With the rain from last year ruining the match for us, I was really looking forward to getting up to Double Tap this year. I'll start out by saying that I had a great time, fun squad, we got all 12 stages complete by about 3:30, so we were able to move, and that's not always the case at a match like this. No big expectations, but one thing I wanted to do was get that first major with single digit misses, because that's a big step, especially being close at Cowtown and then blowing it wide open the last 2 stages. With as many as I've shot, that should have happened a long time ago, and it's a step in the improvement direction.
Let's start from where the match began for me:
Stage 9:
18 Alpha
2 Bravo
4 Charlie
25.83 Seconds
Not a great stage, but had the Alpha hits that I was looking for. Slow transitions on the 2nd stage, and I blew a reload going into the port in the 3rd position, first time it's happened with Single Stack at a match, could I have shaved time? Of course, biggest thing I'm feeling was that my transitions were not great, and my splits at close targets were not happening as quick as they should. Things I can solve with some live fire, but not a horrible way to start the match.
Stage 10:
14 Alpha
5 Charlie
1 Delta
5 Steel
19.77 Seconds
Again, fairly slow on the draw to find, and feel comfortable on my sights, but I started to pick up a little bit of speed from there. Very slow to find my sights after opening the door, and that's a spot I could pick up some time as well. Kind of like my first stage, it was not horrible, but there are definitely things that I can clean up and improve on. Unhappy to throw a delta, and need more Alpha's especially since I'm shooting minor.
Stage 11:
6 Alpha
1 Bravo
4 Charlie
1 Delta
8 Steel
22.10 Seconds
Fun stage! Based on the plan that Tim Meyers gave me the day before, I was able to reload on the move, and never have to eat a standing reload. The Production and Single Stack shooters in my squad thought I was stupid because it meant extra movement, but I'll stand by it being the right plan, I'm able to move quicker in that area, and the standing reload sucks. I lost some time because I had to slide lock reload, it was the dreaded 11th shot because of the steel miss, and that cost me a few seconds easy. So the stage could have been a little better, but I had no trouble with the activators, and moving to get the targets on the clam shells.
Stage 12:
8 Alpha
5 Charlie
3 Mike
4 Steel
19.47 Seconds
Oops? This is one that really got away from me. Awkward lean and shooting position had me starting off slow, and when I headed into the 2nd position I wanted to really blaze thru it and make up some time. It was a great idea, but I never really saw my sights, had bad hits, and 3 mikes. This was a stage I'd really like to have back because I knew I blew it.
Stage 1:
20 Alpha
8 Charlie
4 Steel
30.42 Seconds
Not much to say other than I was just slow. Guess who got bit again by not letting the trigger reset after his first shot, for about the 10th time lately? Yep, and that's going to be trigger time going forward, it was just disappointing. Into the 2nd position I was horribly slow on my second shot, and I never really got going. Video doesn't show it, but I suspect that I had a crappy grip, and that's part of what caused it.
I laugh because I took and extra shot at the paper in the last position, and I did not need it, I had 3 Alpha's on the paper, sometimes you need to trust you called your shot. That's a mistake I made a few times in the match.
Stage 2:
19 Alpha
5 Charlie
3 Delta
1 Mike
2 Steel
35.85 Seconds
Another one that I wish that I had back. I struggled again with a slide lock reload, and you can see it ate up significant time. Why? Because I took an extra shot at a target because I thought I missed it, and I ended up getting 2 Alpha's, but either the make-up or the first shot was a Charlie. Either or, had my hits there, the miss was on a target on the other side. RO told me he almost DQ'd me for a past 180 reload headed into the last position. Video doesn't show it clearly, and I don't think I was, but it's possible, so some reload practice going to my left is going to be the agenda. Not a ton, just enough so I'm comfortable I'm doing it the right way.
Stage 3:
10 Alpha
9 Charlie
4 Delta
1 Mike
42.16 Seconds
Dot Drills, on the agenda as well. My accuracy on this stage was off pretty much every where, I had hits on the swingers, the one on the left had 2 delta hits, which to me means I was either not seeing my sights (best bet, because I was trying to remember where I needed to be to see everything.) or I was also struggling with grip issues. The bottom line is I need trigger time, a lot of trigger time to really get going, and get in shape.
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| Sun was out, I went full Gilligan with the hat in the afternoon. |
Stage 4:
19 Alpha
7 Charlie
2 Delta
1 Mike
1 Steel
32.16
First stage after lunch, and I felt a little sluggish. The mike was on the steel, and I'm a little unhappy about it. There were some overall issues that multiple people had with the steel. I hit the 2nd steel in the center scoring zone (it was painted after every shooter so you could clearly see the mark) where the "head" meets the "neck". I saw it move, and decided to take a risk on calibration and went with it. It did however have me thinking about that, and I forgot to grab my mag for the reload. Did you notice that I took extra shots again? Guess who did not need them...again....
In any case, I called for calibration, the RM came over, with his 121 PF (alleged) ammo, and shot the very top of the popper, and it went over, so I had to take the mike. He did tell the RO on the stage that it was loose, and they tightened it up. Here's the thing, if you know it's loose, you can see the hit in the scoring zone, gimmie a break.....I understand it, and I did not spend all day arguing it, but it felt like things were kind of stacking up, and now I just needed to forget about everything, and just pull my game back and focus.
Stage 5:
15 Alpha
6 Charlie
3 Delta
4 Steel
45.65
Lot of issues happening here. I struggled on the steel plate from the first Tie Fighter port, that was not a lot of fun, and you see I hesitate before going to the last paper in that position. I knew I was almost out of ammo, and I did not want a slide lock reload, and of course after one round, I was back in that position again. Really frustrating myself that I lost count, could have saved time by reloading when I thought about it.
Stage 6:
16 Alpha
2 Charlie
2 Delta
4 Steel
18.34 Seconds
Hands down best stage of the match for me. It was top in SS for Day 1, and I think it ended up 4th in SS, and top 70 of 240 shooters. I'm not going to say I'm unhappy, but if I'm nitpicking (and I am) slow off the draw, and to the "longer" target. My transitions on the close stuff could have been a hair quicker, and by the time I was to the end I was almost easing up just a hair. I think I could have shaved about 3 seconds off my time, where I was, put me in the B-A range of Production shooters, but 3 seconds would have put me in the M group of Production shooters.
Sure, I'd like to clean up the 2 Delta's, I had a ton in the match, but stages like this give me a glimpse of where I know I can get to, and consistently shoot with practice. This is where I was spring of '14, so it's been a long time, if I want to deliver a big match at Oilfield, it'll start by turning in stages like this. That's my goal.
Stage 7:
21 Alpha
1 Bravo
3 Charlie
1 Delta
1 Steel
29.20 Seconds
I'm going to say I liked my first reload. I was a little slow going into ports, and I think that's more about my positioning than anything. I need to bend my knees, rather than get the gun up, and then drop to see the sights. Improve that, and I'll be a little faster on my own. Good hits, but again, 1 Delta...really?
Stage 8:
9 Alpha
5 Charlie
2 Delta
2 Steel
19.08 Seconds
Fun stage, the crossing activators made it a challenge. Notice on this stage I bent the knees a little, and was maybe just a bit quicker on the ports? I'll have to run it thru shot coach, but it tells me that again, with some focus and practice, I can do it. Hits kind of stunk, but on the whole, the last 2-3 stages were some of the better ones on the day for me, and while I may have been disappointed earlier, it felt like some mental toughness that for once I closed strong, rather than fading at the end.
Summary:
Double Tap Scores
I finished 8th of 18 shooters in Single Stack, and I was 3rd place in C Class. I was only 4% behind the winner, and being honest, there are a ton of ways I could have made up those 55 points. 6 Mikes is my lowest ever, so that's a goal that I hit, but 19 Delta's is just plain awful, and being honest at this kind of match, I think I should have 2-3 mike's top. Too many bad hits. 175 Alpha's and 63 Charlie is also not a great split, If I would have had 200 Alpha, and 30 odd Charlie, then I'd be closer to the mark where I need to be shooting minor in this division.
Top Finisher in C beat me by 30 seconds (over 12 stages you are looking at 2.5 seconds average per stage, and when I watch my video, I see most stages where I lost at least that much time, if not more. So speed and accuracy are things that need work, shocking right? That said, 2.5 seconds per stage, how much did I lose with the slide lock reloads? How much did I lose with poor positioning, and other errors?
On the last 3 stages I shot, I was 4th, 6th and 7th, and I beat the C class winner pretty handily on all 3. On Stage 12 I lost 33 points to him because of those 3 mikes. Stage 2, with the slide lock reload issue, I lost 28 points to him. Between those 2 stages, I dropped 61 points, and I lost by 55 points....
Not trying to sugar coat it, but while I spent a lot of time focusing on what went wrong, and I need to do that so I can address issues, and try to get better, in the overall picture, I was not as horrible as it felt. I could have put myself in a position to win my class. Until I get out of C class, I feel like I should be in a position to fight for a class win in every major match. Sure, it's a low bar, and I do better comparing myself to the Production guys, but may as well aim to win, and beat whatever competition that is there.
Because they did prizes just for Saturday shooters, Linda and I hung around, and she managed to win a new shooting bag that she was pretty happy with, and I won some steel. Nice for pistol, but it will come in handy (I need to get a stand) for 3-Gun, so Linda and I will have some steel we can shoot slugs at, and practice 100 yard rifle. These aren't 3-Gun level prizes, but still the nicest things we've managed to win at a USPSA match.
It's funny, I was embarrassed to wear the goofy hat, especially when Jay, Linda, and Lauren made fun of me when I thought about it at the 3 Gun Nation match, but damnit, when it's hot, and the sun is out, it was nice as hell to keep cool, and I got zero sunburn on my neck for a change. Plus, even if it was a slow afternoon start, it was a strong afternoon finish. New lucky hat? May have to break it out in two weeks at Texas Open!
Finally, big congrats to Linda who managed to win D class in Limited. I know some folks might look down on a "D Class" shooter, but she went out, and she beat the people in her class. That's a pretty big deal for her, and I'm awful proud. I think she felt it was her best ever major match, and while there is a ton she might like to do better, she did it the best she could here.
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| Linda has her own HCG Blaster Almost Ready |
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