November 28, 201114 yr Shot my first knockdown steel match at Tenafly tonight. When I first saw the stage I really thought I was gonna do well. Maybe not fast, but I thought I'd at least finish. Well left two out of twenty standing and took the whole 40 second limit. On one plate that was right in front of me it took me something like 6 shots to knock down. Second try I still left one standing. The second/final stage was shot at a closer distance and less targets and I did finish that stage but still didn't do as well as I thought I could. Maybe I was giving myself too much credit. I just thought it wouldn't be that much harder than static steel, but it is its own discipline in its own right. I'll post up video footage I took. That way for those who haven't seen it will kinda see how the match works. One thing for sure it's definitely a lot of fun.
November 28, 201114 yr I was there last night as well. It was a lot of fun. I was the guy with the amber glasses and white tee shirt. Were you the guy with the head cam? I really liked shooting at 20 plates as you're limited to 10 rounds/mag and have to reload a couple of times. While I was able to finish each string under the 40sec limit, I agree that it's harder than it seems...but I felt that way with static steel as well. My first run was my best time. There wasn't many people around as many were setting up or going through the safety briefing and I was going at a steady pace. As the night went on, a lot of people were in the port area watching and I noticed that I was shooting faster and missing more causing me to do an extra reload. The lesson learned for me is to slow down an minimize reloads. I saw a lot of people trying to shoot fast and missing a lot.
November 28, 201114 yr Author I was there last night as well. It was a lot of fun. I was the guy with the amber glasses and white tee shirt. Were you the guy with the head cam? I really liked shooting at 20 plates as you're limited to 10 rounds/mag and have to reload a couple of times. While I was able to finish each string under the 40sec limit, I agree that it's harder than it seems...but I felt that way with static steel as well. My first run was my best time. There wasn't many people around as many were setting up or going through the safety briefing and I was going at a steady pace. As the night went on, a lot of people were in the port area watching and I noticed that I was shooting faster and missing more causing me to do an extra reload. The lesson learned for me is to slow down an minimize reloads. I saw a lot of people trying to shoot fast and missing a lot. Yep I had the head cam. I keep missing members there. That place is like the ultimate man cave. Football game in the lounge area and they had donuts that night and gun magazines laying around. Between that and shooting you can't get much better than that! You're right, slow it down was the lesson for me. Misses hurt because as you said you're limited to 10 rounds/mag. On the last stage I rushed the last plate which caused me to miss and I had to do an extra reload. In fact the first two stages if I had just taken my time I'd probably had finished the course instead of wasting shots and time reloading. Anyways these lessons are never learned unless you get out there and shoot some matches.
November 28, 201114 yr You all need to get some NJGF shirts so you can wear them when you go out shooting, I'd bet a lot of us have shot together and not realized who we were shooting with. Looking forward to seeing the video, always up for some steel.
November 28, 201114 yr When I first saw the stage I really thought I was gonna do well. Maybe not fast, but I thought Yep we all think that..HAHAHA,,It is funny how our minds work..LOL..
November 29, 201114 yr Author A buddy of mine who shoots knockdown says new guys do a thing where they subtly lift their head to see the plate fall. In static steel you don't look for a falling plate, you stay more still and listen rather than watch. In knockdown you are tempted to look for the fall causing you to alter your sight picture. I think that's what I was doing. It makes a lot of sense on why I was very off. I will still continue to classify myself as a GM in my mind however.
November 30, 201114 yr video! video! video! Really, I think we need a new one of these with everyone having video at the matches these days but the last one needs to say, VIDEO!!
November 30, 201114 yr I agree with the lifting of your head and losing your sight picture. I am certainly guilty of that. My problem with the knockdown steel matches that I have done is that my 9mm doesn't always knock them over. Not sure if it is the ammo. I know if I hit the target higher they would fall. Going to either shoot my .40 or .45 cal revolver next time.
November 30, 201114 yr I saw some people with 9mm and especially with 22lr hit the plate a little low but didn't fall. Need to hit the plate a little higher but that shrinks the target zone. I didn't have that problem with my 40, neither did the guys with 45's.
November 30, 201114 yr Author video! video! video! I got it all on video just like the USPSA match. This one will be a little more frustrating for me to watch though I'll have it up soon.
November 30, 201114 yr Shot my first knockdown steel match at Tenafly tonight. When I first saw the stage I really thought I was gonna do well. Maybe not fast, but I thought I'd at least finish. Well left two out of twenty standing and took the whole 40 second limit. On one plate that was right in front of me it took me something like 6 shots to knock down. Second try I still left one standing. The second/final stage was shot at a closer distance and less targets and I did finish that stage but still didn't do as well as I thought I could. Maybe I was giving myself too much credit. I just thought it wouldn't be that much harder than static steel, but it is its own discipline in its own right. I'll post up video footage I took. That way for those who haven't seen it will kinda see how the match works. One thing for sure it's definitely a lot of fun. was this with a rifle or a pistol? i always wanted to shoot knockdown targets with my rifles.
December 1, 201114 yr Author was this with a rifle or a pistol? i always wanted to shoot knockdown targets with my rifles. You can do 22lr rifle, or pistol caliber carbine. And as mentioned you can use shotgun as well, but I'm not sure the ammo required/allowed.
December 2, 201114 yr Author Video up. I narrated over it just cause most vids I see don't always explain what's going on and I thought maybe it's good for a new shooter/new competitive shooter. Hope you don't find it annoying. For those techies lemme know if you notice better quality as this was done all in 60fps. It takes forever to upload and process. Not sure if it's even worth it. Hope you all enjoy. See you at the next match!
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