I wrote earlier how I went down this match to compete, and how that differed than from the past where I went to a few major matches just to shoot. The attitude, the mindset, and the elevated expectations were new to me. My initial thoughts were that I did not perform at the level I expected myself to perform at, and that I expect myself to compete at. Why I did not perform is going to be the subject of another blog, because I think I made some mistakes that I can learn a lot from, and work at not repeating in the future. With ten stages, there is plenty of stage breakdown and video for one blog.
The weather was mid 80's by lunch time, low 50's to start the day. The staff put together an amazing match, that I think everyone I spoke with enjoyed thoroughly.
MATCH SCORES
The biggest thing that jumped out at me for the entire match, was an overall lack of accuracy on my part. I had 150 Alpha's, 2 Bravo, 74 Charlie, 23 Delta and 7 Mike. Combine the Delta and Mike, I've got 30 shots that were just not good, and frankly my Alpha to Charlie ratio was very low. I left a ton of points on the table. I'll present the video's in the order in which I shot the match, not the match order.
Stage 3 Run Around: No Video
I had some jitters, and my run here was 71st of 119 Production shooters. I just wanted to get thru it with no misses, and I had 2 delta's, My hits were not great 16 A, 12 C, 2 D, but it felt good to get past my first stage of the day.
Stage 4: "Y" You Mad, Bro?
I was 46th of 119 Production shooters, I had 23 Alpha, 5 Charlie, and 2 Delta. Since I shot a variation of this the weekend before I was comfortable, and the only disappointing part was the 2 Delta. I can clean up the load and rack, and I could have picked up the target coming across sooner, but, on the whole, I felt good about this stage.
Stage 5: Eights and Plates
I was 55th of 119 Production shooters on this stage, with a disappointing 11 Alpha, 2 Bravo, 7 Charlie, 4 Delta, and 8 Steel. I'm not sure if I was not seeing my sights, but the delta's were on the open targets, I slowed down and had decent hits on the partial targets at my 2nd shooting position. I almost took a miss on a partial, but the bullet hole broke just enough of the brown, majority was in the black. Lesson here was to take a little extra time, and make sure you get the head shot.
Stage 6: Speed Demon
This is where things started to unravel. First thing to notice, is I switched hats. I put on the white Automatic Accuracy hat, so I'll blame that! Actually, I had a very good run, but we came to score the first array, and found it had not been pasted. There were 15 Alpha's and 1 Charlie, had it been an Alpha, run would have counted, but with the 1 Charlie, I had to re-shoot it. I had one shooter go before I had to re-shoot it, and from the get go, I was not right. I looked at the target, and did not look at the gun as I picked it up. I missed my grip, resulting in me not having my sights, and at a 3 yard target, that was bad news. Second array after I sprinted over, I broke a shot early, knew I did it, and kept going. I had 23 Alpha, 8 Charlie, and 1 Mike, I was 83rd of 119 Shooters. I let that single Mike bother me for awhile, and it dragged me down, lack of mental toughness hurt.
Stage 7: Crash Factor
I was 84th of 119 Production shooters, 8 Alpha, 5 Charlie, 2 Delta, 1 Mike, and 6 Steel. In my mind, I was thinking about the earlier stage, that if I just shot faster, I could make up the miss. Reality is you don't make up a miss, you leave a miss with the previous stage, and shoot this stage on it's own merits. My miss was on the 3rd position, closest target to me. Unreal, but a lack of focus cost me.
Stage 8: Cluster
First stage after the midday break, and I was 58th of 119 Production shooters. I had 22 Alpha, 7 Charlie, 2 Delta and 1 Mike. This was a stage I felt confident coming into, I had walked it, had my plan, and knew what I wanted to do. The Mike was on the first position as I turned to the left, long shot, and I was transitioning to the next target. The truth is that even with the miss, the run was not horrible, but 3rd stage in a row with a miss and some Delta, and it was really in my head. We had a long wait before the next stage, and I thought too much about what happened, as opposed to what I needed to do.
Stage 9: X
Worst stage of the day, 9 Alpha, 6 Charlie, 7 Delta, 2 Mike and 8 Steel. Starting loaded but no round in the chamber meant 10 rounds to start, not 11, and with 5 targets to take, that meant shooting until slide lock. It also meant I had to shoot accurately and be confident of my hits. I was okay on the first array, but looking back across the x, thru a port to targets, I was not. I dove into the steel and with misses actually shot until slide lock again. My plan was to take the targets to the left, but I turned right, knew I did it wrong, rushed without any sight picture thru the targets to the right, and back to the left. My last port was more about "Oh hell, I just really screwed up", and I had horrible hits. This was the nadir of my match. I walked off after shooting angry at myself, and tried and failed to shake it off.
Stage 10: Knock Knock
88th of 119 Production Shooters 12 Alpha, 10 Charlie, 3 Delta, 1 Mike and 6 Steel. I was tired, mad, and more or less felt like I was sleep walking thru this stage. I did an awful lot I wish I could have re-done on this stage.
Stage 1: Theorum Pythagoras
It was a long walk from Stage 10 back to the beginning. During the walk I finally cut loose from my earlier issues, and left them behind me. I made a conscious choice to shoot the last two stages as if only they mattered, nothing else had happened. What happened? My best stage of the day, 42nd of 119 Production Shooters. 12 Alpha 6 Charlie, and 9 Steel. I actually did not need to make the last reload, and could have shaved a little extra time from my run. It would have meant shooting to slide lock, and I wanted to be safe, rather than have to re-load in the port, but when I focus, I should be confident that I can get hits. I did.
Stage 2: Can You See Me Now?
14 Alpha, 8 Charlie, 1 Delta, 1 Mike, 2 Steel and 71st of 119 Production Shooters. My plan was baller, and my failure to execute here was the 3rd position on the long shot after the awkward angle steel, and then after the run, I had a the delta on the turn back to my left. Excellent plan, and I wish I would not have had the Delta or the Mike, but I can live with it.
Full Match Video:
Review:
I could sit here and be negative, but that's counter productive. There were certainly elements that went my way, and I think the biggest thing I need to address is my tendency to let mistakes get under my skin and then carry them to the next stage. I've shot watching Les and Kozy for a year, and I don't often see them do that. I know something bothers them, but it's done and over before the next stage. I heard Ben Stoeger say he had two misses, but it did not bother him, he did not try to make anything up, he just went out and rocked each and every stage he shot. If excellent shooters manifest that trait, why do I insist on carrying that load with me? I know better.
I dry fired on Monday morning for 30 minutes, and I'll live fire again. There are plenty of things that I'll take from the match, it'll help me work on my deficiencies, and the mental aspect will be something that I'm just going to have to HTFU, and do. If need to learn and move on from mistakes. In a match I can't fix 'em, I can just keep shooting my best.
I had a great time, excellent squad, and I'm confident that my next Major match will result in a better finish. I am however a better competitor for this experience.
No comments:
Post a Comment