Equip. for record training sessions.

[Mike C]

I am at the point now where I feel I need to break down my draw more in order to increase speed and efficiency. (Probably should've done this a long time ago). Same goes for my reloads. My cold draws seem to hover right around 1.25-1.35 some times a hair faster after warming up but I'd really like to bring it down .2 at a minimum. Same goes for the reloads.

My question to others here is what are you using to record your training sessions? Just a standard go pro with tripod or something else? I'd like to not break the bank but am not afraid to spend the money on something that will last and provide extra useful features. I'd like something small and simple. My range bag is big enough. I also need be able to play back the training session at much slower rates on the computer. Immediate playback is unimportant to me. Anything would be helpful at this point because I know zero about audio video equipment. TIA.

Mods please move this if you find this discussion to be in the wrong place.




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[voodoo_man]

Cell phone mount which connects to a small tripod.

That's the best and cheap way.

[JohnO]

Do you have an iPhone? SloPro is free and works great.

http://sloproapp.com/SloPro_-_Super_..._%26_iPad.html

[Sal Picante]

Coachseye is another good app at analysis. Not free, but I dig it. Worth it to me...

[Sal Picante]

Just an example of what you can do with CoachsEye:

[SLG]

... My cold draws seem to hover right around 1.25-1.35 some times a hair faster after warming up but I'd really like to bring it down .2 at a minimum. Same goes for the reloads.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I hate to say this, but it seems somewhat unrealistic to think you can get your cold draw .2 down from where you are at.

Do you mean your actual cold draw, as in your very first one of the day? Or do you mean you normal draw that you can do "on demand", that is, during any given practice session, you can deliver those times with hits?

GJM and I have been discussing the difficulty in discussing this issue, and in the very near future, I am going to post some definitions for people to think about.

If you do figure out how to get your cold draw down to around 1.05 or better, please let me know. I certainly don't have the fastest draw around, but I would love to make my cold draw that much faster as well.

Maybe post a video of your draw for people to offer suggestions?

eta: Are you talking about a competition rig, a duty rig or a CCW rig? Which holster, which gun?

[Surf]

Interestingly enough use of video was one of my best tools for self remediation over the years. Video is much more common now, but when I first started to heavily incorporate video in my training about the 2000 time frame I didn't know anyone doing it regularly, at least in my circles and none from my field. Many thought I was a bit strange but if I could analyze a baseball swing, football film or a golf swing, why not shooting? I attribute video to be the #1 tool for my progression in shooting. I really didn't have a coach or instructor available to me that was on the level that I wanted to be, so I relied on video and self coaching. Self coaching is not for everyone.

I started analyzing the raw video with video production software breaking things down to frames and I still do it to this day. I would also overlay video like Les does above, so that I could compare my technique to others and see where improvements could be made. It was also a good way to get a reality check. I guess Video Coach would work, but haven't looked into it and I still use Video and photo editing software to do analysis for myself and students.

As for equipment, I started off with simple old school camcorder. Then progressed to point and shoot cameras with video mode. As I got more serious I used better dedicated video camera's and mic set ups. I have a few GoPro's but they are not my favorite as reviewing isn't so easy.

Currently I am not hesitant to use cell phones as they are good quality, easy to use and always with me. I do now have a DJI Osmo Mobile for the cell phone and the tripod that goes with it, so that is a small package that is easy and convenient to take around. I also have a Phantom 4 that I have played with for shooting video, but I find my Samsung S7 to be most convenient for what I am doing now. When I do get back into more video shooting related stuff I will get more advanced than the S7, but a simple cell phone set up works very well especially with the phone's now days that sport 60 or 120 video and other cool features.

On another note, I don't know why but my fastest whatever (draw, timed / scored drill, etc) is usually the best when it is absolute cold, first draw / shots of the day. I guess the more I do it, the more I push it, maybe overthinking it and results suffer. This isn't always, but pretty normal.

eta - First "burst" movement to the gun on the start of the timer is important. In other words, when the timer goes BEEEEP, start the movement on the B and not when it hits the P. Other areas that cost people is excessive body movement. Video can really help. Analyzing frames and the Audio waveform in editing software really helps if you are nitpicking.

[scjbash]

Cell phone mount which connects to a small tripod.

That's the best and cheap way.

That's what I do. I took the phone clamp off a cheap Wally World selfie stick and threaded it on to a tripod.

[Mike C]

I hate to say this, but it seems somewhat unrealistic to think you can get your cold draw .2 down from where you are at.

Do you mean your actual cold draw, as in your very first one of the day? Or do you mean you normal draw that you can do "on demand", that is, during any given practice session, you can deliver those times with hits?

GJM and I have been discussing the difficulty in discussing this issue, and in the very near future, I am going to post some definitions for people to think about.

If you do figure out how to get your cold draw down to around 1.05 or better, please let me know. I certainly don't have the fastest draw around, but I would love to make my cold draw that much faster as well.

Maybe post a video of your draw for people to offer suggestions?

eta: Are you talking about a competition rig, a duty rig or a CCW rig? Which holster, which gun?

SLG,

I shouldn't have posted off my phone early this morning before coffee. Let me clarify using proper terminology. On demand during my range sessions I am capable of 1.25-1.35 average raw times on a good day, 1.30-1.50 on a bad day or if I am wearing extra clothing. I often get a little faster than 1.25 during my sessions hitting between 1.19-1.24 after warmup when things are going well. Typical first cold draw, i.e. no dry practice or live for a few days to a week sits between anywhere between 1.25-1.50, clothing dependent, from my carry gear. I am very consistent with hits to 3x5 at 7 yards whether nailing a draw or botching it but my times are inconsistent and I am getting frustrated. I am really starting to feel that there is an error/inconsistency in my grip or somewhere in my line of presentation as I don't always feel that I am seeing my sights as early as I should or feel as if I'm adjusting my grip when I meet hands during presentation slowing me down.

For example, today I run a G19 from concealment with an aiwb DSG holster with clip and claw. My first draw after not shooting for 6 days was 1.45 onto a 3x5 in the head box of an IPSC target at 7 yards. After that I averaged 1.37 for my session, my best 5 draws during the session were 1.23's, worst was 1.48 because I fumbled my draw a bit. Today I spent a good bit of time around 1.30 which I feel is alright but I want to do better. I feel like I need to increase my raw speed about .2 to make up for inconsistency or maybe I need to focus on consistency first. I don't know, I might be putting the cart before the horse but frankly I am not understanding the reason for my inconsistency, so I just don't know where else to go. It's crazy to me to some days average 1.25 and others 1.30 or 1.35. Am I just splitting hairs?

Anyways this is why I am looking for a way to capture all of this on video. I will certainly take the suggestion of posting video and getting some help. Really, it is the primary reason I want to start using video. I feel like whatever errors are being made I am not catching them and I need some feed back from someone who's not me and/or people who know more, or more capable than I. Right now I am really looking forward to learning a lot at Mr. Whites class coming up in April so I would certainly like to go there and maximize my time by being at the top of my game. Thank you all for the suggestions, all of you guys.

@ VDM do you have a particular mount that you like or found that works well? Thank you.

@ Les Pepperoni I am going to look at Coachseye it really looks like what I need and thank you for the examples you posted they are excellent.

@JohnO thank you as well Sir.

@Surf, I appreciate it.

[Mr_White]

Mike C,

Posting from my phone here so please forgive the brevity. 1.25-1.35 for draw and shot to a 3x5 at 7 yards is really outstanding to start with. There's going to be a couple tenths variation in there for anyone and I wouldn't look at that as undue inconsistency. For me the nuts and bolts difference between a 1.05 and 1.25 on this task is mostly in how much stopping the gun I do before firing. At 1.25 the gun is pretty stopped, at 1.05 I am firing when seeing the sights just getting into the target and the gun is stopping but not stopped.

I'm sure looking forward to meeting you in April!

Gabe