Loves2Shoot

Tom, I hate to state the obvious, but if you missed the point Patrick was making I'll try to help. Give me rifle shooters any day at 200 yards, preferable full auto saws. Nah just give me a chopper, hell just give me a nuke. Pistols are close combat weapons. That was their intent when they were designed. Yes I can shoot at 200 yards also with my .38 super or .40 or .45. Is it practical? I think not. Flex, I agree.

I think that is an easy way out, and falacious. For instace I having to shoot to slide lock. Having that requirement as the rule of a game is in what way "practical?" If you could choose change a magazine when the time was appropriate for you, would that not be more "practical." If you are presented with a series of target and you had to engage them in a certain order or get a FTDR penalty is that more practical than shooting them the way that you feel is most effective? If you have to retain a magazine after shooting all of the rounds (or most all) instead of just dropping it, is that more "practical" than making the choice what you do with the spent mag? I think it is practical to say that people given a choice will attemt to solve problem in the way they best see fit. If there is a sport that lets the competitor choose the way to solve the problem (stage) then that would be more practical than forcing everyone to solve the problem in the same way. Choice can help make a sport better. Just my 2 cents.

Howard, I shoot d's from time to time, but calling my shot allow me to make them up instantly. I have had several people say why did you triple tap that target? My standard reply is, "I didn't triple it, I just shot 2 good shots and one bad one." If you call a shot bad and it isn't, then you didn't call the shot. I wish I could call all my shots, but unless I am totally focused I can't. The other day I could call only about 40% of my shots. Last night I called 95%. I need to get over taking shots for granted and call each one, all the time.

Hmm, I wanted to get a stainless frame and my smith that it is more porous and that it would look better and last longer to get a steel frame and have it hardchomed, and that's what I've done and I think that steel with a hardcrome finish IS the way to go. It cleans easy, looks nice and lasts forever.

Practice, practice, practice. Dry fire a ton so you get used to holding it. Just like in basketball, the only way to dribble with you left hand is just do it.

If you are shooting anything, why would you call that a waste? An arguement might be made that different training might produce a higher overall skill level, but I think your statement assumes too many things that are falacious.

UM "anything" + 4th street sounds stupid for a name

J1b, I think I get what you are saying, but in looking where the sport is today, I think you have to go beyond the basics. You need solid basics (that's a given) but I think that getting caught up in a .85 draw isn't where it is at. I think hitting the far targets quickly will gain me more time than blazing out an ultra fast draw or reload. Most shooters will all blaze the close targets, but the partials and no-shoots seperate the men from the boys, and when I know I can pop a 6" plate at 25 yards and shoot far targets/steel without extra shoots, I am going to inch away from the ultra fast shooters who are not as accurate. The same with shooting without having to stop, if I practice at distance, the up close stuff is a breeze, and I will shoot it fast without effort. That's my 2 cents on practicing the basics at 25 yards instead of 7 yards, I do pump out bill drills now and again just for the fun of it.

OK here's my 2 cents Practical shooting is he who shoots the fastest and most acurately walks away. Not he who stuffs his mags in his pockets after reloads, or he who doesn't use cover to shoot, you shoot the bad guy BEFORE he gets the chance to shoot at you, then you win. NO .5 second penalty for non-Alpha shots, for real you put as many shots on the target(s) as you can as fast as you can, D's count too. If there are many bad guys then you'de better be ready to rip or run. Our game is non "practical" but it will develop the skills needed if they ever need to be employed, that is shooting fast and accurate with total confidence.

Heck use the bigger hammer, it is already broke

I would try the new tubeless tires, they are supposed to be akin to motorcycle tires and pretty much bomb proof.

JB, You must come from good stock coming from Bend, sure a lot of nice folks here. Are you shooting Limited or open? Or both? One thing I would really work on getting back into it is acuracy at 20-25 yards. We have some big bays and the course designers like to use them up. I am doing a ton of practice (limited) at 25-30 yards on 10 and 6" plates. Got my draws at 1.55 on 6" steel @ 25' and focusing on seeing a perfect 1st shot. Also I am trying to shoot without having to ever stop to set-up, floating the gun and shooting from any position. I used to run to a spot shot, run to a spot shoot and I am real cutting a bunch of time just shooting when I see the shot is there. BTW I have stopped practicing hosing targets and just watching my sights and I ran one course where you draw to a 10" plate @ 20 and a USP Popper, then leave the box shoot a partial target and full target uprange 7 yards and 10 to the right, then the same another 7yards uprange and 20 0 to the left, and then 3 target another 7 yards uprange and 20 to the right with the last target upper A/B zone only. When I focused on just seeing I was running the course in the mid 7's and when I was trying to hose I was in the low 9's. My fastest run was 7.35 and I saw every shot shooting on the near dead run, down 2 points. I ran back the splits and had a couple splits in the 12's without throwing 1 double tap. IT was simply amazing to see what happens when you just trust your shooting and just shoot the targets as fast as you see the shots. "Just trust your speed" I got to remeber that one come NATS.

Sounds like you times are pretty good to me. My 2 and 2's are always slower than my 1 and 1. I think this is because the timing of when you drop the mag is quicker when you do a 1 and 1. My reload times always slow down on multiple shot drills. I feel solid if I hover at 2 seconds +/- .05 for 1 and 1 and 2.5 +/- .05 for 2 and 2. But i don't put too much effort into standing reloads and draws because it doesn't seem like we use them a whole lot these days. I would rather spend .1 extra and get it every time than try to blaze one that I might miss in a match. The math doesn't make blazing speedshoots worth taking much of a risk in a match because you might gain 2 points, but you could lose 20 easy. My 2 cents would be to stick with the solid 1.0 for matches and use the .85 reload for practice and showing off like Matt B Good luck on your match.

Rhino, I think it is called a Harley A regular bike should work, just get some beefy tires and stick with a steel frame. At that weight I would stick to a conventional style bike (no suspension) at that weight.

My bro and I both have Cannondale's and they are very nice. I would go with a 2000 or newer model, used you can save a ton of $$$. Bikes don't hold value.

Zero 125's and VV 105

It is awesome fun and good exercise. Before I started training heavy for Nationals, I would ride 3-4 times a week 12-20 miles. Usually I ride really hard up a mountian and then enjoy the cruise back down, but everyone and awhile I will shuttle the bikes up to the mountain then make a day of it coming back down. I Just upgrade to a full suspension bike this year, and no more sore butt. These things are truley awesome!!! I got mine on E-bay for $650 (retail was $2400) in the winter. Not a bad deal for a 2 year old bike that was hardly ridden. Getting out and riding is great fun and it is good for the heart also.

Too long, with a neutral stance it takes no time. I can shoot moving, standing, whatever. I just try to float the gun and let it recoil and take the next shot when it's done. You can't stop recoil, so let it happen and take the next shot, locking out may be your option, but I think you will find there is a reason why most of the shooters at top don't lock out. If you think that locking is better then by all means knock yourself out using it. When that doesn't work, read BE's book again and work on the other aspects of breaking the shot you are obviously having problems with. You might try this, hold the gun entirely in your left hand and just activate the trigger with you right hand. I have seen an 11 year old do this and hit his target repeatedly. Then he realized there is no need overgrip your gun with your right hand, as the gun will move, the trick is getting it to reurn the same way everytime, and if you shoot with tension, as the tension varies, so will the return of the gun.

How flexible is that stance, like shooting around baracades, under tables, through ports all the crazy stuff we have to do. I think that you will find it takes to long to setup and it is not adaptible to the scenarios we shoot. Just one of the pitfalls to shooting locked arm.

Trust me, you DON'T want to see either of those guy in bikini's

I'm shooting at the airport It is sort of wierd with all the planes taking off and landing overhead though.

When I found out some MORON started a fire.

Of course I carry 2 guns, a KelTec p32 (because you can stick it in your pocket), and a Glock 23 in the truck, both with hydro shock.

You can get .15-.17 splits @ 7 with a 15lb spring if you practice. This is what my gunsmith told me to do to determine what spring to use in any particular setup. Take a target @3 yards aim the 1st shot and double tap. If the 2nd shot is high, put in a heavier spring. If it is low put in a lighter spring. It is pretty simple, but I like the results. Having the gun return as fast as possible to the same spot makes more sense to me than how high it jumps, since you usually only see it leave and return. Having it return to the 1st spot I aimed is cool.

I would say shoot as MANY matches as you can while you are learning. I think the more experience you have the less you learn in matches, and the time/$$$ is better spent on practice, so you can work on the things you need to work on. Just my 2-cents