Computalotapus
17 January 2015, 13:55
Just a little background on what my shooting experience has been so far in my life. I grew up hunting. I learned to shoot at a relatively young age. Shot a ton of squirrels out of trees with a .22 from the age of 6 till the age of 10. Took my first buck when I was 10 years old and have shot my fair share of venison. Joined the USAF when I was 18.. was actually in the delayed enlistment program at 17. Was Security Police while I served carried a M-203 my entire enlistment, was certified on the M-60 as well. After getting out of the Air Force didn't do much shooting for a long time other than occasional hunting. Then my Dad gave me a Walther P99 chambered in .40 and I started shooting pistol at regular intervals.
I had been wanting an AR for the longest time but could never justify it. About 2 years ago my wife opened the flood gates when her and the girls picked up a S&W M&P 15. After that she made another mistake of letting me build her a rifle. We started shooting more and the bug fully infected us both as we have built another rifle and in the process of building a 4th. We both picked up some pistols. Last year I started researching competition shooting in our area. Shot a couple at local sportsman clubs. Last year we probably put about 2000 rounds down range between the both of us. And this year we both plan on shooting as much as we can and I plan on getting more involved in our 2-Gun competition scene.
But first I need to be tuned up a lot, and today was the beginning of some much need tuning. A local instructor who is also a local LEO and former Detroit SWAT officer started observing and critiquing me. Got at the range at 0845 this morning, went over range safety, programmed local emergency numbers in my cell (something I never thought about doing), setup targets, and confirmed zero. After zero confirmation he asked me what I am looking to do, I am not highspeed those days are long gone. I don't have an grand illusions of me running in single handily to save people from crazy shooters. But I do want to be fundamentally sound with my weapons and I am not so much worried about speed as I am worried about becoming subconsciously repetitive in my motions while shooting. I want to shoot 2-gun because it is the closest thing I can thing of that comes to real world training. All rifle shoots are taken when traversing a field to enter a stage. Upon entrance to the stage you transition to pistol and clear the stage, transition to rifle and move to the next stage, rinse repeat till all 5 stages are cleared. When clearing a stage all shots must be made from cover. No dumping a weapon to pick up a next weapon, no standing out in the middle of the stage engaging targets out in the open and the emphasis isn't just time but also shooting from cover. The only time when not shooting from cover is when you are traversing the field to get to the next stage. These are rifle shots made on the move.
So we rearranged the range to meet those goals. Walked it about 10 times going through the drills dry while he got me situated in a better body position. Fixed my awkwardness with my transitions simply because I was trying to stow away my rifle instead of just letting it hang. By 1000 we were moving and shooting slow and steady. By the end of the session we were moving through the stages with speed and working side by side for the length of the course. I am going to be going back on a regular schedule to progress. This year I am going to get in as much instruction as possible, train as much as possible and become a better shooter. This year I plan on making money in competitions not just getting my entry money back.
Today my setup consisted of a Jason Winnie Double Layer 1.5" leather belt, Jason Winnie OWB leather pancake holster and single mag carrier for the M&P 9mm. Ran my AR mags out of my back pockets. While running the drills through the course I was able to keep up with him but I can see how a HSG drop leg panel with double taco's could make this more efficient. I might pick up a chest rig (Haley Strategic Disruptive chest rig). I will not be running a plate carrier that is for sure. I want to stay light and mobile as possible. .
I had been wanting an AR for the longest time but could never justify it. About 2 years ago my wife opened the flood gates when her and the girls picked up a S&W M&P 15. After that she made another mistake of letting me build her a rifle. We started shooting more and the bug fully infected us both as we have built another rifle and in the process of building a 4th. We both picked up some pistols. Last year I started researching competition shooting in our area. Shot a couple at local sportsman clubs. Last year we probably put about 2000 rounds down range between the both of us. And this year we both plan on shooting as much as we can and I plan on getting more involved in our 2-Gun competition scene.
But first I need to be tuned up a lot, and today was the beginning of some much need tuning. A local instructor who is also a local LEO and former Detroit SWAT officer started observing and critiquing me. Got at the range at 0845 this morning, went over range safety, programmed local emergency numbers in my cell (something I never thought about doing), setup targets, and confirmed zero. After zero confirmation he asked me what I am looking to do, I am not highspeed those days are long gone. I don't have an grand illusions of me running in single handily to save people from crazy shooters. But I do want to be fundamentally sound with my weapons and I am not so much worried about speed as I am worried about becoming subconsciously repetitive in my motions while shooting. I want to shoot 2-gun because it is the closest thing I can thing of that comes to real world training. All rifle shoots are taken when traversing a field to enter a stage. Upon entrance to the stage you transition to pistol and clear the stage, transition to rifle and move to the next stage, rinse repeat till all 5 stages are cleared. When clearing a stage all shots must be made from cover. No dumping a weapon to pick up a next weapon, no standing out in the middle of the stage engaging targets out in the open and the emphasis isn't just time but also shooting from cover. The only time when not shooting from cover is when you are traversing the field to get to the next stage. These are rifle shots made on the move.
So we rearranged the range to meet those goals. Walked it about 10 times going through the drills dry while he got me situated in a better body position. Fixed my awkwardness with my transitions simply because I was trying to stow away my rifle instead of just letting it hang. By 1000 we were moving and shooting slow and steady. By the end of the session we were moving through the stages with speed and working side by side for the length of the course. I am going to be going back on a regular schedule to progress. This year I am going to get in as much instruction as possible, train as much as possible and become a better shooter. This year I plan on making money in competitions not just getting my entry money back.
Today my setup consisted of a Jason Winnie Double Layer 1.5" leather belt, Jason Winnie OWB leather pancake holster and single mag carrier for the M&P 9mm. Ran my AR mags out of my back pockets. While running the drills through the course I was able to keep up with him but I can see how a HSG drop leg panel with double taco's could make this more efficient. I might pick up a chest rig (Haley Strategic Disruptive chest rig). I will not be running a plate carrier that is for sure. I want to stay light and mobile as possible. .