Critique needed; started shooting USPSA

[SarcoBlaster]

I shot my third USPSA match this past Saturday and I'm officially hooked! Much better than standing and blasting away at paper. The first match I ever shot was in limited division because I didn't know any better and ended up 19th out of 42.

After realizing I should've been shooting in production due to the equipment I have, I placed 7th out of 22 on my second match (http://uspsa2.org/match_results/matc...rallproduction) and 6th out of 28 on my third match (http://uspsa2.org/match_results/matc...rallproduction).

Here are some videos of me shooting various stages:

http://youtu.be/flNupBadG7s

http://youtu.be/euDzxT73-w0

http://youtu.be/fR1g-4fThBU

http://youtu.be/L5l4ke8EueY

I'm mostly doing it because it's fun, but due to my competitive nature, I want to get much better. That having been said, looking at my overall and stage scores in the links above as well as the videos, what are the most obvious things that I can improve on? Please be straightforward, you won't hurt my feelings!

Thanks!

Randy

[joelogic]

For your videos, post which stage and which score sheet so we can compare.

From your first video, I am not sure of your hits but you can jump on the gas pedal if your hits are good. Dont stick the gun through the barricade unless you absolutely have to. Transition from target to target faster.

Squad with the top shooters and see you the way you "walk" the stage is the same way they "walk" the stage.

More to come.

[SarcoBlaster]

Unfortunately, I don't remember which stages those were. Will have to remind myself to keep track of that next time.

I was told to go a little faster by someone in my squad, so I might focus on doing that for my next match.

As for sticking the gun through the port, I'm not quite sure why I do that. After reviewing the videos, I definitely noticed it and will have to be more mindful. Thanks for pointing out my transition times. I watched the videos again and noticed how that can be improved.

Thanks for the feedback!

[whitey4311]

You look very good and have great movement. You already are shooting with a great squad but its huge and you had to join them because you are new. If you want to join us this Saturday then come on over. I am the only one shooting from concealment and wont be hard to miss. Ask JoJo or Jimmy for Brian and Gordon. You will get to shoot with a much smaller squad.

Your vids look very good for being so new and you look better then I did at that point.

[HighLander51]

Your are at 68%(solid B Class) for your 2nd and 3rd match, which is outstanding for a newbie. The shooters ahead of you in Production are all very experienced and have been playing the game for a long time. Norco has a pretty deep field compared to other clubs. Other than going into the ports, except the last port of a stage, take competition shooting lessons from one the Grand Masters. Jojo Vidannes, Michael Voigt and Taran Butler all hang out at Norco. You probably would jump to Master very quickly.

Also scroll down to the individual stages, for example Stage 3, hold on your name and go the the right between the points and penalty columns, it will highlight your hits and time. I can see you shoot mostly A's, but as you can see, guys shooting 15 points less are doing it in 8-10 seconds faster, therefore a higher hit factor, and the stage winner takes all. Speed up

[SarcoBlaster]

whitey4311: Don't think I'll be able to make it to Norco this Saturday, but I'll hit you up via PM the next time I go if you don't mind. Thanks for the offer to squad up.

HighLander51: I was wondering how people getting fewer points were topping me, but didn't take the hit factor into account. Thanks for the clarification and tips!

[chowtime]

You're doing very well! I suggest getting Brian Enos' book Beyond Fundamentals. To improve transition time from target to target, make sure your eyes move to the next target and the gun follows, rather than eyes/gun moving at the same speed.

To improve your split times (time between shots), practice bill drills or Rob Leatham's 3 second drill or Travis Haley's Tiger Stripe drill.

Other than that just keep shooting and have fun! PM me if you want to squad up next time.

[Davidoff]

I agree with the above posters, you are doing well for a new shooter. Movement is smooth, footwork is pretty good, reloads are good.

To me it seems that beside the port issue which has been covered already, you need to figure out how fast you can shoot different targets. You have a cadence in your shooting, and you are pretty much shooting everything at the same splits. What you need to do is learn what an acceptable sight picture is at different distances and different targets. A wide open target at 5ft should be a very fast split, while a partial target at 20 yards requires a lot more refinement in the sight picture.

The best thing you can do right now is to get a few more matches under your belt, then take a class with a GM who is a good instructor.

Dry fire. As many quality reps as you can get in.

Attend some sort of practice if possible, it really helps if you can draw from a holster and shoot without "rapid fire" restrictions.

You ideally want to get to a place where you can program the stage into your head and just sort of watch yourself shoot it. Brian Enos talks about the zen aspect of the sport in his book, its a very good read.

[GeoffLinder]

You're doing very well! I suggest getting Brian Enos' book Beyond Fundamentals. To improve transition time from target to target, make sure your eyes move to the next target and the gun follows, rather than eyes/gun moving at the same speed.

^^ This, nothing else will help you better at this stage of your progression. Learn to analyze and then learn to learn! When you can call your shots you can run at the speed you need!

[stibandit]

Practical Firearms is having a USPSA class this saturday 1-19-13 at Pala range. might be what you are looking for. see posting listed under the sub-forum of this thread...."Training Class Anouncements". questions?.....? pm me. Dave

[singlestack]

what I would have done... when walking through a stage, the first thing that I look for "where can I stand and shoot all the targets, without putting my gun through the port"

second, since the mags are on the table I would not have tried to place a mag in my pouch at the start of the stage, instead look to where I will be moving to the second, from the first port and still be able to reach for my second mag. Again thinking of where I can see all the targets or most of them, without having to move my feet, only my upper torso.

See what am getting at? The third port is right next to the table but as I shoot my last round in the third port...reach for a mag on the table as am releasing the mag from the gun and insert mag BEFORE getting to the last port, so that as am I stopping my eyes are already on the sights, aiming at my first target, again setting up so that I would have to move my feet and only my upper torso.

that is the way a M class shooter would do it, I believe.
thats the way I would do it. good luck

one last thing to remember, always if you can see the target before getting to the port, shoot it on the move, as your getting into your final shooting position.

[dwtt]

what I would have done... when walking through a stage, the first thing that I look for "where can I stand and shoot all the targets, without putting my gun through the port"

In a well thought out stage, there won't be any spot where you can stand and shoot all the targets. Movement and requiring the shooter to figure out how he wants to shoot the stage is part of the sport. As an aside, in other countries shooting by IPSC rules, the stages often require a lot more movement than USPSA matches in the States, especially lateral and backward movement. In these stages, thinking out how you would move is a factor in how well you end up shooting the stage.