2015 Oilfield Classic Part 2 (Sundevil827)

2015 Oilfield Classic Part 2


Because we ran chrono on Day 1, instead of Day 2, and Stage 4 was thrown out, we had a short day ahead of us, and I'd taken the time to insure my magazines were clean, my gear was ready, and I had about ten hours of sleep, I was ready to go to work, and finish my 2015 major season the right way.




Stage 3:





20 Alpha
6 Charlie
1 Delta
1 Mike

I don't know what the stats say, but this was my best stage of the match, and best stage of the past couple of months. I crushed the steel in short order, I broke my grip like a champ and got to my positions, and I got some pretty damn solid hits. I took the mike on the next to last target transitioning off. Yep, same old problem, not finishing my shot, but I could not be too pissed, because this is how I envisioned shooting this match. I know you can't take a "mike" away, but this is how I should be shooting, all the time, every match, every stage, this is the best of me. It's a shame I'm just not consistent.



Stage 5:





22 Alpha
1 Bravo
3 Charlie
1 Delta
1 Mike

Holy heck, another Mike, really? Yep. This could have been a stage I crushed, (when I say crushed, assume I mean "B" class crushing) but I threw a mike on another transition. I won't ask how it's possible, but it happened. Lack of focus, crappy or not enough practice....This was either then 2nd or 3rd best stage of my match, and again, it's how I should be shooting all the time.


Stage 6:





10 Alpha
2 Bravo
10 Charlie
4 Delta
4 Mike
1 No Shoot

So, when the wheels on my bus fall off, and I crash and burn, I go out in a flaming wreck you can see about 300 miles away. First shooter on this stage, and I just train wrecked. Key note, even on a low hit factor stage the close targets hold the same value as the long targets. I should have insured I got all Alpha's on the 3 close targets. So...mikes happened....the tap rack cost me on the right hand side because I could not engage the target behind the barrier, on the right I was slow and put a round thru the edge of the no shoot on the barrier.

I felt pretty low here, every other stage had some redeeming feature, but this was pure train wreck from the start.


Stage 7:





15 Alpha
3 Bravo
5 Charlie
2 Delta
3 Mike


As long as we're adding insult to injury, hey, let's close out with a full on disaster. When I was leaving position one, for some reason, I acted like I was shooting Production, so because I was moving, I started reloading. I knew I did it, and I added the extra reload after the 2nd position, because that's where I was supposed to reload, and I wanted to make sure I had the rounds to finish. It totally threw me though, and as I got over to the last position, look at my hand on the gun, support hand was damn near up in the air, preventing the gun from going into battery, and I did it twice. I took all 3 mikes from that position, I'd lost my focus, I'd beaten myself.


Summary:

This was a bad way to end the USPSA major season. I've got a couple of 3-Gun Major's to shoot, but I can't help feeling that I've got some very serious unfinished business with USPSA. I beat myself, I've got nobody to blame but myself, and it raises some pretty serious questions I have for myself, and about my level of commitment. I don't like it when I take that kind of look at myself and find something that I did not realize, and don't like to admit.

Glimpses were there though, I saw a shooter who has the ability to win a sectional in "B" class, and or to move up and be competitive in "A" class. For either of those things to happen, I've gotta finish stages, and be able to string them together. I see massive improvement in some areas, and major regression in others.