Hit Factor Scoring as an Evaluation of Skill

[GuanoLoco]

Soul chrushing is an understatement. I have not shot the dots in many months, my soul couldn't take it. The binary scoring is maddening, thanks for the reminder.

I’ve been trying to figure out how to make it happen. Started at 3 yards, or 5 yards with < 6 shots in 5 secs. Finally manned up and moved out to 7 yards. The exercise is completely different at 7 yards (hard front sight focus + front/rear sight alingment on EVERY shot), and completely different when you try to hold to the 5s par time (under 6s is pretty baller if you are getting the hits).

Lately I’ve had some realizations.

1) Front sight focus and front/rear sight alignment is not an option at 7 yards.
2) Hits are more improtant than time. Making the 5.3s par time with crappy hits isn’t getting me there.
3) When i focus on my hits, my time is frequently sub-6s and my hits are a LOT better.
4) I learn interesting things EVERY time I shoot 3 reps of The Dots (~100 rounds).
5) I’ve still got a lot of work to do.
6) While I an working fundamentals, my younger buds are killing me in matches as they are workign on movement vs. accuracy at speed. I think this is important foundational work, but damn their eyes!

[Doc_Glock]

I’ve been trying to figure out how to make it happen. Started at 3 yards, or 5 yards with < 6 shots in 5 secs. Finally manned up and moved out to 7 yards. The exercise is completely different at 7 yards (hard front sight focus + front/rear sight alingment on EVERY shot), and completely different when you try to hold to the 5s par time (under 6s is pretty baller if you are getting the hits).

Lately I’ve had some realizations.

1) Front sight focus and front/rear sight alignment is not an option at 7 yards.
2) Hits are more improtant than time. Making the 5.3s par time with crappy hits isn’t getting me there.
3) When i focus on my hits, my time is frequently sub-6s and my hits are a LOT better.
4) I learn interesting things EVERY time I shoot 3 reps of The Dots (~100 rounds).
5) I’ve still got a lot of work to do.
6) While I an working fundamentals, my younger buds are killing me in matches as they are workign on movement vs. accuracy at speed. I think this is important foundational work, but damn their eyes!

Every time I look at the 5s, 7 yd, six shot part time from a draw, I just sort of snort and say under my breath "impossible."

Soul.
Crushing.

I usually try it at 5 and fail badly.

[holmes168]

So....

30 rounds x 5 points for the target with a 4.0 second goal PAR- H/F goal is 37.5 if my math is correct.

Or if you want to do 3 points per target- 90 point goal 22.5 hit target- etc...

[GuanoLoco]

So....

30 rounds x 5 points for the target with a 4.0 second goal PAR- H/F goal is 37.5 if my math is correct.

Or if you want to do 3 points per target- 90 point goal 22.5 hit target- etc...

It is run a 6 strings of fire, with a separate draw + 6 shots for each dot, 5s par. So 36*5 pts = 180 points max, divided by 6x5 secs = 30 secs. 180/30 = 6HF. Or, for any given string, (6 shots * 5 pts) / 5 secs = 6HF.

[GuanoLoco]

Every time I look at the 5s, 7 yd, six shot part time from a draw, I just sort of snort and say under my breath "impossible."

Soul.
Crushing.

I usually try it at 5 and fail badly.

Try 3 shots @ 5 yards in 5 secs, then
Try 4 shots @ 5 yards in 5 secs, then
Try 5 shots @ 5 yards in 5 secs, then
Try 6 shots @ 5 yards in 5 secs, then
Repeat at 7 yards.

Per Ben: Try to keep the par time pressure up...

[Sal Picante]

This is similar to the Frank Garcia Dot Drill or Ben Stoeger’s The Dots.

I’ve been working on this every time I’ve gone out for the past 2+ months (shooting the drill 3x in a row). Basically: Draw + 6 shots, each shot breaking the line of a 2” circle, executed in a 5 second par time (< 5.30 last shot). The Stoeger idea is to do it CLEAN 6 times in a row.

That’s basically the same as a draw plus 6 shots on an 8” circle at 28 yards - except you can see your hits.

This is IMHO a soul-crushing drill and there is MUCH to be learned about the draw, grip, sight picture (front sight focus, equal height equal light!), straight DA trigger press, SA trigger presses , recoil control and consistency - ALL under a tight time constraint.

One thing I struggle with is measuring my progress over successive runs, or improvement (or degradation) over time.

Sometime I try to stick the the fixed time standard, in which case I just need to count my hits vs. misses. BUT, it’s also helpful from a training perspective to ‘try harder’ to get all my hits, even if I go over time. In this case it would be useful to record my time on each string and hopefully see shorter times and better hits as I progress.

SO: Converting to HF, with 5 pts for breaking the line, 0 points for a miss, that’s [36 shots * 5 points = 180 possible points] divided by [6 strings * 5 seconds (par time) = 30 seconds] = 6 HF goal.

Misses and additional time over 5.0 secs are obviously going to reduce my HF, but it is certainly a more objective measure for any given run.

I love/hate that drill, bro!

This is what I'm talking about tho - It is far easier to approach it as a consistent pass-fail drill: did I make the par? Did I get the hits? Rather than a HF-based exercise...

[Sal Picante]

I try to log my practice. It keeps me honest. Also, sometimes it gets discouraging because progress is so slow. When this happens, I like looking back at periods where I felt good about my shooting.

Wait... Does that say "Система"??

Давай, блять!!

[Sal Picante]

I’ve been trying to figure out how to make it happen. Started at 3 yards, or 5 yards with < 6 shots in 5 secs. Finally manned up and moved out to 7 yards. The exercise is completely different at 7 yards (hard front sight focus + front/rear sight alingment on EVERY shot), and completely different when you try to hold to the 5s par time (under 6s is pretty baller if you are getting the hits).

Lately I’ve had some realizations.

1) Front sight focus and front/rear sight alignment is not an option at 7 yards.
2) Hits are more improtant than time. Making the 5.3s par time with crappy hits isn’t getting me there.
3) When i focus on my hits, my time is frequently sub-6s and my hits are a LOT better.
4) I learn interesting things EVERY time I shoot 3 reps of The Dots (~100 rounds).
5) I’ve still got a lot of work to do.
6) While I an working fundamentals, my younger buds are killing me in matches as they are workign on movement vs. accuracy at speed. I think this is important foundational work, but damn their eyes!

I've found a lot of this is maintaining good grip pressure too - it really helps drive the sights back to the dot. I find it really easy to hit the pace, but sometimes I'll have a "mystery flyer".

The diagnosis there, for me is lax focus on that sight or a sloppy "phoning it in" grip/trigger combo.

With 4" dots, easy: I can actually target focus.
With 3" dots, easy.
2" dots, tho, man... I've cleaned this once in all the years.

Size really does matter.

[Clusterfrack]

Wait... Does that say "Система"??

Давай, блять!!

Спецназ для победоносного ублюдка!!

[Sal Picante]

Спецназ для победоносного ублюдка!!

Just don't get shot doing a "confidence drill".