Thanks for the clarification on the courses. I definitely don't want to slow down whatever class I'm in. If I don't find a 1:1 instructor I will start with a basic group intro course.Originally Posted by Chuck Whitlock
I'm northwest of Austin, in the Llano area.
I've done business with the folks at https://www.apacherifleworks.com/ Give them a shout.
Okie John
“The reliability of the 30-06 on most of the world’s non-dangerous game is so well established as to be beyond intelligent dispute.” Finn Aagaard
"Don't fuck with it" seems to prevent the vast majority of reported issues." BehindBlueI's
Hi all, thought I'd update on what I've taken away from the feedback thus far, and as always, welcome feedback on where I'm getting things wrong.
First off, thank you again for all the helpful posts. @frozentundra thank you for introducing me to Paul Gomez, Craig Douglas, and Dave Spaulding's videos, and @Cory your followup advice really resonates with me. I most definitely had not given proper (okay, any) consideration to draw or general safely practices. @Shawn Dodson, thanks for pointing me in the direction of the tech options for at home training.
My takeaways thus far based on feedback here and follow up research:
- get basic safety and handling training from a (good) professional before practicing too much on my own.
- if possible, get a personal instructor who can work with me at the range, or as fallback, over video
- Get to a live range at least once a month
- dry fire is better than airsoft for home practice
- software over hardware -- don't change guns; a higher $ firearm is not going to make me better nearly effectively as training and practice
My current plan:
- find a quality 1-day beginner course
- practice trigger discipline, draw to sight alignment and dry fire daily
- Add a Mantis X Elite to help with understanding draw and fire mechanics for both dry and live practice
- Add a dryfiremag to allow multi-shot practice, some level of recoil feedback, and to avoid ingraining bad habits associated with racking between every shot
- For single shot skills, remove the dryfiremag and use dryfireonline.com with a pink rhino laser to build single shot skills. (might be missing something, but it doesn't look like there is a way to use the dryfiremag with a laser system, so I have to choose between training multi-shot and chamber advance without target accuracy feedback OR target accuracy with the requirement that I rack between every shot.)
If every new gun owner did even a quarter of those things, the world would be a different place.
One piece of advice- you don't need a dryfiremag for a Glock. You can get a 3d printed piece of plastic on ebay or use a sliver of cards took to hold the breech slightly open and the trigger will work very similarly to a dryfiremag where you can simulate multiple shots.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/124558635969
Maybe I'm just poor, but I do all my dryfire with a weighted inert training mag to keep the same weight, and an ebay 3d printed piece to get repeat trigger manipulation. I don't use any mantis or laser systems, and instead focus on shot calling off my sights or dot in relation to the spot I'm looking at on the target, to build shot calling skill that carries over to live fire.
I don't care for visible laser dryfire systems because they aren't replicating the live fire experience.
Maybe that is a more advanced skill and others consider the laser and Mantis systems important, I'll let them weigh in on that.
If budget is no object at all, go for it, as a Mantis could be good for slow fire and then a drill called "trigger control at speed" you can find on Ben Stoegers YouTube.
Last edited by Noah; 01-30-2024 at 11:24 AM.
We got a Mantis X maybe 4 months ago. We use the sensor adapter to mount it on a magazine baseplate so we can easily switch from her gun to mine and back. It is kind of useful to see the gun tracking diagram after each draw and shot, and of course the time. We may not have tried all it's various uses, but for me I'd rather practice w/ my BBgun. I can call my hits via the sights well enough but the Mantis is still a one shot deal. W/ the BB gun, although there is no recoil I can shoot multiple shots because mine cycles the slide just like a real pistol.
If you're in Llano go here and take this class first.
https://therangeaustin.com/shop1/new-pistol-shooter/
Jeff Gonzales did all the instructor development for the entire staff of The Range in Austin and created all of those classes.
That class is perfect for your needs, can be taken on week-nights if you want, is inexpensive, and is within an hour's drive.
@paul-mf Craig has a great suggestion, but I PMed you an instructor that is closer to you and someone I wholeheartedly recommend.
@SouthNarc, @okie john, thank you for the class recommendations.
@Noah, @CraigS thanks for the laser and dry fire training thoughts. I should have mentioned that I went with the invisible infrared IR laser dryfiremag and iDryfire Pro camera system to avoid training on unrealistic laser dot feedback. I do keep each mag full of snap caps to help with weight realism. So basically it is:
- Dummy rounds for weight and some amount of racking and reload practice
- MantisX for motion tracking and timing feedback
- Smart DryFireMag for trigger reset and IR laser source
- iDryFire Pro for target hit feedback on arbitrary targets
- A couple of reactive IR targets for immediate feedback that doesn't require me to go back to the laptop screen every time.
- After all of this is set up I'll test whether the iDryFire Pro cameras can pick up an IR dot on my front projection screen while an image is being projected, and if so, will experiment with using dryfireonline.com for (still only) target practice on targets at varying distances and sizes.
Regarding live fire practice with a bb gun, for now I think I'll stick with the range for live fire work. I am curious about whether a suppressor on the Glock could make it quiet enough for me to practice without annoying the neighbors, closest one being about 200 yards away with a minimum of 50 yards of tree and underbrush separating open spaces on our properties. Our property has a nearly ideal range setup area that would allow for about a 75 yard firing line that is straight into a 100' hillside. If I were to miss a shot so badly that I cleared the hill it would go between two neighbors (also about 200 yards apart), and if I flubbed badly enough that it was also aimed at one of the houses I'm fairly sure that the vertical trajectory would be so steep that it couldn't hit either house. Of course this would be 6+ months out as I have not even started the application process yet, though I hope to build enough skill between dryfire and the half dozen or more range visits between now and any possible suppressor arrival that by the time one might I arrive I'll be in a place to benefit from self training live fire to continue to advance my skills.
Last edited by paul-mf; 01-31-2024 at 05:59 PM.
Paul I will be interested to see how you like the laser practice systems. I have thought about them but since our range is only 30 min away haven't spent the $. While I have never sot a pistol w/ a can. I know is definitely changes the weight and the weight balance so not sure how useful it would be. Hopefully others will chime in.
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