38supPat

This SHOULD be one of the most active threads..unfortunately it's also one of the hardest to answer. Some of this should answer both sets of questions...I hope. In most forms of racing ( and IPSC sort of falls into this category ) The top runners are not going at max. ability. I know thats hard to swallow after seeing someone like Rob L. Jerry B. or Todd J. smoke a course. (or Travis and Brian too). The problem is if you are going at 100% of the limit of your ability there is a huge chance you'll push just that little bit over your limit and crash. The Top guys know that winning stage glory is fine but if you want to win the match you gotta be consistent. In 1997 Jerry Barnhard won the Open Nationals without winning a single stage. He just stayed steady and played his game. No blistering stages but no mistakes. One thing I've learned over time is that more often than not, the match is not decided by who out shoots who, but who made the least errors. Especially in the big matches. In practice I like to start by shooting groups, work on sight visualization and tracking as well as focus. Then I'll work on the drill of the day. Here I'll work up with some predictable steady runs then try to build up the speed. Test the limits of what I can do. If I start to miss or bobble, I turn it down a notch. You have to push yourself to go fast in practice and see what happens. Then moderate it with clean consistent runs. See how fast you can go then see how much you have to dial back to stay in control. You have to experiment to see what you are capable of then see what it takes to be steady. You have to be driven to stick with the game plan rather than be sucked into trying to keep up with or beat the M's/GM's. The squad I usually shoot with as the U.S. Nationals is brutal. There are several high M's to mid Gm's all of who are capable of coming close to the Super Squad. Unfortunatly it becomes a hosefest every year with each shooter feeding off the speed of the others. Everyone is out to smoke each other from stage to stage, not play their own game. And most crash and burn sooner or later. Ignore the other scores, get your plan and do what you can do. Don't push and don't hold back. Decide whats acceptable and do it. If you think about going fast or shooting A's your mind isn't on what it's actually doing. I know I'm going on here in length but here's a small story. In 1996 I went to the Open Nationals. I was shooting well and getting alot of attention from the masters on my squad. It was my first U.S. Nationals and I was shooting very well, they all commented favorably on my skill (look at my head swell will you) All was good til I got to the Chronograph. Did I mention I was shooting a borrowed gun (mine broke at the Can. Nationals that year) and hadn't had time to work up a load, I just went with a suggested one. Well I ended up minor (really sux), this was half way through the match. Many guys on my squad said 'just shoot A's'. I didn't, because I knew my head was already screwed up enough I didn't need to be thinking of only hitting A's. I shot as I would have had I been major and still managed to beat some fellow squad members even though I was minor. Afterward they commented on how well I shot and didn't seem to let the minor score affect my shooting. It never occured to me to change. I did what I knew I could do. No more, no less. And still managed to come home with a couple of hundred dollars worth of prizes. I learned alot from that. Play YOUR game and you will do the best that you can. Pat

O.k. well I got it as a listed quote from George Carlin, and do you think comedians never swipe material from each other? Is every joke you've ever told written by you?...lol

Here's more George Carlin 1. Never raise your hands to your kids. It leaves your groin unprotected 2. I'm not into working out. My philosophy is no pain, no pain 3. I'm in shape...round is shape 4. I'm desperately trying to figure out why Kamikaze pilots wore helmets 5. Do illiterate people get the fulleffect of alphabet soup? 6. I've always wanted to be somebody, but I should have been more specific. 7. Ever notice when you blow on a dog's nose he gets mad at you, but when you take him in a car he sticks his head out the window? 8.Ever notice that anyone going slower than you is an idiot, but anyone going faster is a maniac? 9. You have to stay in shape. My mother started walking five miles a day when she was 60. She's 97 now and we have no idea where she is. 10. I have six locks on my door, all in a row. When I go out, I lock every other one. I figure no matter how long somebody stands there picking the locks, they are always locking three of them. 11. One out of every three Americans is suffering from some form of mental illness. Think of two of your friends. If they are O.K., then it must be you. 12 They show you how detergents take out bloodstains. I think if you've got a t-shirt with bloodstains all over it, maybe your laundry isn't your biggest problem. Pat

Couple of points going back a bit I don't know if the p-16-40 meets USPSA production requirements but it definately does not meet world rules. Second .38 super is not allowed as a major cartridge in modified. I don't know why. Despite being a confirmed Open shooter, I would highly recommend getting the P-16-40 and shooting limited only for awhile. Experience the sport, try some other guns, experiment (carefully) with your own equipment and technique and have fun. Don't worry about trying dozens of different things right at the start. Go out and find out what you like and go from there. The Para will give you an excellent place to start. Pat

Remember too the super goes back to 1929. Back then they had it headspace on the semi-rim, not the case mouth as it does now. So accuracy left a little to be desired. But it was origionally designed as a law enforcement round. However nowadays there are few pistols chambered for it that meet law enforcement requirements (DA or DAO) in fact off the top of my head only the Sig p-220 comes to mind. Duane you know of any others? also there's not much in the way of ammo selection 130 gr round nose jacketed or Win. silvertip not much else. Pat

I think everyone should try it it's a blast...and amazing what you can hit if you don't worry about getting a 'perfect' sight picture. I've thought about just putting a shotgun bead on the front of my .45. When you realize that you can hit reliably out to 10 yds without sights, You will soon realize the uselessness of night sights. If its bright enough to identify your target you can hit it without trying to find those little dots. Especially after having your night vision damaged by a flash of light or muzzle flash. Pat

Don't kid yourself dude...check out all the posts regarding limited guns and parts available. Makes a racegun look simple to set up...lol Pat

Thought that length reference might attract some attention...lol. Now then, yes when expressed as a percentage it may seem like a lot of difference but listen to a 14 split and a 18 split and tell me if it really makes a difference. Yes the DAO Para is not your average DA pull but it is long. it may be light but the return spring is also light. True the return spring assists in trigger speed and that is a point for you. Pat

I guess I'm gross then! But I am sensitive to the 'quality' of a trigger pull does this make sense? Pat

I agree with most the above comments except Duane's (well we have to disagree once in awhile) I don't believe trigger pull length has Anything to do with pure trigger speed. Just ask Jerry M. the revolver wiz. Seriously I've dropped the hammer on just about any type of gun from 1911's to Sigs, Para-Ordanace DA only's to revolvers. My predictable splits vary at best .04 of a sec. From .14 with a 1911 racegun to .16 with a Para DA only and .18 with a stock revolver. Granted we're talking extreme speed hosing here but the ability to pull the trigger at that speed proves that length doesn't count it's how you use it. On my race gun I back the reset screw right out to maximum...lots of travel. Doesn't affect my speed and helps my points. I have pulled down to a (one time) .09 in a match ('99 Canadian Nationals) with that set up. Pat

Bad news dude,just got new Front Sight magazine...no article yet. Darn I was looking forward to it. Oh well hopefully next one. Pat

Aluminum ain't gonna cut it. It won't stand up to the rigors of IPSC. I've seen some pretty innovative ideas to try to make them stay together but they won't, especially if you try to load 9mm or 9x21 major. Secondly there are very few parts availible for Sigs. Modifications would have to be custom one offs and thats expensive. I know it may seem cool to try to go against the grain and you deserve points for origionality but I think you'll be disappointed in the long run. Look up SVI's sight and check prices for Open gun packages. I don't think you'll be able to match it for price or quality with any custom 'other' gun. Pat

Lol...well the fact that everyone is shooting one type of gun should be a hint as to what to use. However Todd seems to do alright with his Para so go for it. Pat

As long as you don't let it affect the way you shoot the rest of the match. Only do what you can do. Previous scores cannot affect that. Pat

Yeah I argee about looking at the courses of fire before hand, besides they are never quite the same when laid out on the ground. Also don't go to the board where they post the scores til the match is done. It can have no effect on how you do, those stages are done, move on. If there is a problem, there is lots of time after you finish to talk to the stats and have them deal with it. Pat

No U.S. nationals that I have shot ever posted stages except when you got to the shooter meeting and last year was the first time we were even allowed on the range prior to the start of the match. The Canadian Nationals however always post the stages prior to the match. But remember Canada does not put on anywhere near as professional a job of putting together a National Championship as the U.S. does (we have to R.O. and occasionally C.R.O. the stages we are putting fellow competitors through, if this does not seem like a problem to you , imagine Rob L. R.O.ing Todd on a stage and assessing penalties to him which may cost him the match. Rightfully earned or not do you think there'd be a conflict of interest? Its happened here so I know) I guess other shooters lack the confidence to show up and figure a match out when they get there so they need to work it out to the Nth degree beforehand. Pat

Heardn "Schism" today for first time. Excellent! I understand it's one of the shorter tracks too! Pat

How shooters deal with stress or match nerves varies alot depending on personality. Brian is better equiped to answer this but I'll throw in my $.02. Some shooters need to stay focused and need to be left alone to settle themselves down. Focus on what the stage requires and the plan. Avoid distractions and just deal with what you want to see on the stage. For me I have trouble trying to stay hard for long periods (no jokes please) so I like to look at the stage, get my plan, then relax. I don't think about the stage, I'll watch other shooters shoot it in case I want to vary my plan, but I'll try not to get to wrapped up in whats happening. A big cause of stress for some is when you watch you'll see what looks like a smoking run. But how do you really know how good the pass was. Maybe the shooting was fast but the draw or movement was slow. Did they have all their hits? Was it mostly A's or not? Watch passively, look for new ideas but ignore the actual performance. You will do only what you can do when you shoot the stage. Nothing more and nothing less. Others performance cannot affect yours, YOU are in control of your own performance. What happens before cannot change or affect what is happening now. When I'm on deck I'll do a quick visualization of what I'd like to see when I'm shooting the stage and check my equipment. Mags loaded, dot on (sights black), holster unlocked etc. Other visualizations can help too. Focus on something relaxing. Clear your mind. Two I use are. A) a clear visualization of a perfect sight picture with no thought of actually shooting, just picture the sight hovering on a target. Picture it with a clear focus on the crisp outline of the front sight on a target or on a target with the dot centered. this one came to me in the final round of a shootoff I was feeling the pressure and my hands were starting to shake. I blew the first two runs on a best 3 of 5 and knew I was in trouble. I needed to relax and a visualization came to me. I pictured my self standing waiting to shoot. I saw the tension in my arms and in my visualization my arms were red, as focused and relaxed, I saw the tension bleed out from my shoulders to my finger tips replaced with a cool blue. When my arms were blue from shoulder to finger tip. I raised my hands to the ready position and listened for the start signal. I blistered the next three runs and won, leaving behind a dazed and confused opponent who thought he was on the way to collect his winnings...lol. So now when I feel tight I'll try to visualize that same thing. The tension (red) bleeding out replaced by a relaxed (blue) ready. What you use doesn't matter as much as finding away to distract your mind from winding you up before you shoot. As the Nike ad says 'Just do it', don't think about it, don't worry about it, just know that you'll do what you capable of. You'll stress out less. Pat (Edited by Pat Harrison at 6:07 am on May 6, 2001)

Shoot a classifier enough and you may actually learn from it too. Pat

To: Pat From: Pat...lol Do it! Don't wait for a new gun though, take your scope off and go shoot. I was so tired of the close hosing matches up here that I did it at a fairly major Level II classifier match last year. And Won! It was sooo cool...lol! It put the match directors to shame. I understand that that was a pivotal moment in the sport up here. Now we're seeing 25 yd partials, and 30 - 50 yd poppers. So if you can't convince 'em, humiliate 'em...lol. Pat

Tool is playing Edgefest about and hour from my place on July 1, and I'm leaving for the Canadian Nationals that day. Pat

If you haven't shot 'Off Balance Blast' before you're in for a treat. It is a bit of a nasty stage. I say go practice it a bit before because it is a good drill and will definitly build a skill set for you. Or if you're worried about being driven from the promised land for heresy...lol. Just look at the requirements and make your own drill that will put you in those positions. Pat

The dime draws your attention away from the trigger press and focuses it on keeping the coin balanced. The trigger press becomes incedental, something you are doing as the coin is balanced. In the same way that the trigger press is incedental to keeping the gun aligned on target. Watch the sights as you press the trigger, don't see the sights then pull the trigger. When I'm shooting my best I don't recall ever pulling the trigger. The sights acquire the target and as they hover for that moment the gun fires driven by visual focus with no thought towards pressing the trigger. The coin drill points you in this direction. But it is a basic drill After you can accomplish it easily it is time to move on. The only time I ever do it anymore is when demonstating it to students and because I know how much I can get away with with the coin balanced I can actually pull the trigger in different ways (press, slap, etc.) and still achieve the same result. But now I'm anticipating what the coin will do and the drill becomes pointless. Now is the time to shoot groups and let the bullets tell you the story. Pat

O.k. Lets start fresh. The Dot Drill. Take an IPSC target and draw 9 ( or 10 ) circles about 2 1/2" to 3" in diameter. in a pattern like this o o o o o o o o o o Set target at 7 yds Drill goes like this 1- on the top circle fire a 6 shot group no time limit all shots must be in circle.( optional ) 2- on the first row top left circle draw and fire 1 shot 6 times 3- on the first row top middle and top right circles draw and fire 1+1 one shot on each 6 times = 12 shots 3- on the second row middle and right circles draw and fire 2+2 3 times = 12 shots 4- on the bottom row middle and right circles draw and fire 2 shots on one reload and two shots on the other 3 times = 12 shots 5- on the second row left circle draw and fire 2 shots strong hand only 6 times = 12 shots 6- on the bottom row left circle draw, transfer, and fire 2 shots weak hand only 6 times = 12 shots Only rule is ALL shots must be inside circle diameter. Pat

Not being a computer nut it will probably take some practice to get used to the new format but it looks cool. Good to see you were able to get it up and running so soon. Too bad about all the old forums...lots of good stuff there. Oh well I'm sure this will be an even bigger and better forum...Good luck Pat