chippendales?

Seriously?

Shooting Bull is my friend and I would not do that to my buddy

 

Now, if you want to know some of the things Creeker WOULD do:

 

* Sign him up for the NAMBLA newsletter.

* Volunteer him for the AOC Democratic fundraiser.

* Send a donation in his name to the Hunter Biden defense fund.

* Call Nevada Power and inform them that he is going on vacation and that they should turn his electricity off for two weeks.

* Take pictures of his place and offer it up on Air BnB.

* Sign him up to take calls for Uber - but only between 2am and 4am.

 

I have more - but you'd have to really dislike someone to use them.

And like I said, Shooting Bull is my friend.

 

 

 

 

[Widder, SASS #59054]

Creeker,

your kindness to your friends and fellow man are only exceeded by your generosity in deeds.

 

..........Widder

 

[Creeker, SASS #43022]

33 minutes ago, Widder, SASS #59054 said:

Creeker,

your kindness to your friends and fellow man are only exceeded by your generosity in deeds.

 

..........Widder

 

I was told to be the light you want to see in the world.

 

Just the lights I usually attract are flashing red and blue.

[J-BAR #18287]

I know Shooting Bull is already a lot faster than me, but he has endured enough bs'ing. So in case it will help...
 

My improvements came by practicing one shot from each of the four guns without a target, just shooting all four guns into the dirt berm (1-1-1-1 instead of 10-10-4) using a timer of course.  One shot from each gun preserves ammo and allows more transition practice.  Not trying to hit a target allows you to focus only on improving your time.  Practice each combination of shooting all four guns in a row, and record the times and intervals for each cycle, and then work on your slowest transition interval.

 

You already know how to pull the trigger, and your eyes will find the targets when you need them to in a match.  Force yourself to practice the transitions exclusively.  The timer will give you the feedback you need.

 

Good luck at Landrun!

 

 

 

 

Edited January 12 by J-BAR #18287

[Tarheel Doc]

I review last years stages and shoot those in practice. Helps me get a feel for how there stages are put together. 

[Billy Boots, # 20282 LTG-Regulator]

Great replies to your post SB. 

I echo the transition importance.  I am a CB+ double duelist and I have pretty much come to realization that  my speed in pulling trigger will not significantly improve with revolvers, much I blame to some arthritis in thumbs.  So, being as smooth as possible in movement and transition with all guns is the utmost concern for MY game in being competitive.  Perhaps in some cases to slow on trigger, but I pull trigger at the most comfortable speed (with me, emphasis on sight acquisition and sight on target). 

I involve some sort of practice most every day, transitions in multiple ways and dry firing.  For me, dry firing has good/bad points.  If I keep it to not to many strokes and with dummy rounds, I feel it good  but to work lever fast as I can may lead me to go faster in match than I am really comfortable and confident.  I weigh the fact that dry firing is 100% accurate (what's a miss in dry firing?),  so I need to throttle to SIGHTS ON TARGET  speed or I may not be as effective in live firing.  Dummy rounds in rifle can help control feed.  With shotgun, both weighted and empty, dummies.

In my transition practice if I bobble, which I sometimes do, I find it best to continue thru the bobble so in actual match time I can process thru that bobble.  I do not feel it is practicing to bobble, just practicing to get thru it as best as I can without great loss of time.  As has been mentioned practice every kind of transition you can think of, thinking of all sorts of scenarios (and I still get surprised sometimes finding one at a match I had neglected).  Remember splitting shotgun sometimes, a very important transition from and to different firearm.  And, yes SB, so paramount is the holstering and draw use of each hand for us DDs.

Hope all this makes sense.  Nothing takes place of live practice but working a little home routine can become a fun habit no matter how lengthy.  Stay with the habit, five minutes of draw/holster is better than no practice at all.

[Texas Jack Black]

GREAT POST BILLY

 

Best Wishes 

[Chickasaw Bill SASS #70001]

Practice , such a NASTY word 

 

  

[The Surgeon]

On 1/12/2024 at 4:34 PM, J-BAR #18287 said:

I know Shooting Bull is already a lot faster than me, but he has endured enough bs'ing. So in case it will help...
 

My improvements came by practicing one shot from each of the four guns without a target, just shooting all four guns into the dirt berm (1-1-1-1 instead of 10-10-4) using a timer of course.  One shot from each gun preserves ammo and allows more transition practice.  Not trying to hit a target allows you to focus only on improving your time.  Practice each combination of shooting all four guns in a row, and record the times and intervals for each cycle, and then work on your slowest transition interval.

 

You already know how to pull the trigger, and your eyes will find the targets when you need them to in a match.  Force yourself to practice the transitions exclusively.  The timer will give you the feedback you need.

 

Good luck at Landrun!

 

 

 

 

What would the benefit of Doing single shot transitions without a target vs doing it dryfire? I'm not bashing I'm genuinely curious. I feel like doing this dry fire then shooting 1-1-1-1 on actual targets when you could would have a greater benefit no?

[J-BAR #18287]

59 minutes ago, The Surgeon said:

What would the benefit of Doing single shot transitions without a target vs doing it dryfire? I'm not bashing I'm genuinely curious. I feel like doing this dry fire then shooting 1-1-1-1 on actual targets when you could would have a greater benefit no?

 

 

I did a lot of dry fire at home, using the PAR TIME setting on the timer.  But range time is/was precious.  Dry firing at the range seemed to me to be a waste of shooting time.  Using live ammo and experiencing recoil, minimal as it may be, is different from dry firing.   I practiced by myself whether at home or at the range, and had to depend on a timer for measuring improvement.  Pretty soon you are trying to improve by fractions of a second.  The timer was my only source of feedback.  Reading fractions of a second differences between real gunshots on a timer was more precise than listening for the second beep on a PAR setting.  Shooting 1-1-1-1 was more like a real match situation, having to manipulate all my guns, rather than using just one.  Shooting one shot then transitioning to another gun made it easier for me to identify and record my slower transitions.  Then I could work on those transitions at home during dry fire sessions.

 

I also had to fight a tendency to listen for the steel to ring or see the shot hit before moving to the next target.  Some other shooters have that same tendency, and it really slows you down.  Shooting Bull is at a level where he doesn't have that fault.  But by deliberately eliminating the target I could focus simply on getting the shot off as fast as possible, without being delayed while waiting for the target to ring.  It showed me what my fastest possible time really is.  Then, hopefully, I could ingrain those faster manipulations enough to actually reduce my splits and transitions in a match.  So eliminating the target allowed me to practice without any chance of my "wait for the ring" flaw to interfere.   It worked for me.  If it doesn't work for you, do something else.  The only way you will know for certain is to try it both ways.  Most clubs use targets that are close enough and big enough to tolerate some slop in aiming.  If you are practicing aiming at a target, you may be slowing yourself down, just like waiting for the bullet to hit.

 

 

[Billy Boots, # 20282 LTG-Regulator]

1 hour ago, J-BAR #18287 said:

 

 

I did a lot of dry fire at home, using the PAR TIME setting on the timer.  But range time is/was precious.  Dry firing at the range seemed to me to be a waste of shooting time.  Using live ammo and experiencing recoil, minimal as it may be, is different from dry firing.   I practiced by myself whether at home or at the range, and had to depend on a timer for measuring improvement.  Pretty soon you are trying to improve by fractions of a second.  The timer was my only source of feedback.  Reading fractions of a second differences between real gunshots on a timer was more precise than listening for the second beep on a PAR setting.  Shooting 1-1-1-1 was more like a real match situation, having to manipulate all my guns, rather than using just one.  Shooting one shot then transitioning to another gun made it easier for me to identify and record my slower transitions.  Then I could work on those transitions at home during dry fire sessions.

 

I also had to fight a tendency to listen for the steel to ring or see the shot hit before moving to the next target.  Some other shooters have that same tendency, and it really slows you down.  Shooting Bull is at a level where he doesn't have that fault.  But by deliberately eliminating the target I could focus simply on getting the shot off as fast as possible, without being delayed while waiting for the target to ring.  It showed me what my fastest possible time really is.  Then, hopefully, I could ingrain those faster manipulations enough to actually reduce my splits and transitions in a match.  So eliminating the target allowed me to practice without any chance of my "wait for the ring" flaw to interfere.   It worked for me.  If it doesn't work for you, do something else.  The only way you will know for certain is to try it both ways.  Most clubs use targets that are close enough and big enough to tolerate some slop in aiming.  If you are practicing aiming at a target, you may be slowing yourself down, just like waiting for the bullet to hit.

 

 

Thanks for very good post J-Bar, full of truths I find very "right-on".

My home and shop practice is mostly squares cut to approx. four inches at about seven to eight steps and often inconsistent heights.  I have a  different array of of staging "tables" also.  The dedicated habit has become pretty much daily  and actually fun.

[Stump Water]

27 minutes ago, Billy Boots, # 20282 LTG-Regulator said:

Thanks for very good post J-Bar, full of truths I find very "right-on".

 

I agree.

 

The only thing I would caution against is developing the habit of putting a gun away before you're done shooting it.  That is very hard to un-train.

[Billy Boots, # 20282 LTG-Regulator]

27 minutes ago, Stump Water said:

 

I agree.

 

The only thing I would caution against is developing the habit of putting a gun away before you're done shooting it.  That is very hard to un-train.

Agree, I notice I do that occasionally with my left revolver (usually last of two).  A little anxious to get that long gun up with right hand.  Fortunately rare in actual match, but sure must watch that.  Perhaps recoil in live firing versus dry will help to overcome that chance.

[Billy Boots, # 20282 LTG-Regulator]

On 1/11/2024 at 9:57 AM, Shooting Bull said:

With EOT only a few short weeks away I figure it's about time to start getting ready. 

 

What are your most effective practice techniques?  When I say effective I mean, what actually leads to noticeably improved performance in a match?  

 

I've seen a lot of folks say their monthly matches are their practice.  I can see how that would improve performance under match conditions.

 

Other folks say they break down every movement they make and practice each one individually either during dry fire sessions at home or live fire sessions at the range.

 

Something in between?  What works for you? 

SB,

While on the subject of practice and transitions here's couple I often ponder as to which is fastest for me.

STAGE: Rifle then shotgun shot at separate positions, rifle first and staging your choice.  Do you stage SG beside rifle and carry it with you to second position or do you stage shotgun at shotgun position?  If you choose the latter do you down rifle at position one and pull shotgun shells on way to shotgun OR carry rifle with you and in motion of downing it (say with left hand) you are picking up shotgun with right and with upward motion the left hand grabs shells ?

Here's my theory:  since I practice shotgun from table with right and grabbing shells with left, I find this a more "common"/natural feel than carrying shotgun shells in my hand on the move.  Also since one gun has to go down and other up, why not at same place.  Of course one has to be careful in carrying rifle to shotgun position.

[Widder, SASS #59054]

Golly Bull,

Ifn you follow all the excellent advice given on this thread, you should be World Champeeeeen this year.

 

Good luck.

 

..........Widder