IronJohn

AAR - 18 May 2013 Action Pistol - Outlaw Rough match, had a magazine malfunction on every stage. I was not thinking and overloaded every magazine forcing jams on mag changes, mag overstuffed and unable to feed. I did it four times before I figured out what I did. I'm an idiot. Fortunatly, I was able to clear each jam quickly and get back to work. Other than the malfunctions, I shot pretty well. I ended up finishing first in my division, 20 sec. ahead of the next fastest shooter in the match exluding the one open shooter. This makes me wonder about the competition and how good the guys that I thought were good really are. It's hard to tell with the outlaw match scoring. I can tell that the dry-fire practice I've been doing has really helped me. Buying Ben Stoeger's book is one of the best things I could have done to get better quickly. It's not that I'm conciously doing anything different when I shoot, or thinking about any specific drill or detail. It's more like I just feel smoother. I'm actually thinking a lot less and just doing.

11 May 2013 3-Gun Scores Scores finally posted, and I'm pleased with a 2nd place finish (out of 15 shooters) considering it was my first match with the new 1100. I still have a lot of improving to do. I learned a few things on each stage that I need to work on. This summer of 3-gun is going to be fun!

AAR - 11 May 2013 3-Gun Match - Outlaw Shotgun & Handgun only match consisting of three stages. Stage 1: Begin with pistol, dispatch the propeller plate rack. Pick-up an 18.5 in over/under shotgun and knock down a series of close range pepper poppers with birdshot while moving laterally to your shotgun and reloading, as needed. Pick-up your shotgun and with slugs knock down 11 poppers at 50-75 yards, then 1 gong hit at ~100 yds. This was the second stage I shot and I felt pretty good about it. My pistol shooting was not terrible. I cleaned the top of the rack with ease, then missed one plate while starting the bottom portion. This gave the rack enough time to start to spin. I still finished the rack at a 1/4 turn. Shooting it cleanly would have allowed me to finish it without it moving much. Something to work on. The 2, 3, 4, 1, 5, 6, 7, 8 pattern to shooting the rack appears to work best in keeping it steady. The pick-up O/U shotgun went well. I had shot this gun before in some previous matches and knew the break action was stiff and did not eject shells well. I shot all the poppers cleanly and only had one fumbled reload (the 1st) manually clearing the shells that were stuck in the chamber. I felt like I was moving quickly but with smooth planned reloads and steady pointing of the front sight. The gun has rifle-type sights, I pretty much just ignored the rear sight. Slug portion of the stage went better than expected. I had just received a new shotgun the day before. I had time to assemble and test fire it, but did not know where slugs hit or what my buckshot pattern looked like (important later). I went for the gong first, aimed high and mortared the slug way over the gong. I adjusted aim to the top of the gong and the slug hit home, low center. I aimed dead nuts on the 11 poppers and they all went down cleanly. Slugs hitting at point of aim was a pleasant surprise. Overall, the stage felt pretty good. I was very happy with my shotgunning, which is usually my weakest link. RO told me that my time was the fastest of the day so far. We'll see how it shakes out when the scores are posted. Stage 2: Begin with shotgun loaded with birdshot. Knock over a series of close range plates and three pepper poppers with three pigeons. Run latterly to the left and load buckshot. One shot at head with buckshot, avoiding no shoot covering body, need minimum of 2 pellets in head for hit. Then, hit plate activating swinger and put one shot on swinger, minimum of 2 pellets in A zone for hit. Finish out with a series of plates and a triple-drop with buckshot and/or pistol. This was the first stage I shot. New shotgun, a little nervous. I went for the poppers and pigeons first and all went as planned. Thought it would be simple to take out the remaining steel, but sailed two shots high. I need to practice more with my new Hi-Viz sight. I was just unsure were to aim at the close range steel. Fortunately, I ran the shotgun dry and was able to make my way to the buckshot portion without having to cycle birdshot out. I loaded buckshot and took the headshot aiming high. I missed. Not knowing the pattern of my buckshot, I felt it was the safest play rather than risking a 60 sec. penalty on the no shoot. I thought I might get lucky and get two in there, but not so. The miss was a 10 sec. penalty. I dispatched the swinger without issue. Then went to the triple drop thinking I would have better luck knocking it down in one shot than with my pistol. I took two. I cleared a few more plates with my remaining buckshot, then transitioned to the pistol to finish up. Pistol felt fairly good. I think I took one extra shot on a miss. Overall, the stage felt pretty good for my first attempt at running the new shotgun. Take home, I need to spend some time verifying buckshot pattern and slug point of impact before the next match. I'm giving myself a break on the buckshot head shot. Just trying to be pleased with not hitting the no shoot... Stage 3: Begin with shotgun loaded with birdshot. From left side of barricade, take out three pigeons in a line in the berm, then two poppers that launch two pigeons. From right side of barricade, drop with more poppers and two launched birds. On the move, laterally to the right, take out 4 close range poppers avoiding 3 no shoots. At next barricade engage Texas star with shotgun and/or pistol. Then, finish out the stage by dropping 4 close range paper targets with headshots, avoiding 4 no shoots. This was my stage design, and I shot it last. I think this gave me the benefit of getting to experience everyone else shooting it and their strategies. I knew if I shot it clean, I would only have to reload once. I got off to a shaky start with a miss on the second pigeon in the berm. Again, I need to work on where to aim on those close range targets. Maybe I was going a little too fast. I cleared everything from the first barricade, then reloaded my shotgun before moving out. I dropped the 4 close poppers without issue, then went to engage the two poppers with pigeons. No problem with the popper hits and first bird, but I missed on the second bird (a mini pigeon) and had run my shotgun dry. I made my way to the star and took it down with my pistol. I was amazed at how many shooters stood there reloading their shotfgun instead of jerking thier pistol and getting to work. The top plate I had to hit twice as it seemed stuck in the socket. Star went OK, but could have been smoother. Finished up with speed on the close range headshot. I felt good about it, but interestingly drop a couple points with my second shots landing outside the A rectangle in the B portion of the head. Overall, I was kinda disappointed with how I shot my stage. Missing the pigeon and not having a second shot on it due to ammo mismanagement pissed me off. I should have loaded more than eight during my reload. I also went too fast on the headshots at the end. A little slower would have got me all As, but I was trying to make-up the 10 sec. penalty for the missed pigeon. The match overall was a lot of fun. This was my first time shooting a semi-auto shotgun and it was a pleasant change from my broken 870 pump. I was expecting to do far worse than how I felt I did with it. The 1100 functioned flawlessly. I did close the bolt twice on accident. Need to work more on my reloads, that's all. I was also loading off my belt from shell caddies for the first time in a match. I had practiced a bit dry-fire with the 870 doing reloads and it's much faster than loading out of a shell carrier or pouch. The weight of the shotgun fully loaded is also something I will have to get used to. Very different experience coming from my 18.5" 870. I was neither pleased nor disappointed with my pistol shooting. Shooting the propeller plate rack and star cleanly would have sped things up a bit. Also slowing down a little to get all As on the head shots at stage three would have equated to a better score. I think I was a little rattled/overwhelmed with thinking a lot about my shotgunning and strategy, that I lost focus when it came to the pistol. I'm looking forward to the scores getting posted and will likely update this post when they come out.

Current Gear Outlaw Action Pistol Handgun - Glock 35 Gen 3, Heinie Straight 8 sights, extended tungsten guide rod, 13# ISMI recoil spring, OEM 3.5# connector, Zev steel reduced weight safety plunger and spring, 4# reduced weight striker spring, all parts polished with 400-900 grit stones per Grant's process as outlined on M4Carbine forums and stickied in the Glock section of this forum, Trugrip grips, Dawson Precision Super Heavy magwell, TTI base plates on magazines (20 round capacity) Rig - CR speed belt, 4 Safariland 730 mag pouches, Comp-tac International holster, dropped and offset. Outlaw 3-Gun Handgun - same as action pistol Rifle - Custom assembled by me. Daniel Defense upper, 16" lighter weight profile barrel chambered in 5.56, midlength gas system, DD low-pro gas block, Battle Comp, DD OmegaX 12" rail covered in Flacon/Ergo rail ladders, BUIS (Troy battle sight front, KAC rear aperture sight), DD bolt carrier group, BCM Gunfighter charging handle medium latch, Vortex SPARC RD sight with 3x magnifier, swing mount. Palmetto State Armory lower, mil-spec lower parts kit, ALG ACT trigger, BCM Gunfighter Mod 1 grip, Magpul CTR stock, chrome silicon buffer spring, h2 buffer. If I had it to do over again, I'd build something entirely different. Shotgun - Remington 1100, 28" modified vent-ribbed barrel, Dave's Metal Works Easyloader, Chaote magazine extension (10+1), Chaote charging handle, replaced wood with synthetic stock, HIVIZ sight. Rig - Double Alpha belt, 1 Blade-Tech AR mag pouch, 2 DSG pistol mag pouches, 3 Taccom Quick Caddies, DSG Competition Holster.

Current Training Regime The following is in addition to my regular physical fitness routine that involves both cardio and strength training. 1. 30 minutes of dry-fire training using Ben Stoeger's book daily. Two exercises a night. I use a par timer and am currently well within the intermediate times for most drills, but am somewhere in between beginner and intermediate on a few/ more towards the intermediate, but just missing the end beep. My reloads need practice. 2. Grip strength training 2-3 times a week. I currently use a CoC trainer and #1. I can consistently close the #1 without issue. Considering the purchase of a #2 and maybe the CoC resistance bands as well. I think my grip strength is above average, mainly due to other fitness related exercises I do. I can definitely see how it does help with shooting and recoil control. 3. Monthly, I design stages for pistol and sometimes 3-gun matches. I usually take a few hours a week to think about set-up and what I want to accomplish/test with a stage. This is a mental exercise where I draw out various stage designs and envision how I would go through them. I have a notebook I keep all this in. It can be rather frustrating to put the effort into designing a stage, then arrive on match day to set-up and have the rug pulled out from under you by the match director that for whatever reason decided to change the rules that day. A good example of why I might appreciate standardization in USPSA. 4. I need to work more live-fire into my training. I consider the outlaw matches I shoot in twice a month (1 pistol, 1 3-gun match) my current live fire training. But I see a need for at least a couple more sessions of live-fire drill training monthly.

Introduction For a little over a year, I have been participating in "outlaw"-type 3-gun and pistol matches at a local club. Prior to this, I had not handled a firearm in over a decade. While my father did teach me how to shoot growing up, and I did have some involvement with him in USPSA matches when I was in high school and early in college, for the most part, I was a new shooter about a year ago, competition shooter at least. I have used the past year's matches at the local club as training sessions, more or less. Because of the "oddities" of the outlaw-type rules that are somewhat inconsistent/vary depending on the mood of the match director and some of the participants, I decided to just have fun with it and compete against myself. I simply wanted to improve and have fun. And I did! I set up and shot a few stages a month at the club for practice by myself, then tried to put it all together in the monthly matches. That was the extent of my training/shooting. It was overall a good, fun year. I befriended a handful of good people and learned a lot. I even learned to design stages and run/score them. This year, I have decided to take my shooting and training a little more seriously. I've put down my Glock 23 and carry gear, and picked up a Glock 35 and proper competition rigging. I've purchased a few books on shooting, techniques, and training regimes, Stoeger, Enos, etc. and have implemented a dry-fire practice plan that is working. I have also been doing a fair amount of reading on this forum and other internet sources to broaden my exposure to the sport. I recently joined USPSA and am excited to start participating in matches and getting classified. I wonder how I will do. Unfortunately, the nearest clubs that hold USPSA matches are a fair distance from where I live, 3 hours + one-way. I acquired a club affiliation packet from USPSA and am considering approaching some shooters at the local club about affiliation to sense the interest. If I had to guess, this is going to be an uphill battle. The club use to hold IDPA matches and in recent years left that behind for this outlaw-type system. It is my understanding that most of the participants prefer this freedom and are not interested in changing anything. But I could be wrong. I would prefer a standardized set of rules, not at the whim of any one individual. I think I would also appreciate the classification system as a way to gauge my success and improvement. It would also be nice to have all my efforts result in something I can take with me when I move on from my current station. I will not be here forever, and while the local club is fun, I want a little more than what it currently offers. It might also be fun to travel to other clubs and participate in their matches, meet new people, and have a record of it. I honestly can see any negative to getting into USPSA...

Greetings - I've been lurking a little while here on the forums, reading posts on training and techniques. I thought it was about time to start participating. Background - I grew up shooting with my father back in southwest Ohio. He ran USPSA matches at his local club along with a group of guys that also shot what they called Friday Night Steel. In high school and college (mid-late 90's - early 00's), I traveled with my Dad throughout the region to various matches and shot a few, too. I never was registered with USPSA and just shot unclassified. I think I learned a lot from my father and his shooting friends, but life changes constantly. I moved away from Ohio chasing career options and currently reside on the Western Slope of Colorado. Up until last year, I had not handled a firearm in over a decade. I started shooting at a local club within an hour drive from where I live. The club formerly held sanctioned IDPA matches, but now runs "outlaw" 3-gun and "action pistol" matches monthly. The matches are known for high round counts (30+ per stage) with IDPA-like rules. There is a small group of good people that participate in the club, run the matches, and design the various stages. Currently - Just shooting the matches at the local club in the past year has improved my skills considerably and it feels right to just be back around the culture. I've recently started to get a little more serious about regular training, and I'm seeing marked improvements from my efforts. I've picked up a few books from Stoeger and Enos and am now settled into a regular dry-fire practice routine. I'm also working on my mental game, as for me that is a big part of how I do at the local matches. Lastly, I'm trying to improve my gear set-ups and competition firearms. This forum has been a great asset to my endeavors. Thank you. Lastly, I've become involved in stage design and range officer duties for our local action pistol and 3-gun matches. It's fun to build stages that the shooters appreciate and that build skills I need to work on. The club has a good supply of various steel & paper targets and props that allow for somewhat elaborate stage design. I'm considering approaching the club to affiliate with USPSA. I've yet to really discuss it with anyone at the club, but sense through conversation that it might not be so well received. I'd like to participate more in USPSA. I think it would be rewarding to work my way up the ranks, have all my efforts count for something that sticks with me, rather than simply shooting outlaw matches for fun. Unfortunately, the closest clubs that are USPSA affiliated are 3+ hour drives away. Well, that's about it for an intro. I plan to start a range diary and look forward to participating with the forum. I know that this will add to my learning and development as a shooter. Thanks, again.