Jerry Miculek

[beag_nut]

I have seen various references to Jerry Miculek as an expert DA revolver shooter. I know there are a couple of DVD's featuring him, and the only current one (2003) gets mixed reviews. Production values are criticised, as are the "interview" style of the video format. I believe he is truly a genius with a revolver, from what I've read, but I question whether his DVD will help me shoot my DA Ruger SP and GP better.
Does anyone have another go-to book or video which will help the viewer learn the nuances of DA revolver shooting (staying on target with follow-up shots), or does anyone swear by the effectiveness of Miculek's DVD?
I know about trigger jobs, and how S&W's have (supposedly) better DA action. I am interested in a general instructional (book or DVD) treatment of the subject.

 

[Prosser]

youtube is your friend. There are instruction videos, or snips, from a number of guys, JM included. Depends on what you are shooting.

IIRC, JM has a different style for holding on to snubbies that might really help.

 

[BCRider]

Check out this excellent set of videos. If you don't learn a LOT from them then watch them again. Listening to what he says and then copy and slightly modify how he does each thing to suit your own gun and hand size is pretty much all you need to shoot well with a revolver.

Apparently Jerry has hands the size of bear paws. SOME, but only a little, compensating from how he does some of this stuff to how those with smaller hands manage will be needed.

http://www.myoutdoortv.com/search/node/jerry miculek

 

[beag_nut]

BCRider:
Thanks!
He the man!


beag_nut

 

[youngda9]

http://www.amazon.com/McGiverns-Book-Fancy-Revolver-Shooting/dp/160239086X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1342652462&sr=8-1&keywords=fast+and+fancy+revolver+shooting

http://www.amazon.com/Second-Place-Winner-William-Jordan/dp/0936279095/ref=pd_sim_b_1

http://www.amazon.com/Kill-Get-Killed-Rex-Applegate/dp/1581605587/ref=pd_sim_b_6

http://www.amazon.com/Shooting-To-Live-W-E-Fairbairn/dp/1581606788/ref=pd_sim_b_4

 

[MrBorland]

Another revo DVD worth watching might be Clint Smith's Defensive Revolver.

The Miculek vids are ok, but they're pretty perfunctory, IMO. There's also a temptation to believe that just because Jerry espouses a certain technique, it must be right and the only way to do something. Still, there aren't a lot of good revolver-specific DVDs out there, so the Miculek DVDs wouldn't be a bad thing to watch. Just keep an open mind, and be willing to experiment to see what works for you.

Beyond, that, a student of the revolver will read a lot, picking up little nuggets here and there. Some books that might be of interest include McGivern's, as well as A Pistol Shooter's Treasury. On-line sources can be good sources of info as well. Check out Cunningham's blog, and the revolver subforum of the Brian Enos forum. The latter is where a lot of competitive revolver shooters hang out, and they really know their way around a wheelgun - tuning and shooting.

To a large degree, "staying on target with follow-up shots" is more general, so once you get revolver-specific grip & trigger control issues addressed, it's a matter of applying them. There are numerous DVDs made by top IPSC shooters about shooting better, faster & more accurately. Enos' book itself is a terrific guide. I haven't watched it, but I suspect Clint Smith's revolver (or other Thunder Ranch) DVD ought to also be good.

Since I mentioned competition, my last (and best) recommendations are to 1) find a good revolver shooter for some 1-on-1 instruction and 2) start shooting your revolver in local IDPA matches. Reading and watching vids are fine, and anyone serious about shooting better will do this, but nothing you can read or watch will teach you as much (or as quickly) as good instruction and competition (and a boatload of practice). Another benefit of shooting matches is that's where you'll actually find the good shooter(s) who'll be able to spend some quality time with you.


As far as the the action job references, the Miculek DVD is ok, but as mentioned, there are some on-line references as well. A YouTube search for "revolver action job" will return lots of vids. Our very own Sylvan-Forge has also put together a terrific guide. The Kuhnhausen manual in invaluable, too.

Hope this helps. BTW, I have the Miculek DVDs, and you're welcome to borrow them. Just PM me an address and I'll drop them in the mail.

 

[beag_nut]

Wow.
Both youngda9 and McBorland have supplied some really useful info.
So I also thank both of you.
I am off to get some books from amazon, and look for some videos online.
Many thanks to all.

beag_nut

 

[ArchAngelCD]

Here is another great link for Jerry Miculek on the Shooting USA site.

Here is a link for Jerry's Site. It has good information about Jerry himself you might find interesting.

 

[JagerRanger]

I started with spending hundreds of hours at the range trying to imitate Rob Leathman in his "Shooter Ready" video. Dry firing was a big part of my training. I joined both the regional IPSC overseas and USPSA in the States, and shot matches all over the world.

So, I suggest, in lieu of world class one-on-one tutoring, lots of practice. Jerry Miculek in a shooter with extraordinary talent and LOTs of practice, and a helluva nice guy. You cannot go wrong by trying to imitate his shooting.

Practice, practice, practice.

Naturally, you can take the advice of Mr. Borland: "Beyond, that, a student of the revolver will read a lot, picking up little nuggets here and there. Some books that might be of interest include McGivern's, as well as A Pistol Shooter's Treasury."

That is what Jerry Miculek did.

All the best.

 

[MrBorland]

Personally, I think if you want to learn to play the piano, you'd be far better off having a good piano teacher watch you play the piano than spending time with a great piano player watching them play the piano. So it is with shooting. Given the choice between spending a week next to Jerry watching him shoot, or spending a day with a good teacher watching me shoot, I'd certainly pick the later. Then I'd spend the remaining 6 days at the range practicing what we went over.

Another thing to keep in mind about Jerry - he's a competitor and a great shooter, no doubt, but when people watch "Jerry" vids, people see the Jerry, The Exhibition Shooter. Yet in competition, über-fast splits aren't the low hanging fruit, and Jerry himself doesn't shoot matches like he shoots in exhibition. Getting your hits, solid/smooth reloads and efficient movement are much more important. So it is when shooting in general.

Though Jerry's at the top of the totem even in competitive revo circles, there are numerous other fantastic shooters that shoot a revolver, but they don't do the exhibition stuff, largely because it doesn't help them win matches.

One may not be interested in shooting competitively, but the point is that the fancy exhibition stuff isn't what wins matches - or saves your life, if need be. Keeping your head and doing the fundamentals better than the other guy does.

 

[BCRider]

I tend to concur with MrBorland's post. I watched the short vids done by Jerry and took away the idea of what I needed to do. I applied them at the range and maybe in some small manner modified them to suit the guns I shoot.

The one point made in Jerry's short outdoortv vid clips is to hold the big boomers a little lower. It definetly helps avoid shortening my wrist when shooting stoutly loaded .44Mag or larger revolvers. The rest of the stuff on the outdoortv clips I've used pretty much straight up. It worked for me.

Shooting is one of those things which is tough to read about but easy to show. I suspect that time spent reading most of the books out there would be better spent at the range provided the bad habits are already known and can be corrected.

 

[.44 Associate]

I got good information from the Miculek videos and recommend them. He's gold. The trouble is the announcer/interviewer who, I believe, is Larry Magill. Whoever he is, he's in the way, and often does more talking than does Miculek himself. If you can manage to ignore that, you may still find value in the videos.