Nimitz Posted January 6, 2014 Author Share Posted January 6, 2014 (edited) ok, in that case MFCEO is a big part of it as well ... he fixed a fundamental trigger control issue I've had (and didn't really understand) since I started which is making a big difference and he fixed errors in how I train which was holding me back as well .... Look forward to shooting with you Sat, (assuming I figure out how to reassembly my gun by Fri night), and make sure you sign up on my squad .... Edited January 6, 2014 by Nimitz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nimitz Posted January 6, 2014 Author Share Posted January 6, 2014 Learned something interesting at the USPSA group practice session on Saturday. I was consistently shooting center high on 25 yd targets when I let a friend of mine (who has a Shadow on the way) try my gun. His first comment was "hey your FO dot on the front sight is in the middle of the post ...seems kinda low". well on my G34 the dot on my Sevigny sight was right at the top so I could just line up the dot with the notch & it would be level. with about 40,000 rds down range like that I was subconsciously lining up the dot of my Shadow with the notch which was putting the sight high ... obviously I could spend a lot of time retraining myself to shoot the new front sight but the better plan is to swap it out for a Dawson sight which is like the Sevigny was on my G34 ... I'll have to live with it for Saturday's match ... great, another new conscious thing to clutter my mind during the match .... but hopefully I can get it sent out & returned quickly after Sat. This same friend trains with Manny a couple of times a year and we did an interesting drill that they do ... with a plate rack in the middle at 15-20 yds set up 2 sets of paper targets at 5 yds. One set on the left side & one on the right. make sure their is a good 10 yds between the sets of targets. The drill is for one shooter to line up in front of each set of 2 paper targets such that for the left shooter the targets are slightly to hiss left & the reverse for the right shooter. You also setup a fault line a couple of yards in front of each start line. On the timer both shooters engage their respective paper targets and then move forward to engage 3 plates. Fastest time to hit the 3 plates & get 4 As on paper wins. You must have 4 As to count your time. This drill works best when one shooter is slightly better than the other ... if you have a training partner give it a try, you'll be surprised at what you learn ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nimitz Posted January 6, 2014 Author Share Posted January 6, 2014 just got off the phone with Automatic Accuracy and I'll be shipping them my slide on Monday & they'll be installing a 195 x .095 Dawson front sight on my gun. Should have it done within one day & shipped back so I won't be very long without the Shadow ...good excuse to get out my open rimfire blaster and shoot a few training sessions with it ... US Steel Nationals aren't too far away ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nimitz Posted January 10, 2014 Author Share Posted January 10, 2014 today at the range I went to finishing testing loads. I made up some 147g loads to check for accuracy and also some rounds with Tula primers to see if with my new spring combo I could use them for practice and reduce my costs from $40/1000 to $23.50/1000. I also made up some .357 147g rds to see if they were more accurate. The results were pretty good. I managed a 3" group at 25 yds off a bench with the .356 147s and a 2-2.5" group with the .357s. Also shoot a 1.5" group off hand at 17ds with the .357s. Given the noticeable recoil change with the 147s coupled with today's accuracy it looks like my final load will be a 147g .357 plated RN from Xtreme under 3.7g of WST, OAL at 1.145-1.15. Tulas primers for training & Winchester/CCI for matches. I only had 1 light strike out of the box which is more than acceptable for training given the cost differential. Had a few extra rds so I went and played around with the plate rack ... at 25 yds I went 6/6 easier than I've ever done before. I didn't bring my holster so I did 10 yd runs from the low ready with my best being 2.68 secs. Did a couple lined up on the 1st plate to test my reaction time & managed a first shot of .19 with a 2.44 sec run Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nimitz Posted January 18, 2014 Author Share Posted January 18, 2014 So. now that my local club politics is behind me for a while I can get back to shooting ... Shoot my first match with my CZ last week. Some things went well, some not so well .. On the good side: manual decocking was a non issue, DA first shot also not a big deal -even on one stage where I had no choice but to shhot a 17yd target from the draw. I even managed a perfect score on the largest stage of the match - a 32 rd field course .... 32 As. Good even for a second place stage finish and I was the only shooter in the entire 74 person field to shoot it clean ... On the not so good side: I new I was probably going to have an issue with my recently identified front sight issue and I ended up with 4 Mikes on a stage where there were 2 targets that you could only take headshots surrounded by non shoots at about 13 yds or so. Also, during my dry fire I noticed that sometimes my strong hand index finger would push up slightly on the right side safety, not allowing the trigger to move all the way. Had to draw the gun 5 times during this match and on the last stage this issue happened. Hopefully I just need more dry fire for this one ... The biggest issue I had was mags not dropping freely during reloads. It didn't happen all the time and I think I've IDed the issue. During drumfire I usually don't drop mags so this issue never appeared and I didn't have much live fire before the match as I just got the gun ... Overall I am very happy with my decision to switch ... Especially since CZ USA just announced the Shadow is discontinued for the time being ... On to the match results .... Even if you ignore the 4 mikes from my front sight issue, I still have 3 others for a total of 7 .... This simply has got to stop. I have to start shooting clean matches. We had 2 swingers and I shot both of the clean and I didn't have any long range misses (20+ yds) so there is no excuse for this. So, my only goal for my next match is NO mikes, period Haven't been able to shoot all week because my top end is with Mink so hopefully I'll get it back in the next day or sp. guess I'll just do some SC practice while I'm waiting and crank out a bunch of ammo with my free time ....... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justaute Posted January 18, 2014 Share Posted January 18, 2014 FWIW regarding the right-side safety. If you are using the stock, extended safety, replace it. You can replace just the right side of both sides. Options are the regular the regular SP-01 (non-Shadow) safety and the thin safety. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jabbermurph Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 I had a similar problem with the safety on the left side. I have long, hitch hiker thumbs and occasionally on the draw and table starts, I would sweep the safety on with my strong hand thumb. I switched to the thin safeties (Rami safeties, not the Shadow thins) and fixed the problem. I have since started allowing my thumb to naturally point up as I draw and begin building the grip. This has also proven to be a plus for me because my strong hand thumb position blocks the image of the front sight from my left eye, allowing my to shoot with both eyes open without tape or chap stick on the left lens of my glasses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nimitz Posted January 19, 2014 Author Share Posted January 19, 2014 thx guys. I don't have an issue with my left safety since my draw technique includes flagging my strong hand thumb so I can build my grip with the weak hand easier, thus also keeping it away from the safety but for the right side I like your idea switching safeties ... never thought of that. Justaute: do you know which is the smallest profile? the SP01 non Shadow or the thin ones? Thx! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robb315 Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 The thin safety is the lowest profile. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nimitz Posted January 19, 2014 Author Share Posted January 19, 2014 Cool, now I just have to find them ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RaylanGivens Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 I have the standard (medium) safety on my Shadow. Like jabbermurph, I hook my strong (right) hand over the safety during the draw. Leaves room for a better weak hand grip on the grip and makes sure the safety stays off. Would changing only one safety be legal in Production? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nimitz Posted January 19, 2014 Author Share Posted January 19, 2014 It's not my thumb that is the issue since it is flagged. It will be much slower if I have to hold down the safety with my thumb and then flag it after I complete the draw to get my weak hand thumb under it. As long as the the safety is an OEM part I should be good .... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RaylanGivens Posted January 20, 2014 Share Posted January 20, 2014 Never heard the term "flag" before... When I grip my CZ in the holster I keep my thumb up... During the draw as I get a grip with my weak hand I drop my strong hand thumb over my weak hand thumb and the safety. Was thinking that your index finger couldn't push the safety up if your thumb was holding it down... Changing to a smaller safety is probably a better idea... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nimitz Posted January 20, 2014 Author Share Posted January 20, 2014 (edited) It's from training with Seeklander .... And from your description you are doing exactly that ... Flagging your thumb as you draw ... You are absolutely right that I would not be able to engage the safety that way but I have enough new things to worry about with my new CZ so I don't want to have to change my draw technique if a simple equipment change will work and it's definitely slower ... At least for me... Edited January 20, 2014 by Nimitz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nimitz Posted January 21, 2014 Author Share Posted January 21, 2014 Well for the first time since I took up competition shooting 2 yrs ago I find myself without a handgun to train with ... Still waiting for my top end to come back from AA, talked to Matt yesterday and he said it was done so hopefully it gets in the mail ... Also needed to send my c-more and grips back to Extreme today on my SC gun ... In retrospect I guess I could have waited until my CZ was back so I'd have something to train with but too late now One thing I may do is some reload practice since I was having some issues with mags dropping that had a technique element in it. Not a perfect solution since the gun is missing the top end but better than doing nothing for another entire week .... I also just picked up another contract in my custom woodworking business so I can use the down time to get ahead on both customer's projects ... Not used to having 2 going at the same time it will be important to stay on top of the, or I may find myself having to stop shooting all together for a time to get them donev... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nimitz Posted January 22, 2014 Author Share Posted January 22, 2014 My CZ top end is in the mail today so hopefully it will arrive by this weekend so I can get some SC practice in next week. Also went to the range during lunch today to help a friend sight in his 30-06 so I brought my 3-gun CQB rifle to check it. Even managed a 6" group at 100 yds with just my red dot optic ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nimitz Posted January 23, 2014 Author Share Posted January 23, 2014 Correction ... It was a 4"x4" group .... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nimitz Posted January 27, 2014 Author Share Posted January 27, 2014 (edited) So with the return to normal weather around here & my slide returned I got back to training this morning. Since I won't have my open rimfire gun back in time for Saturday's SC match due to another round of blinging, I decided that this week I'll just shoot SC stages with my CZ since Saturday will be the first time I've ever shot SC centerfire. I decided to setup one of the 2 hardest stages to work on ... Pendulum. And while I didn't break any records I was able to go 5 for 5 without too much trouble with runs averaging around 5.5 secs. My draw to the first plate (17yd 12") was typically around 1.9. Unfortunately I had a major issue with my ammo. before buying a bunch of Tula primers I loaded up 1oo rds & shot them with the lower spring config (11.5# hammer, reduced pwr trigger return spring, reduced pwr firing pin spring) and only had 2 light strikes. This morning, out of 135 rds I had 25 light strikes so I'm not sure what has changed? I wonder if it is possible to seat a primer too deep? I am going to put the other springs back in and see what happens on Wed. Worst case I'll just shoot with the 'heavier' springs for training and put the light springs in for matches where I shoot Winchester & Fed 100 primers. Not the end of the world since my DA pull would go from 5.5 lbs to 6.3 lbs & SA 2.8 to 3.5 .... Edited January 27, 2014 by Nimitz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alma Posted January 27, 2014 Share Posted January 27, 2014 So. now that my local club politics is behind me for a while I can get back to shooting ... Shoot my first match with my CZ last week. Some things went well, some not so well .. On the good side: manual decocking was a non issue, DA first shot also not a big deal -even on one stage where I had no choice but to shhot a 17yd target from the draw. I even managed a perfect score on the largest stage of the match - a 32 rd field course .... 32 As. Good even for a second place stage finish and I was the only shooter in the entire 74 person field to shoot it clean ... On the not so good side: I new I was probably going to have an issue with my recently identified front sight issue and I ended up with 4 Mikes on a stage where there were 2 targets that you could only take headshots surrounded by non shoots at about 13 yds or so. Also, during my dry fire I noticed that sometimes my strong hand index finger would push up slightly on the right side safety, not allowing the trigger to move all the way. Had to draw the gun 5 times during this match and on the last stage this issue happened. Hopefully I just need more dry fire for this one ... The biggest issue I had was mags not dropping freely during reloads. It didn't happen all the time and I think I've IDed the issue. During drumfire I usually don't drop mags so this issue never appeared and I didn't have much live fire before the match as I just got the gun ... Overall I am very happy with my decision to switch ... Especially since CZ USA just announced the Shadow is discontinued for the time being ... On to the match results .... Even if you ignore the 4 mikes from my front sight issue, I still have 3 others for a total of 7 .... This simply has got to stop. I have to start shooting clean matches. We had 2 swingers and I shot both of the clean and I didn't have any long range misses (20+ yds) so there is no excuse for this. So, my only goal for my next match is NO mikes, period Haven't been able to shoot all week because my top end is with Mink so hopefully I'll get it back in the next day or sp. guess I'll just do some SC practice while I'm waiting and crank out a bunch of ammo with my free time ....... I noticed mags not dropping in a match even though I had no issues in practice. It had to do with the mag release button. When I was in a match situation I would push on the release harder it would trap the magazine. The fix was easy. Look through the magwell and press the release as hard as you can to see how much protrudes, then take it out and remove some material with a dremel. As for the safety issues, I adjusted my grip to just ride my right hand thumb on top of the safety so I don't have any issues with accidentally flipping it on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nimitz Posted January 27, 2014 Author Share Posted January 27, 2014 I'll take a look at the mag release button but for the safety I specifically do not what to change my draw to have my thumb on the safety during the draw because then I have to flag it afterwards so my weak hand thumb can get into position which for me is a slower process. I think the RAMI safety should do the trick ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZackJones Posted January 27, 2014 Share Posted January 27, 2014 Those 10" plates on the 5' targets were wreaking havoc at the match this past weekend. My average was 8.54 shooting my revolver. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nimitz Posted January 27, 2014 Author Share Posted January 27, 2014 Yeah, I was pretty worried about that particular stage so I figured if I could get thru that stage I wouldn't embarrass myself too bad this weekend ... We can only do 6/8 stages in any one match so maybe I could pay off the MD to just setup the 'easy' ones this Sat ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZackJones Posted January 27, 2014 Share Posted January 27, 2014 We typically do 4 official and 1 unofficial stage. This weekend our unofficial stage was called "Nothing But Hope" Picture Smoke & Hope but in reverse. Small plates and large 18x14 stop plate. But spread it out so that it occupies the whole bay. We literally had to swing from hard left to hard right to engage the targets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nimitz Posted January 27, 2014 Author Share Posted January 27, 2014 Cool. Are your matches sanctioned so that folks can get classified? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZackJones Posted January 27, 2014 Share Posted January 27, 2014 Cool. Are your matches sanctioned so that folks can get classified? Yup. We're working with Val from USPSA so that I can upload results. We're 3 months behind in doing that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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