Practice
Never carry one bad stage to the next, never take a bad
match to the next. If you make a mistake, get over it, and leave it behind. I
understand and embrace that mentality, and I think sometimes people mistake my
frustration as getting the best of me at a match. The truth is that I get
frustrated when I make a mistake and know that I am “better” than that mistake.
I've had an issue dragging a shot while preparing to transition, I know I’m
doing it, I practice to not do it, and in a match I say I’m not going to do it,
and I do it anyhow. That’s the kind of
mistake I have a hard time leaving behind, clip a no-shoot, slow on the draw,
all things that irritate me, but are easier to leave behind.
Today I found myself up at Alpha Range
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| The Amazing Kozy |
We started by placing single white paster on the target, and
trying to hit it a 7, 10, and 15 yards before moving to calling shots. I’ll
just say that I feel okay about it, but having an open shooter next to you,
definitely caused me to pull a few shots. Calling shots at 15 yards, we had a
large 2 target spread and transition, draw, 2 shots, transition, 2 shots, and
stop. We did not look at the targets, but told the other person where the shots
went, obviously the goal was two alpha hits, and do it quickly. Kozy is a pro,
but there were a couple where he thought he threw a Delta, or even a Mike, and
he had an Alpha, Charlie. My point is that calling a shot is not easy, even
for someone who is a lot more experienced than I am. However the value in
knowing that you are getting a good sight picture and squeezing off your rounds
is invaluable. I understand now better than ever why Les has me focusing on
shooting groups, and knowing my sight picture. The more I do that, the better I
am at that, the easier it will be to call my shots, so call this a lesson
learned, and it gave me a better understanding of why I’m doing what I’m doing.
(I really need to get the M&P Sights ordered so that sight picture will
match my PPQ sight) I had a harder time with my calls on my first target than
my second target, but I was not too far off, when I threw a shot, I knew it.
Some may not see that as progress, I’ll take a positive from the experience, in
that when I throw a bad shot, I do know it, I may not have called the others
perfectly, but knowing a bad shot is a step in the right direction.
There were a few other drills that we ran, two close
targets, and a middle third target, that was head shot only. We ran it right to
left, left to right, and middle over. Because these were not wide transitions,
I actually felt better shooting this drill, and I had a harder time with the
head shot when I started with it, than when I transitioned to it. No real earth
shaking discoveries, but I do now really understand why practicing varied transitions
has value, and how, and why I struggle with wider transitions.
We closed out with a Bill Drill, and my first run was awful,
I think I had let everything get in my head, and I was slow, and probably had 3
mikes in 6 shots. Soon as I was done, I knew it, said it out loud that the next
run would be 6 Alpha’s more to clear my mind, and get my focus. Sure enough,
next run, faster, smoother, and 6 Alpha’s. Kozy picked up a few things on my
draw, and while I got it down to a 1.24, I feel off, I feel slow. This is one
of the things I spent a lot of time practicing, and back in August, I could do
it in 1.1 at 7 yards and get an “A” hit. I’m moving around too much, and I’m
struggling with getting my support hand on the gun. The gun is not coming out
to where my eyes are, and once it’s out, I’m watching the front sight bob
around. I’m not sure why I regressed, but I definitely have, and I know this is
correctable.
Until we kick “Plan B”, I’ll stay off this kind of live fire
practice, and stick with the groups that Les has me working on. The truth is,
that I learn better by seeing something, than hearing something. Today, if
nothing else, I walked out understand what I was accomplishing in dry fire
before, and why Les has me focusing on groups. Today I could see some problems,
and I can also understand how and why I can correct them. This reinforced what
we are going to do. In addition, I can see a few things I want to look at in
dryfire, like my reloads and my draw.
Today I also took a look at Kozy’s open gun, and I can
understand and appreciate what it really is. The red dot sight and trigger are
amazing. I always said “someday” I’d consider trying one, but touching it made
me realize how far off that day is. It’s great, but it just is not for me, not
for awhile. I did however put a few rounds thru the Tangfolio Stock II and was
blown away. The gun feels great in my hand, the double action first pull was
manageable, hardly more than the 5.5 lb pull of my PPQ, and the single action
pull was amazing. When we went down to paste, I was a little embarrassed
because I thought I’d thrown a couple of mikes, in actuality I put three rounds
thru the center of the “A” in damn near the same hole. The gun just does not
move much, it was amazing. It makes me think that if I do ever move away from
the PPQ platform, that I’ll move away from polymer entirely, again, something
for down the road.
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| Tangfolio Stock 2 |
Good session today, I picked up some insights on how I
learn, which I hope will assist me moving forward, and I gained a better
understanding of what I’m trying to accomplish. I’m starting to see how the
entire game breaks down into a series of interrelated skills. Thanks Kozy for
spending the time with me today!
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