Practice Day 2

Practice Day 2


I really needed today! Not only did we run drills that played to my strengths (as few as they may be) but I just got to shoot and have fun, no pressure, no demands, no expectations, just pure fun. Don't get me wrong, shooting is fun, but I realize that I've put all these expectations on what I'm doing that I ceased to just enjoy what I'm doing for what I'm doing. Today brought all that good stuff back, I was okay with being the worst shooter on the range, and I just decided to bring the best that I had, and work to improve it, and that's okay.


When we got out to The Firing Line in Georgetown, I was curious what Aaron had in mind, and he said that his intention was to work some shorter range rifle, focusing on transitions, some shotgun work, both slug and birdshot, and I had a chance to shoot a little pistol at distance, all of which are things that I need work at, but all things that I enjoy. We started out with some rifle work, 50 yard targets, low ready, and Aaron had me go from one target to another, just working on getting the hit, and a fast transition. It was during this time that I had a couple more eye relief issues, and Aaron suggested that I move my cheek weld back, it was a hair less comfortable, but it eliminated the biggest issues I had with eye relief. This is also something that I can practice and dry fire at home, which is a big win.

From there we headed over to three short range paper targets, the idea was to get them with solid transitions. Garrison and Aaron were running it in 1.25 to 1.50 seconds for 6 shots, I was in the 1.6 fairly consistently, with a high time of 1.84, and being honest I could totally feel the difference, I had a slow transition, and a little trigger freeze. My splits were in the .17-.18 area, and honestly I think I can get even a little faster in the future. To me, this is a pistol drill, but it's easier to transition the rifle. I can do this stuff.....

Next up was shotgun slugs, and I have struggled in epic fashion with slugs, but I bought into what Aaron said, and we had him put on a rear sight, and let me tell you, that was all the difference in the world. Once I understood what I needed to see, I had no problems getting hits at 50 yards. For me at 50 yards, I had the front sight cover up the target, the white line of the rear sight dead center of the square, and I was on fire. The running laugh for me was that I had Federal low recoil slugs (1350 fps) which definitely feel like slugs, and I had one box of non low recoil slugs (1500 fps) that knocked over the steel "C" zone targets every time that I hit them. Aaron let me shoot a couple of his Fiocchi low recoil slugs (1150 FPS) and holy hell, I'm hooked. Those slugs were no harder than birdshot, so I will be buying a few cases from Aaron as soon as he orders. His slugs were literally a game changer for me, I can shoot those infinitely faster. I know some folks don't like the rear sight because it get's in the way and you shoot over the top of targets with birdshot, but this rear sight was sunk in deep, and wow, to me it makes the shotgun absolutely perfect.

From there we did closer runs on small steel plates, and ran drills like starting with 2 loaded, shoot one plate, reload 2, shoot one, which helped me practice reloads, to one plate, load 8, shoot a plate. Aaron and Garrison kicked some ass doing that, I was infinitely slower, but I got better as I went, and Aaron made a few changes in what I was doing, like angling the gun downwards. Garrison caught me short stroking a few reloads, so I now have a few extra things to practice. The best part was that I shot accurately, got hits, and picked up plenty of speed. Sure, Aaron and Garrison shoot faster than I do, but I was not awful once the gun was loaded. I can get better, but I'm starting to understand the shotgun.

I closed out with the long "C" Zone steel plates with the CZ. I was missing early, and went back to the paper targets, and found that my point of aim, point of impact was a little different with the CZ than it was with my Edge. Once I remembered that I the fiber should be a hair lower, instead of covering the target, I had no issues ringing the steel at the 40 yards or so we were at. It made me feel good to get hits, and honestly I'd love to have my 6" Sight Tracker, but it restored my faith in what I'm doing.

So, for the next few days, I'm going to be running around the house with the AR, putting it on the couch, some chairs, trying to shoot off different heights, and get in some different positions. I'm going to try to maintain the proper cheek weld every single time, especially from the low ready to insure that I'm getting it right, each and every time. Consistency is the key, and if I can measure it, I can improve it. Add in 30 minutes or so a day of shotgun loading, and I think I'll be ready to go, at least be as prepared as I possibly can.

We will have to see how the long range goes, but I'm going to give it my best. I'm really looking forward to the match, not just hanging out with the guys. I get the feeling that I'd do better at a 3-Gun Nation type match, where most targets are shorter range since that plays to what I do best today, but getting pushed, having a challenge, nothing wrong with that.

This was a kick ass weekend of shooting, and yes, it was what I needed! I owe a big thanks to the guys, they are good people! Closing out Sunday night with some baby back ribs on the grill, and will close out with a Flaming 43!