Last WIIT Practice

Last WIIT Practice


Five am start to head out and work the match, so by the time this posts, I'll have been going for awhile, and just getting ready to R.O. the first squad. Hit Alpha for a last practice session with Dave, Linda and Lauren tonight. Linda got her first shots with her re-worked gun and is quite happy, Lauren shot her .22 rifle for a bit, and tore up a zombie rabbit.

Okay, classifier. In November a 9.5 HF was about 100%, someone with a 9.63 got 106%. I'm not sure if that has been modified, but it tells me this should be a very good classifier to make up some ground. Assuming 72 of 80 points (3 Alphas, and 1 Charlie per target, 12 and 4 respectively) we need hit factors over 5.9 to get a 60%. On to the numbers

A WIIT Stage from Set-up today

Dave:

Run 1

4 Alpha
3 Bravo
5 Charlie
2 Delta
2 Mike
1 No-Shoot
36 Points

9.88 Seconds
3.17 to first shot
2.16 reload

3.64 Hit Factor
37% of 9.65 High Hit Factor "D" run.

Run 2

10 Alpha
2 Charlie
3 Delta
1 Mike
59 Points

10.27 Seconds
3.45 to first shot
1.88 reload

5.74 Hit Factor
59% of 9.65 High Hit Factor "High C" run"

Run 3

12 Alpha
4 Charlie
72 Points

12.58 Seconds
3.07 to first shot
1.93 reload

5.72 Hit Factor
59% of 9.65 High Hit Factor "High C run"

Linda:

Run 1

9 Alpha
6 Charlie
1 Delta
1 No-Shoot
54 Points

14.08 Seconds
3.73 to first shot
2.44 reload

3.83 Hit Factor
39% of 9.65 High Hit Factor, "D" run.

Run 2

10 Alpha
5 Charlie
1 Delta
66 Points

15.27 Seconds
3.85 to first shot
3.68 reload

4.32 Hit Factor
44% of 9.65 High Hit Factor, "C" run.

Run 3

7 Alpha
8 Charlie
1 Delta
60 Points

13.28 Seconds
4.15 to first shot
2.75 reload

4.52 Hit Factor
46% of 9.65 High Hit Factor, "C" run.


Luke:

Run 1

13 Alpha
3 Charlie
74 Points

9.93 Seconds
3.63 to first shot
1.96 reload

7.45 Hit Factor
77% of 9.65 High Hit Factor "A" run.

Run 2

9 Alpha
4 Charlie
2 Delta
1 Mike
1 No Shoot
49 Points

9.57 Seconds
3.53 to first shot
2.10 reload

5.12 Hit Factor
53% of 9.65 High Hit Factor, "C" run

Run 3

13 Alpha
3 Charlie
74 Points

9.64 Seconds
3.19 to first shot
2.38 reload.

7.67 Hit Factor
79% of 9.65 High Hit Factor, "A" run

Monopoly Stage Got Emil

Seeing the runs, I'm having a hard time believing that the High Hit Factor is really 9.5, and that it won't be adjusted, but as long as it is not adjusted in the next two weeks, good to go. This is a definite speed stage, but where accuracy is going to play a factor. I notice my last run I had my worst reload, if shave off .40 seconds to my best reload, I'd have had a hit factor of 8, and then an 82% run.

This is doable. My problem is that I'll be working the WIIT tomorrow, so I won't have the extra time I want to dry fire, and get some practice in. I really want to work down my first shot to 3 seconds, and keep the reload under 2 seconds, both of which I think are possible.

Hell of a lot of fun tonight, good math, lookin' forward to doing this one for real in a couple of days.

CZ Circle Complete

CZ Circle Complete


Linda got her CZ SP-01 back from Automatic Accuracy today, and she is pretty happy with the work that they did. I won't say we saved a ton of money buying the stock SP-01 and getting work done on it, it was a few hundred cheaper than the Shadow, but a few hundred here, and a few hundred there, and we're talking real money, no? Yes, savings are good!

So what are the big differences? The Shadow trigger is hands down better, it's crisp, the short trigger reset makes a huge difference, it's a longer reset with the SP-01, and a little mushy, but the double action pull might even be lighter than my already broken in Shadow pull is, and that's a feat in and of itself. I assumed it was simply salesmanship when they told me that they loved how the trigger came out. They were not kidding.

For both Linda and I, no excuses, GM caliber guns and equipment, we'll go as far as we are willing to put work in to succeed. I was happy to dry fire again today, and it was nice that Linda had her own gun to do some work with as well. Friday is some live fire, more classifier work for me, but Linda is going to work her own ball and dummy drills, and see where she is with her flinch, and hopefully she'll have it under control.

Short blog for today, I'll just let the pictures speak for themselves again. Linda's SP-01 with the red aluminum grips, my SP-01 Shadow, and the green P-01. Remarkable how we are fully in the CZ camp now. I suspect that since I had an early blog about my choice to shoot Walther, I'll have to update, and do a blog in the future about why we are choosing to shoot CZ, and why we'll be there for an awful long time.

Good times!

MISS Man vs Man Steel

MISS Man vs Man Steel 

Before I get into the match update, I got my note back, I passed the Range Officer test that I sent in the other day with a 93%, and as soon as it get's to HQ, I'll have my certification sent out, my profile updated, and I'll be a certified range officer. I'd say that's good news, but I'm already hearing the new R.O.'s will be doing some work tonight, and I was asked, and accepted the invite to go work The WIIT on Saturday and spend the day as an R.O. One member of a 3 person, 1-stage crew is unable to make it, and I'm going to take his place. I know this goes against what I said before, that I did not want to have to run shooters, and here I am going to immediately R.O. from 7am until 6:30pm, and work the first day of what is scheduled to be a 150 shooter event. I figure if I'm going to do this, I'm going to do it the best that I can, and this will get me some experience right off the bat, plus it does not interfere with my scheduled shooting day of Sunday.

Yeah, I'm not entirely how sure that will work it, it could burn me out, and it is a second straight weekend away from home, although at least Sunday the family will be with me while we shoot the match. At the very least, I'm going to watch some excellent R.O.'s, I'll be able to get a little experience, and hopefully that will be something extra I can contribute to the club.

On to the match:

I had a pretty good night, went 7-4 or something like that, and one of the losses was because I shot a target out of order, I had the other guy beat hands down, so I can live with that. I don't want this to sound arrogant, or cocky, but I have such extreme confidence with steel that I felt that in every match, I was going to win. It did not matter who I was shooting against, I would own them. I was not really shooting against another person, I was shooting my course, the other shooter was irrelevant. For the better part of the night, I did just that. Of the 4 head to head losses, I got out and out beat twice, the other shooters ran their strings cleanly, and I did not. Once I lost in a dog fight on the dueling tree, where a failure to hit the top plate got me, and the other one I had all my steel down and my opponent had 3 pieces still up, but not following stage directions got me.

I can live with that kind of a night, and know that I still have better performances in me. Most of the night I ran fast, I ran clean, and I took minimal rounds to clear the steel. I kind of laugh a bit because Tony Amici tries to start a rivalry between Steve Hickman and myself, they practice together, and I know Tony helps Steve, and I constantly hear that "Steve is coming for me". Frankly, if he is, he should aim higher, and I don't think Steve takes it all that seriously. Steve has spent years bow hunting and competing in archery events, and he just started shooting last summer. He's one of the nicest people I've ever met in my life, I like him a lot. He's capable of beating me on any given day, but he's also probably where I was a four or five months ago. He's committed, he works hard, and when he get's it, he's going to be a damn good shooter. I mention this because I had to run against him twice tonight, and Tony took video of the two of us, he felt the first stage was close, but I think it was pretty clear I had it, the second stage as well.

I can't embed the video, so here are those two links:

Luke and Steve on Dueling Tree

Luke and Steve Steel Side

Look, I'm not the best shooter in the world, but I have supreme confidence in my ability to hit steel, and do it quickly and accurately. If I could bottle that confidence and ability when I'm shooting cardboard, I'd be a lot closer to my goal than I am today. I'm convinced that I focus more, and harder on steel, aim small and miss small, and when I see cardboard, I see the edge of it, and pull the trigger. I need mentally to maintain my focus on the front sight like I did tonight, and good things are going to happen.

Also, a big shout out to Amici, dude is a talented shooter, but as long as I've known him, he runs into steel and it's his kryptonite. Tonight though he got to the final 4, shot a great match, and as happy as I was with my own shooting, I was even more happy for him. Guy should be an A level shooter, and I hope that tonight builds some rockin' good confidence for himself, and he beats his steel allergy. Good dude, nobody works harder, contributes to the club or deserves it more.

Dry fire update, I think the height of the table is what helps or hurts me, and I need to remember to bend my knees for the reload. I had no trouble in dry fire today hitting a 1.7 split on my reload, but I had the gun on a towel, on top of my pool table, that's about a perfect height for me, lower....I gotta practice.

My table start draw is a matter of showing urgency in getting to the gun, if I do that, the only hang-up I feel I have is in my racking the slide, but I had the par timer at 2.8, and my sight picture at that speed was spotty, when I was fast to the gun it was okay, when it was slow, nope. I'll definitely keep practicing this.

CM 13-05 Tick Tock Practice

Classifier Practice

Tick Tock is the name, and it's the classifier for the WIIT. Tonight I accidentally forgot my belt at home, so it limited in what I was actually able to do while practicing. My goal was to set up CM13-05, Tick Tock, and get some baseline runs in on it. Find out what I am capable of doing on it, so I know how to structure my practice for it this week. This classifier is a table start, which means gun is unloaded on the table, along with 2 magazines. When the buzzer beeps, I grab the gun, slam the mag home, rack the gun, and fire 2 shots at each of four targets, reload, and repeat the shooting.

WIIT Matchbook

I ran it 6 times, and here are the results:

Stage is 16 rounds, 80 points.

Run 1:

9.12 Seconds Total
3.40 Second to First Shot
1.79 Seconds to Reload

7 Alpha, 2 Bravo, 6 Charlie, One Delta, One Mike.
56 Points
6.14 Hit Factor

I pushed myself to go as fast as I could, my splits and transitions were good, but I had way too many charlies, and the delta and mike are inexcusable at this distance.

Run 2:

9.49 Seconds Total
3.24 Second to First Shot
1.85 Seconds to Reload

10 Alpha, 1 Bravo, 3 Charlie, 2 Delta
64 Points
6.74 Hit Factor

Still not happy with the 2 Deltas, but the first shot was good, and the reload was acceptable.

Run 3:

9.87 Seconds Total
3.56 Seconds to First Shot
2.40 Seconds to Reload

14 Alpha, 2 Charlie
76 Points
7.70 Hit Factor

This was my overall best run of the day, I felt like I saw my front sights better than the first two runs, but I wasted a lot of time on the first shot and reload. This is the shooting cadence I want, with an improved first shot and reload.

Run 4:

10.28 Seconds Total
3.58 Seconds to First Shot
2.19 Seconds to Reload

13 Alpha 3 Charlie
74 Points
7.20 Hit Factor

I had trigger freeze after the first shot, I went all the way out and could not find the trigger, coming back, it was a bizarre feeling, but something I repeated in the next two runs as well.

Run 5:

10.70 Seconds Total
3.38 Seconds to First Shot
2.43 Seconds to Reload

12 Alpha, 2 Charlie, 1 Delta
70 Points
6.54 Hit Factor

Trigger freeze again after the first shot, slow first shot, slow reload, and again a delta.

Run 6:

10.90 Seconds Total
3.73 Seconds to First Shot
2.30 Seconds to Reload

15 Alpha, 1 Charlie
78 Points
7.16 Hit Factor

Same trigger freeze, but I have an idea on what I'm going to do to fix it, and painfully slow first shot and reload, but again, I had good hits, and the points kept my Hit Factor over 7.


The catch with with classifier is that it is a new classifier, so there is no data on a high Hit Factor. If I don't know what a 100% run is, I'm not sure where I need to be in order to get my 60% or greater. I thought, and Les thought it was in the neighborhood of 10.5, and I called Kozy and he thought it was 9.5. Analyzing this, if it truly is a 9.5, a Hit Factor of above 7 should give me somewhere above a 71%, but if it is 10.5, we are talking it'll be in the 60th percentile. While I believe Kozy, I'm also going to set my par time, and practice as if 10.5 is the high hit factor, and I need an appropriate time.


Practice:

I find it strange that the more I ran it, the slower I ran it. My effective split/transition was about .21/.39, any faster and my hits really suffered. I think I need to set my par time to 3 seconds to first shot, and 1.8 seconds on the reload. I never was that quick getting to the first shot, but I think I can, and the 1.8 is a time I beat on my first reload, but I kept getting slower. If I can shave off .7 on my draw from my last time, and .5 from my reload, I can have a slow shooting cadence, and still cut 1.2 seconds from that time. If I were to run it in 9.7 seconds with the same points my hit factor jumps to just over 8.

Setting and practicing some par times for the table start and reload is going to happen, and I'm also not going to go all the way out to constant double action pulls in my dry fire, I'm going to spend some time not releasing the trigger all the way, so I don't get used to running the trigger all the way out, and I start to adjust to how short the single action pull of my gun really is.

Advantage one of "Plan B" as put together by Les. Even if I don't have a high hit factor, I can take some baseline live fire times, and help build par times to practice, and improve this score. If I did not understand the scoring, then I'd have no idea what, or how to practice. This is just another small piece of appreciation for what I'm learning, and how just a gift of that little piece of knowledge can go a long way.

I closed out practice with some group shooting, one shot into a target, and then try to put the next shot thru the very same hole. I ended up with some excellent groups, so again, I realize that I have an accurate gun, it's easy to shoot, and I can shoot accurately when I focus in on that front sight, something I just don't do enough. To get my groups, I could not look beyond my sight to the target, I had to keep my eye on nothing but the sight, and essentially call my shot.

I can do this shit, not just on steel, on paper. It's a matter of staying on that front sight, and not rushing. Focus! I can own this shit. My own pacing, and my own mental mistakes are my biggest problems. I can shoot, I can shoot quick enough, I can shoot accurately enough, I can draw well enough, transition, and reload too. Stop rushing, stop being in a hurry.

I Love Steel

I Love Steel

I admit it, I love steel. Steel plates, a plate rack, mini-poppers, classic poppers, even a Texas Star, I love shooting steel. I know steel is an anathema for some people, they see it and groan and feel they are going to struggle, I see it, and my eyes light up, and I feel my confidence take off. Steel is my b***h!

The unfortunate side is that most people see cardboard targets, and look forward to them, and I have an unfortunate habit of throwing some mikes, and getting myself into trouble with paper targets. I've been thinking about this issue I have for quite awhile, and I've come to the conclusion that it's a mental issue as much as anything, and right now, today, the biggest thing that is stopping me from earning my card is my spotty accuracy. My draw is good enough, my reload is good enough, my transitions and my movement is passable. I'm not saying I'm an All-Star, I'm not, what I am saying is those skills can get the job done, but the most basic thing of all is doing me in, and that's my accuracy.

My Dream Stage?

Mentally, I have to slow down, and get a good sight picture to hit steel, it's a smaller area, and you have to be precise to get your hit. Paper provides a much bigger area, and I have a tendency of looking past my sight at the paper, and just pulling the trigger once I start seeing cardboard. This is why I end up with delta's and mikes. Keeping focused on your front sight is a lot easier said that done, and that simple lesson is something I'm still struggling with. I've said before I need to treat paper like steel; focus on the front sight, and nothing else, and get a sight picture. If I do that I'll start getting an awful lot more alpha hits. Think about it, an 8" steel plate is, well, 8". A paper target is about 6" wide by 11" tall. If I can hit an 8" plate, I'm certainly accurate enough to hit paper much more effectively that I have been. Part of what it tells me is that I can shoot accurately, I just need to focus.


Wednesday night is a man versus man steel match, and I admit, I'm looking forward to it. There are definitely some better, and faster shooters, and other than a few people, Les and Kozy, I think I stand a reasonable chance of advancing pretty far in the tourney. This is my game, this is what I do. The reason I mention it, is not because I'm bragging, but because I want to bottle that confidence and attitude, and find it again on Saturday at The WIIT. In my dry fire, I've been trying to focus on just my front sight, nothing else, not pulling the trigger until that front sight is right where I want it to be, and not when I first see cardboard. I'm going to work paper targets Tuesday and Friday, I'm going to drive the gun to each target, commit to each shot, and not lose that front sight and start looking past it.

This is a fundamental thing that I still have not picked up, but I pick that seemingly simple skill up, then my goals are going to be reachable. You'd think that would be the easiest thing for a person to lean, and it's been my biggest struggle.

Les gave me a challenge a week ago, don't beat myself up, don't get mad, accept mistakes and move on. Mission accomplished last week, I have up days, and down days, and I never let myself get too excited about the good, or down about the bad. I know what that feels like now, and the last part of that challenge, will be for me to accept it during a match.

2014 Major Match Planning

2014 Major Match Planning

I'm going to be shooting a lot in 2014. Big goals, and it's time I get a real major match experience. Last year the Illinois State IDPA match was a little taste, Area 5 was a much bigger taste although I was out 13 seconds and about 15 rounds into the match, and the Wisconsin Sectional was my first real experience, and it was not a good one.

This year I'm breaking the tentative schedule down into matches I'm definitely going to shoot, matches I will probably shoot, and then some big ones to fill out the calendar. I'd like to shoot 8-9 major matches, plus as many outdoor club matches as possible.

Definite:

Battle In The Bluegrass (April)

Area 5 (June)

Probable:

Indiana Prod/SS....(March)

Arkansas Sectional (May)

Ohio Sectional (May) (same weekend as Arkansas)

Michigan Sectional (August)

Possible:

Great Plains Sectional (July)

Iowa Sectional (September)

Area 3-Nebraska (July/August)

Area 4- Arkansas (August)

Wisconsin Sectional (September, same weekend as Indiana)

Indiana Championships (September)

Area 2 -Arizona (November)

IL Sectional IF it happens.

Not on the list is Nationals in September in St. George, Utah. That's definitely on my list in the probable category, it's the biggest, and the best, and you will test yourself against the best shooters in the world. If I want big match, that's about as big as it gets. However, it means I'm gone from home for a week, have hotel, air fare, and associated costs. 30 stages though in 5 days. For the overall cost I could probably shoot 2 more Area matches.

So, some picking and choosing on what to shoot. I'd like to shoot one major without my "security blanket" of friends, and prove to myself that I can stage plan, and execute on my own. That's a key element of preparing for Nationals where I understand neither Kozy or Les will be going. Linda is hoping to shoot two major matches this year so she can get her first experience, and those will have to be summer matches when Lauren is not in school, one early, one late.

Nationals is the big concern, if I end up investing in the match, then I need to go down prepared, which may mean less matches in the days leading up to it, and more practice to round into top form. I'll have to discuss this with Les and Kozy and get some advice. 

I'm excited at the prospect of a heavy schedule, practice, and club matches. What I don't want to do is suffer burn out, so I do want to leave some down periods where I can walk away for a week or two, and just enjoy the summer with Linda and Lauren, and all the other good stuff in life.

Live fire Tuesday/Friday. Wednesday MISS Match, Sunday The WIIT.

Range Officer Class

Range Officer Class

Class complete!

With the snow, and lousy roads it was a little bit of a challenge just getting to and from the class, but it was a worthwhile experience. I came out of the class with a solid understanding of the USPSA Rule book. Not only do I understand the rules better, I know where to go and look up things that I still have questions about.

Saturday was 8+ hours of classroom "book learning", which was good, but even I was on information overload at the end of the day. We had a take home test as homework, where we not only had to answer the questions, but cite the proper rule. Thankfully the ctrl-f function worked with the online .pdf, but it was still a painstaking process to answer everything. The test itself was another hour plus of my time.

Sunday we started out in the classroom for another 3 hours going over the test, looking at Practiscore, and going over the rule changes that go into effect on February 1st. Following the class we drove out to Alpha Range, about a 40 minute ride, and did our range test. Everyone had to score a shooter, and run a shooter using the proper range commands. That was the end of the class, the only thing left to do is complete a 50 question test, again citing each specific rule, and subset, send it in to the instructor and score at least an 85%, and then I'll be a certified USPSA range officer.

To be honest, there is definitely a part of me that does not want to send in the test and get certified, because I really want to concentrate on my shooting. On the other hand I do want to be able to help the club, and think that by not helping out if needed, it's a little selfish. It was a good education, and in the end I'll get the test done, and send it in just because it's the right thing to do.

On a side note, after the class I have a deep appreciation for the crew at MISS. Everyone, range master, range officers, the entire staff does an incredible job, and I had no idea how much I had learned from watching them for the past year. There were people from other clubs who had been shooting for a much longer period of time, the IDPA safety officer types, and I had a better handle on it than most of 'em. Not because I'm all that smart, but just from watching everyone run the MISS matches.

I got absolutely zero practice in on Saturday, and some worthless live fire on Sunday as part of the class, as I write, I realize I'm going to have to head down and get 30 minutes of dry fire in before bed, so that's all I have to say, work to go do.

Weekend Update

Weekend Update

The last time I thought Weekend Update was funny, Dennis Miller was doing it, talk about a random, out there, and totally inane reference to start this blog. Is it possible I could be this far off topic? Ah yes, the golden years of SNL for me growing up, because unfortunately I was too young, to appreciate the true golden years.

Good practice this week, a lot of dry fire, in fact I took exactly one day off this week, and I've done a nice job of hitting my drills for 45 minutes every single day. I'm starting to find that I do things a little easier, it's not as hard, I don't have to pay attention to every detail, I just do things on my reload. I don't have to focus on being fast to the mag, or getting the mag dropped, I just do it. Same thing on my draw. I'm also doing a much better job of not breaking a shot until I get to the middle of the cardboard, that's been a bane of my existence, and I'm not really going faster, I'm just finding it easier to stay focused on my front sight. I'm not thinking about my grip, or any of the details.

I think some of this is mental progress, but the other part is just the repetition, and that I'm developing muscle memory, on how to do things right. To think, all the practice I did last year, all the matches, all the rounds down range, I've never felt as comfortable as I do now, but I still feel like I'm in a remedial place. I'm understanding and working the fundamentals.

Not Shooting, But Good Anyhow

Going off topic, I had a taste for Tabasco sauce flavored wings today, and I'm talking a serious, absolutely "have to have 'em" type of thing. I realize that's something that Buffalo Wild Wings, Wing Stop or Wings & Rings just fail at. They have a ton of flavors, but sometimes I just need that Tabasco flavor. Next week I want to hit Gator's Wing Shack, and with a great recommendation from Les and Liv, I have high hopes. Of late though, best damn wings by a long shot? Kozy. Dude knows wings!

This weekend, back to more dry fire, gotta set up some live fire early in the week, but I start a string of 4 matches in 12 days, 3 MISS matches, and The WIIT. The first MISS match is all steel, and generally I can make steel my bitch, so I'm pretty excited to get out there and see how far I can go in the head to head match. I'm definitely going to come out aiming to kick some ass.

Saturday and Sunday though is the Range Officer class, day 1 is 8 hours of classroom, day 2 is 3 hours in the class room, and 4 hours out in the range. I think knowing and understanding the rules helps me become a better shooter, but I hope to only be a pinch hitter, not a "full time" RO for quite awhile.

Linda should see her gun back next week from Automatic Accuracy, she's excited to get it back, and I want her to have it, so she can stop using mine for practice!

Tuesday Practice

Tuesday Practice

I'm pushing myself harder to accomplish my goals, I'm not doing simply the minimum of dry fire, I'm going above and beyond. I'm not saying it to insult myself, but in some cases I'm just a slow learner. I hear a concept, and I have an understanding of it, but I have to crank out the repetitions to really be comfortable with it.

In the morning I did turn and draw, I set the par timer back to 1.8 seconds, and focused on when I was getting to the gun, and snapping around. I did 15 turn and draws, all at or better than the 1.8 second par time, then doing the turn and draws in rapid order actually had me a bit dizzy. I don't think that's an effect of the concussion either, just me essentially trying to spin halfway around repeatedly. I feel good about this now, and I now how to practice it, what I specifically have to focus on to make it happen.

Reloads were improved, I set the par timer at 1.4 seconds, and did 50 reloads, 10 runs of 5 reloads each. I got 5 of my first 20 reloads at the par time, but I got 18 of my next 30 at the par time. I can do this too. Going back to the challenge Les presented to me, there were a few magazines that went flying across the room as I missed the magwell entirely, but I did not let it phase me. Shit happens, right? Just keep doing it, and I can get it, and guess what, I did.

I also worked on my 2/2/2 drill, starting a 2.20 seconds, and working it down. At 2.2 seconds I feel very comfortable moving the gun from target to target, and committing to a shot, it was easy. As I dropped the par, I felt myself getting sloppy, at 2 seconds I had perhaps 70% right, and at 1.80 seconds, about 10% right. The good part is even a 2.2 par time on that is good enough to get my B card, so as long as I stay at that speed, I'm fine. It's a little different when there is live ammo, so I'd like to get the time down a bit in dry fire, but now that I know what I'm looking for, I can insure that I'm not cheating on my drills.

Dave and I set out to do some live fire, and it was one of the better practice nights that I've had. I need to realize that I don't have to go all out to do well. I ran an El Pres with 9 alpha and 3 charlie in 7.19 seconds, well below the 8.45 par time we needed. In some cases the faster I was going, the more issues and poor hits that I had. I don't need to have .17 and .19 splits, hey it's nice, but if it costs me an alpha, and gives me a delta, then take the little extra to .22 and get the alpha hit.

We ran a variety of drills, El Pres, Accelerator, and some plate rack. It was a good variety and kept us working on accuracy, draw, reload, turn and draw. I loved finishing on the plate rack, that little steel is so much fun, I was able to clear the rack once with splits in the .42-.47 range, but when I tried it that fast again I could not do it, I was far better off shooting it in the .62 to .68 range. My accuracy is good, as long as I keep a nice cadence, when I start to push faster I get sloppy, my fundamentals go to hell, and I start dropping mikes. So, I know what I need to do, I know that I don't always have to put the pedal to the floor, and I know I still need to keep hammering my fundamentals down if I want to improve my game. It was a damn good practice, and I may try to sneak back out and get another live fire session at the end of the week. I have my Range Officer class this weekend, so I won't be able to shoot. I will check with Dave and see if we can't make it happen.

I also had the occasion to think about my attitude. Kozy's attitude is that he is a GM shooter, with a Master level card, and that's a good thing. I tried to adopt it for myself, and wanted to believe that I was a B shooter, with a C class card. When I think about it, that just does not work for me, not yet anyhow. I've always had to work to achieve my goals, if I say to myself that I'm a B class shooter, then deep down I think there is a sense of entitlement, and I know that's wrong, but it does change my demeanor. I'm hungry, I'm a fighter, a battler, a grinder. I'm a C class shooter today, but there is a B class shooter in me, and probably more. The only way I'm going to unlock that, is by getting on my horse, and working, and earning it. I've gotta put in the time I need.

This does not mean I'm going all self critical, I'm not. In a way I'm reverting to something that is comfortable, the underdog role. If I want this bad enough, I'm going to work as hard as I need, USPSA, Les, nobody is going to give me my B card. I'm going to earn it, and I'm going to take it. Les gave me tools, I'm going to reach up and grab the card because of that, but I'm getting it done.

Matt Mink Class Upcoming

Matt Mink Class Upcoming

I'd always planned on taking a couple of classes with other instructors in 2014, once I had completed the "Plan B" training with Les. Hearing different voices is a good thing, I may hear something from someone else that sticks, and they may watch my a little differently. I'd had an idea of attending a joint Matt Mink and Ben Stoeger class down in Springfield Illinois in March, but the class had filled up. I contacted Matt, and set-up a class, up here at Alpha Range May 3rd and 4th. Herb, Mr. Alpha Range, was willing to set aside the weekend for the class, and I appreciate his making this happen.

We've got a good agenda planned, one day with heavy skills and drills work, a second day with a MISS Match in the morning where Matt will coach us as we shoot the stages, and then we'll watch him shoot at the end of the squad, this should be beneficial for many of us. We'll close out the day with a review, and a plan for the individual shooters with items to focus on and work on. Should be about 1,000 rounds per student, which is some serious shooting! Thanks to Les for coming up with an agenda, and being willing to schedule a full MISS match, not just a mini-practice match. Both Herb and Les absolutely rock!

Matt Mink is a good guy, who not only runs Automatic Accuracy where I purchased my Shadow, my P-01, and where Linda sent her SP-01 in for work on Monday, he is also an amazingly accomplished shooter, who does not receive nearly the attention he deserves for his accomplishments:

Matt Mink Bio

Matt started his shooting career at the age of 5, plinking cans with his Grandfather in the yard with a .22 rifle. The interest in firearms was always there, but it wasn't until he started competing in the late 90's that a new hobby was born.  As Matt grew into a better shooter, CZ-USA took notice and enlisted his talents as one of their top tier competition shooters in 2004. He started for CZ-USA with a CZ 75B and now favors the CZ 75 SP-01 Custom/Shadow for USPSA and the Dan Wesson PM 7/PM 9 for IDPA competitions.  As a shooter, Matt is entirely self taught and is now known as one of the top IDPA, and top USPSA Production shooters in the US with a strong focus on accuracy and fundamentals.

Accomplishments

• World Shoot XVI 2011 Greece - Production 3rd overall & member of 1st Place US Mens Production Team.
• World Shoot XV 2008 Bali - Production 2nd overall & member of 1st Place US Mens Production Team.
• 2011 US IPSC  Nationals - US Production National Champion
• 2009 US IPSC Nationals - US Production National Champion
• 2006 IDPA Nationals  - CDP National Champion
• 2006 Area 6 Champion - Production Champion
• 6 Time Area 4 Production Champion
• Numerous State, Section, and Regional Wins

Obviously Matt is an exceptionally accomplished shooter, and I look forward to the opportunity to train with him for a couple of days and see if I can take learn, and help improve my game further. He'll be the 2nd Grand Master shooter I'll have a chance to study from.

Class slots are $325, with a maximum of 14 students. Interested folks can register here.

I'm hoping to take a second class at the end of the season, to give me a list of things that I can work on headed into the winter season. Most folks up this way have taken a class with Ben Stoeger, and there is a Bob Vogel class this is local this year, but the cost is pretty steep, and he is trying to balance tactical and competition. That one sold out pretty quick because Bob is big name shooter, but for my dollar, the Matt Mink class is right for me at this time.

Dry Fire Work

Dry Fire Work


The bad news is that I was cheating myself on transitions. With my PPQ I had a 3 target array par time of 1.80 seconds, and I was between that and 2 seconds with my Shadow, but after Les made the comment about me not committing, I looked at what I was doing, and set my par time to 2.2 seconds, and kept the gun steady until I had completed the trigger press, and before moving to a target. Instead of swinging the gun thru a target, you could see a distinct pause for me to shoot before moving again. The good news is that I caught myself practicing wrong, now I just have to focus on doing it right.

I also worked for 15 minutes or so on reloads today, I kept moving my par time lower and lower, to eventually 1.4 seconds. On my last 30 runs, of which I dropped from 1.6 to 1.4, a tenth of a second every 10 reloads, I was able to get every reload at or below 1.6 seconds, I had 5 of 10 below 1.5 seconds, and I got 2 of 10 at the 1.4 second par time. This was not easy, but I'm glad to see that I can do things faster. Most of my drilling had been at 1.6, but since that is achievable, I'm going to drop my mark to 1.5 for half of my drilling, and 1.4 for the last half.

The spent a 15 minute segment on draw at a 1.60 second par time, and on turn and draw which is a bane of my existence. The 7-8 minutes I spent on a standard draw were solid, probably 75% of my draws hit my mark. Turn and draw I started at a 2 second par time, which is still faster than I've been doing it live, and hit about 50% of my draws. When I pushed it down to 1.8 seconds to close, I hit maybe 1 or 2. I think I'm not snapping my head, and engaging the turn when I hear the buzzer, and I'm not starting the draw quick enough. This is another instance where I may need some video analysis to determine if what I think I am doing, is actually what I am doing. My guess right now is that it's not, since I need to get my turn and draw into the 1.7 range consistently.

It felt good to hammer some dry fire today. Last week was a long week not being able to do any, and Thursday and Friday were more about getting some rust off than they were about any kind of meaningful progress. The comments Les made also made me evaluate how I was practicing, and the subsequent changes should net me some progress.

Advice to Myself

Advice to Myself


I've had some time to reflect on my 15 or so months shooting, and wished that I had some of the lessons or knowledge that I do today, I think it would have made the introduction to the sport so much more enjoyable.

If you've started at the beginning of my blog, you'd see me as a transitory gun owner, from one to another, I never had luck finding out what I liked, but by owning, and renting, I found things about each firearm that I liked, and disliked.

First piece of advice would be to rent a lot of guns to start, and don't avoid anything. Get a feel for everything. I was limited initially because Linda hated the idea of an exposed hammer, and she thought a "complicated" gun with a safety and a hammer, that was heavy was just too much, so no steel frame guns for her, it would have to be a polymer. Nothing that was Double/Single Action. Here, 15 months later, we are both shooting steel frame guns, and there is not a whole lot of polymer in the safe.

Every gun felt different, when I was just getting started, I had no idea what the difference between a high bore axis, and a low bore axis was. I had no idea why I might want more "light" in my sights. I had no idea why some guns were harder to control, had more recoil, or muzzle flip. I thought the big thing was how it felt in my hand. Trigger? No idea on what the differences were, what a reset was, and why it would matter. Rent a ton of guns, and just buy one gun, stick with it. You don't have to spend a ton of money on it, just get out and shoot, you'll learn over time if you get to know your own first, and then try others. Get a baseline of info, trying a ton with no background may not be the best idea. You'll probably want something new in 10 months or a year, but then you'll have some knowledge to go about making the right selection.

I went thru the P30L, and the PPQ before finding the CZ, Linda went thru a P99, Glock 34, and XDM 5.25", before settling on the CZ. That's a lot of coin that would have been better spent on ammo, practice, matches, and education. I won't make that mistake again. Granted I've done okay on selling and trading, but that's thousands of dollars on guns, ammo, and time that could have been better invested.

The other piece of advice I got early on was to get a .22 and shoot that first, not to worry about a 9mm. I won't say it was bad advice, but I'm glad I did not follow it. Sure, you can shoot more .22 cheaply, and build good fundamental skills, but one of the reasons I got into shooting, was to get involved in competitive shooting sports, and if I had gone that route, I might still be a casual target shooter, and not as involved as I am today. I ended up with a .22 eventually, once I had a taste for the sport because I wanted to do it, but had I gone that way first.....

Today I laugh at how naive I was when I started this, a box of ammo every couple of weeks at the range, a gun that Linda and I would share....I had no clue what I did not know. The bottom line is that it can be an expensive passion, and I don't mind the investment I've made, I just wish I had allocated the dollars smarter. The gun was never my problem in my progress this past year, it was the least of my issues.

This year, there will be an early capital expenditure in a large floor safe. My little safe is filled to overflowing, and with Lauren now owning a long gun of her own, it's time. Other than that, no new hand guns this year, possibly a .22 conversion kit for the CZ, or a CCW style for Linda if she goes that path. This year, continued education, and a mapped out agenda for progress, and a serious schedule of 7-8 major matches at least.

Sound Like Anyone You Know?

My other goal? To do a better job of listening to people who know better, they are out there with some good advice, and trying to help, plus they have the experience of being where I have been. Easier said than done, but my reviewing of track record has not exactly filled me with pride looking at the mistakes I made.

Day After Thoughts

Day After Thoughts

I really want to improve, that's a given. Something I'm still not using to it's full potential is my video. Today though, I took some time to watch each stage, make some notes on things that I was seeing that I'm doing wrong, and I want to use that to focus my dry fire for the week. I've done my dry fire trying to focus in on one or two things a day, and drill those, but I've more or less done it on a rotation, and what I really need, besides just more repetitions, is to spend a little extra time on areas that I'm significantly deficient.

We did some grocery shopping and I spent the time thinking about what I saw, and when I came home, I had a match review e-mail from Les waiting for me. As usual he picked up on a few things that I missed, and he confirmed something that I thought, but was not sure I was doing. (Linda will be happy to hear this....go figure...she felt beat down by seeing her own flinch) I thought a couple of times yesterday I may have flinched, and in one video, Les found a specific example that I could clearly see of me flinching. I think if there was a different camera angle on the first stage I shot, I would have seen a couple of other flinches.

Two for Flinching

So, probably some ball and dummy for me, but acting on a suggestion from Les, I'm going to run some rounds with no time constraint, isolate it, and eliminate it. I hate saying that this is a "been there, done that", but I have, and I've eliminated it, and its creeped back a couple of times.

Les found an example of me pulling off a shot before it was completed, and it was the last shot of the stage, I was already on my way back to unload and show clear before I had finished breaking the shot.

I see you do this in dry fire from time to time. You see the sight,
then snap the shot while moving the gun away. Snap the shot AND stay
committed to the sights.

I think you can tell yourself to stop "trying to go fast" and relax a bit.

**I see that after the last shot you are defeated.**

You are the one judging yourself here.

-Les

That's a pretty meaningful commentary. I've been trying to break a tendency to swing the gun thru one target into the next, without making a commitment to driving the gun to the target, and staying committed to the sights. Les is dead on, and it's going to make me look at my practice, and ask myself if I am being honest. Am I doing it right in practice, or am I continuing to practice incorrectly? This has been going on for awhile, and since I have not improved enough on it, I tend to believe that I'm not being honest with myself in practice. I think I'm going to probably do a couple of minutes of video tape on my practice this week, just for personal review, so I can help use that to see if I am practicing right, or if I'm cheating myself. 

Watching stage 3, the classifier, I can see myself doing exactly this and not "owning" my shot. It goes a long way towards understanding why I may have hit the paper, I was not hitting the paper where I wanted to be hitting it, 8 charlies and 4 deltas, with only 7 alpha's is not how I was aiming.

As far as judging myself. I hate to admit it, but if I'm being truthful, I made so many mistakes in the stage, and I was judging myself as I was going, and that probably played a part in my making even more mistakes. Shit sometimes just happens, accept it and go on, don't dwell on it. I'd like to think that I'm leaving frustration with a stage at a stage, and not carrying it forward, but I'm definitely not leaving a mistake where it is and continuing on, I'm letting it impact my game.

I want to give you a specific mental challenge:

For a week, I don't want you to Judge... I don't want you to be upset
when something doesn't pan out - just accept it. I don't want you to
be passive aggressive" 

This may give you the freedom to accept that you will make mistakes. I
don't just mean learning  from the mistakes - I mean accepting a mike
without it even rustling your feathers.


Just observe. Just do.

-Les

This is a pretty good challenge. I actually achieved a bit of this just one time yesterday on the last stage I shot. On the array after I shot the steel, I miked a shot coming into the position, and I knew it was close, I saw it as I pulled away from the array, that it was a mike, and I did not care, and I kept going. It did however effect me, because if you notice, I had a slow reload there, no urgency getting the mag out of the pouch, and into the gun, and I was standing waiting to shoot, if you look at the reload after that, I was quick, and as I came into position, the gun was already up, and in position. 

I'm not a religious person by any stretch of the imagination, nor have I ever been a part of Alcoholics Anonymous, but a little bit of the Zen of Les makes me think of the Reinhold Niebuhr Serenity Prayer: God give me the grace to accept with serenity the things that cannot be changed, courage to change the things which should be changed, and the wisdom to distinguish the one from the other. (Hey, I'm not all that shallow....there is more to me than just shooting!)

Time To Rise Above This Plateau

I need to accept a mike, and it should not bother me, sometimes there is nothing you can do about it but just accept it, let it go, and don't let it bother you. I have a huge issue doing that, but mentally I'll improve when I stop focusing on one mistake, and having it pave the way into more mistakes. In this case, one often begets many.

It's a little life lesson there as well, because I'd be better off applying this in other aspects of my life as well. Short version is that I've got some work to do, and I've got a good place to start. Making this kind of mental change is not going to be easy, but I think if I apply the lesson in other places, not just shooting, it will make it that much easier, effective, and quicker to see some positive results.


This is the home stretch, but as I'm finding you can go 80% of the way easily, but the last 20% to this goal is where progress slows down, and I'm really having to work and earn success. I'm happy to see that Dave is pushing thru, and getting close to the goal, I'd like to think that with some work, and some conscious effort to relax, I can do this too.

See why I've got the utmost respect for Les? Not just a great teacher, or a great friend, pretty damn good person too.

Come Back Match

Come Back Match


Okay, it's not like I'm coming back from a season ending knee injury or something like that, but this was my first chance to get some rounds down range post concussion. It killed me to not go on Wednesday, but not going was the right call. I went up to the range with Lauren and Linda last night so they could shoot, and I could make sure I was good enough to go today. I had no issues with the sound, just ear plugs underneath ear muffs, and I was in for today. Thursday I got in about 1.5 hours of dry fire, but it really was more about scraping the rust off than it was getting into top form. I won't say that I started the day with low expectations, but I had no thought that I was going to go out and have my best match. My starting goal was to just shoot all four stages, have no health issues, and re-build a little confidence from a week off.

I guess if you start with low expectations, it's hard to be disappointed, and it's a good thing, because I never really got it going, I made mental mistakes, had a couple of points where I did not have good hits, and if I shot it 100%, I'd have been very frustrated. Right now though, I feel like the rust is off, last stage I made a mental mistake that cost me, and I'm ready to go dry fire, practice, and get my head into the game again.

Match Scores

Stage 1:

The bottom line is that I just did not get the hits that I needed to get, I was on both sides of the tuxedo target, and the RO gave me a generous Alpha, Mike, and I thought it should have been two Mikes. In general, I was just slow and did not get good hits. I also had a low primer that slowed me down to tap, rack, and clear it.



Stage 2:

Again, I had some Mike's downrange, I dropped a mag, and I ran past the table, and grabbed a mag I had already used, and was almost empty so I had to double back and get another mag. Just sloppy.




Stage 3:

The Classifier could have been a good one, I needed a Hit Factor of 4.069 for a 60% run, and an overall time of 19.46 with 80% of the points. My time was 22.67, and I just did not have good hits overall. I did have a Mike, the first shot of the 3rd string, double action pull, weak hand, I was not ready for it, and it hurt. First string I shot the first part well, I was admiring my handiwork when I realize I had to reload and shoot again. Overall I really cost myself some time, and while I got hits, I need to get better hits.




Stage 4:

I had a rough go with the last steel, I had to refocus because I was going well, and was pulling off the target to run to the next array before I completed the pull. It's little, dumb things like that which pull down a score. The video does not show it, but I actually took one more shot, I thought I had a miss, and pushed the mag back in, and took another shot. That cost me about 3.5 seconds. Turns out I had 3 hits on the target, I just did not see one of 'em from where I was at, it was in a torn up area of pasters. Lesson to be learned? Call your shot, and trust yourself


Full Match Video:

Summary:

The little dumb mental stuff, that's correctable, and I'd like to think it's the result of my not being 100%. The truth is, I need to accept that my mental game is off, and I need to get my focus back. Focus is as big a part of the game as shooting, and mine is off. From a shooting point of view, I'm still rushing in some spots and not getting a good sight picture, and I'm going too slow in others. I'm not shooting with my practice cadence in mind, and that's hurting me. Right now, it's as much of a dry fire issue as anything. I need to focus on my dry fire, and really commit to doing it right. Honestly I thought I had been, but maybe I'm cheating myself, so I'll look at that.

I'm happy to have been able to shoot, and I'll take the few good things I did, and work my practice plan to address what I was not happy with, one thing at a time. Next MISS match is the 29th, so I'll have plenty of practice time before that, and it's all build-up for the WIIT.

Random Shots

Random Shots


So, Linda got to shoot her new SP-01 today, and the results were not exactly what she wanted. However there is more to a match than just results, and in seeing her shoot, she really struggled her first stage or two before starting to see some more positive results in her last 2 stages, in fact her last stage she did pretty well on, she shot the steel cleanly, she ran, and she finally looked comfortable with her new gun. While she had rented an SP-01, she had limited time with her own gun. Thursday she ran dry fire with me for about 45 minutes, and she put 50 rounds down range on Friday night before we set up for the match.

She does have a few issues, including a glaring flinch. On her first stage, it's possible she shot the floor a few feet in front of the steel she was aiming at, and she was flinching pretty bad early on. On the last stage, her first shot you can see another massive flinch on her double action pull, and a second flinch right after that. However, by that point, she recovered to run a really nice stage, that could have been a few seconds faster if she had not taken an extra shot on her final target. I sense some Ball and Dummy Drill's incoming because she really needs to break this habit. The reality is that she's had this flinch for awhile, and she did not want to do the drill, because she hated it. She hated seeing the flinch, but did not correct it. Personally, I think the excellent trigger on the XDM helped mask that flaw to some extent, but the more challenging double action pull of the CZ magnified this issue.  The good news is that she really saw it today, and says she'll commit to working the problem out.

Linda left the range saying that she absolutely loves the CZ, like me, she thinks the weight, recoil management, and accuracy of the gun is just amazing. (Wait until she get's some work done on it...) It's good thing though that she feels that way, because she just ran out of excuses. She's got GM level gear, and an investment in gear that says she is serious, and wants to compete. There are no limits placed on her progress by her gear, it's all about her, her practice, and what she does now.


Linda Video:

Here is some video of Terry getting cooking today, he shot a pretty damn good match, and as usual gamed the heck out of the second stage. Kudos to him.

Terry Video:

Feeling The Rust

Feeling The Rust

Concussion is just kicking my butt. I missed match last night, and it's killing me. I was all sorts of irritable last night, knowing that it was going on, and that I was not there. I did manage to load up 1200 rounds of ammo over the course of the day, staying on it non-stop was something I just could not do, but it's done, good to go now for a few weeks anyhow.

Today I was able to get back on my dry fire training, and the week off, and accumulated rust felt like it showed, nothing was crisp, fast or clean. I'll take another 45 minutes tonight and see if I can't finish removing the rust, and then tomorrow hopefully we'll be back close to where I was a week ago, and can get back on the progress train. Shooting, and the associated skills feel like a perishable commodity, if you don't use them, don't dry fire and practice, then you can lose them pretty quick. I'm sure for a GM level shooter it's less of a loss, but for me, it feels substantial.

There is a Saturday MISS match, and all systems are a go to attend that, Linda is excited to get back out there, and put her new gun thru it's paces, even though she'll be getting rid of the night sights, and adding some fiber optic sights next week. I think I'm going to head over to Alpha either tonight or more likely tomorrow and just spend 30 minutes or so running a couple of live fire drills so that by Saturday morning, I won't feel cold, and the majority of my rust will have been knocked off.

Think about it, I did my last live fire a week ago, match on the 5th (11 days ago) and I feel like I took about 4 steps back by not getting in my class on Saturday, or dry fire for the past week. With it being "taken away" from me, I'm starting to understand the real value of it on my skills, and how much a part of my daily routine it has become.

Hopefully some good practice the next couple of days, and a sound match ahead.

More CCW Thoughts

More CCW Thoughts


I'm starting to get annoyed at the anti-gun propaganda, and people who think that guns in general, and conceal carry in Illinois are the worst things ever to happen to the state. I read the articles and editorials in local newspapers, and frankly am blown away by some of the things that I see.

"Carrying guns is about power, and frankly after I got out of middle school I stopped feeling the need for that power, I feel sad for the pathetic people who still get a kick, and fill some sick need by carrying a gun."

-Chicago Tribune Commenter

"I found your front page December 27th story on training people to carry concealed weapons to be disturbing. I find the issue of people carrying guns in public, in and of itself, to be extremely disturbing. If you need to carry a gun in public to feel safe, that is a mental health issue, not a safety issue."

Michelle Lowy-Springfield IL

Those are just a couple of the nonsense things I see people say, and think. In a way, I'm surprised that so much ignorance exists, and I realize that I should not be. There are plenty of people who are out there who are totally and completely ignorant, yet have strong opinions about the subject matter. Guns, and concealed carry law are not a unique issue, they are just one of the many places where people don't mind making an ass of themselves, without realizing what they are doing or saying.

I've had a gun pointed at me or shown to me three times in my life. In college at a party where I escorted a gang banger from the party, and he came back to show me exactly how tough he was. When I made a sales call and had the owner of the company go and get a shotgun when he heard what company I was from. (There was some history I was unaware of) and again this past fall when I went to find some equipment that had disappeared, and the person who had rented it was gone, there I had an upset Russian shouting at me, and pointing a gun at me.

This is hindsight, but despite all three incidents, I don't think that even if I was carrying a gun, I would have drawn it, much less used it. Bullets are pretty permanent, but my brain is a much better weapon. Someone might ask me, when might I use a gun? The only answer I'd have, is that if I felt that I, my family, or someone was in immediate danger of being hurt, and even though I have been thru it a couple of times, only once did I feel as if I was in any kind of real and immediate danger.

Carrying a gun is a responsibility, it's a burden, and it's a choice. I devoutly hope that I will never ever need to have a gun. I'd been on the fence if I would complete my classes, and apply for my IL permit, but seeing this mass ignorance in way helped convince me that I'm making the right call for myself. I'll finish the 2nd eight hour class, I'll send it my Florida and Arizona applications as well, and when all is said and done, I'll carry legally in 43 or so states. Don't get me wrong, I have no intention of strapping a gun on every single day, for every occasion, but I do want the ability to choose when I think it is appropriate.

I believe that the truth is that people don't realize how many crimes are committed by people who illegally have guns. How many times in the mall have they walked by someone who was carrying illegally? It doesn't just have to be a gang member, it could be a banker, a construction worker, anyone at all. You may never know. There are actually less incidents of mental health issues in people who legally own and carry guns .002% instead of 7% most studies show in the general population. More people in Illinois applied for a CCW permit the first day it was available than applied for Obamacare.

We are constantly taught to not judge the masses by the actions of one. Don't judge all muslims by one terrorist who happens to be one, but all gun owners are generally tarred by the brush of Columbine, Sandy Hook, and the shootings at the Aurora Colorado movie theater. There are still more deaths in the United States as a result of drinking and driving, is the outrage a result of more people are hurt at once? I realize folks don't want facts to stand in the way of what they believe.

I'm not going to tar and feather the people who are opposed, I respect their right to disagree, although I feel it is unfortunate that most objections are buried in ignorance, and it's even more despicable that politicans prey on that fear to advance their own agenda's. It's not about fear, it's not about power, you rarely if ever read or hear of incidents in the other 49 states where owners responsibly and legally carry every single day.

It's a personal choice, and I think every person considering it should read this "letter" that John Krupa of Spartan Tactical Training wrote and was published on Wiilshoot this past week. Be a responsible owner, learn from a responsible teacher.

Be the kind of person who is a model for doing things right, and makes it hard for those with an agenda to attack. Don't give people an opening. Exercise your right safely, as you see fit.

Linda Goes CZ

Linda Goes CZ

Linda made her decision today, she went CZ SP-01. She decided that she did not want to spend what I spent on the Shadow, but she likes the platform, the frame, and it's easier to shoot. She'll be able to customize the gun, and her trigger will turn out to be very good, it just cant have the Short Reset Trigger System, so it'll be very good, not quite excellent.

She's going to switch out grips and sights, and then shoot it for awhile, but eventually she'll get a race trigger job, extended firing pin, extended mag release and a smaller safety. I think the upcoming vote is what color grips she'll actually decide on.

I think she made a great choice, and it means no new handguns for us in 2014, unless she decides she wants something for CCW. Otherwise, we're going to go with what we have, these guns can be Grand Master guns (Then again, so was her Glock 34, and her XDM 5.25"), so now it's 100% all about how we practice.

Who's the little kid in the upper right?

Okay, she did not want me to use this picture, but what the heck, that's an actual smile, not a fake one. I'm just happy to see her really happy for the first time with something. I love her, glad she made her decision, and I'd have supported whatever decision she made. I'm really glad she is finally done switching. There is not a better gun out there for Production Division.

No excuses left, time to go get 'em!

Concussion

Concussion

Ouch!

On Friday while I was going to pick up Lauren, I slipped on the ice and fell in the Kinder Care parking lot, and evidently whacked my head pretty good. Next thing I knew Lauren was outside the car shouting for me to get up, and was I okay, and another parent had stopped to see if I was okay. I got up slowly, felt passable, and then threw up.

I made a bad decision at that point, roads were icy, but I was just hurting, no other symptoms, and I decided to drive the 1.5 miles home. About a block from the house I started to feel a little dizzy, and was anxious to get into the driveway. Upon getting out of the car and standing up, I finally understood exactly how bad I was feeling, I was dizzy, disoriented, and had no balance. Lauren and I went inside, and I went to change out of my soaking wet clothes, and got dizzy, and went down again. Lauren freaked out, and this time I knew what was going on, I just could not move.

With Linda just leaving work, I knew I was not in a good place, and my first thought was to wait until she got home to do something, but my head was in agony. I ended up calling Kozy since he is a couple of minutes away, and I gotta give him credit, he was out the door in seconds and at my house in minutes. He was able to get Lauren calmed down, and after looking at me, hearing me slurring words, disoriented, and pupils out of whack, he called 911 right away. I admit, I was pissed that he did it, but what are friends for? I was in no condition to make that decision for myself.

Kozy (This is more fun)

Ambulance showed up, and off to the hospital I went. Kozy was at home with Lauren, and Linda got there, got a few things together, and relived Kozy. I know he would have stayed with Lauren, but I hated for him to miss his "date" night with Tracy, and not go out to a movie. Strange the junk you are worried about when you are on the way to the hospital.

Anyhow, got to the hospital, and what turned about to be an hour and a half wait in the waiting room, you know, with a head injury. Terry showed up there to keep me company until Linda and Lauren got there, and seeing a friendly face really helped. Linda and Lauren got there about the time they were pulling me off to triage, and he took Lauren off to his house so she could spend the night with his family. That was probably the one thing that finally made me relax, and start to worry about how I was feeling, knowing that my family was okay, and taken care of, made a difference.

Terry (see, this is more fun....)

 Is it a surprise I was a pain in the ass patient? First question they asked me is where I hurt, and I am trying to focus on the nurse, and I respond with "Uhhhh, the ice on my head, doesn't give it away? How about my head hurts?" I was pretty apologetic after that, should it have been a good sign that if I'm a jerk then my head could not possibly have been that bad?

Long story short, spent another 4 hours up there before I could talk them into releasing me, I refused the morphine they wanted to give me to break the pain and headache, and I had a phone call from Terry (evidently Linda had texted my refusal to him) that I was an idiot if I did not take the pill, and that it really would help me. I cut a deal with the doctor, that I'd take any pain medication less than a narcotic, and if the pain did not break, then as a last resort I'd do what they wanted. CAT scan came back normal (Personally I think that should have set off all sorts of alarms, me normal? Really?) It made for a long night, and I was happy to finally get home.

So, closing in on 48 hours after the fall, and I still don't feel right, my head hurts about a 5 on their 1-10 scale of pain. I can't break the headache, I'm able to focus now when I move my head, better than before, if I try to move too quick I get a little dizzy. According to the release papers, I could have these symptoms for a few days for up to a few months. I'll be setting up a doctor's appointment as soon as possible.

How on earth does this have anything to do with shooting? Well, I got my ticket for the match on Wednesday, and I'll only shoot it if the doctor says it is okay. I'm not taking any risks with my health and life, or with anyone else. I miss my dry fire routine this weekend, and I missed my class on Saturday with Dave and Les. Gotta get rolling, and I really did not need this setback.

I've had my "bell rung" before when I played football, but what happened on Friday, and how I feel today is a whole new ballgame to me. More than anything right now, I feel bad that it happened around Lauren, and that she had to see me like that. I know it scared her, and she is treating me now like I'm made of glass. I hate that, I'm dad, the guy you run at full speed and jump up at for a hug, the person who will carry you, tickle you, and so on. Words don't do justice to thanking Terry and Kozy though, so I won't even try in this blog, I've said it. Pretty great community of people here, and I'm lucky to have met 'em all.

At Area 5 Summer 2013