Cramming for a Major

I'm getting ready for a sanctioned IDPA match. I haven't made it to many majors this year and we're getting to the end of the season, so this is probably it for me until spring. While my club runs year round, many large matches happen in warmer weather and not when major snows are threatening (Frozen Penguin and Arctic Blast aside...). As I've been coming down to the wire on this one, I've been thinking a lot about how match prep is like getting ready for an exam or a performance. The athletic part is pretty far down the list at this late date.

I recently read some great advice about mental preparation for a match. In addition to working on internalizing those concepts, I'm also trying to draw on a lifetime of test taking, auditions and recitals as I prepare for tomorrow. The tactics I used for staying calm and collected, and to ensure my best possible performance, on in my 3-degree career of exams and over a decade of playing a musical instrument are the same ones that are helping me focus tonight. In my case, that means reviewing and visualizing the rules and techniques I know trip me up the most. There's been quite a bit of under-the-breath muttering of 1-1-2-1-1 around here today, along with the all-important front sight front sight front sight mantra.

Less shooting-focused, but still important, are eating a good meal of foods I enjoy (mmm, pizza) and hydrating now while planning my food and water for the day of the match. For ranges you aren't familiar with, it's a good idea to check the shooter brief to see what food will be available and make sure that it's something that will work for you. Being hungry is not just a recipe for crankiness and sub-par performance; searching for food can add unneeded stress to your day. As long as I'm packing my snacks, I'm also double checking that my range bag has everything I'll need. From the obvious like gun, magazines, holster, mag pouches, and belt, to spare fibers for my front sight and blister tape...I'm making sure it's all there along with my standard requirements. Getting geared up to step on the line is not the time to find out that you didn't bring the shooting vest you've been training with all week.

During all of this, I'm also relaxing and clearing my mind. Before big exams, I used to listen to upbeat music on repeat. While waiting my turn for auditions and recitals, I'd often find a quiet corner or mentally create a little bubble so that I could gather my focus only on the few minutes I'd be judged by (not so different from handful of seconds that make up most stages, really, although the guns are louder). Tomorrow, I'll probably be using a safe handling area for a few last practice draws and to get my head in the game. And of course, I'll do my best to get a good night's sleep tonight.

In the end, the same tools you use to get ready for any sort of major performance are the same ones that you need to set yourself up for success on the range. Whether it's a big exam, an important interview or audition, a meeting with your boss's boss's boss, or prepping for a major, going through the steps that make you feel relaxed and prepared is the best recipe for success.

Now here's to hoping it works for me tomorrow!

The Memory Game

Shooting is a physical skill, but there is a mental component that is as or more important than the ability to hold a gun and pull the trigger. One of the hardest for me to get in line is remembering what I need to remember, when I need to remember it. Just as important is remembering what I need to forget, at least for the moment. Since I have a sanctioned IDPA match coming up, I'll talk about this in the context of shooting for score, but many of the same principles apply no matter what the context of your shooting.

Two of my earliest posts talked about the muscle memory required for safety and gun handling. Those are, of course, the things that need to stick in your mind no matter what. For a match, it's important to add to those basics in a couple of ways. First, you need to remember those safety rules that may be specific to your sport or range - things like the 180 degree rule. You'll want to make sure that your gun handling skills include not just basic loading, unloading, and firing, but also malfunction clearing and similar manipulations. Add to that another long-term memory item: the rules of the particular game you are shooting. For me over the next few weeks, that means reviewing the IDPA rule book [pdf] and not letting myself forget pesky rules like not being permitted to drop a magazine if there are any rounds in my gun (pages 41-42). Keeping these things in the back of your head means not having to waste brainpower remembering them actively, making shooting a course of fire less stressful and allowing you to focus on the actual shooting part.

Another area where longer term, more subconscious memory is helpful is learning whatever course of fire you will be required to perform. While you won't always get a month to study up on stage diagrams, like you may be able to for large matches like USPSA Nationals, even just paying attention during stage briefs and taking full advantage of any stage walk through time that you get (but be careful about limits like the rule against personal walk throughs in IDPA). Again, this is an area where not having to stop and think about what you're supposed to be doing will pay off in letting you focus on your shooting...especially important when the course of fire is a "memory stage" or otherwise unusually complex. Tactical sequence, I'm looking at you!

Now that you've filled your brain up with all the things you need to remember, there are also things you need to forget, sometimes very quickly and sometimes only temporarily. A major challenge I've been working hard to overcome is to not think about a bad performance any longer than I have to while I am still at a match. It's important to consider what needs to be fixed to improve performance later in the day; it's not productive to  keep repeating the same mistake for an entire match. However, it's equally important to not beat yourself up over a past flub that you can't fix now. Whether it's a single pulled shot when you are shooting limited rounds at a target or a stage you flailed your way through, you can't take that bullet back. It's best at that point to pull out the lessons that you can quickly, then move on rather than let an early point of failure ruin your performance for the rest of the day. The time to dwell on your mistakes is after last shots, not while you are trying to rock your last few stages to make up for lost time and lost points. Similarly, the time to relive your triumph over an awesome course of fire is not while you are approaching the next challenge you're shooting for score. That's what photos, video, and shooting journals are for.

One of my themes that is probably starting to become clear is that to be a successful shooter, you need to remove as many distractions as you can so that you can concentrate on what matters - whether that is the act of shooting itself or the problem you are trying to solve that just happens to involve your gun as a tool.

Packing

I once knew a woman who was so reputed for having so much stuff in her purse that she tossed in a Barbie kitchen sink, just to say that she really did carry everything and the kitchen sink. Some days, I feel like I should do the same for my range bag, except maybe something a little bigger because sometimes, you really need to scrub under your nails. While you don't need to (and probably shouldn't) go overboard, there are a several things you should  pack when you go to the range that shouldn't be skipped:

Range nutrition and hydration has become an increasingly important part of my routine over the past year. Before, I found it easy to forget that a day spent shooting was a day spent outside and exercising, with all that implies. I often wondered why I got cranky and my performance suffered by the time I got to the last stage in a match until someone reminded me that I hadn't eaten anything since my crack-of-dawn breakfast and it was now well past noon. The easiest fix for me was to keep some protein bars in my bag, or to remember to pack a full lunch if I knew I'd be pulling pit duty. Making sure to eat a complete breakfast is also helpful - a sugary donut isn't enough. I've seen people snack on everything from fruit and nuts to fancy sport goos, so it's worth experimenting to find what works to keep your head focused and body running. In addition to, and often more important than, food is hydration. Liquids are obviously vital when temperatures run high but often forgotten when the weather starts to turn cooler. While you might not need the liter of water per hour I've gone through mid-summer, it's possible to get dangerously dehydrated even in the middle of winter. You may also find, as I did, that staying on top of your fluid intake will help increase your performance since dehydration can show up with symptoms like weakness and confusion. I like plain water in a hydration pack that is part of my range bag to reduce the number of things I'm carrying around, and have started adding electrolyte tabs (in about twice the amount of water as recommended) for longer days on the range. My shooting partner lives on low/no-calorie sports drinks.

Range safety includes personal protective gear, but doesn't stop at just your regular eye protection and ear muffs/plugs. I always keep spare lenses or an extra set of eye pro around in case lighting conditions change or if my regular pair breaks. Extra plugs live in my bag for similar reasons; muffs can get uncomfortable in hot weather conditions or on a long day, and I've had earplugs fail completely while taking them in and out during breaks. They're also small and cheap enough that I can give them out to guests or shooters who need extra hearing protection without wasting a lot of room in my bag. Beyond that, I also stash sunscreen and work gloves in side pockets. Sunscreen isn't only for protecting yourself from burns - including during winter - it can also be an element of protecting yourself from heat exhaustion and its big brother, heat stroke. Work gloves don't take up a lot of room and can prevent a lot of scrapes and splinters when helping set up or break down a match. Even, and sometimes especially, the "light" tasks like painting steel, collecting targets for the dumpster, or corralling the stakes used to hold down temporary walls can benefit from having a sturdy set of gloves. I picked a pair that fit well enough that I also can shoot in them in a pinch if I've been surprised by the cold. One final thing that's important and that I'm working on being better at bringing to the range with me: waterless hand cleaners. In addition to lowering lead exposure, wet wipes (whether of the deleading variety or not) can be refreshing on a hot day and a heavy duty gel/cream cleaner can be more effective than regular alcohol-free sanitizers when you've gotten especially grimy during set-up/re-set/tear-down (sticky paint on steel targets, I'm looking at you!).

You'll notice I haven't mentioned things like pens/markers, notepads, shot timers, mag loaders, knives, tools, spare parts, membership cards, and the litany of other things that crowd range bags. To me, most of those are relatively obvious or are things I can live without for one trip to the range (except when I forget the right magazines to go with the guns I actually brought with me...), but the items I've concentrated on in this post are a necessary part of my kit every time I head out to a match or class or even just a day of plinking.

Behind the Scenes: Contagion 2012

I spent last week in the middle of final preparations for Contagion, a zombie-themed 3-gun event that I've helped staff for three years now. While most of our nearly 150 participants only see what happens on match day, there's a lot that goes into making the day enjoyable for everyone. For this particular shoot, core staff members work nearly year-round to put on each year's event, which is part new shooter day, part competition, and part costume party.

Contagion is a somewhat unusual event in that new shooters are not only accepted, but specially welcomed. While almost all shooting events and competitions are reasonably friendly to newcomers, few are targeted especially to less experienced shooters and fewer still are as "come as you are" with respect to gear. At the same time, we work hard to keep the course of fire interesting and challenging to regular competitors. More so than the other matches I'm involved in, our guests come with a wide range of ability and equipment and with them, a "wildcat rules" system that is specific to our event. This requires an immense amount of planning in course of fire design and match logistics to ensure a safe and fun day for both participants and staff. Individual stages are conceptualized up to nine months in advance to allow for time to refine what we will ask of each competitor and to buy or build necessary props. This year, our team put together everything from custom cut steel targets to miniature wooden staircases. In a nod to our zombie backdrop, a significant amount of art was also created for atmosphere, particularly for my Alice in Wonderland-inspired stage. For example, each of the playing cards presented as targets were set in large paintings of the Playing Card characters.

Stages may continue to be adjusted right up through the end of staff shoot, less than 24 hours before our guests arrive. Shifting targets or shooting positions aren't the only finishing touches to be put on a major shooting event, though. All of the other logistics you might imagine for a large gathering of people also must be arranged in parallel with the stage design efforts. Everything from making sure food and drinks are available to having extra porta-potties on site is important, as well as more match-specific considerations like putting together participant swag and prize bags and arranging for medics to be available for injuries from dehydration (common!) to the unthinkable gunshot trauma (thankfully extraordinarily rare!).

On the day of the event, most of our shooters primarily spend their time with the safety officers running each stage. However, they aren't the only people responsible for making the match run smoothly. The safety officers are supported by staff members who run food, water and other supplies so that the safety officers can concentrate only on running their stages safely and consistently. Stage staff and shooters are also supported by a dedicated administrative staff for smoothly-run registration and scoring, as well as senior range staff providing event-wide oversight and, if necessary, troubleshooting to make the day as seamless as possible to guests.

So next time you make it out to a match, thank the staff. They've put in more hours than just what you see on match day.

Don't Fear the Gear

When I first started competing, I often looked a little sideways at all of the fancy guns people brought and the complicated-looking gear shooters strapped on to their guns and themselves. Why would anyone need all of that "stuff"? Did better toys make for better shooters?

Not directly. You can't buy your way to being an expert marksman because your physical and mental technique underlies your success as a shooter, no matter what gun is in your hands. However, having the right gear can help in a couple of ways.

First, it can be more forgiving of mistakes. When I started shooting IDPA, I used my Sig P226 DAK with a 6.5/8 pound trigger (and I do use the short reset, so I spend a lot of time with that 8lb trigger). The results weren't pretty. Not only was the gun too big for my hands, making certain manipulations suffer, the long and heavy trigger amplified the many beginner mistakes I was making under the stress of the timer and the movement. After watching my frustration mount because I was having trouble even hitting targets, I was switched to a Smith & Wesson M&P 9L with an Apex Hard Sear. My improvement was almost instant. Not only did the dreaded Failure to Neutralize disappear almost overnight from my score sheets, my times dropped at the same time. I didn't suddenly become a better shooter, but my new gun was simply nicer about problems like my tendency to drop shots under stress with a big gun and heavy trigger. And not having to fight that particular battle helped give me enough positive feedback to keep going back for more matches.

The right gear can also help set you up for more successes even when you aren't battling your own problems. You can be nailing your technique, but picking up that drop-and-offset holster and those fancy mag pouches could shave a precious tenths of seconds off your draw and reload because the draw stroke requires a few less contortions and you aren't inadvertently grabbing an extra magazine. Shelling out for the PMAGs might save you from having to clear an extra malfunction or two when you're using a rifle magazine as a monopod for a long shot. Buying a quality optic and pairing it with a solid mount will help prevent your groups from suffering because you can't clearly see your target or because your zero is wandering. You can do everything right but if your gear fails you, you'll still be at square one. And at the end of the day, not having to fight your gear can make a day on the range far more enjoyable and allow you to concentrate on really making sure you're doing your part instead of getting your gear to work for you.

Oh, and my Sig? I installed the E2 grip kit and expect to be bringing it back out for matches soon. Don't fear the gear that wasn't right for you in an earlier life either.

Like a Dancer

Gracefulness on the range isn't a function of one's natural ability to move beautifully. Which is fortunate since I'm a woman who has been known to trip over perfectly flat floors and walk into large, unmovable objects. However, over time, I've been able to integrate movement with my shooting and look pretty doing it because it's a skill that can be learned.

When you shoot an action sport, you will often either have to shoot while you are moving, or move between shooting positions. Shooting on the move requires two things: solid fundamentals and practice. If you cannot consistently make your hits when standing still, it's unlikely that you will be able to do so while your feet are going. Work on that first, then start adding movement. There are a lot of techniques to improve accuracy while you aren't on a stable platform. I encourage you to try each one you are exposed to, then try them again. What works for you with pistol might not work when you're shooting a rifle, and what works for you today might not be the best option for you in six months. Once you've found something that seems to get decent results, work at it because shooting on the move can only be improved by shooting on the move. Most shooting on the move "tricks" are intended to make movement as smooth as possible, which is why the particular one you choose doesn't matter so much as nailing down the technique that makes you move most smoothly. Jerkiness at the feet translates almost directly into jerkiness at the sights and inconsistent groups.

Moving between shooting positions does rely quite a bit on your physical abilities but no matter what your physical limitations, you can still benefit from working on moving as efficiently as possible. And don't forget the finer movements inherent in shooting like drawing a pistol, racking slides or bolts, or loading ammunition into a firearm. Efficiency matters with that type of movement too, and the key there is to find a consistent and repeatable way to perform every action. While a specific way of locking back a slide/bolt may feel awkward at first, with practice you will find the specific movements that work for you every time and they will feel more and more normal. Much of the grace you see in top shooters comes from the fact that they don't waste time and energy with extraneous movement. Instead, they pick the shortest line between two points and the most natural movements to reach for and manipulate their gear. Focus on finding those efficiencies and your shooting will also become more graceful.

Don't believe me? Use one of the favorite tools of the moment and have someone take video of you shooting a few stages, then do it again in a few months or next year after you've worked on making your movements smoother and more efficient. Watching yourself from a third person point of view will help you evaluate yourself more neutrally, instead of relying on your memories of every little bobble and stumble. And as you shoot prettier, you'll find as I did that learning to move gracefully on the range is also learning to shave wasted time off your scores.

Shoot Your Own Match

A few weeks ago, I helped talk someone into shooting her first match. She had come just to watch her friends, but we all thought that as long as she had made the drive with them, she might as well get to put a few rounds downrange. I always have a few areas of advice I like to share with new competitors, but as the match staff, her friends, and the other shooters worked with her all day, I learned a few new things to add to the arsenal of new competitor advice.

A lot of people seem to want to "get good enough" before going out to shoot a match. I firmly believe that with a friendly, well-run club match, anyone with a decent grasp of gun operation mechanics and safety principles is "ready" to try out competitive shooting. While there are certainly matches that as a technical matter may be frustratingly difficult for a beginner, most, if not all, club-level matches are intended to be accessible to new shooters. This doesn't mean that you'll show up to your first match and win/place/show, and in fact, you might be like me and come in so far behind the pack that you wonder if you even shot the same course of fire. But it does mean that you should be able to finish out, or make a strong attempt at finishing out, the tasks set out for you. And if you can't on your first try - you'll probably get there soon after, since now you know what a course of fire looks like in a way you likely can't set up and practice during your private practice sessions. Shooting 3, 4, 500 yards with my carbine isn't nearly so scary now that I've had a match director force me to do it against the clock.

An important part of letting go the idea that you need to be "good enough" to shoot a match is to understand that you must shoot your own match, to meet your own goals. Winning is fun. I don't know anybody - least of all myself - who doesn't like to win. But sometimes, winning isn't most productively measured against other peoples' performance. Instead of racing the clock to beat an experienced, talented shooter for high overall at your first match, find your own standards to push. It might be something as simple as shooting a "clean" IDPA match with no procedurals, no failures to neutralize, no hits on non-threats. It might be as competitive as beating your training buddy in the match or even just on a single stage. I've had matches where my sole aim was to finish every stage. The key is to choose competitive goals that are reasonable in the context of what you want to do with your shooting overall and what you are capable of. Don't pick something you can do too easily, but don't afraid to reach and fail. Whatever you pick, make sure it is for you.

Then when you get out on the range for that match, take control of your shooting experience so that you are shooting towards your goal. Focus on those as you move through each stage or exercise, and don't be afraid to assert yourself with match staff so that you can concentrate on what you need to. If a safety/range officer asks if you're ready to begin, it's okay to say no. Just because a timer is running, you don't have to speed up. Getting 15 rounds to meet an objective doesn't mean you have to shoot all of them even if you stop before you achieve the stage objective. There's no reason to be a prima donna, but there's every reason to politely ask for the assistance you need and to slow down or stop if you need to to be comfortable and safe. As you do so more, you'll find that match staff and fellow shooters are generally happy to help you out or back off if that's what you need instead. If you're not finding that at a particular match, rest assured that there are many others out there where you can find a place.

Finally, celebrate your achievements, no matter how seemingly small or insignificant! I mentioned in a comment to an earlier post that I am proud of a "win" that was merely staying safe while being clumsy and tripping over myself with a loaded gun in hand. This week, I've been really enjoying my success with a single stage with a single target at my last carbine match.  I can't tell you much else about how I did on that early course of fire or in the rest of that carbine match, but those little wins are worth remembering as much as some of my high overall match finishes.

And don't forget that the end of the day, showing up and shooting still puts you ahead of people who never even try. You might even find that as you continue to show up, you'll be able to do so much more than you ever thought possible.