Having a last-minute opportunity to get some range time in yesterday, I made the trip down to lovemywoods' range in the late afternoon to work on some pistol skillsets. This time, however, lovemywoods didn't join me, as he was out-of-town with 2 other INGOers working on another project (details on that are coming soon).
As I always recommend to others, I first outlined the purpose(s) of the trip.
(note: in the videos you'll hear an odd clicking overtone-- its just the image stabilizer on the camera that we forgot to turn off. Please ignore it.)
I (somewhat) recently had new night sights installed in my carry M&P9 ( https://www.indianagunowners.com/fo...rms_why_i_jumped_off_the_glock_bandwagon.html ). I picked Ameriglo Hack Sights with a Trijicon HD front sight and blackened serrated rear. I hadn't yet had the chance to confirm their POI from a bench, so I started with that first.
The procedure here was pretty straight forward-- set a paper plate at 15ft., shoot POA from the bench in a rest, thereby trying to eliminate as much "shooter error" as possible.
The result was 3 different paper plates that all looked identical. Each one had a ragged hole just to the left of center. I didn't have the proper tools with me at the time, but it looks like I'll need to drift my front sight just slightly.
Here is an example with a called flyer.
This was my first range session using some new electronic earpro that I bought to test-- the popular Impact Sports from Howard Leight.
https://www.indianagunowners.com/fo...rd_leight_impact_sport_electronic_earpro.html
As I reported initially, I'm still very underwhelmed with their performance. The biggest issue I've encountered is that they just don't fit well. The headband is WAY too big, and it can't be adjusted to put the earcups in the proper place (even when wearing a hat). The square-ish cups also don't seal well around my ears. The sound quality and attenuation is mediocre at best. At least they were <$50.
After confirming POI it was time to break out the blue gun.
Wait, a blue gun? On a live-fire range? WTH was I thinking?!?
It was one of two things. Either I:
I started with shooting from various positions of retention. My procedure involved going through the motions with the blue gun first. Then I would go live, but smooth and slow, paying careful attention to technique. As I got more comfortable I would then start putting everything together in a fight/draw/fire/assess/scan/reholster sequence. I've also been trying out the merits of a "high ready" position, as opposed to SUL that I'm used to.
Starting with the blue gun
Working through the technique live-fire
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AUQ44VMMjUM[/ame]
Putting it all together
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eeWjCzc49r4[/ame]
(don't make fun of my crappy Fobus holster. My Raven hasn't arrived yet
)
I also worked on shots in a progression from retention to full extension.
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B6VsmXRZZuo[/ame]
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rFyS6kl8AOo[/ame]
Next I decided to work on shooting around barricades-- vehicles specifically. Since I can't drive onto the range I just used an ATV. The goal here was to simply get myself around the ATV in as many ways as possible, to see what worked and what didn't. Some positions offered better sight pictures, while others offered better concealment. Some were flexible in allowing me to duck back-and-forth behind cover, and some were easier to get into and out of.
As before, I started off with the blue gun.
Then it was time to go live.
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fX5xqkzWxb8[/ame]
For 250 rounds and 2 hours I thought it was a very productive session. Here are some shareable lessons:
As I always recommend to others, I first outlined the purpose(s) of the trip.
- Verify POI for new night sight installation on M&P9
- Test new Howard Leight Impact Sport earpro
- Practice shooting from various positions of retention
- Practice shooting from around a barricade
(note: in the videos you'll hear an odd clicking overtone-- its just the image stabilizer on the camera that we forgot to turn off. Please ignore it.)I (somewhat) recently had new night sights installed in my carry M&P9 ( https://www.indianagunowners.com/fo...rms_why_i_jumped_off_the_glock_bandwagon.html ). I picked Ameriglo Hack Sights with a Trijicon HD front sight and blackened serrated rear. I hadn't yet had the chance to confirm their POI from a bench, so I started with that first.
The procedure here was pretty straight forward-- set a paper plate at 15ft., shoot POA from the bench in a rest, thereby trying to eliminate as much "shooter error" as possible.
The result was 3 different paper plates that all looked identical. Each one had a ragged hole just to the left of center. I didn't have the proper tools with me at the time, but it looks like I'll need to drift my front sight just slightly.
Here is an example with a called flyer.
This was my first range session using some new electronic earpro that I bought to test-- the popular Impact Sports from Howard Leight.
https://www.indianagunowners.com/fo...rd_leight_impact_sport_electronic_earpro.html
As I reported initially, I'm still very underwhelmed with their performance. The biggest issue I've encountered is that they just don't fit well. The headband is WAY too big, and it can't be adjusted to put the earcups in the proper place (even when wearing a hat). The square-ish cups also don't seal well around my ears. The sound quality and attenuation is mediocre at best. At least they were <$50.
After confirming POI it was time to break out the blue gun.
Wait, a blue gun? On a live-fire range? WTH was I thinking?!?
It was one of two things. Either I:
- wanted to be "like a surgeon" like my man Que
- or I wanted to run some manipulations "dry" before going live-fire
I started with shooting from various positions of retention. My procedure involved going through the motions with the blue gun first. Then I would go live, but smooth and slow, paying careful attention to technique. As I got more comfortable I would then start putting everything together in a fight/draw/fire/assess/scan/reholster sequence. I've also been trying out the merits of a "high ready" position, as opposed to SUL that I'm used to.
Starting with the blue gun
Working through the technique live-fire
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AUQ44VMMjUM[/ame]
Putting it all together
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eeWjCzc49r4[/ame]
(don't make fun of my crappy Fobus holster. My Raven hasn't arrived yet
)I also worked on shots in a progression from retention to full extension.
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B6VsmXRZZuo[/ame]
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rFyS6kl8AOo[/ame]
Next I decided to work on shooting around barricades-- vehicles specifically. Since I can't drive onto the range I just used an ATV. The goal here was to simply get myself around the ATV in as many ways as possible, to see what worked and what didn't. Some positions offered better sight pictures, while others offered better concealment. Some were flexible in allowing me to duck back-and-forth behind cover, and some were easier to get into and out of.
As before, I started off with the blue gun.
Then it was time to go live.
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fX5xqkzWxb8[/ame]
For 250 rounds and 2 hours I thought it was a very productive session. Here are some shareable lessons:
- Learning things in class is great, but they don't do any good if you don't get out and put them into regular practice. I need to be more regular about this.
- Pulling the trigger while the gun is under your nose is an ENTIRELY different experience than when its at arms length. I suggest trying it PRIOR to a real fight. Please seek professional instruction first.
- High ready does have some merit, and I will continue to work with it as it fits my needs.
- Pictures and videos are great ways to slow things down and really critique yourself on the range. They also provide some amount of light performance stress.
- Half of what I did in this session could've been done in my house with a blue gun. Get a $40 blue gun.
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