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Mr_White
05-15-2015, 04:42 PM
Week 112: Driving The Gun/Lateral Transitions 2

Results may be posted until June 15th, 2015.

Designed by: Gabe White
Target: Shooter's choice (need at least two)
Range: Shooter's choice
Rounds: 0

This is one of several drills intended to work on shot calling, sight tracking, and target transitions in dry fire. In this drill we're going to be working one method of practicing lateral target transitions. This method will emphasize continuity of vision and grip, potentially at the cost of emphasis on trigger control.

At bare minimum, verify gun is unloaded, have no live ammo anywhere in the dry practice area, and keep muzzle in a safe direction. But there is more you can do to ensure safety in dry practice. Please also read Robust Dry Practice Safety Principles and Procedure following the drill description.

Drill procedure: Start with the gun holstered or in a ready position. Present the gun to the first target and press the trigger. Immediately snap your eyes to the next target spot, keep your upper body shooting structure intact, and drive the gun to the next target spot. Stop and gun and 'press' the trigger when you would hit the next target.

In this drill, we are flowing through the entire sequence of engaging one target and transitioning to at least one more target, without stopping to break grip and work the slide to reset the trigger. We'll be emphasizing continuity of vision and grip, potentially at the cost of emphasizing the trigger press.

Depending on the type of gun you are using, you can address the trigger on shots after the first one a few different ways:

Press the dead trigger (example: Glock)
Press the mushy trigger (example: M&P)
Put a rubber band, zip tie, cardboard, or other obstruction in the ejection port to allow a mushy trigger press instead of a dead trigger (example: Glock)
Only allow the trigger to partially reset, and press the light trigger (traditional DA/SA)
Allow the trigger to fully reset and get a real press each time (DAO)

Make sure you see a sufficient sight picture and press the trigger well enough on the first shot. Snap your eyes to the next target spot, keep your upper body shooting structure intact and drive the gun to the next target spot. Stop the gun and 'press' the trigger when you know you would hit.

Target considerations: You can use whatever targets you want. You will need at least two. I'd suggest using a variety of targets, from easy ones where you can get away with 'pressing' when you see a coarser sight picture as the gun is stopping, to harder ones where you have to stop the gun more carefully and 'press' when you see a much better sight picture. Also vary the spacing of the targets. Closely spaced targets only need you to push the gun over gently. Widely spaced targets allow you to generate acceleration for the transition using your legs while keeping the upper body shooting structure intact.

Do the drill for a period of time you choose, rather than for a specific number of repetitions.

Please report when you've completed the drill, the gun and targets you used, how much time you spent on the drill, and anything you noticed.

Training with firearms is an inherently dangerous activity. Be sure to follow all safety protocols when using firearms or practicing these drills. These drills are provided for information purposes only. Use at your own risk.

Robust Dry Practice Safety Principles and Procedure (the closer you follow this, the fewer opportunities you will have to ND)


Principles:

Allow no distractions – focus exclusively on the task at hand

Keep muzzle in a safe direction

Use correct trigger finger discipline

Verify no live ammo in gun, on person, or in the dry practice area

Use dedicated dry practice targets that are put away until you consciously choose to begin dry practice, and taken down when you consciously end dry practice

Use dedicated dry practice magazines and dummy rounds/inert training cartridges that stay in the dry practice area (if you use any magazine or cartridges)


Procedure:

Unload gun in a location other than the dry practice area

Leave live ammo, and magazines with live ammo, completely outside the dry practice area

Enter the dry practice area

Verify gun is unloaded, that any magazines do not contain live ammo, and that any cartridges present are inert/dummy cartridges

Consciously choose to begin dry practice

Put up dry practice targets

Do your dry practice

Take down dry practice targets and put them away

Consciously choose to end dry practice

Exit the dry practice area and do something unrelated for a few minutes

Return gun to location and condition of your choosing

MVS
05-15-2015, 08:04 PM
Gabe, what do you think about using a SIRT on these types of drills?

olstyn
05-20-2015, 11:44 AM
Obviously I'm not Mr_White, but it seems to me that this type of drill is exactly what the SIRT is for, especially given that you don't have to "fake" the trigger reset since the SIRT gives you a real one.

s0nspark
05-20-2015, 02:01 PM
Time: 10 minutes per session, 3 sessions so far
Gun: VP9 w/ Trijicon HDs
Targets: 10-8 1/4-scale dry fire target with an couple of additional 2" post-its
Distance: 4 yards

As with DotW #109, I transitioned from the 10yd circle on the 10-8 target to each of the other circles and also to the separate post-its that I moved to various distances and locations around the primary target.

I alternated between running this drill and #109, 5 minutes per, over the course of 3 of my dry fire sessions this week. At the moment I favor this drill since I am still getting used to making the lateral transitions using my lower body.

I definitely see (and feel) a lot of room for improvement in my transitions - my tendency is to overrun the target or rush the trigger press... or both. It almost works out sometimes though :)

Mr_White
05-20-2015, 02:18 PM
MVS,

olstyn got it exactly right - SIRT would be great for this drill. You may or may not want to tape off the laser depending on your discipline at calling the shot by paying attention to your aiming reference rather than calling the shot by looking for the laser splash.

Range1
05-22-2015, 10:59 AM
Time: 10 minutes per session, 4 sessions during regular dry fire sessions

Gun: Glock 34 w/FO front, Warren Tactical rear sights

Targets: Full size USPSA metric at 5, 10 and 15 yards

Varied body CM and head aiming points and order of targets.

Jared
05-26-2015, 04:46 PM
Spent 10 minutes on this today.

I used 2 USPSA targets, scaled to simulate 30 yards with as wide of a transition as my target hanging backer would allow. It was a pretty wide transition. Scaled to the targets, it came out to what would have been a 12 yard distance between the two targets. I did this because when the targets are close together, I sometimes have trouble making sure I transitioned my eyes first and then the gun. So with a really wide transition, I can always see a clear target, then my sights come onto it.

Went pretty well. I set a PAR time that I could make, but that I couldn't get lazy with and worked hard on making good and sure I saw the second target clear, then the gun come onto it, then the sights staying nice and still while the shot broke.

I found that it can be a little difficult to keep the upper body structure perfectly intact with this wide of a transition, but it does help to force you to get your legs into it versus trying to pivot at the waist, which can be a temptation with narrower transitions.

Mr_White
06-12-2015, 01:39 PM
Been hitting this one pretty hard as a part of somewhat more complex dry drills since it is major match season for me right now.

Used the usual Gen3 G34.

Varied the targets quite a bit. Used scaled 10-75 yard USPSA Metric targets, many with hardcover or no-shoots, plus scaled poppers and mini poppers.

Arranged them in different configurations and orientations. Some straight up and down and some not. Some a little behind a barrier, some all out in the open.

Did lots of variations of draw, engage multiple targets (this drill), move, or move and reload, engage multiple targets again (this drill.)

The way I choose to deal with the trigger is to do one real trigger press at the beginning of a repetition, then just press the dead trigger on subsequent shots.

Spent a few hours on this drill pattern just over the last two weeks.

EricM
06-15-2015, 12:59 PM
After a subpar showing on plates recently following a few weeks off from dry fire when I was focusing on 3-gun, I dedicated several hours to working plates in dry fire with LASR. I suspect that once you "get it", it's more beneficial to focus on drills with more variety, but I like that plates are an easily measured benchmark while in the learning stage. I've found that for me, gripping hard with the ring and pinky fingers of the strong hand is critical for making the front sight automatically return to the same spot vertically, and increasing the clamping force from the pecs makes it easier for me to lock the upper body in place during transitions. A month ago for DOTW 109 (https://pistol-forum.com/showthread.php?15825-Week-109-Driving-The-Gun-Lateral-Transitions-1&p=319566&viewfull=1#post319566), I'd posted that I'd gotten clean runs in the low 3's but was more consistent with better hits in the upper 3's. I'm now regularly under 3 seconds with my SIRT runs and hit a personal best of 2.31 with my G34. Still need to improve consistency though.

http://icedesigns.com/echo0603/pf/061515/p.jpg