AJZ's Training Journal: (Insert Clever Name Here)

[AJZ]

Purpose: The main purpose of this journal is for accountability to myself. I have kept training journals for years (lots of paper) and thought it was time to get with the program. Another huge draw for me to do this was students asking me in courses, "what do you do for practice?" In the past I have pointed them to several places (obviously www.pistol-training.com) and tried to explain what drills and skills I work on, when, and why. Most students, though we know we should, don't take that many notes in a course. So this will be a singular place for me to point and say, "This is what I do."

Goals: I have some very specific goals in mind for this year with my training. This is not purely limited to handgun training, but everything in life relates to everything else. It has been approximately 7 years since I've used a 1911 platform as my EDC and use gun, and I've decided to dedicate this year to that platform. Due to my job, I am sometimes required to use a different handgun, but the majority of my time and effort will be on the 1911.

• Begin to re-master the 1911 platform
• Consistant sub 2.0s Slide Lock Reloads (AIWB to high % targets)
• Consistant sub 1.3s draws from concealment (AIWB to high % targets)
• Consistant sub 0.2s splits on high % targets
• Consistant sub 0.4s splits on low % targets
• Consistant 5.0 FAST
• Consistantly clean Hackathorn 3-Second Head Shot Standards from AIWB
• ECQC
• AFHS
• 10-8 1911 Operator/Armorer Course
• LAV 1911 Operator/Armorer Course
• Shoot more competition for fun

Note: All times are based on my averages at 7yds, not best runs.

Constraints: I currently reside (due to uncontrollable circumstances) in a less than gun friendly state. Because of this, ranges are few and far between. I am attempting not to exceed 24,000 rds (handgun) this year between training and practice. This number has been my average the last two years. I will most likely not be posting every drill I do with the number of reps as this would become much longer and most (including myself) would become bored. I will however, be as detailed as is possible with drills and progress reports.

Plan: Due to the range and ammunition constraints, I will be investing much of my time to dry fire/dry practice. Also, I will be experimenting with the heavy use of CO2 powered airsoft guns. I am aware of many of the drawbacks of airsoft training and will be posting on them as I delve deeper into personal use.

I am really looking forward to sharing this experience with you guys/gals and hearing your thoughts and feelings during these posts.

[OrigamiAK]

Sounds cool! I am looking forward to hearing about your use of airsoft, how you use it and how effective you find it to be.

[AJZ]

Sounds cool! I am looking forward to hearing about your use of airsoft, how you use it and how effective you find it to be.

Thanks bro! I'd be lying if I didn't say your training journal and posts were/are a driving force for me and my own training! I look forward to getting your input on the journal and sharing my findings with you.

[AJZ]

Date of Training: 7 January 2013
Time: 1500-1700
Gun: Miller Custom 1911, .45 ACP
Ammo: Federal 230g FMJ-RN (200rds fired)
Holster: Blade-tech IWB carried AIWB (Extremely uncomfortable)
Mag Carriers: RCS Double Mag Carrier
Cover Garment: Cabela's Fleece Pullover

Plan: Establish baselines for live fire draw strokes, reloads, and splits.

• DotW #60: Slow Fire Marksmanship (300 point Aggregate) (http://pistol-forum.com/showthread.p...e-Marksmanship)
• Draw and fire 1rd to high percentage target (IDPA 8" circle) at 7yds
• Draw and fire 1-Slide Lock Reload- fire 2 to high percentage target (IDPA 8" circle) at 7yds (http://pistol-training.com/drills/1-reload-2)

Execution: Did not happen as planned, lol. I had originally planned on shooting the DotW for three total iterations. After the first freestyle string it was apparant that something was either wrong with me or wrong with my sight. In these situations I often believe first that I am doing something wrong and that my fundamentals are screwed up. After completing string 2 and 3 (SHO, WHO) it was apparant that 1: I amd in dire need of WHO practice; 2: The gun/I was consistantly shooting 4inches low and 4inches left. Lesson 1: Always have the laser, sandbag, and duty ammo in the range bag. Why I thought I could skip sight verification and accuracy testing is beyond me, but it happenned. After some major reverification of my trigger press, I attempted to shoot the DotW again, with similar results. I'll chalk that one up to getting overly excited to shoot this gun and get my baselines for the year. I then moved on to some drawstroke work. I am generally not a fan of drawing and firing 1rd, but my focus was more on the pressout than anything for this drill. I completed 50 reps of this at which point i was losing sunlight quickly. Again, all rounds impacted low and to the left of my percieved point-of-aim. I decided that I would hold off on the 1-slr-2 until the next range session this week and focus on some sight tracking through recoil and WHO pressouts and shooting. I am finding that front sight tracking now that i am running a .45 ACP has become much more difficult. For the last three years I have run a FS M&P9 almost exclusively, and feel I was able to track pretty decently. As with the SLR, I feel this will become a major training point on this journey.

Data Achieved:
DotW #60:

• String 1: 76
• String 2: 86 (2x)
• String 3: 40
• Total: 202

Draw Stroke Average : 1.89

Take aways:

1. Always verify sights and accuracy before starting on a new gun (DUH)
2. WHO practice needs to become more frequent
3. Front sight tracking is going to be a constant fight

[OrigamiAK]

Holster: Blade-tech IWB carried AIWB (Extremely uncomfortable)

Is that holster bugging you because of the holster material that is underneath the dust cover and it stabs your thigh? Asked another way, is the holster too wide near the muzzle?

[AJZ]

Thats is the issue. Unfortunately, I cannot trim under the dustcover without removing and repositioning the belt loop. This holster is not designed for AIWB and is a far cry from my Keeper (http://pistol-forum.com/showthread.p...e-AIWB-Holster), and I will most likely not be using it again. I may demote it to the backup to the backup once I get a new Keeper or my SME comes in.

[AJZ]

Training Date: 9 January 2013
Time: 1400-1600
Gun: Miller Custom 1911, .45 ACP
Ammo:

• Federal 230g FMJ-RN (15rds)
• Freedom Munitions 230g FMJ-RN (15rds)
• Winchester Ranger 230g HP (15rds)
• Speer Gold Dot 230g HP (20rds)

Plan/Execution: Confirm accuracy and zero. I was planning on firing 3 groups of 5rds for each type of ammunition present. If the groups were all similar i was going to confirm the zero of the gun with Speer Gold Dot as that was the ammunition I requested the gun be zeroed for as it is my normal carry ammunition. Much to my surprise I could not get what I considered a decent group out of the gun. I know the gun is capable of 1" at 25 yards with Speer GD 230g out of a Ransom rest. The tightest group I could pull off was a 4" group at 20yds using a bag, chair, and rest (unfortunately my laser would not mount properly to the gun). As I went to adjust windage on the rear sight, I noticed the front sight had moved almost out of its slot! with a slight press of the them, out it came. To say I was upset would be an understatement. To me this was one of those, "What if I had been carrying this gun when this happenned" moments. Not pleased. I immediately took a picture of the gun and sent it to the gunsmith who had built the gun for me, along with a summary of my dissapointment. He was very displeased as well. The gun was headed back to the shop next month to have the front sight re-cut anyways (I wanted the original smith to do it rather than my guerilla gunsmithing). He immediately sent me a shipping number and asked me to send him the gun ASAP. Long story short (too late) the gun is headed back to the shop for sight replacement and re-zero in the morning. While the gun is at the shop I will be training on my backup, a Springfield Armory MC Operator.

Take Aways:

1. I have always been a fan of pinned front sight posts for this exact reason. In the future I will be more insistant on this in all my guns.
2. Sometimes its better to just send it back to the original smith than smith it yourself.

[AJZ]

Training Date: 10 January 2013
Time: Afternoon (30 minutes)
Gun: SIRT Pistol


Plan/Execution: Working on my freestyle draw and press outs. Most of the time was spent trying to harden my front sight focus. I've noticed that at speed I've started looking through my front sight and letting it superimpose over my intended target. I feel this may be part of my issue with tracking the front sight recently. The rest of the time was spent on SHO draws and WHO press outs.

[AJZ]

Training Date: 11 January 2013
Time: Afternoon (45 minutes)
Gun: SIRT Pistol


Plan/Execution: Unfortunately, did not make it to the range today for live fire. More work on my freestyle draw and press outs via SIRT. Most of the time was again spent trying to harden my front sight focus. I've been using a laserlyte target in conjunction with my SIRT pistol for my dry fire training. I did spend some time today running dry Bill Drills as well. Happily, a package arrived today from Red Wolf airsoft (www.redwolfairsoft.com) containing my MC Operator clone and magazines. The gun does fit in my current holster as do the magazines. The plan is to give them all a test run tomorrow.

[AJZ]

Training Date: 9 February 2013
Time: Afternoon (1 Hour)
Gun: Miller Custom 1911, .45 ACP


UPDATE: After a long break with SHOT Show and some ridiculous sickness, it's back to training in a serious way. Some updates: The Miller Custom is back from the shop, hopefully fixed and zeroed (we'll findout this week!). The airsoft guns are up and running and I am very optimistic that they will prove to be a useful training tool. While at SHOT Show, I was able to spend a good hour or so with John Ralston of 5 Shot Leather, LLC (http://pistol-forum.com/showthread.p...ase-of-the-SME!). I finally got a good look at the SME as well as the process in both designing and building it. I must say, I was greatly impressed with John's work. It was clear that he, and everyone involved in the SME design, really put a lot of time and consideration into it. I can't wait until mine arrives and I can get to using it!

Plan/Execution: DRY FIRE: Set the timer to a 2 second PAR and worked on freestyle draws. After about 25 reps, dropped the PAR to 1.80 just working on the mechanics of the draw and press out, not really trying to push the speed. After that, spent the last 30 minutes working slide lock reloads. Started with a 3 sec PAR, again just getting the mechanics down and really focusing on occupying the same space with the gun. After a while, dropped the PAR to 2.0 and really tried to work the mechanics at speed. Overall, I was happy with the training session.