sleepdr

+1 on the fact that more than GSWs can happen. An instructor and I pulled a heat casualty off the line one summer during a local class, sending her off by ambulance. I keep a small kit attached to my range/stage backpack, with essentials like a CAT, some gauze, pressure dressing, tape to improvise chest seal, nasal airway, long needle, and compact TK4 in case the CAT fails or needs a little boost. My larger bag is a NARP kit that rides in my daily driver. Some of the stuff may be expired, but expired trauma supplies are better than nothing. The only time that kit has been used in anger was when I used the SAM splint to immobilize my own unstable broken ankle. This thread actually reminded me to get some more Israeli dressings. They are handy for pressure and areas not amenable to tourniquets. I used one a few months ago for a GSW on a guy's deltoid. It controlled an arterial bleed that was squirting several feet.

Sorry to dredge up a post that's several months old. Mine was doing the same thing, so I bought a replacement battery. It was never able to fully charge the replacement, either. As it sits now, my timer won't work without constant external power. I'm on the fence about asking CED for a repair quote or buying a replacement 7000. They now have a USB charging cable for the same price as the old battery pack. It may work to use that and a small USB cell phone battery booster. Update: It's "dead dead." Won't even power up with external power. I'll do a necropsy tonight and look for a new timer. It's a slick unit when it works, but mine died after leading a very gentle and minimally used life.

That makes sense. Thanks for clarifying.

I started my formal training with a 1911. For me, it's logical to couple the safety movement with bringing the muzzle up to the target(s). Muzzle up/safety off. Muzzle down, safety on. Repeat until bored of it, then repeat it some more. Disclosure: I did hit a speed bump one time in a 360 degree carjacking scenario in a training class a few years ago. It was specifically designed to consume mental bandwidth and uncover failure points. I'd engaged the safety after shooting from inside the "disabled vehicle" and jumped behind the front wheel for cover. A target appeared, and I tried to fire from a very compressed position but got a dead trigger. An immediate tap-rack revealed it was on safe when the slide wouldn't move. I was frustrated at losing a couple seconds but happy to observe that it was ingrained to go safe off target.

It's a bit daunting to ask questions that I know have been answered before. As a result, some guys like me have a lot of time searching & lurking with little posting. It's the "search more/post less" mindset. That's in no way a complaint about the site rule. It still encourages active discussion. IIRC, this change came after I had joined, since I have previously done several large (to me) purchases through the classifieds. My perspective as a forum neophyte that has used the classifieds, and what I'd tell other new/low post count users: -It's a very reasonable rule. The site is a great information resource. -It's worth putting in the very modest effort of intellectual contribution to the site. -Jumping right into the classifieds is a good way to spend thousands of dollars in a very short time. There's always time to hemorrhage money later.

Very unfortunate to see that happen. I just bought 2 STIs and a pile of magazines through the classifieds in 3 separate transactions, but now am locked out until making my way up to 50 posts. That's a challenge as a new guy to competition, as I prefer to read and use the search function instead of posting questions everyone's seen for years from countless newbies. My first post on the site was actually an "I'll take it" on an Exec a few months ago.

I'll play. 1st ever match last Saturday, shooting Limited, TY97920. Those rotten no-shoots should know enough to duck when I'm in the box.

Just went to my first 4-stage match there tonight. Very pleasant group of folks; my squad had a husband & wife shooting Limited & .22, respectively. I'm a little sunburned and have a scorecard in the "consider chess instead" ranking, but had a great time.

I can't really say that you're running it too bright, since it's not seeming to affect your time. When I mentioned visual fatigue from keeping the dot centered, I also forgot a different aspect. With your eyes snapped to the target, the dot is moving more in the periphery of your vision. We have more rods than cones there, so more sensitivity to light. Twilight and dim lighting will make the effect more pronounced. It will be interesting to see if your larger dot run at a lower intensity has the same effect. I waffle back and forth between dot sizes on my rifles, but have spent more time with a 2MOA Aimpoint. When really dialed in, I can see the dot moving as a little squiggle in rapid fire strings. FWIW, this astigmatism gets to be a real nuisance as my eyes get older. You actually have the visual awareness to observe a normal phenomenon. IMO, that's something worth giving yourself a pat on the back.

like I said, it's a function of "old eyes", same effect as driving at night. Anything bright will leave "trails" if you follow their movement. Only cure I can think of is a time machine. If I snap my eyes to the next target and let the dot catch up, I don't have the problem. (and it's faster too). By snapping your eyes to the next target, you've given the photoreceptors in your eyes a chance to recover. We naturally move our eyes fractionally away from constant bright sources to keep that from happening. A prolonged hard focus on the dot will make the effect more noticeable.

[medical nerd] The human eye responds to light at a cycle of around 10-15hz (cycles per second). Motion pictures and video take advantage of that by running at frame rates of 24 and higher. Combine that with what are called physiologic afterimages. That's the ghosting effect we get after overstimulating the photoreceptors in our eyes. It's more noticeable with high contrast and intense light sources like camera flashes. A red dot causing photoreceptors to be oversaturated, with a series of ghost images captured at the eye's native frame rate, will get visually processed as a streak of light. Or something like that. I'm not an eye specialist. [/medical nerd]

Slacker radio, currently streaming a live cut of Edguy's "Tears of a Mandrake."

Thanks for the welcome, gang. I'm in the Boise area - Meridian, actually. It takes about as long to drive to the land south of the airport as it does to the Nourse range over by Lake Lowell. My wife gave me a membership to the Parma range for Christmas, but it's an all-day affair go that far. I've only been there once about 9 years ago.

Caveat: I'm new to competition, but have done almost all my training courses with a 1911. For me, it's pretty much hard-wired to go safety off as sights go up to the target/safety on as sights go down. That's essentially the same as the "when I see the front sight" timing. Reloads can vary depending on slide lock, administrative need, and presence or absence of a malfunction.

It's a great area & shooting community. A buddy dragged me along to an IDPA match a few years ago. A coworker has been working on me this year to come out to some USPSA or Steel Challenge. It's easy to get spoiled and broke out here. Need a box of targets or a stand? MGM is a phone call & 20 minute drive away.

I have a few more guns than I need or have time to shoot. My highest mileage firearms are a Baer TRS and an LMT Defender 2000. The Baer has a bit of finish wear from honest use. The LMT is just dog ugly with beat up Krylon covering scratches in the anodizing. Coming soon will be an STI Executive once we finish the transaction. My "I'll take it" reply in the classifieds was actually my first real post on BE.com.

I joined up almost 9 years ago and forgot to post an intro. Work and family climbed to the top of my priority list, and now I find myself getting an interest in competition after getting settled into my 40s. It's time to get out of the all work and no play rut. Shooting isn't new to me - my grandfather taught me around age 5 or 6, and I had a little stretch of being a training junkie near the end of the last decade. That was all just fundamentals of marksmanship and manipulations, use of force, and defensive training. Older, slower, and out of practice, I'm a newbie all over again. Cheers.