291 Personal best "Practice" session to date

[Mass Shooter]

Headed to the indoor range early morning, had the place all to myself.

Mounted a Slow-Fire target and cranked it downrange. Raised the pistol level and held for a few seconds. ... I then said ok, it's match time and prepared to set the scenario as if on a real competitive gallery match evening.

The dot just stuck in the black like glue. No shakes whatsoever!

Fired a 94 Slow-Fire, swithed on Target Timer and proceeded to Timed Fire relays, ... 97 Timed, 100 Rapid.

Darndest thing is I was shooting with the last of my CCI Pistol Match with (20) remaining rounds then opened a fresh box of CCI Green Tag to complete the Rapid Fire relay and drilled a 100 (1st 100)

Now, to put it all together in a match competition is another story, will see if I can get close on Wednesday evening.

Personal best competition match score is 279

I average mid- 260's- and sometimes shoot 270's

Practice is paying off :-)

Regards,

M.S.

[bebloomster]

So far my best "recorded" match is 272.... maybe tonite I will be able to raise that a point or two.

Congrats on your 100 target... I have yet to get above a 98.

Should be picking up a key to the indoor range this week then will be able to get in some much needed practice at my convenience.

[waxman]

Nice shooting MassShooter! I'm in that same mid-260's group with the occasional 270+, 272 as high in competition.
Now, what you're supposed to do, I'm told, is to repeat all those good shots next time. Simple, eh?
Did you do anything different? Ammo? Grips? Wheaties?
Usually there's nothing specific to attribute a good score to, just retain the realization that yes you can!

[Mass Shooter]

Waxman, to answer your question "nothing different per say"

ate a sensible breakfast, no coffee, grips are original on UNIQUE DES69, just felt very relaxed and enjoyed the practice session. Practice was at my own pace. ...

Practiced a bit early this morning and focused on Slow-Fire only, kept all hits in the black on (6) targets, all scores in the 90's. It's coming together bit by bit.

M.S.

[MSC]

I'm right about where you guys are w/regard to score. For me, whatever needs to be done to improve slow-fire on a consistent basis is a complete mystery to me... Like MassShooter, some days I can go to practice, and the dot is rock-steady. This can be during a period of daily dry-firing with 2-3 sessions of live fire practice per week, or it could be after 2 weeks of not touching the gun. No rhyme or reason.
Timed and rapid however, do benefit from regular live-fire practice, for me, however.
But it's all about the shakes for me, too!

[Isabel1130]

I'm right about where you guys are w/regard to score. For me, whatever needs to be done to improve slow-fire on a consistent basis is a complete mystery to me... Like MassShooter, some days I can go to practice, and the dot is rock-steady. This can be during a period of daily dry-firing with 2-3 sessions of live fire practice per week, or it could be after 2 weeks of not touching the gun. No rhyme or reason.
Timed and rapid however, do benefit from regular live-fire practice, for me, however.
But it's all about the shakes for me, too!

The more I experience this the more I believe that the dot sticking as opposed to shaking is sometimes an optical illusion. In other words there have been times during competition that it seems like my hold was shaking like a leaf but my scores were no different than on the day when I felt steady as a rock. I have come to the conclusion that the dot bouncing tricks you into doing something different than you ordinarily do. In fact it may be the loss of confidence in your hold that causes you to change the way you execute the shot. There are some things that cause our hold to be less good on some days than others but if you test it out with an electronic trainer you might find that your least good hold is still holding the nine ring which is more than good enough to shoot 90 or above in slow fire IF YOU DON"T CHANGE ANYTHING ELSE as a reaction to your loss of confidence in your hold. Again this is my personal experience. One of the ways to test this is to shoot frequently with iron sights. They don't show the kind of movement that a dot does and it is easier to convince yourself to TRUST YOUR HOLD. My other piece of advice is to not pay too much attention to the score shot during practice other than letting it be a goal. In other words. "I know that I am capeable of this score so let's figure out how to do this in a real match." One of the things that I find that I do when I get match nerves is I attempt to control what I cannot control and I do this by overgripping the gun which causes the dot to shake and it affects my triggering. If I stop that and relax a little good things start to happen. My scores are getting higher and more consistant in both practice AND matches. Isabel.

[jackh]

In my mind "trust your hold" has two ways to be utilized in making the shot. One is the more usual sense of trusting the result of your hold as it is seen vs the target. Two is (my opinion) trust the way you do your hold. In other words, pick a method, and stick with it. Trust the results (one). And trust the method you use that day.

A few years ago, Mario Lazoya said to shoot with a tight forearm and relax the upper arm and shoulder. That statement can be taken literally or in some other interpretation. I believe the Gunny meant mostly to relax(eliminate) the concentration on the state of the shoulder and upper arm. In other words, get them to a certain point and trust that condition. i.e. eliminate any thought. It took a sore shoulder and me seeking a way to eliminate (go around) the discomfort to realize how much I have been conscious of my position in detail.

[waxman]

"Trust your hold" could apply to trigger, or stance, or breathing. If it works, trust it, and keep it consistent.
Also, further advice from a 290+ shooter acquintance was to consider every match "just another practice" session.