Jeep's getting back into the groove - a training journey

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jeep45238
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Re: Jeep's getting back into the groove - a training journey

Post by jeep45238 »

Did some time today working on draw and reload components. Went for the par times listed in Stoegers book, except for the reloads - I'm not there yet.

Discovered that I really truely need a hardware upgrade for my mag carriers (using a hand me down fobus pos). I also need to change out the clip on my holster for belt loops, as the George came out with the pistol.

Clips are below - things were very rushed and failed big time several times. That's okay - things fall apart under time pressure and reveal what needs work.

Draw micro drill 1
https://youtu.be/3FdOGJn6VuQ

Draw microdrill 2
https://youtu.be/a_28p3o8Vps

Draw drill failure
https://youtu.be/yAFJRzYbvGM

Draw drill
https://youtu.be/1EEpfXByzZw

Reload work, Burkett load
https://youtu.be/ZcTn4ZCpDgQ

Reload work with empty magwell
https://youtu.be/AvqKbh9tJFQ

Reload drill
https://youtu.be/-hFXnMX8jbs

Videos don't lie - needs work.
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Re: Jeep's getting back into the groove - a training journey

Post by jeep45238 »

Per yesterday's post, worked on drawing from concealment. Feeling much more comfortable with the grip, but I really, really need to figure out why the holster is coming out with the gun occasionally. Loops will be ordered to fix this permanently, but for now I need to find a belt that works better with the holster.

Started off by hitting the gym at 0445. No cardio warmup today either, warmed up by stretching and verifying I'm getting the best feet position for the squat that I can.

Squat
-Warmup, barx5, 20x5, 50x7, 60x5
90x5, 85x5, 90x5

Bench press
-Warmup, barx5, 30x5, 35x5, 40x5
70x5, 70x5, 70x5

Deadlift
-Warmup 110x5
160x5

Finished the workday early since it started at 0300, took a nap, did errands, etc., then sat down in the study to do some work. Measured the Defoor sights on one P226 vs. the 8/8 factory ones on the other, and they're identical save that the Defoor rear is a bit longer and give .25" extra sight radius, the machining on the planes the eye sees are different, and the front sight is .025" thinner. Notch, sight heights, etc., are the same. I'm finding that I work much quicker with a dot of some sort up front, and will probably look at getting a Dawson fiber optic front at some point. Until then paint works great.

Printed some 1/4 and 1/8 scale IDPA targets and measured out the ranging for the room to make life easier later on for doing simulated distance work. I can get out to 36 yards right now in this room, and it's nice knowing that distance is longer than any match target distance.

Did some Burkett reloads, no time, just working on mechanics.

Worked on draw from concealment, per some razzing. Started with a 2.0 par time and worked down to a 1.25 par time, which is about the limit for me right now. I really, really need to get a new mag carrier. And soft loops for this holster, it came out with the gun again tonight. The belt might be too thick for the clip, but it's still a concern.

2 sec par time
https://youtu.be/PPiQBAzPlno" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

1.75 sec par time
https://youtu.be/jKy7kqLd4Vg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

1.5 sec par time
https://youtu.be/QtbOLrNaRTk" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

1.25 sec par time
https://youtu.be/1I6_UqZzshA" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
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Re: Jeep's getting back into the groove - a training journey

Post by jeep45238 »

Watching tonight's vids I'm seeing a trend with bowling after I get my support hand on the pistol. I'll do more reload work tomorrow.
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Re: Jeep's getting back into the groove - a training journey

Post by jeep45238 »

Spent more time working on the draw, with the above focus in mind. Changed to a bit thinner belt, seems to have solved the "there goes the holster" dilemma, but I'll always have that until I get some loops.

Worked from a 1.5 down to 1 second par time for draw-to-fire, got sloppy and 25% or so success at 1%. A little more than 50/50 at 1.25 without a lot of errors.

Did slow-fire trigger manipulation, free style. Did .35 par time for firing after being at the ready, single action and double action, 10 reps each. Had some bobbles at first in single action, then it was easy. Double action is a killer for this one.

Did lots, and lots of reloads. I would eject the mag, catch, go to the mag carrier, and just repeat, with minimal downtime. Stopped when my hands were sore. Finding the 'sweet spot' to put the gun for smoother reloads. Still a long ways from getting smooth reloads, but they're improving each time.

I'm working on making a set schedule of drills for the next month, with a re-assess and press every month thereafter.


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Re: Jeep's getting back into the groove - a training journey

Post by jeep45238 »

04 Jan 17 1.75 mile run with the misses in the AM.

Afternoon went to the gym, with goals of adding 10 pounds to all exercises.

-Squat barx5, 25x5, 50x5, 75x5,
90x5, 95x3, 100x2
-Overhead press 15x5, 20x5, 25x5
30x5, 35x5, 35x4
-Deadlift 120x5
170x5

Deadlift isn't pushing it at all now. I'm doing my best to avoid greed and play this smart like the turtle vs. the hare.

I'm going to dial back to adding 5 pounds to squat and overhead. Flexibility is finally getting where I need it for the squat, although I do need more work on my drive. Getting out of the hole isn't horrible, but once the tops of my thighs get a bit past horizontal that's where it really becomes difficult. I'm okay with these lower weights, as previously I wasn't getting full range of motion and had very {inappropriate language} poor form.

Dryfire consisted mostly of rapid trigger manipulations. Noticed for the first time in my life that my right thumb has a sympathetic 'down' motion when I operate the trigger, especially in double action. I worked for about 25 minutes on keeping my thumb from moving after noticing this to no avail, everything from loosely gripped to death crush. If I can't isolate this digit, I'm okay with that - it's a repeatable motion that can be worked around.

I worked a LOT on gripping with my support hand vs. strong hand as well. I've been favoring the strong hand grip for most of my shooting life, and am trying to change that. One thing I need to figure out is how to keep my left index finger from creeping up on my right hand while I work the trigger. My left index slides up into the pocket between my right index/middle finger, pushing up on the trigger finger after a few reps. This is something I'm not willing to accept and will be working to find a solution for.
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Re: Jeep's getting back into the groove - a training journey

Post by tomfolery »

We're shooting IDPAon Tuesday evening if you're available.
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Re: Jeep's getting back into the groove - a training journey

Post by jeep45238 »

Tom, maybe. Currently my only holster is an appendix, which isn't allowed per the rule book. I might call and see if the place gives a cahoot or not, but if I can't get solid then I probably wont' go (just too long of a drive). No promises, but I'll see how things shake out.



09JAN2017

Did live fire today to mostly try and figure out what configuration of a P226 works best for me. This was limited to 15 rounds per configuration back to back. Of note this is the first time in a LONG time I've shot with gloves on a pistol, and found it beneficial if anything. Gloves were thin with suede grips and stretchy fabric over the back of the hand and fingers.

Upfront difference that has a huge impact:The trainer has original sig sights with the dots painted over in black to mimic my carry's black/black Defoor sights. The alternative would be to leave the front dot on the trainer white, as preferred, but would skew things even more. I noticed while shooting that I could still clearly make out the dot without thinking on the trainer and 'drive the dot' easily, while the carry was defaulted to the top of the sight blade picture (it's really drive the dot - but has no dot). I picked up the trainer's front sight much quicker every time, and am probably going to put a front fiber or night sight on my carry (preferred sight picture anyway).

Variables shot today:
old school grips/4 piece mainspring
G10 grips/4 piece mainspring

G10 grips/4 piece mainspring
G10 grips/3 piece mainspring (plastic seat)

Grip observations - I performed better with the slightly smaller G10 grips. This is in direct conflict of what I preferred by feel and dry fire, which is the old 2-piece grips (they feel more akin to a 1911 with 'fat' grip panels, as the rear is more pointed). The 2 piece groups were round in generic size, while the G10's were more flattened. Will re-try this by putting G10's on the trainer and originals on the carry to eliminate sights as the reason for the disparity. Other comparisons involved only 1 pistol for this reason.

Mainspring observations - I prefer the feel of the 4 piece mainspring. It seems to provide a quick 'camming' action to it and deliver a surprise DA break without any effort. Initial effort is higher with the old school, and likely has a higher trigger pull due to the longer spring (more friction against the hammer strut) than a comparable spring on the newer system. It's also a pain in the butt to replace the spring on, but the spring should last longer due to each coil doing less work. The 3 piece (new) main style with the plastic seat has a more linear DA trigger pull, and is a bit smoother as well. I did not try the new spring with old grips, as that requires grinding and I didn't do it before going to the range.

G10 grips w/ 4 piece provided a fair amount tighter group than new grips and new hammer spring setup, but wasn't a fair comparison. The plaster I was using fell off mid-test for the new spring, and I just used the 'point' as my target as a bullet had landed there already. Difference was vertical stringing with the new one, vs. circular on the old mainspring, carry gun with Defoor sights. Width was a little less with the new style mainspring than the old

Conclusions - all future testing will involve one pistol to avoid sights impacting the results. Mainspring style has much less of an impact in performance than feel during dryfire, although 4 piece was a little easier to get 20 yard headshots from concealment. New style mainspring wasn't far behind, but has benefits of less friction/lower pull weight by about a pound, and is much easier to replace/maintain.

G10 grips have a market performance in group size regarding height, but may have induced a horizontal stringing either due to hand interface, different sights, or just me. Will verify g10 vs old school grips next time doing live fire.

Had 1 failure to lock back with the trainer (old grips, full size slide stop). Have the small P224 slide lock on the carry for this reason. Noticed that with trying for a more aggressive support-hand position/grip strength that I'm moving the decocking lever a bit with the original one, might move back to the P224 one for this reason.

Trainer: 60 rounds live fire, 1 op-induced failure to lock back
Carry: 451 rounds, 1 ammo-caused stoppage


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jeep45238
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Re: Jeep's getting back into the groove - a training journey

Post by jeep45238 »

We're headed out of town on vacation tomorrow, and with some family issues that hit over the past few weeks, this stuff has taken 5th fiddle. My mother-in-law has gone back to the hospital with a diagnosis of a chronic nerve disease and isn't expected to fully recover, and my wife's estranged cousin has reared his head for the first time in years (detoxing off heroin in another cousin's basement).

So, the gym and dryfire have taken a few steps back. For the 10/11/12 on dryfire, I've done 10 wall drills 2 handed/SHO/WHO double and single action, and then 20 press-outs 2 handed, 20 press-outs SHO and called it good enough to keep the dust from accumulating too much. For the gym I've done stupid quick sessions on an overhead press machine, bench machine, and curl, warm up till i can only do 5 sets, do 3 of those, then work down 15 pounds at a time to nothing without a break. Not worth bothering to record the weights since they can vary so much, and it isn't representative of the effort I'm putting out.

Headed to South Carolina tomorrow, back on Tuesday, with every intention to do nothing related to this journal. Time to relax for a moment.
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Re: Jeep's getting back into the groove - a training journey

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Well, never a dull moment. During vacation my wife decided to drop some serious news - so that put a huge damper on things and the drive back. I'm going to do the lazy thing and say I've been pre-occupied and dry-fire hasn't happened since we got back. Shot some pool at a local pub with a friend tonight and he brought up some things I hadn't thought of. And I really need to work on not being such a lone wolf, so to speak.

Anyway, time at the gym. I had to remind myself to add 45 pounds for the bar to everything when I did math today:

18Jan17
Squat -20x5, 40x5, 60x5
80x5, 85x5, 90x5
1875lbs

Bench -20x5, 30x5, 40x5
50x6, 60x5, 70x5, 75x5
1775lbs

Deadlift -140x5
180x5
1600lbx

Total-5250lbs


20Jan17

Squat -40x5, 60x5, 80x5
90x5, 90x5, 90x5
2250lbs, up 20%

Overhead Press-20x5, 25x5, 30x5
35x5, 40x3, 35x5
845lbs, up 10.4%

Deadlift -150x5
200x4
1550lbs, down 4%

4645lbs

Aux. exercises:
Barbell curl -20x5, 30x5, 35x5
Chest dips -8
Pullups -1
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Re: Jeep's getting back into the groove - a training journey

Post by jeep45238 »

First up, my failures - I did no dry fire since I got back into town. Between school starting and other personal matters, my mind hasn't been thinking about this stuff until today. Take note, dryfire is just like working out - take a week or two off and reality slaps you when you get back.

I did the "Find your Level" drill of the week today (27Jan17) :
https://pistol-forum.com/showthread.php ... Your-Level

I cleaned level 1 twice, putting an extra shot (but still clean) on the second go. I couldn't move fast enough to meet par times, and my accuracy with the speed of that par time isn't there to matter. I realized this after 2 attempts at level 2 and didn't want to get bad practice in. I had 1 failure to lock back, on a surplus mag - new springs are likely in order for 4 or 5 of the mags. Trainer recoiled noticeably more than the carry today, swapped recoil springs to no effect. Best guess is the trainer has been used a lot, and has original grips on it, which made a huge difference. Also need to replace the front sight on the trainer when funds allow - the dot is great, but the front sight is too wide.

Trainer-150 rounds, 2 op-induced failures to lock back
Carry - 452 rounds, 1 ammo-induced failure to return to battery

PT side of things - I'm commuting by bike again now that school is in session, 5-17 miles a day depending on what's going on. I'm going to start putting the barbell weight in the numbers (previously it was just the plates). Makes it relevant.

23Jan17
Squat barx5, 55x5, 80x3, 110x2
-140x5, 140x5, 140x5

Bench barx5, 60x5, 80x3, 110x2,
-120x5, 120x5, 120x5

Deadlift 145x4, 205x2
-245x5

Lying tricep press 55x3, 60x2
-70x5


25JAN17
Squat barx5, 55x5, 85x3, 115x2
-145x5, 145x5, 145x5

Overhead Press barx5, 55x3, 70x2
-85x5, 85x5, 85x5

Deadlift 150x3, 215x2
-255x5

Barbell curl barx5
-60x3, 65x4, 80x5

8 chest style dips


27JAN17
Squat barx5, 60x5, 90x3, 120x2
-150x5, 150x5, 150x5

Bench barx5, 60x5, 85x3, 110x2
-130x3, 125x5, 125x5

Deadlift 155x3, 225x2
-265x3

Lying tricep press
60x3, 65x2, 75x6
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Re: Jeep's getting back into the groove - a training journey

Post by TSiWRX »

Damn impressive, jeep! :)
jeep45238 wrote: I also need to change out the clip on my holster for belt loops, as the George came out with the pistol.
jeep45238 wrote:Per yesterday's post, worked on drawing from concealment. Feeling much more comfortable with the grip, but I really, really need to figure out why the holster is coming out with the gun occasionally. Loops will be ordered to fix this permanently, but for now I need to find a belt that works better with the holster.

....And soft loops for this holster, it came out with the gun again tonight. The belt might be too thick for the clip, but it's still a concern.
You nailed it.

I write about this pretty much every time the belt question comes up. ;)

Gear-interactions can be problematic, and I thought it might happen to you as soon as I watched your "Draw micro drill 1" vid.

If you're still having problems after switching to loops, look at how the loops mount to the holster. I've also had instances where my setup - when I used loops - that caused the holster to bind enough on the draw that it "inverts/eviscerates" itself upon the draw (the gun's out safely, but I'll need to stuff the holster back inside my pants, before I can re-holster! :oops: :lol: ). It may be a pure hardware issue (i.e. that you simply need different loops) or a combined/multifactorial setup issue that may in-part trace to retention stiffness, ride height, belt/belt loop height, belt tightness, etc. For me, it was a ride-height issue (I was trying to push the holster too far above the waistband, to gain more certainty/speed) combined with the fact that the loops I used were non-rigid at the junction where they curved back down into the waistband.

It could be a difference caused by the different pants you may wear. Maybe you're only seeing the problem with lower-riding waistbands or if the pants somehow fit (subtly) differently.

It could even be an issue with your tucked-in shirt. Differences in friction between the holster and the shirt material.

No matter what, you need to rehearse what you will do in case the draw goes to {inappropriate language}. Strike/rip off the holster with your support hand or on another surface (or even between your teeth - be careful with this, with hardshell holsters!). Same goes for the magazine holder.

Good stuff, bruddah! Keep it up! :)
Allen - Shaker Heights, Ohio
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jeep45238
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Re: Jeep's getting back into the groove - a training journey

Post by jeep45238 »

It's definitely a belt thickness issue. I'm going to attach a piece of cord in a loop to my holster as insurance against this.

On the flip side I'll be ordering a holster I can actually shoot matches with, and at least one new mag carrier.

One or two more weeks of barbell using the above schedule before I change it up a little bit. Diet hasn't been good at all, eating whatever I find around the house and trying to avoid buying groceries- certainly not getting enough calories or sleep for this, but I'm progressing forward.
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Re: Jeep's getting back into the groove - a training journey

Post by jeep45238 »

Worked on reloads today. No par times, just the motion of clearing the vest, and getting the mag in, slide closed, sight picture. No trigger work today. Hands are tired as the dickens from doing this for 20 minutes.

Image

Also took the time to put a line from a paint jerked in the middle only of the grip. Previously I've painted the whole inside of the magwell, but with a line I have a 'target' to aim at. Might change the color to a bright green or red of some sort later, but it helped.

Also noticed the minuscule magwell of a p226 and the shape of the grips help a lot compared to the old beretta.

I'm going to take a cue from dove and make weighted funny rounds to practice my reloads with - may as well make the mag actual weight and have the motions I'm working on be relevant vs empty, lightweight mag bodies.
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Re: Jeep's getting back into the groove - a training journey

Post by TSiWRX »

jeep45238 wrote:It's definitely a belt thickness issue. I'm going to attach a piece of cord in a loop to my holster as insurance against this.
:) I'm sure you already know, but make sure your static-line is of correct length to help your holster disengage in-case of a pull-out.

Also, be careful when re-holstering, because now you've got that extra length of cord there! Maybe some kind of breakaway Velcro construct to help the cordage stay anchored to the holster (and to help route it), when it's not in-use?
jeep45238 wrote:Hands are tired as the dickens from doing this for 20 minutes.
I've got a non-PG rated mind, so you can probably guess why I am LOLing. :P :lol:
Also took the time to put a line from a paint jerked in the middle only of the grip. Previously I've painted the whole inside of the magwell, but with a line I have a 'target' to aim at. Might change the color to a bright green or red of some sort later, but it helped.
For me, white helped in all lighting conditions. Also, I not only hit where you painted, but also on the inside of the backstrap portion. For me, this helped with visualizing the magwell as a three-dimensional object.

I'm still clumsy on the reload occasionally. Still trying to find just what it is that helps me, visually, nail that insertion.
I'm going to take a cue from dove and make weighted funny rounds to practice my reloads with - may as well make the mag actual weight and have the motions I'm working on be relevant vs empty, lightweight mag bodies.
Just remember that while these are going to be great for insertions, it's going to play differently when you're ejecting them from the gun, compared to an empty mag. :!:
Allen - Shaker Heights, Ohio
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Re: Jeep's getting back into the groove - a training journey

Post by Brian D. »

Low light 'tactical' reloads/top offs--one of the subtle reasons I don't use a revolver for primary carry. Allen, if you have a link to some trainer who claims to have a great method for that, post it up so's I can have a belly laugh!

Truth be told one of those S&W 9mm or .357 magnum moon clip fed eight shooters (maybe the 9mm holds more, I forget) would make a nifty choice, but any reloads I did would involve discarding the clip to the ground in a hurry. The spent cases expand and wouldn't allow reinsertion.

Sorry about the drift, this always enters my head during discussions of quick reloads.
Quit worrying, hide your gun well, shut up, and CARRY that handgun!

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