Mike Auger

ESTP Right in there with PT Barnum

Ther is no perfection in shooting IPSC, all we can do is note where we were not as perfect as we would like to be. Knowing where you made an error at least allows you to know what to work on before the next match. After a big match where I have ( as I often done) screwed up a stage or 2 and been mediocre on 1 or 2 more I am always suprised to find out how well I did...we tend to be harsh on ourselves without thinking that everyone else may also be making the same errors we made, maybe in a different stage. Pretty much every match is decided by who makes the least mistakes,not who goes the fastest, assuming everone in your class will have similar skill level. Worse than that is most of the mistakes come from trying to be faster than you can ( or are) when all you really have to do is be consistant. Don't hold back but just do what you can do. I think of the start of each match is like having a clean sheet of paper and I am going to do my neatest and best work on it but by the time I'm finished it always has some eraser marks, some colouring that went over the lines and maybe a coffee stain too boot. The big question is , if I know this why do I still fall into the same trap ?

Quote> My mind is my own worse enemy :-) Any tips on overcoming it? Don't use your conscious mind when you shoot and then it won't affect your shooting. This sounds easy to say and it will take a lot of devotion to get to that point....basically you must first learn and practice all the basics of shooting and moving and reloading until you can do it without thinking much the same as you can drive down the highway and talk to some one else and listen to the radio too...not that you want to try that while shooting a stage?? Once you have all the basics down pat you only have to come up with a plan to shoot the stage and then visualize yourself shooting it, in colour if you can, and of course you will be visualizing 2 A"s on every target. Things such as noshoots and hardcover do not exist in your visualization. I like to think about how I will shoot the stage until I can close my eyes and see every target in the order I plan to shoot them, where on the target I plan to put my shots, where I will stop, where I will reload, everything. This can take a while on a longer stage. When the timer beeps you just shoot. Of course this is everything that is the mental game in IPSC and a whole book or 2 could be devoted to it. Brian has an excellent book which you will need to read.

Re: triglide Ti spring There is a small steel ball bearing in there , it is pressed in and held with ( I beleive) green locktite. If the trigger group is kept lubed with trigger slick or similar it should not wear for a long time. The Ti material has a much different ( lower) sprng rate ( lbs per distance) then the typical steel spring and it is much easier to set the amount of tension for a light trigger because of that. I would only use the Ti sear spring regardless of what other trigger group components you might use.

This should be obvious but ,You must see the dot long enough to see it lift in recoil, otherwise you do not know where the muzzle was aimed at when the bullet actaully started towards the target. Sure , sounds easy but when you finger is faster than you are seeing it's easy to get one of those mystery misses.

The Latest AET barrels from SV are Schueman barrels that have been Titainium Nitride coated, this coating is so hard and wear resistant I would estimate you could get over 100K at major with jacketed no problem. If you go to the Schueman web page he has a whole section on barrel life and cleaning. http://www.schuemann.com/

Florida open is a good match with great props and tough stages ( you must know how to aim) but the prize table is skimpy ( inflated value of prizes)...I was 5th OA in open last year and got a leftover glock slide. Prizes are distributed by placement overall in open or standard

The original question was what was the best Comp design,.....I would suggest the SV IMM in 38 super ( 9.7 grains of 3N38 and a 124 HP) with 3 hybrid ports, three tribrid ports and a Titainium 3 port comp is probably the flatest shooting setup I have shot including several 9x25 designs However, Lee's experience is born out by the accuracy quirks with the first SV IMM Barrels. These are Shueman tribrid barrels with 3 hybrid ports, three tribrid ports all nicely TiN coated and a Titainium 3 port comp made for the SV IMM guns, you can see one on the SV web page. When loaded to major, using a lot of N350, and especially on a hot day these first IMM barrels would have so much pressure under the bullet as it passed out through the tribrid/comp area the bullets would rise and touch the last comp baffles causing tilted or tumbling hits. Stranger still, it would go away if it got colder or you had slightly downloaded rounds so only a modest pressure rise was enough to cause this. The later IMM's have the correct comp clearance to eliminate the problem and my IMM gun with shoot under 2" at 50 yards with me shooting it so it must be accurate as I am lucky to do that with a rifle.

After finding all the targets I like to look for all the locations they can be shot from, usually there are some targets that can be shot from more than 1 location so you can choose the best ( usually closest) place to shoot them from. If possible you can eliminate a shooting postion or 2 and save time as each setup takes time. After that has been looked at I usually try to see which way has the best flow ( that is which way has me feeling like it will be smoother for me) Smooth flow from target to target is probably even more important on a small stage where there is less chance to make up time by moving fast. There are lots more things to look for but my fingers are sore from typing.

Springs are rated either by the force required to compress them ( or stretch) a certain distance, for example the coil springs on you car may need 100 kg to compress them 1 cm, this would be a more or les constant rate. The recoil springs we use are rated for the overall force required to compress them the distance to cycle the slide, ie a 11lb spring will require 11lbs of force to compress it to fully open, with the spring not quite coil bound ( coils pessing against each other). as the spring becomes coil bound it's rate goes up to infinity. You can make a gauge to test recoil springs with a washer held in a vise and a long bolt going through the spring and the washer, a nut and washer put on the end of the bolt, jury rig a ring to the head end of the bolt so you can use a fish scale on it and pull the scale it will give you the weight of the recoil spring just before it gets coil bound.

I agree with Brian but I would also add that after a screw up most people will do what they always do after a screw up unless you actually practice shooting calmly automatically after screw ups. Once you get a screw up you are no longer shooting subconsciously so a thought you could use to get yourself back on track " like shoot A's now" seems to be a good idea. Besides how often have tried a real or practice run and said to yourself " I am going to shoot all A's this run" and then actually did? If you actually did you were lucky or slow or too good to listen to me.

Often when we get a brain fart or bad mag change we foolishly speed up to make up for lost time, usually throwing a couple of D's a miss and maybe a noshoot for good measure I guy from the US Air Force team told me a good thought to keep in the back of your head... " when you screw up, try to shoot all A's from that point." Too simple, it must work.