Bear1142

Steven, Stress is nothing more than the anticipated result of your performance. Don't anticipate, shoot in the moment, let the results take care of themselves. Remember, what you did prior to making Master is what got you to Master. Don't change what you were doing. It's only a piece of damm paper with a "M" on it. Only you give it meaning. Erik

Got me beat. The fastest guy I ever chased was around 175 mph. He was riding a Honda CBR 900 RR than had been worked for racing. He told me he could do the standing 1/4 mile in about 8 seconds at 145 mph. Catching him is a whole other story. Erik

Erik, Do one thing at a time. See the target, make the shot, call the shot, leave the box. Leaning out of a box on your last shot does nothing for you. It's an illusion. People seem to think that leaning out of a box is some high speed technique for exiting boxes. The only time this may do something for you is if you only have to move 1, maybe 2 steps. When exiting boxes, think it terms of your first three steps, not just one. Your first three steps are like the first three gears in your car. They are your acceleration gears. In order to maximize your acceleration (which is the most important aspect of movement with regards to this sport) you need to the proper hip orientation to generate power. The mechanics of the human body demand that your hips face the direction you are moving, if you want to do it with any type of speed and power. Leaning out of a box does nothing for you. It extends your stance, reducing the amount of power you can generate to accelerate at your maximum potential. It does not allow you to re-orient your hips for maximum acceleration until after your first step, slowing your overall acceleration, and it reduces the stability of your shooting platform which reduces your accuracy potential, as you have already discovered in your previous post. Again, do one thing at a time. See the target, make the shot, call the shot, accelerate out of the box to the next shooting position. You won't lose any time, you'll have better hits, and you won't do the "popper dance" that all "leaners" end up doing at some time or another. Jake, I'm shooting Limited. Anytime you want to get together and chat, just let me know. Erik

Ron, Sounds like you need to come down for my Prinicipals of Movement class. The link may still be up on the A6 webpage with some information about the class. I'm tentativly scheduling the next one around the first week in February to help shake off the winter cobwebs before Frank's match in Florida. If you are going to the Nationals, get with me and we'll have dinner one night and talk about your movement skills. There's just too much to go over in writing. Jake, Looks like were squadded together at the Nationals. Looking forward to it. Erik

Turtle, Congratulations on the squeaker of a win at A5. Next time, try not to make it such a photo finish Team Shooters, rolling along in '04, chewing bubble gum and kicking ass. (and we're all out of bubble gum) Erik

Pat, Point well made. If you start missing your third shot in the string all you've done is pushed the problem further down the line and once you go back to two shot strings, it will return. Thanks for the other drills. I realize there are many drills out there, I just wanted to contribute my little one and see if it works for other people. If the drill is not effective, I'll trash it and try another one. Paladin, Interesting thoughts. I think my mind/body are clear and have the same mission, my problem is that one is accomplishing the mission sooner than the other. My mind/body are in agreement, they are not in harmony. This drill was a quick, uncomplicated way to basically slow my mind down by giving it more tasks to accomplish before it can move along to the next target. On the up close targets, many shooters get away with double tapping (one sight pic, two shots) and the close proximity of the target allows a certain level of "sloppiness", maybe even encourages it. When doing three shots, you have to start calling shots, even the real close ones, and you can't start moving the gun like you can with doubles or else the third shot will miss the A zone or even the whole target. You can't swing through a bank of targets, you have to stop and hang around for a while. You just can't pull three splits fast enough while letting the gun drift, to keep all shots in the A zone. It forces you to stay home. Call it a physical solution to a mental problem. We use the mind to train and solve physical issues. Can we not use the body to train and solve mental issues? My experiment continues. Thanks for your thoughts. Erik

After reading Pat Harrison's post on the Dot drill, I was inspired to share one of my training drills. Please indulge me with your patience for a bit of background information. One of the many things I've learned as I've progressed through the skill levels is that as I master certain skill and their associated problems, I always seem to encounter more "higher" level problems that need to be dealt with before I could continue to progress. My #1 personal problem, which has plagued me for about the last three years can be classified several ways. I have issues with a lack of follow through, or shooting in the future, lack of visual patience, call it what you will. I always seem to have to the occassional dead center "A" and a complete miss. Many of these are on targets in the 7-12 yard range. It doesn't happen often, but even 1 time at a match can cost you dearly (ex.- Missing 2nd overall (Tactical) at this years 3GN Nationals). When I took the time to really run through the stage mentally, usually on the ride home, I do remember seeing the target for the second shot, so then what happened? Much to the derision of one of my friends, I would always explain to him that I'm outshooting the gun. After he finishes laughing and blasting me for letting my ego get a little out of control, I explain to him that what I think is happening is that when I really get into a rhythm and I get into auto-pilot mode, just letting things happen, I think I see the target and mentally break the shot, then mentally I move to the next target, but physically, the impulse from my brain has not reached my finger and the gun hasn't mechanically fired but I'm already moving the gun to the next target. The mental and physical aspects of shooting are not aligned and I end up putting my second shot off the target. This year I was determined to "fix" this problem and devised this technique to help and I thought I'd share it. I've started shooting 3 shots per target. It will work with any drill you like. I've found that it forces me to stay home for the second shot, because I've got a third shot on deck. It's really helped me to mentally stay with the second shot longer. I've noticed a solid reduction in the number of times I had the "A/Miss" syndrome. It also gets you out of the two shot (double tap) mode and into a "shoot the rhythm of the gun" mode, which I feel is a more intuitive and receptive mindset for shooting. Give the 3-shot method a try and see what it does for you. Erik

Sam, You might want to consider the Trijicon Accu-point 1.25x4 scope. It has an orange or red triangle reticle that is supplemented by a fiber optic filament for gathering light. It's the same system used on the ACOG's. This scope has a very long eye relief which (IMHO) would make an excellent scope for the M-1A. I know Taran Butler uses one and I picked one off the prize table at last years Nationals, but I haven't really had time to play with it yet. There are few trade-off in using this type of reticle, but I think it has some real potential. You should check it out. Erik

SS, Soooo, you blew me off today! I thought we had a date! Now I know what you were really doing. You missed a great first day. We'll be out there again tomorrow, Sorry you decided to pass on the class. I think it would have been a great fine tuning session for the Nationals. Maybe next time. Erik

gl, The A6 3-Gun match is being moved to the Anniston, Alabama club. It will also be held very late next year. I think I heard sometime at the end of Oct. or early Nov., so don't worry about the humidity. Erik

The first thing I would do is fly to Russia and find a MIG-29 pilot, whip out a huge wad of cash, and tell him your only job is to try to make me puke. Then in my best "MXC- Captain Tenneal" voice, I would jump in the back seat and shout "Let's go!" Erik

To all, Nik is correct and I did get a real good laugh until I thought about it some more. I actually earned my GM some time ago, but once you get the GM card, there's no real need to check your classifiers anymore. I actually hadn't looked in about 4 months, so when I went back and saw the perfect 95.0000, I thought about how many different stars and moons would have to line up for a perfect .0000 suffix. The odds of getting those four digits to come up four zero's, considering all of the variables taken into account are mind boggling. I guess I used up all my luck on this. Why couldn't I have just played the lottery instead? Erik

There's something very comforting about knowing ones exact place in the universe. I am very proud to announce that I am the LOWEST GM EVER in USPSA history! Classification for ERIK L - TY24188 LIMITED Class: GM Current Pct: 95.000 High Percent: 95.407 98.2924 95.2214 93.8600 92.6400 92.4899 97.4967 What a difference .0001 makes

Lino, What you are experiencing is being out of rhthym. You are either swinging too fast or shooting too slow (how often do you hear that!). You are on the right track, just keep practicing. I like to use a minimum of 4 poppers/plates in a shooting string. 5 or 6 is even better. 2 or 3 just isn't enough to get into a good rhythym. Make sure to use a timer. Your goal should be nice even splits across the board. Start out slow, then speed up the runs as you feel more comfortable. Erik

Rhino, The problem with CLP is that is breaks down very fast. Try this out. Take some CLP and put it in a tiny, clear bottle or oil dispenser. In a very short time the CLP will separate into two substances. This is why CLP comes in a black bottle, so you don't see this. If it does this in the bottle it will do it on your rifle and parts, reducing it's effectiveness. I would consider some other products. Erik

Dirtypool40, Dump the JP Aluminum carrier, they are more trouble than they are worth. Stay with the standard Mil-Spec carrier/bolt. I like the new hard chromed ones, but only because they seem to clean up easier. No real other benefit, except some extra corrosion protection. Your compensator will soak up most of the recoil. If you just have to have a softer recoiling rifle, then put a heavier buffer/spring and use an adjustable gas block to cut down on your gas flow. (Be warned, these may cause other problems and issues). Rather than having the barrel cut down (unless you get it done for free), I would just purchase a good 18" barrel to start. It might cost you a little more, but with the current SPR craze, 18" barrels are very popular and most manufacturers are starting to offer them. A good barrel is the heart of the AR, don't compromise, get a good one. You won't be disappointed. While fluting your barrel has some benefit, it's mostly done to reduce weight. On an 18" barrel, it really depends what type of contour you have under the handguards, as to whether or not you should flute the barrel. The TA-11 is a good all around scope (the perfect scope has been designed, but not manufactured yet ). Your only real choices for reticles are the donut (TA-11) or the Chevron (TA-11F) and it depends what you priorities are. With the proper techniques, the donut works better from around 150 and in, while the chevron works better from 150 and out. Either one is a good choice. I would also start building a spare parts kit. I would definitely have a spare bolt, cam pin, extractor, firing pin retaining pin, and some choice springs. With regards to the bolt. Order two at the same time. Use one for about 500 rounds, make sure it works then pack it away as your spare. Put in the second one and use that for your primary bolt. When the day comes to replace your bolt (and it will) you will know for sure you spare works. Find 4 good magazines that run and then replace the springs with ISMI 30 rd. mag springs. This will eliminate 95% of your magazine problems. If you have any mag. problems after this, its probably because the mag body is out of spec or the lips are cracked or the ammo is bad. I'm just finishing the third season on the same magazines with no mag. related malfunctions. I've ranted long enough. If you have any other questions, let us know. Erik

Lino, I use this technique to shoot poppers with shotguns. Once you get a feel for the rhythm of the shotgun in it's arc of recoil and recovery, it simply becomes a matter of timing the rhythm of the process to the poppers. It can be a very fast and effective technique. I can usually out-shoot my Benelli and cause it to jam if I get too fast. Erik

Sac Law man, I like to go past the "natural clap position" and get my support hand on the front part of my rib cage near the pistol. I like to get both hands on the pistol as early as possible. This gives me a little longer time to fix my grip as I'm driving the gun to the target if I get a bad grip. The longer in your draw stroke you take to get your two handed grip, the less time you'll have to shift your grip if its not optimal. You'll end up at full extension trying to fix your grip when you should be shooting. Erik

Davidwiz, Actually, Yankee Hill Machine made the ZM Weapons (Al's company) compensator. They also make the Bushmaster Y-comp, with some subtle changes so as not to infringe upon Al's design. Rhino, The Bushy Y-comp style brakes are on par with the JP tank brake, but they have two distinct advantages. First, they are lighter. Part of the tank brakes effectiveness is achieved through its heavier weight, but it does through off the balance of the rifle slightly. Second, the Y-comp. has a sleeker profile. The JP tank brake gets caught on ports and door frames very easily. Yes, the Y-comp designs are very loud, if you're standing near them. When your shooting, it's not that noticeable, but that's also how you know it's working. Compensators turn recoil into noise Joking aside, either one will serve you well. The best thing you can do is try to catch a couple of different designs at your next local 3 gun match and try them out. Erik

Eric, Don't forget about the Bushmaster Y-Comp, or the TTI-Intl Eliminator comp. I think they are on par with the JP Tank brake without the extra weight. They are also legal for limited. Erik

Erik, Yeah, Todd did say that, but he was counting the 3 gun nationals which was held earlier in the same week. Matt M, Don't feel bad, I WAS in the supersquad and we had the camara's on us for about two days. I know they got tons of footage of everybody in the squad and I didn't even get so much as a walk through in the background of somebody else's interview. Erik

Nik, Congratulations, Now you don't have to worry when John Q. Law says, "we vant to zee your papers, please!" Erik

Benny, Maybe we should corner a couple of scope manufacturers at next years SHOT show? Erik

Boy, you guys are just a ray of sunshine on a bleak day! Erik

I would like to see a scope with a 1-5 power range with a true 1 power, not 1.25 or 1.5, just a straight 1 power. I would like a fine crosshair with the calibration marks of a TA-11 starting with a 300 yd. calibration line and going to at least 500 yards, preferably 600. You would zero the standard crosshair at 200 yards and have calibration lines for 3, 4, 5, & 600. For the up close stuff, shoot the crosshair like a dot with both eyes open on 1 power. The fine crosshairs would give you the longer range precision. Standard one in. tube is fine, BUT must have high quality glass. Erik