Posted: 3/6/2012 1:09:28 PM EDT
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I was just wondering if anyone had any suggestions or guidelines regarding methods to "grade" or "judge" your progress with competency with a handgun? Back in my school days, you might be able to "quiz" yourself on material to see how you are progressing.
I was just wondering if there is some sort of "standard" or "guage" that I could use to see if I'm progressing well or not. What do you guys use to judge your progress at the range? Any recommendations? |
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Yes. There are way to set a MOA standard for both accuracy and speed. I will post more when I get back. Accuracy: (1 MOA=1" at 100 yards) Ok so the first step is to decide what MOA standard you are looking to achieve. for the sake of easy math I will use a 8" vital zone at 20 yards. Your first step is to take the distance (20 yards) and dived it into 100 (yards). This gives you 5, now multiply this number by 8 (your vital zone) and this will give you your MOA (40). So the foumula looks like this: 100 / "Distance" X "vital zone " = Your MOA Now that you know your MOA it can be applied to what every distance you are shooting at your range (if your MOA is 40 then you would add .4 inches for every yard). So lets say you are shooting at 5 yards, your hits should be within a 2" circle, at 10 yards a 4" circle, and 20 yards a 8" circle. This will allow you to know what shots you can make at what distance, you will know how much sight aliment is need to meet your standard, and of course the lower the MOA the better shooter you are. Speed: (1/2 of what your MOA standard is) Sticking with the same MOA as above, cut it in half would be a 20 "Speed MOA". Now the SMOA represents the time it should take you to hit your "vital zone" at a certain distance. Here is a basic chart to show you what I mean. Time from the ready position to hit a 8" target 20 Yards: 4 Seconds 15 Yards: 3 Seconds 10 Yards: 2 Seconds 5 Yards: 1 Second This might have been more information than you were looking for, but in order to really gauge yourself you need a shot timer, some type of standard, and a log book to keep track of it all. |
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Thanks Badfish!
Thats really going to help :) Its a little bit advanced for me yet at this point. I'm not quite enough or knowledgeable yet to know what kind of standards I'm looking to achieve. I guess thats what I'm really asking...is what are some good goals to aim for.....from say.....beginner level on up? Things like say...for example....X number of shots within X area of X type of target within X seconds. My accuracy needs work, my speed needs work...I'd guess that my skill level is somewhere above beginner and probably beneath intermediate...but I guess thats my question: Its hard to determine what my skill level is as I'm not sure what some good standards to shoot for would be. Hopefully that makes sense. Right now, I can hit on or close to the bullseye of a target accurately and consistently with very slow fire, taking all the time in the world, out to maybe 10 yards or so. Beyond 10 yards my groups are starting to spread out and I'm having more and more trouble hitting the bullseye. So, as you can probably see, I'm not sure at this point if I should continue focusing on slow and methodical accuracy all the way out to the backstop of my range (25 yards)...or....if I should be moving the target back in to 7 yards or so and trying to pick up the speed. If its the later, I'm just not sure how to judge myself or by what standard so that I can improve and know what I need to work on. Thanks! |
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If you shoot with a buddy, staple some paper plates (the little saucer sized ones) on stakes. Place them about in a random pattern and give them each a number. The more the better. If you have 20 of them, number them 20 random 2-digit numbers, rather than 1-20. Makes it harder to memorize them. (87, 21, 52, 77, 38, etc..)
Have your back to the targets and you arms at your side. Your buddy will call one of the numbers (or more than one). When he does, you turn, unholster, and fire on that target(s). It's fun! As you get better and faster, move them further out. |