It’s been a while, but I finally made it back out to the range to see where I fall against the standards I wrote.
BLUF : I failed.
Refresher:
The first string of fire is 3 rounds @ 7 yards, from concealment, 2.0s par time. All in C-zone.
The second string of fire is 2-R-2-R-2 @ 15 yards, from concealment, 9.0s par time. All C-zone.
For the record, these were the first shots I shot that day. I had a few dry runs first, but the first shots of the day are recorded below. I feel a CCW standard should be shot cold, as that’s how you will be tested in real life, Heaven forbid such a thing actually occur.
I also didn’t do the second run from concealment, but my competition rig. I didn’t have enough mag carriers to do it with my normal CCW setup, but as you’ll see below, that didn’t help me.
Performance:
String 1-1: String 1: 3.76s, 1.98 to first shot. 1.76s over par
String 1-2: 3.16s, 1.24 first shot. 1.16s over par
I obviously went way past the par time, but I got my hits. But I didn’t get them under time, so it’s still a fail. The second try I could have potentially got under par, but I have yet to maintain accuracy with splits low enough to do so.
String 2-1: 12.15s, 2.16 first shot. 3.15s over par
String 2-2: 14.87s, 2.86 first shot. 5.87s over par.
On the third & fourth strings of fire, I think my draws were fine considering the distance. Having the first set of runs warmed my draw, so it wasn’t as cold as the first two. I had some issues with mags dropping free which added some time, but nowhere near enough to be a major factor in my final times. It seems to be mostly a matter of picking up the dot fast enough, which shows my lack of dry fire at home.
Lessons Learned:
I need to practice.
My draw from concealment could have been better cold, and my dot acquisition is a major factor in my lack of speed. I’ve always had a tendency to over-confirm my sight picture, which is better than throwing rounds out willy-nilly, but it does mean that I go slower than I’d like. I need to really focus my home practice on getting the gun out quickly and solid presentation from the beginning. After getting warmed up my draw was pretty decent, and my reloading mechanics look solid upon review, but getting on target seems to be my slowest aspect.
As far as getting my hits, only one round was outside the C-zone. Which means that one of the 4 strings was a double-fail. I had 3 line-breaks, but one round was over an inch outside the C-zone. I guess my tendency to over-confirm my sights isn’t without it’s benefits.
Conclusion:
Practice. I’ve really slacked off in that regard, and it’s showing. Speed is the hardest thing for me to build and the first thing I lose. Do a diagnostic at regular intervals, be honest about where you are lacking, and orient your practice accordingly.
As Ruger is fond of saying, do your training.
-S_S
Pro-Gun Millennial 