Range Night - DOT Torture Success!!

On the heels of GunDiva's recent post on shooting buddies, I scooted off to the range with my best friend for a little pew pew therapy and a stated goal to clean DOT Torture at three yards. The goal was to accomplish that with the Ruger 22/45 and Sig P320 Compact in 9mm. I'm pleased to say that the results were much improved from my last outing.

Ruger 22/45 at 3 yards

This was almost a perfect run. As you can see, I dropped 1 shot in the 3 dot when I anticipated the shot allowing the barrel to dip just enough. Other than that, I'm pretty pleased with that performance. It's also helpful to know what I did wrong that kept it from being perfect.

Sig P320 Compact 9mm at 3 yards

This could be a little tighter, but it's clean and that's what matters to me. YAY ME!!! Next goal is to clean the .22 at 3 yards and move both back to 5 yards.

The rest of the range session included a couple of mags through my buddies Springfield Armory 5" 9mm 1911. Allegedly, it's a TRP model, but there are some doubts on that subject. It could be a modified Loaded model given that he bought it used off a competition shooter. The trigger was typical 1911. This one was equipped with Bomar style adjustable sights.

SA 5" 1911 at 5 yards

 First shot was the 8 ring hit at roughly 11 o'clock using a center X hold. Adjusted the point of aim progressively to 5 o'clock in the 8 ring, and that's the rest of the shots.

SA 5" 1911 at 7 yards

Here again, point of aim was roughly five o'clock low. I can't complain with those results.

Sig P320 Compact at 3 yards

Ruger 22/45 at 5 yards

Ruger 22/45 at 5 yards

Ruger 22/45 at 5 yards

Ruger 22/45 at 5 yards - Target transitions left to right and back

Sig P320 Compact 9mm at 5 yards - Target transitions left to right and back

Frankly, I don't remember what I was doing or at what distance.

Sig P320 Compact 9mm at 5 yards - Target transitions left to right and back (getting better) 

Ruger 22/45 at 10 yards

Ruger 22/45 at 15 yards

Target transitions - Ruger 22/45 at 5 yards - point of aim 1" red pasters

Target transitions - Ruger 22/45 at 5 yards - point of aim red line between targets

Target transitions - Ruger 22/45 at 5 yards - point of aim 1" red pasters

Time and energy were turned into smoke and noise. A good time was had by all. I didn't embarrass myself, and it beats a day at the office any way you slice it.

Humbling

I consider myself to be a fair shot with a pistol. More often than not, my targets look like actual intentional groupings as opposed to random patterns. Having said that, I've done very little in the way of structured training or practice (shame on me). So, when my best friend and I escaped to the range on Sunday to sight in a recently completed AR, we took along the pistols as well.

My friend suggested we give the Dot Torture drill a whirl. I said sure. Why not? I'm familiar with the drill from seeing others post about their experiences, but I'd never taken a stab at it personally. I thought, "How hard could it be?"

Ha.

HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

Sure, I can hit a 2 inch target at 3 yards. No problem. You can too I bet. Until you try and get this:

That's my first try at Dot Torture with a Ruger SR1911 5 inch at 3.5 yards. Color me shocked. 

We then had the bright idea to pull out the .22 pistols and give it another try.

Better but still not great. Ruger 22/45 Target model with a fiber optic front sight. 

Well, neither of us was happy with our performance. So, we decided one more try was in order.

Almost clean. 1 dropped shot.

This is going to become a regular part of my range outings from now on. You should give it a try too. 

What the Dot Torture has Taught Me

People are probably sick of me going on and on about the Dot Torture. It dawned on me, after talking to my mom, that while I've talked about the Dot Torture for years, I've not explained what it is recently or why I'm so in love/hate with it. This is a drill, shot at close range, that tests a shooter's fundamentals: sight picture, trigger control, transitioning between targets, one-handed, and weak-handed shooting. The instructions are available online (see link above), or you can find a target pre-printed with the instructions.

I shot it first back in 2012, but haven't been shooting it regularly until this year. It has always been a humbling experience, and often quite frustrating.

First time ever shooting Dot Torture 10/26/12 (GSG 1911-22)

10/26/12 (Para LTC 1911 .45 ACP)

When I came up with my shooting goals for the year, shooting more frequently was one of the goals. I plan on shooting at least 200 rounds a month, and it's easy to do if you know what you're going to be doing each time you go to the range. I knew if I shot the Dot Torture twice with my right hand and twice with my left each month I'd hit my goal easily.

The Dot Torture has frustrated me for a long time. I've never been a precise shooter - I'm what some would call "combat accurate", but I very rarely have been able to shoot nice tight groups on purpose. My groups fall in the 1.5 - 2" range, not bad, but hardly worth bragging about.

While I was expecting to improve my Dot Torture scores, I was not expecting to see the drastic improvement in my group sizes.

1/31/17 GSG 1911-22

2/7/17 G42

2/10/17 G42

2/14/17 G42

I'm still not shooting one-hole groups, but they are much better and I know the moment the trigger breaks whether or not I've thrown a shot. The shrinking group sizes has helped build my confidence, which has been sorely lacking. I know it's weird to say my confidence is improving when I've only shot the drill clean once, but it has. I'm beginning to feel like the shooter I used to be, and that feels really good.

Further, I've seen vast improvements in my left-handed shooting as well. I've always been fairly proficient with my left-handed shooting because I work at it, whereas most people don't. I make a point to shoot as close to 50% of the time with my left hand. I dare say that my current left-handed shooting ability is far better than my first right-handed go at the drill. (I thought I had more pictures of my left-handed targets, but I must not have uploaded them.)

2/7/17 G42, left-handed

With my confidence renewed, I'm looking forward to shooting my first match of the year.

Happy Dance!

One of my shooting goals for this year was to shoot 200 rounds per month and I was running out of time to meet my goal. Mez and I went to the range on Sunday, where I'd hoped to finish out my 200. I took my GSG 1911-22. I have a fair bit of .22LR right now, and can afford to shoot that up, so for the next bit that's what I'll be practicing with.

I've some *this close* to shooting the Dot Torture clean for well over a year. My last attempt was with the G42 and G43 last month. Close, but no cigar. For our Sunday Gunday, I planned on shooting the drill with both my right and left hands. I might have been a bit cocky, knowing that shooting a full-sized 1911 chambered in .22 should have been a breeze compared to shooting the drill with pocket pistols. The last time I shot the Dot Torture with the GSG was in October of 2012. It's been a while and I didn't realize until I reviewed the post just how badly I'd sucked that go 'round.

Sunday's trip to the range wasn't as great as I had hoped, but it was a damn sight better than the time I shot it in 2012!

Right handed 40/50

Left handed 39/50

I am a Weaver shooter. It's the way I was taught, and it's what I'm comfortable with. However, we teach isosceles in our pistol classes, so I thought I'd shoot the way I'd been teaching. Isosceles is not at all comfortable for me. It's not so much the fighting the muscle memory that's difficult, but the girls get squished and in the way; it's physically uncomfortable for me to shoot isosceles. However, discomfort or not, I was determined to shoot both drills (right- and left-handed) in this manner. I can't say I hate the stance if I don't give it a fair shake, right?

Sunday Gunday was still a pretty good day, despite the fact that I should have shot much better than I did. I got range time, got to hang with Mez, and slung 100 rounds down range. There are much worse days than that.

Even with Sunday's shooting trip, I was short of my goal by about 40 rounds. I didn't have to be into work until noon today, so I took my happy ass to the range for another round of Dot Torture with the GSG. This time was much better!

I reverted to my Weaver stance, the girls breathed a sigh of relief, and we got started. I threw my first round because I forgot that the sights are wonky. I stopped, put the gun down, gave myself a good reminder that I know that sights are off and re-started. Instead of getting a whole new target, I started over and continued with this one.

I was so thrilled with my first two groups I stopped the drill to take a picture. Usually when I start off strong, I get ahead of myself and that's when my shooting goes to crap. I wanted proof that I could shoot well before I went and blew it.

I was pretty happy with this start.

I warned myself not to get cocky and to take each shot one at a time. Take as much time as I needed and make the freaking shot.

Right handed 50/50

Left handed 46/50 (I scored it incorrectly initially)

The GSG is having some serious issues, but I worked through each and every one without getting frustrated and it showed. I had easily a 40% failure to fire rate. I took that opportunity to practice my trigger press without flinching and practice clearing the gun.

I had intended to leave the gun with the gunsmith, but since he wasn't in, I decided that I'm going to try to fix it myself. I think the issue is that the gun is dirty. I cleaned it really well the other day, but I know I haven't done a complete tear-down and cleaning (like to the frame tear-down) since I've owned it. If that doesn't fix the problem, then he'll have to go to the gunsmith.

By the end, my hands and arms were tired, but I was thrilled! I might have to do this shooting before work business more often!

Sending 2016 out with a Bang

I needed some trigger therapy, so I hit Mez up to take me to his indoor range. Most of my shooting has been done outdoors (in fact, that's what I'll be doing today), but I'm getting soft in my old age and shooting in a climate controlled area sounded wonderful.

My goal was to shoot the Dot Torture with both the G42 and the G43. I have been playing around with the idea of buying a 43. I like the 42, I really do, and have been carrying it pretty consistently for a couple of years, but I really like the idea of the 43.

I haven't shot the Dot Torture with the G42 since April; before that, the last time I shot the drill with the G42 was November, 2015. It's been a long time and I haven't been great about practicing. I'm confident enough with it that I carry it daily as a "get outta my face" gun, same as when I was carrying my Beretta Bobcat (.25 cal) and my Beretta Tomcat (.32 cal).

I shot the drill cold with the G42 and am not upset by the way I shot it. In fact, I was pleasantly surprised I did so well. My issue with any of the drills I shoot is that I get too much into my head - I start over-thinking everything. I have the skills to shoot these drills clean, but I need to find the quiet spot in my head. I need my shooting Zen place.

What I love about the Dot Torture is that I can pretty easily identify where I'm screwing up. Even when I "miss" my circle, I'm within a 1/2 inch of it. My confidence in the G42 soared with this go 'round. Feeling pretty good, I switched to the G43.

1st time through. 39/50 is a crappy score.

I was pretty disappointed with this round. Right off the bat, I got hung up on the crappy stock Glock trigger (Glock perfection, my ass), but that really isn't a valid excuse. I should be able to shoot *any* gun with *any* trigger, even if I'm a bit of a trigger princess.

I pulled my big girl panties back up, took a deep breath and had a second go with the G43.

Much better. 44/50.

I definitely need a lot more trigger time. My weak had was so tired, I could barely stay on target to pull the trigger, even with that, I did manage to stack two rounds. For the first time in a long time, I was pleased with the way I shot.

I felt so good that I challenged Mez to a little competition. We sent a target (8 1/2" by 11" piece of paper) out to 25 yards to see who could get the most of five rounds on paper. He won the first round, I won the second. It's a rare thing for me to beat him in anything, so I'll take it.

I left the range absolutely elated. It's been a very long time since I felt a "shooter's high" - where I just flat-out enjoyed shooting.

My goals for 2017 include way more shooting: 200 rounds per month; one match per month; and dipping my toes into 3-gun competition. I need a lot of work with my shotgun, but I've got people I can call on to help me with that portion. Through it all, I hope to continue to feel the "shooter's high" I felt yesterday. I've missed that feeling so much.

Range Day with Mez

It's been a couple of weeks since I've been to the range, so I was really looking forward to getting some gun powder therapy. I had a new drill I wanted to try and it was going to be much easier to do at an indoor range than an outdoor one, where I'd have to keep moving the target.

Mez took me to a really, really nice range in the city he lives in and in the excitement, I forgot to pick up the target I needed to shoot the drill, so I pulled my training book out of my bag and fell back to the dreaded-but-much-loved Dot Torture.

I had done some sort-of training with the G42 to make sure I could hit the broad side of a barn (or a torso-sized target), but I haven't done a lot of training/practice with it. When I'm just out farting around at the range - not doing any drills - I shoot primarily strong-handed (in my case, right-handed), but when I'm doing drills and focused practice I always run the drill both strong- and weak-handed.

It was a good decision to go to the Dot Torture instead of the other drill, which requires your first five shots to be at 25 yards. With the Para, I have full confidence I can hit at that distance. However, with a pocket pistol ... well, it would have been iffy.

Right handed

Left handed

There are times, like today, when I feel like I should just switch to shooting left-handed. And there are times, like today, when I wonder if I'll ever be able to shoot this damn thing clean.

But then I remember, I'm doing it with a pocket pistol and while I didn't shoot it clean, I did complete the strings of fire and I can only improve. I just need a lot more trigger time. A lot more.

And when I do finally shoot it clean, there will be much celebrating!

When I Suck, I Admit It

I have been intermittently cranky, which could be attributed to a couple of things: 1) I'm female and that just happens, or 2) lack of range time.

Mez, the shooting hubby, told me I needed to take my "pew pew pills" to cure my crankiness. He was right, it had been months since I'd done any shooting and I missed it.

Friday rolled around and I decided to hit the range. I had some unused money on a gift card - just enough to buy 100 rounds of .380 and some range time, so off I went to the range.

I hadn't shot the Glock 42 seriously since May of last year. I knew it had been a while, but I didn't think it had been that long! I shot an entire defensive pistol match with it and did okay. Not spectacular, but okay considering I was using a "mouse gun" and it was the first time I'd had it out of the box.

Because I did okay in the match, I felt fairly confident taking the Baby Glock to the range to run the Dot Torture drill. It's a tough drill, even when I'm in practice.

I sucked. I sucked badly. There are excuses I could make, but why? I'm rusty and I know better. However, since I feel like it's important to share the bad with the good, here are my targets. I completed the drill with both my strong (right) hand and my weak (left) hand. I'm embarrassed to say I did much better weak-handed than strong. (PS - don't bother chastising me for using the term "weak hand"; I say what I mean and I mean weak, as in not strong.)

Right handed

Left-handed

I failed both of these, as I should be able to shoot them clean at 3 yards. It was very tempting to go grab another hundred rounds and go again, but instead I called it a day.

You know, it's true though, a bad day at the range is still better than a good day at work :)