There was one last video I never got around to editing/uploading before Ken & his buddy Jerod left town over a month ago. Finally got around to editing all this footage together - I shot a lot of video that night.

This was actually the second-to-last time they shot with us: Ken's issues with the gun went away when he ditched the 1911 and borrowed my G19. :D

Ken and Jerod came a long way in just a few weeks of casual indoor matches. It takes a while to learn the ropes, and a few weeks of shooting can teach you a lot about how fast YOU are able to get away with shooting a certain target at a certain distance, and generate good hits. And to learn to move, shoot, draw, clear malfunctions, and so on... while the clock is running.

Video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KTNJ2vYwogM




Something I wanted to point out to Ken, and I guess everyone else, too. Working on your grip pays huge dividends. Watch the footage once the video is about halfway through, and the stages start being stand-and-shoot scenarios.

Watch the way the gun recoils. You'll notice that the shooters who're shooting very quickly, and whose gun's don't rise much from recoil, have the weak hand up high. And it's really clamped down tight. Ken, and Michael, and few others, have a grip with a low or loosely-held weak hand grip, and the weak hand stays nearly stationary as the gun fires: The strong arm is absorbing all of the recoil, while the weak hand is supporting the gun only once it returns from recoil. With a tighter grip, both hands/wrists/forearms become one unit as the gun fires.




And sorry, Ken, for using you as a punching bag once again, but this is something I've never gotten a good angle of when videotaping before:

Ken's reload at 6:05 is a perfect example of why you hold the magazine correctly. Look at how the mag is held in his hand once it's drawn from the pouch. Don't do that. Draw the mag with your fingertip down the front of the mag (resting on the nose of the first bullet) and the basepad resting against the meat at the base of your thumb. With your finger down the front of the magazine you'll have much better control of it as it's being guided into the magwell: That total miss you see him make on attempt #1 won't happen anymore. Start watching the video for the above-mentioned grip issues on this stage, too.

Very few people I've seen who weren't good combat-training-types or competitive shooters really held onto the gun correctly. If they attempt to really hold the gun still during recoil, they also tighten the grip of their strong hand, which as we all know, manifests as a low-and-left hit on the target.

Damn. Just re-read that essay I just wrote. I really didn't mean to come across as a condecending know-it-all. Really. But I'm gonna leave it, since it's good info. Ken and Jerod really caught on quick, though.

You should invest in a good lens cleaner :flipoff2:

Thank you, Thank you, I'll be here all night folks, dont forget to tip the waitstaff and please try the veal.:D

I've said it before and I'll say it again, being able to watch a video of yourself shooting allows you to see things that you do not even imagine being a problem. There is no way to notice things like grip and mag holds while you are actually shooting the course, being able to review shows you what to work on.

I knew the grip was an issue after seeing a short bit of the vid the night of the match, been working on that already. Spent a couple hours the day before yesterday doing double tap and reload drills (load mag with 3 rds, 2 shots per target, slidelock reload, and 2 shots per target, repeat.). Cant draw from the holster at the range I use so I do what I can. Didn't see the mag bit though, something else to address.

Anyone who watches can feel free to have a laugh at my expense, I know I laughed at myself after a few stages, but till you've tried it yourself to see how you do, your laughs don't count.:flipoff2: Tis all in fun, and Evan knows I dont take any offense, I'm just glad he had a camera there to capture a few stages so I can see what to work on. We are all our own worst critics, but usually we cant see what to criticize, now I can.

Thanks for posting it up. If you have any other footage that didn't make the final edit, feel free to send it my way, it can only help.

edit: I'm amazed how flat the muzzle stays at the 6:35 stage, the damn .45 always feels like its flipping to the moon. I'm looking forward to spending time with a 9mm when mine shows up, should be like shootin a .22 in comparison.

There was one last video I never got around to editing/uploading before Ken & his buddy Jerod left town over a month ago.

What camera/video setup are you using?

Motocomm DSR-100. The Archos setup is better, but this was such a good deal, I couldn't pass it up.

More proof that video is good. I'm changing my grip with each reload. Starting at 5:53, after the draw both thumbs are in line like they should be. First reload, support hand drops about an inch, thumbs are no longer in line, support is lost. Second reload, support hand is 2" lower than it started, no support whatsoever and recoil is much more noticable.

Something else to add to the list that I had no idea about.

When you get that new M&P, do a LOT of dry work with it. Start very slow and careful. Draw the gun (remember, don't move your shoulders on the draw like you do in the video), and establish a correct grip, with the correct amount of pressure. (Light grip with the strong hand to keep the trigger finger loose, firm as hell with the weak hand, crush the gun between the heels of your hands).

Actually, I take that back. Go shoot a bunch of bill drills with different grips, figure out which way YOU shoot best, and go home and slowly draw the gun while assuming the correct grip over & over. What I'm describing is one of Burketts timing drills...

http://www.doublealpha.biz/tip_burkett.htm#Timing%20Drills

Thanks for the link, I'll read through it when I get home next week, leaving again tomorrow.

Draw the gun (remember, don't move your shoulders on the draw like you do in the video), and establish a correct grip, with the correct amount of pressure. (Light grip with the strong hand to keep the trigger finger loose, firm as hell with the weak hand, crush the gun between the heels of your hands).

I recently have changed my grip on my 1911.Strong hand is the same but weak hand is higher.
Draw practice combined with dry firing is great. Muscle memory is a bitch, as I start increasing speed I fall back into my old grip :(

Exactly. You need to do it really slowy & smooth several hundred times before adding speed. And forget about it at the range practicing with any amount of speed, especially during a match.

Until the correct hand position and pressures become automatic, they WONT HAPPEN unless that's the only thing you're thinking about. I've actually seen guys working on getting their hands up high (especially the weak hand on a 1911) subconciously adjust their hand after the first shot, putting it back down where your brain says it belongs. They managed to think about it enough to hold the gun right for the first shot, but as soon as it's not your primary focus, it's over.

This is basically the only way to hold a 1911 if you want to shoot it with any amount of speed and consistency. Riding the safety with the strong hand should be considered mandatory:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysa50-plo48

There is a downside to shooting thumbs-forward, though. Wheelguns.
My weak-hand thumb is only ~3/8" from the muzzle on a Glock 19. It's waaay out there. On a revolver, that automatic grip puts your thumb over the gap between the cylinder and the barrel. Remember the guy who turned his thumb inside out with a .460 shooting that way? Well, I can tell you firsthand that shooting a .38 that way doesn't feel good, either. Stings quite a bit for a few hours.

This is basically the only way to hold a 1911 if you want to shoot it with any amount of speed and consistency. Riding the safety with the strong hand should be considered mandatory:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysa50-plo48


That video is the one that got me reworking my grip :D

Nice makes me miss my Sigma, divorces suck:mad3: