Back On The Range

Back On The Range


It's been 5 long months since I've sat down to write a blog, and despite the wait, it feels good to get back and do some writing. There were quite a few changes in life since then, the biggest of which that we have completed a move down to Round Rock, Texas, just a few miles north east of Austin. It was quite the adventure getting down here, getting out stuff, and slowly getting settled, but now we're at the point where we have settled into life in Texas.


The great group of friends we made in Illinois is still involved in our lives, we still talk, and we're going to stay in touch, and visit, these were not mere casual acquaintances, but rather life long friends. We've started making friends down here, and again, I owe Les a huge debt for introducing me to Tim Meyers when we were in the last stages of packing up in Illinois. The truth is the place may have changed, but guys like Ben G., Ryan B., and Tim are making us all feel very much at home here. It's amazing how a the shooting community, be it Illinois or Texas, can be filled with such a great group of people.

As a result of the move, we have not put in the time getting ready to shoot USPSA, and it's also why I put my blog on hiatus. It was not that my desire to progress was gone, but rather that I felt I had responsibilities as a husband and a father that superseded my desire to get out and shoot. The press is set-up, it's ready to roll, a dry fire practice course is set-up in the reloading room, and truthfully, it's time. My "A" card is as close as can be, I can nail it with 1-2 more good classifiers. Despite my card being close, I'm not happy where I'm at, because I think my card and my performance are in two different places. Short version, I have good classifier, and "standards" skills, I draw, reload, shoot quickly, and transition well, but on field courses I've really struggled. I'm not running, I'm not making quick decisions, and I'm not bringing accuracy with me when I do. That's a long way to go, but it also helps me decide things that I need to work on for the 2015 season.

The biggest change is that I'm planning on dipping my toe into 3-Gun in 2015. I've had some interest in 3-Gun for awhile, but I never really thought I'd be exploring it this soon. I have not achieved my goals in USPSA, and I'm not quitting, I'm still going to focus on not just earning my "A" card, but on performing at that level on a consistent basis. Gearing up for 3-Gun is not a cheap proposition, so step one is starting to get together the gear, with an eye towards starting to shoot it in Spring '15. Between now and then I'm going to work my USPSA, practice with the rifle, and eventually learning how to load a shotgun.

It's going to be a good winter, with a lot of shooting related activities to engage in. I'm going to get back to investing some time every week to pumping out a blog or two, so this is perhaps the first of the "next" series of blogs.