barebones1 Posted January 6, 2017 Share Posted January 6, 2017 I had about a year and 20 some IDPA match's under my belt, when I shot my first uspsa match in march /16. using a glock 34 ( my idpa rig). Wow I was hooked, no cover, full mags, shoot it as you see it. Looking back, my first match was a disaster. Running past targets. An entire family of MIKES. "can you count classifier" turns out I couldn't. Didn't matter, as far as I was concerned. The clouds had parted and I was standing in the warm sunshine. The glock lasted 2 matches. Enter the new tanfoglio limited 40 with all the goodies. The cart, the progressive press, the perfect bullet, etc. etc. I Met so many ( of what I conceder) to be the greatest people. Shot a named "big match. Won some Good prizes. I shoot with 3 different clubs in 3 states, 3 weekends a month. My pistol handling and accuracy, improved by leaps and bounds. I claim to be " one with my gun" I know where my shot went when I pull the trigger. This is mainly from help and advise from the Jedi masters I shoot with. ( thanks to my Jedi masters) . And DRY_FIRE. I finished in top 5 most accurate in quite a few matches. My struggle was physical. No matter what I did, my PT was sub par. Turned out the physical issues were underlying medical ( cancer). Shot my last 2 matches in Dec. In treatment now, going well and expect/hope to start competing again late February , early march. So at the end of 9 months of USPSA shooting, I am qualified as a C class shooter. I have a gun, rig and load, I am completely comfortable with. Next year projections. I am comfortable to make B class, possibly A. Last year, my last couple match's I was on cruse control. No energy , just generally feeling lousy. I was just shooting it, not pushing it. so I would like to share a few observations with beginner shoots this is the MYTH BUSTERS list 1# Jedi Thomas ; is 300 lbs master class( this man is rolling thunder ) lesson / big guys are master too 2# Jedi Steven ; will smoke you and 50 other shooters with a STOCK glock and factory ammo. lesson / gear will NOT make you great 3# Master Stan ; push speed to the edge of out of control. lesson you will never advance classes if your comfortable. ( probably not saying this well) 4# master Stan Details : blowing past a target ( FTE or FTN ) Mikes. you as the shooter own that. Good stage execution and mental preparation are just as important and gear prep. "blow past a target" there goes your match. cant wait for march Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AzShooter Posted January 7, 2017 Share Posted January 7, 2017 Good for you. Nice to see someone enjoying the sport and trying when times are hard. Keep shooting and you will improve and get your A card. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hi-Power Jack Posted January 7, 2017 Share Posted January 7, 2017 Wish you well, with a Very Happy, Healthy & Prosperous New Year, Barebones Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GlockGuy1 Posted February 3, 2017 Share Posted February 3, 2017 Wow, I pray that you are healed completely and you get back to competing at your full potential very soon. I was the same way after a couple of USPSA matches, now I have a custom 2011 and I barely touch my Glock. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
homewrecker07 Posted February 4, 2017 Share Posted February 4, 2017 Awesome story! Your passion for this sport is inspiring and hope you overcome whatever is ailing you. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Broncman Posted February 9, 2017 Share Posted February 9, 2017 Glad you are on the mend and ready to get behind the trigger again! Inspiring story! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barebones1 Posted April 19, 2017 Author Share Posted April 19, 2017 So....shot my first match Saturday. 4/15. according to my doctor, I am now cancer free. That is the good news! The bad news is, cancer treatment in my case was devastating to my body. Despite my effort to start shooting sooner, recovery is slow. went in at 285 came out at 204. Have not eaten anything from 11/20 to 4/10. Iv`s everyday and boost shakes and enough morphine to kill a horse. This is just to give back ground for the match. My doctor said I was cancer free. I went home and threw the morphine away, and hobbled up to my local IDPA match. Grabbed some used targets and set up dry-fire in the yard. First day, 5 min of dry-fire = 30 of dry-heaves. Currently I can only hold my pistol on target for .5 seconds before I start shaking. Practiced everyday, finally last Saturday. I shot my first match back. 4/15. results 30th of 55. 113/a , 20/C , 2/m. 3 good stages 5.4 hit factor. Took my time, still weak as water. But I shot and man did it feel great! So sore on Sunday I barely got off the couch, LOL still cant hardly move rt arm. 2 gun this weekend and uspsa for the following 3 weekends. Going to use shooting as the cornerstone of my physical recovery. I still feel ,I can make b class by the end of the year. So great to be back........see you out there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saleemmamdani Posted April 19, 2017 Share Posted April 19, 2017 WTG! Congratulations on being cancer free and best of luck achieving your goals! After what you've been through, I wouldn't bet against your determination!Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hi-Power Jack Posted April 19, 2017 Share Posted April 19, 2017 Lots of nutritional support and a slowly increasing exercise program should be very useful, at this point in your remarkable recovery ... Good luck - all the best - let's go for The Gold Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barebones1 Posted May 11, 2017 Author Share Posted May 11, 2017 well , still weak as water......but holly crap, I made "B" class. shot a classifier match last weekend in ala. and averaged 64.51% best of 4 out of 6. woohoo. seems silly, but I am tickled to death. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R1_Demon Posted May 11, 2017 Share Posted May 11, 2017 Awesome to hear on both accounts....cancer sucks! But I'm glad to hear that you made B. Very cool indeed! Keep up the awesome work! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pointerman1967 Posted May 11, 2017 Share Posted May 11, 2017 Congrats on beating cancer and making B. You sir are an inspiration! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hi-Power Jack Posted May 11, 2017 Share Posted May 11, 2017 18 hours ago, barebones1 said: still weak as water......but holy crap, I made "B" class.I am tickled to Death. Congrats But, I wouldn't use the D word .... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nugget Posted May 11, 2017 Share Posted May 11, 2017 Beating cancer is awesome and B class is the icing on the cake. Congratulations! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tdp88 Posted May 17, 2017 Share Posted May 17, 2017 Congrats on beating cancer! I'm hoping to advance to be competitive in B class by the end of the year. Getting there feels easy, putting an entire match together is killing me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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