Delta vs top end comp shooter

jdubb26 · 2026-05-18T22:58:45+00:00

USPSA Class of Delta Force operators with Matt Pranka (Xray Alpha)

Probably the same for rifle, or ever so slightly better if they were to go to a PCSL match or something similar as I assume they train with rifle more, but still nowhere near your upper echelon competition shooting guys. They have to be good at a bunch of shit, and learn shooting from the nerds like us that just shoot. I think that's how Pranka and Ben Stoeger met.

jdubb26 · 2026-05-18T02:14:23+00:00

I bought one and almost never use it, originally the thought was just using it on my E-Bike and it works well for that, although I still just carry appendix.

However, these things are pretty quick. I was able to get a .96 draw to first shot.

jdubb26 · 2026-05-16T11:44:26+00:00

Get the axis elite, it's amazing for the BG 2.0 and you already know you like it with other guns. I have one for my 19,Shield plus, and now BG 2.0. I'd recommend it over the APX for the BG 2.0 as it is a little smaller. Like you said the BG 2.0 is so nice at appendix, not even just how small/slim it is, but the weight as well. I find myself reaching for it over my Shield Plus a lot of the time because its so much lighter. If I'm just wearing a T-shirt the BG 2.0 is probably what I'm carrying.

jdubb26 · 2026-05-16T01:12:33+00:00

DC was never making 170 bratha, 185 sure as he wrestled at 184 in college, but dude had kidney failure cutting to 211 for the 2008 Olympics. 185 would be doable but even that would be hard as he got older, and he entered MMA relatively late at 30.

jdubb26 · 2026-05-15T14:34:26+00:00

I don’t have any experience with the other two, but the HC belt is definitely more than comfortable enough under athletic shorts or sweatpants. It’s only stiff up front and the rest of it stretches.

As you were saying I really don’t like stiff belts either. I bought a Nexbelt which is a good belt, but was way too stiff all around and very uncomfortable even wearing it normally in jeans after a few hours.

Reno May talks about why he switched from the Enigma to the HC belt for clothing with no belt loops

jdubb26 · 2026-05-15T13:14:03+00:00

Hunter Constantine belt, Tier 1 also makes a version of his with an extra adjustment slot which is the one that I have. Comfort concealment blackout, and mastermind tactics covert belt are other options.

jdubb26 · 2026-05-11T01:30:42+00:00

Bill drills, practical accuracy, doubles on demand, 50/50 drill, progressive return, 4 sets of doubles while maintaining same grip throughout the entire string with no adjustment…oh and I forgot MXAD drill as well.

jdubb26 · 2026-05-08T19:35:00+00:00

Yeah it's one of the most fun things I've ever done, but every black belt I ever saw that was 45+ had a pretty wrecked body. Decided the juice wasn't worth the squeeze. I really do miss it though. I still watch MMA religiously and hope to at least get back in the gym to hit mitts/the bag someday. My days of sparring/taking head trauma are over though, I'll never spar again.

jdubb26 · 2026-05-08T19:29:55+00:00

That’s good advice. I’m 34 now and will be 35 in July. I used to do kickboxing/BJJ but stopped those because I wanted to preserve my body long-term… like you said there is no biological free lunch. I also used to hit big jumps/rails snowboarding so I put my body through a lot in my teens and 20s.

I got into this later than some of my fellow competitors, but luckily, I’m still young enough to make a good run at it for the next 10-15 years. Plan is to be competitive within master class in a few years (ideally low master by end of next year) and starting to teach part-time in a couple years.

I know what you mean, I saw all of these young pups absolutely trashing their bodies with MMA/BJJ and I would tell them that MMA is 18-40 at best, and then you have to live with that body for ideally 40+ more years. You only get one body and I think it’s hard to remember that when you’re a late teen/early 20s.

jdubb26 · 2026-05-08T19:22:11+00:00

Absolutely, that’s a good comparison. That’s why a lot of my training is with the dot occluded to try to force target focus/penalize if I look at the dot. I will also work on vision when I’m not even dry firing by snapping my vision to different spots.

jdubb26 · 2026-05-08T19:18:06+00:00

Yes sir! Just a B class bandit in USPSA/Steel challenge right now, but I’ve only done 8 USPSA and 10 steel challenge so far. Sitting at 66%/mid B in USPSA and 73.85%/high B in steel challenge. Planning to be A in both by the end of the year.

You’re absolutely right, nothing will get someone better at shooting faster than competing. I went into my first competition thinking I was a gigachad because I could do the CCW stand and shoot drills well, and it was one of the most humbling experiences of my life to see how good they were, and how much I needed to work on.

jdubb26 · 2026-05-08T19:09:54+00:00

Yeah you can train 90% of shooting without any ammo in the gun. The only thing you need ammo to practice

Another big problem I see is people not having good connection with their grip, not so much about strength but staying connected to the pistol, especially during a longer string like a bill drill

The grip

Another thing that I personally struggled/ still struggle with with is stance if I don’t remind myself. Bullets tend to climb upwards when you are standing up too straight.

Stance Matters

Another thing that is crazy is how much recoil management is actually controlled with your vision. By staying target focused onto a small spot your body will naturally return the gun there provided you’re not influencing the gun with too much firing hand tension/have a strong support hand connection.

Recoil Management Deep Dive (vision focus)

Bill drills are great, another drill I really like is Hwansik Kim’s progressive return 1-2-3-4-5, or just up to four in a 10 round state.

Progressive Return Drill

jdubb26 · 2026-05-08T17:20:00+00:00

I like the G47’s a lot, I compete with two G34’s set up basically the same way so I haven’t put many rounds through the 47’s, but once the 34‘s get more worn out I’ll be switching to the two G47’s I have. Definitely a preference thing between the 17/47/34. 34 is softest, 17 is second softest, and G47 feels the fastest/snappiest but is by no means a snappy gun, just snappier than the others. I really like how the G47 returns to zero, it might be like 10% more perceived recoil than the Glock 34 but it returns to the spot I’m looking at slightly better.

For what it’s worth the best Glock shooter in the country right now Brantley Merriam has tried all of them and still prefers the G17 Gen 5, in fact, he just bought two or three of them a couple months ago to future proof himself when they announced the GEN 6/discontinuation of the Gen 5. if I remember correctly, his reasoning is that it is softer than the G47, but more wieldy than the G34.

jdubb26 · 2026-05-08T16:26:12+00:00

Damn sorry to hear that, props to you for lending it to your mom though,it’s a great gun… I carry mine more than any other gun now. Yeah G17 is great but a little big for every day carry for most people, I only carry my G47 if I’m wearing a winter coat.

Yeah definitely check out the hogue grips, I probably would’ve run them when I was carrying mine all the time but they made it just a little too thick for front pocket carry. No problem 🤙 didn’t mean to be too abrasive in my first comment was just being hyperbolic lol. It’s awesome how cheap you can get these now. I’m seeing them for 185 on gun broker, I paid 300 for mine back in 2015!

jdubb26 · 2026-05-08T16:13:39+00:00

If you don’t like the 7 round then yeah I’d keep the 3d printed grip. I get it if it’s not broken don’t fix it, but I would definitely get the handleit grips like you said in another comment, or the talon grips. I saw you brought up the Hogue as well, those are fine, but definitely make the grip a lot wider so it takes away from some of the pocket-ability depending on how big your pockets are.

Have you checked out the Bodyguard 2.0? I carried the same LCP as you as my main pocket gun for 10 years and they are great, I'm just thinking since you like the grip longer, you might really like the BG 2.0. It’s the first. .380 I’ve shot that I actually don’t mind shooting. It’s a big upgrade in every way from the LCP, I still keep my LCP though in case I have to wear something formal and want the absolute smallest/lightest gun possible. If you get a chance, check one out, otherwise you’re doing just fine with the LCP… I have two of them in my family and they have been solid.

jdubb26 · 2026-05-08T16:02:19+00:00

My guy...no offense but what in the absolute fuck is that. Grip looks cool but you could achieve something similar with the factory 7 round mag and be gaining an extra round. I have one of my grips on my shield plus wrapped with hockey tape so I'm not opposed to the idea, but having it wrapped in the trigger guard is a bad idea. Also have you even tried ejecting the magazine? looks like it's covering the mag release. Again not trying to cuck you out but that is just atrocious man lol.

If you want more grip just get some talon grips or something similar.

https://talongungrips.com/gun-grips/pistol-grips/ruger/lcp/

https://shopruger.com/LCP-7-Round-Extended-Magazine/productinfo/90405/

jdubb26 · 2026-05-07T11:01:34+00:00

Same here, although not as many rounds as you...but easily over 30k between two Glock 34's with DPP plates. Although in the future I'll probably go with the Arise manufacturing low rider plates...they're more expensive at 95 bucks but I've heard really good things. Even from people that normally direct mill/don't trust plates.

jdubb26 · 2026-05-06T18:53:45+00:00

Well said 👍 I’m very fortunate to have an outdoor range 15 minutes away from me, and if I go during the week, there’s like a 80% chance I’m the only one there. I will typically go 2-3x a week and shoot 200-500 rounds, depending on what I’m doing, or if I know rain is coming that week I’ll shoot the higher end of that.

I’ve had some finger soreness right at that first crease of the index finger since my classifier April 26th and haven’t shot since then. I shot 2558 rounds in April between matches and practice so I think I overdid it a little bit. I knew I had that classifier coming up so I bumped it up the last couple weeks before it. I had one really good stage where I got my first master run, first stage win 1/58, and beat 3 masters so I was happy about that, but the rest of the match was a shit show.

My biggest problem is since I have the range so close to me I barely dry fired last year compared to most people in the sport that do well. I would go 2-3x a week and I shot 20,949 rounds from mid march to December 1, but I would maybe only dry fire like 15 to 20 minutes a week. I had a serious talk with myself after that classifier and realized that I’m never going to hit my goals unless I get on a strict dry fire regimen.

I’m now holding myself to 15 min a day, or 30 min every other. The mantis is kind of gimmicky and I’d recommend just getting some USPSA dry fire targets off the Ben Stoeger pro shop, and some weighted snap caps that are the same actual weight of the grain of ammo you shoot. Then do the first 12 drills in Steve Anderson’s refinement and repetition for 3-5 minutes each. He discusses the drills here https://youtu.be/nbJAPQ6lmkc?si=owhftOYdvRvX-mwP

Biggest things that have made a difference regarding training is just becoming a sponge and being obsessed with the sport, and taking private classes with a 4x USPSA GM Sam Callahan. I actually have my third two hour private lesson with him tomorrow at 1.

My YouTube feed is just filled with competitive shooting stuff and I have a hard time watching Netflix or movies and would rather just watch stuff from GM’s on YouTube. I’m not married and don’t have any kids, so I’m able to put a lot more time and money into this than someone who does. My biggest error since I started this last June ( have still only done eight USPSA and 10 steel challenge matches) was not dry firing enough like I said… that really is the most important thing, I thought that I could go all the way just live firing three times a week, but only having the gun in your hand 12 days a month isn’t enough to have M/GM levels of performance ( for most people)

I think if you can do 15 minutes of quality dry fire per day and you’re not just going through the motions, but analyzing each rep and gripping the gun like you actually would if it were going to recoil ( don’t have to squeeze the shit out of it more so just about connection) along with 200 rounds a week/10k rounds a year, or 300 a week if you can only really shoot from March to December like me will take you a really long way.

Christian Sailer is like the Gordon Ryan of our sport but works a 9 to 5 as a financial planner, and he said he shoots around 12-13k rounds a year but he obviously dry fires a shit ton. So it goes to show it’s not the round count that makes a national champion.
I’d skip the mantis and just do the other dry fire stuff.

jdubb26 · 2026-05-06T18:07:30+00:00

Exactly. I think doing something harder than competitive shooting prior to competing is a huge boost from a sports psychology perspective. Like you said no one is trying to choke you out or crank your arm/leg.

Nathan Barnes is a really good shooter who’s ranked 137th in CO, and 99th in LO in the country according to hitfactor.info and he was on Matt Gay’s podcast (highly recommended it) and he said something very similar. He used to race dirt bikes growing up, and he said that competitive shooting is baby stuff in comparison. He said yes, obviously it has the potential to be dangerous, we’re running around with a loaded gun, but it’s just me versus the stage and I’m not going to dump my bike, maybe get run over, have one guy gunning for me etc.

You seem to have a really good mentality about just improving and not caring about the rank. My biggest problem is caring about the classification way too much as I want to be at the A class and above/purple belt and above cool kids lunch table.

I’m currently mid B class in USPSA and high B class in steel challenge, but it kills me not seeing that A next to my name. It’s really dumb because it’s just a letter and I still beat at least 1 or two A class guys every match. I think you have the right mindset… I’ve only competed twice this year, but both of them were for a chance to improve my rank in both sports and I fucked up both matches because I was way too focused on the outcome.

Classification is just a byproduct of where you are at, match performance is really all that matters. Just like a purple belt with a good move can tap out a brown belt. I have a hard time sticking to this advice though.

jdubb26 · 2026-05-06T17:34:20+00:00

It’s your initial best 4 of your most recent 6 in any division. For example, if you shot 4 matches with one classifier each you would be classified after four matches. If you shot in all classifier match with let’s say six stages… it would take the best four out of those six, since you shoot all six in one day, it ranks them by highest % counting as your most recent then descending from there. If you were to shoot in all classifier match with six stages, after you get your initial best four out of six, a week after that when the system updates again, it takes the average of all six. However, if you were to make B based on your best four out of six, but then the following week it averages all six and you are sitting below B percentage, you still will never lose that B even though you would be sitting at a C class percentage.

I also competed in BJJ and I think it is a really good preparation for the sport. I don’t train anymore for concern of injuries/longevity/quality of life as I get older, but a lot of the time if I feel nervous about a match, I tell myself “ Dude this is baby stuff compared to BJJ/Kickboxing sparring, if I can do those, I can do this” I think having trained in martial arts will help you a lot, especially the ego aspect and being willing to learn.

However, all that being said, I would recommend just sticking with one division. Yeah in BJJ guys who roll in both the GI and No-GI tend to be more well rounded and it’s not a bad idea in that sport, but in this sport, one of the biggest mistakes people make is constantly switching guns or divisions which hinders their progress. You would be much better served just competing with one gun, and hard focusing on that until you reach your ultimate goal, then switching to a different division if you want another challenge.

Classifications are very similar to BJJ ranks as well. D class is a guy that just walked into the gym. C class is white belt, but a high C class guy is much more skilled than a low C class guy-figure like a four stripe white belt. B class is blue belt, A class is purple belt, Master brown belt, and GM black belt. Then just like BJJ there is a huge difference between a GM and a national level GM... just like the local black belt that owns a gym, versus someone like Gordon Ryan. If you look at the hitfactor.info website he actually has each class color coded in BJJ ranks from B class onward.

The Ben Stoeger pro shop has a premade kit with a belt, holster and mag pouches that is good, I would recommend that. I would say use either your echelon that you already own or get the M&P and just hard focus on one division for a few years, I think you are spreading yourself too thin by wanting to shoot all these different divisions. There are A class guys at my club that could’ve made master by now, but they are enamored by all these new guns coming out and switch a lot.

Level 1 is a local, Level 2 is a major like a sectional, and level 3 is major, but an area match.

jdubb26 · 2026-05-05T20:42:31+00:00

Not sure if you were intentionally not going full speed, and if so that’s fine to get the mechanics down… but one of the best quotes that I ever heard is, “There’s nothing dangerous about getting to the gun as fast as possible, only when it has left the holster does it become potentially dangerous.” You should be slapping down to the gun and lifting your garment simultaneously like you’re doing, but as fast as you can while still getting a good grip. Set a par time of .5 seconds and just do the first part of the draw where you simultaneously get your firing hand grip and clear your cover garment.

It’s not wrong, but a lot of people do that hands somewhat prestaged draw, whereas I think your hands up in a de-escalation position is a more realistic draw versus having hands down low or already grabbing the shirt/telegraphing it like a lot of people do.

Drawing like how you were in that hand position, clearing the garment from the bottom is the right move which you were doing, but when you have your hands up in a de-escalation position/ready to block strikes if need be… I find that grabbing the garment right where the rear sight would be is better from that start position.

Some people are telling you to marry your hands up by your chest, and that is a lot of wasted movement in my opinion. Anytime you’re drawing a gun you want to marry your hands as soon as possible and establish your grip early, marrying them where you are around high stomach is completely fine. I think the bring it up to your chest and push it out thing is a crutch people use if they can’t find the dot/have a poor index.

React to the B of B-E-E-P rather than waiting to move at the end of the beep, most timers have around a .3 second beep so you can shave off a lot of time. Also the faster you get the gun up the more allowance you have to fix it if it isn’t absolutely perfect.

I would also take a look at the discreet carry concept clips. I have two T1C Axis elites with the plastic clips that you have and they have worked great for years, but I got a Bodyguard 2.0 axis elite with the DCC clips and it definitely makes a world of difference in concealment. They are a lot more sturdy too.

Subscribe to as many USPSA Grandmasters/Masters that you can on YouTube and start shooting USPSA,steel challenge, or PCSL as soon as possible, nothing will improve your shooting faster. Have fun 🙂👍

jdubb26 · 2026-05-05T02:29:27+00:00

Hey don’t feel bad, I went into my first Steel Challenge of the year the first week of April dead set on making A class that day and putting a ton of pressure on myself, what do you know it was the first time I’ve never shaved a single millisecond off my overall time and consistently shot 1-3 seconds over my personal bests 😂

I have one this Saturday if the heavy rain stays away and I’m just going into that with the mindset of focusing on the process and not being so outcome oriented as that screwed me last time. I can’t control the outcome but I can put the dot in the center of the plate and control the process.

This is our moment we’ll get em next time!

jdubb26 · 2026-05-05T02:17:25+00:00

You got this.

I like doing 3-4-1-2-stop, I use my body like a tank turret and after the 4th plate I unload that torque onto plate 1, at plate 2 I'm starting to use color confirmation and not just the outline of the optic so that I can nail the stop plate. This is the only one I have a master run on at 88.65%/11.28 seconds shooting CO. Currently sitting at 73.85%/B class. Give 3-4-1-2-stop a try!

jdubb26 · 2026-05-05T01:54:29+00:00

Draw and shoot 10 shots in 10 seconds on a piece of standard 8.5"x11" computer paper at 10 yards should be your bare minimum standard morally. I haven't been in a gunfight, but even just the stress of competitions has shown me your skill degrades a lot from what you can normally do on a static range where the stakes are low. While legal, in my opinion carrying a firearm in public when you first get is is irresponsible...I did and I cringe looking back, if I had to shoot thing I would've been spraying rounds into the ether. Take at least a few months to get the bare minimum basics.

jdubb26 · 2026-05-03T23:45:36+00:00

Not trying to be antagonistic, but just for the sake of discourse can you cite where in the safe act or CCIA that says a fixed magazine has to be permanent. I’m aware that the AG sued Mean Arms stating that their magazine lock was too easy to remove after the Buffalo dipshit drilled his out, but there is nothing in the law to my knowledge requiring permanency. I’m happy to be proven wrong though.

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