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mountaincoulee

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Everything posted by mountaincoulee

  1. fayette, the lessons are ingrained for life so long as they're reviewed from time to time. Doing so would foster a gun culture where safety is given more than lip-service. We need to learn that it's ok to call our friends/buddies on their safety lapses. Industry -mining, forestry, manufacturing- spend time and money periodically reminding all employees -new and old- to think and act safely. It's better for the bottom line that way. Shooters ought to adopt similar habits.
  2. Unbelievable. I can barely believe this. I am a 12 year old junior shooter and take EXTRA saftey precautions. This is why I think is is VITAL to not only teach gun saftey but to enforce it. Hearing these types of stories really reminds me to never lose focus when I am around guns. I cannot even imagine what the boy and the family are going through right now. It is a very tough tragedy for them right now. We can only give prayers to them right now. But, this is also a good lesson for everyone. Jason Jason, thanks for reminding us -bold emphasis mine- that never losing focus when around guns is a big part of safety, and that enforcing the rules is a shared responsibility. As you've no doubt noticed, in some informal group settings, some adults make mistakes and others are reluctant to speak out. Two years ago, at an informal non-IPSC rifle field comp, I momentarily lost focus and situational awareness....and swept 3 friends with my unloaded but still warm rifle. I will spare myself the embarassing details of this screw-up, but tell you that the memory surfaces like a searing flash everytime I unpack a firearm. I totally agree with you Jason - we can never lose focus when around guns. Young men like you can help us older guys change the culture of silence, so that it becomes normal to remind our friends/buddies when they make the oversights that come with familiarity. It is easier to admonish a stranger than to remind a friend. In a non-square range field environment, making a habit of doing a quick safety assessment/discussion re: arcs of fire, where to stand by, when to move and where to, appropriate firearm/ammo ready-states, etc. would add to overall safety. Kinda like what hunters do before they head out. Gotta end by saying that the most disciplined and safest community I have ever shot with are the Metallic Silhouette bunch, and of course, practical HG competitors. Our MDs, CROs, ROs and SOs also deserve our thanks for the time and effort they put into building safety into every stage design, and the difficult work they do when running the squads through.
  3. Fully agree with those who suggest that compulsive cleaning goes back to the BP and corrosive primer days, and nowadays, to the fact that cleaning makes the soldier learn his rifle inside & out. I'm still new to the HG games -1 year- and have just this month reached the point where cleaning has been simplified to mean: - field stripping, - wiping all combustion debris etc with rag/q-tips, - cleaning behind extractor, - reassemble & lube. The barrel gets patched twice with Hoppes, then dry patched (not clean patched), then lightly oil patched. Done. I do this after each practice or match, and starting this month only shoot jacketed or plated. My two target rifles' barrels see a bronze brushing, etc once a year. During the comp season, the barrels stay fouled. When I really clean them, it takes awhile for both the CF and RF rifle to settle back down to where they are predictable. The worse was when I de-coppered the HP rifle because accuracy was gradually falling off - it took 40 rds. to restore the rifle to its full potential.
  4. mountaincoulee

    Reloading

    tangram - story well told !
  5. Just setting Aristotle up for the coup de grace.
  6. Quote from Sandman: "......I am trying to get a small league/practice program off the ground at my club which will be held each month before our match. This would be a great way to get shooters more in line with the program than thrusting them into a match. Hell, I actually thought of practicing everthing from "Make Ready" to "Unload and Show Clear" and everything in between, as well as shooting swingers and through ports etc.. " My thoughts exactly. With as many new shooters as you guys are having to deal with, there's bound to be some delays, flow interruptions, multiple safety issues, and so on. Would USPSA consider setting up a national or Area training/familiarization program, that each new shooter would have to pass before being able to shoot anything but a local club's non-sanctioned match? Before bringing any friend to a club match, I take them out for some 1on1 training. When we are done, at least they know how to LAMR and ULASC without sweeping themselves and others, have learned the responses to the various commands, and have been run through a mini-stage. At the club match, I don't expect the RO to babysit my guest - that's my responsibility.
  7. I liked your strong to weak hand 'wipe' transfer, and the speed with which you fire the next round immediately after the transfer.
  8. That's a mighty fine set of horns you happen to be stuck on.
  9. Allen, good that you're cautious, but you'll save a lot of time and money if you go to the range with a batch consisting of say 3 rounds at each of the power levels you want to chrono. You don't need to shoot 50 or 100 of any particular load to find out what its average velocity is. Chronoing 3 rounds at each 0.1grain interval will quickly and cheaply get you to the power factor you want. Do as others suggested and keep the rounds organized in little batches of three. I mark the load on my brass, with a sharpie. This way, when I retrieve and examine brass, I know which is which. Though the minor PF is 125, most load to a PF of 130 to 132. This way, because of the inevitable variations in ambient air temperature and density, elevation changes, winter vs. summer, etc., you will minimize the risk of having your ammo fail PF when at a big match. Please keep us informed of your progress.
  10. mountaincoulee

    Determination

    Here's how I won my Rod & Gun club's rifle competion: through determination, goal setting, patience and incremental improvements: I started shooting weekly rifle matches with my small R&G club four years ago - we mostly shoot positions at 100 and 200yds, with HP rifles. This is a bunch of decent shot hunters getting together for a fun shoot, so as to be better hunters, but the competition spirit is very real, and I enjoy the bragging rights. ;-) My first goal was to learn how to quickly acquire the target, settle for a decent sight picture, and release a good shot. By the end of the 1st season, I had much improved. The next year, I set out to reduce my average group size. I also started shooting metallic silhouette smallbore matches at other ranges, even went to the silhouette Nationals. I came in third overall that year at the R&G, knocking 2" off my average group size while increasing my avg. score. Two years ago, a buddy and I decided we would set out to win first and second place overall. He too got into shooting 22LR silhouette. That year, my average group shrank by 1/2", my average score increased by another pt., and I came in 4th. This year I kept at the .22; at the R&G matches knocked another 1/4" off my average group, increased my average score by 0.5pt. I won first place and my buddy placed 2nd. Yeah, determination is a key ingredient to success.
  11. I concur with the above. I believe that safety-related DQ-able actions or omissions might be an indicator that a competitor is having a bad day. And a bad day is not a safe day. Hence IPSC rule 10.5.3 DQ for unsafe gun handling due to dropped gun. I guess the rule accepts that the shooter who drops a gun before his run starts (LAMR) or after it ends (ICHDH) is having a bad moment. Since dropping a gun outside the confines of a course of fire might be a sign the shooter is not fully focused on the task at hand, it makes sense that the RO -not the shooter- picks up the gun and clears it. The shooter is not forbidden from proceeding with the match, but I've no doubt it will be under the closest of RO scrutiny on all remaining stages. What happens if a fellow drops his gun a second time on the same day, again outside his course of fire? Or the second gun drop outside a course of fire is on the second day of a two-day match? DQ or not? If that were to happen, I'd hope the shooter would be done for that day.
  12. 700-X dispenses fairly reliably in my Lee Perfect Powder Measure, so long as I tap the side of the rotor housing the same number of times for each throw, and manipulate the lever the same way. I also have to keep the powder level between 2/3 full to 1/3 full, or the charge varies. I scale test every tenth load. Any change to this dispensing routine will vary the charge, so I have to stay alert. Benefit to me is that this powder burns clean in my HG, and is readily available hereabouts. For a 123gr FMJ bullet (not fully encapsulated), 3.9gr IMR 700-X pushes it to +/- 1,058fps, for a 130 PF. This load fills the case pretty good, so that it will overflow in case of a dbl charge. edit: I'll try WST when I find it.
  13. I use a bamboo chopstick to push a wad of paper towel down through the grip, and up through the mag tubes.
  14. So much for Descarte. ;-) Our society's ever increasing reliance on rationalism as the sole guiding light to policy and decision-making may not be helpful after all. The case has certainly been made here that it is an obstacle to ultimate performance. Sorry - I'm just babbling on in almost total darkness about something that I find interesting.
  15. I've noticed SHO-WHO stages or stage components fluster some of the more experienced competitors. I'm new yet they don't fluster me, so I look forward to the As I'm about to score. One of the many reasons our sport is fun is the variety of challenges we face or create for others to face. If it was easy, I'd play another game.
  16. Here in the Rockies we're already looking forward to our January 1st all steel match. There will be snow on the ground. We'll dress up good. We'll pre-heat the winter trailer (a mobile home), and the ROs and shooters will take turns outside. No pasting or resetting though, so it's more of a fun shoot than anything else, to ring in the New Year. It'll feel like Vermont or Colorado, only without the x-ctry skis or chairlifts.
  17. I am knew to this place and this sport, and have seen my understanding of the game -and my performance- increase because of the insights that are shared here. Thanks.
  18. Some topical ramblings: Background: Am completing my first IPSC season this Fall, with 6 'big' regional matches and about as many club matches under my belt. I'm improving slowly as I go, making fewer mistakes, moving better. Great. The people who introduced me to this sport are becoming friends and I enjoy the mix of personalities as much as the practice sessions and the competitions. Ego: As far as ego is concerned it was never a concern as I came to each of my shooting sports knowing full well this stuff is not easy. If it were easy I'd do something else. Easy is boring. Imagining myself as a good competitor and training toward proficiency is exciting. Getting into a rut or not getting off a skill plateau, on the other hand, is bad for my ego. Emulating & hanging with better shooters: when I saw how well our local guys shoot my reaction was "holy smoke - I want to do what they do and I'll invest the time and money to get there". Having a few seasons of SB silhouette comps under my belt has taught me that most are better than me (the AAA level and above sil shooters are phenomenal), and that many will share tips. Same with the guys in my R&G club, many are better field shooters than me. Tell you what though, hanging and competing with any these guys and gals has made me a proficient rifle marksman. I know that eventually I won't suck at IPSC. Police and ipsc comps: a few weeks ago I was gathering my things after a good hg practice, and one of the local officers came by to do her own practice. We chit-chatted awhile, and she and I ended up practicing together on some of her official targets. She was good, and had such a great attitude that I told her about our local IPSC club, our courses of fire, etc. She could see the value in that, and agreed to accompany me to the next club match. I hope the others are as good to her as they were to me. When the police practice with us on their own time, we should make the effort to forget they're cops, and treat them as we would any other civilian shooter: welcoming, with respect and understanding, unless they are dangerous and complete knobs. Conclusion: imo, it would be useful for the sport to break through this wall between civilian comp shooters and police shooters. I think that we as civilian shooters need to drop the superior attitude (or 'tude as the kids say) and realize that unfortunately most officers have neither the interest nor do they make the time or spend the money that we do on what is our hobby. We fire as many rounds in a year as most police would if their career lasted 80 years. Of course, I'm generalizing and mean no disrespect to anyone here.
  19. Surprising isn't it. A guy in our club was clearing a malf with his finger still on the trigger...the rest of us were cringing anticipating he'd get DQd. This happened three times over the day's shooting, so we as his friends cautioned him on it. But the RO never said a word. That night I looked up the rule...turns out our friend's finger had been fine all along. Regardless that rule 10.5.8 allows it, while clearing malfs I take my finger out. No sense in tempting the devil should the gun veer off target and/or a round take off for parts unknown. edit: Philosophically, I guess 10.5.8 is consistent with 8.5.1, which allows movement (taking more than one step) with the finger on the trigger, so long as we are "actually aiming or shooting at targets".
  20. Absolutely, yet as I understand it, when clearing a malf. the finger can stay in the guard so long as the gun stays pointed toward a target. Not that I do that -it's a ND waiting to happen- but I have not seen an IPSC rule that allows an RO to DQ for that specific reason. Incidentally, have you guys noticed that most who work with gun-like trigger activated handtools (drills, air-powered nailers) have no trouble at all keeping their finger where it belongs? This is very noticeable amongst carpenters.
  21. lugnut, could you explain to me how I can figure out in advance the hit factor for a given stage? From the match copy, I can see how many points are available to be scored (hit), but I can only guesstimate how long it will take me to move through the stage and shoot those targets. So what's the trick to figuring out if a stage has a high HF or not?
  22. Airports scan suitcases by Xray, which reveals to those in the baggage handling area exactly what is in your otherwise innocuous suitcase. I was once subject to special attention because a 'sniffer' air sampling device detected powder residue where there was no ammo, powder or primers. Explained that firearms are from time to time in contact with gunpowder, leaving inert residue which their sniffer had detected, so all was good. Incidentally, I was treated courteously throughout this experience.
  23. Loading 130-132 PF for a Production 9mm. Measured the velocity on the club's cheap "chrony": 132PF. Same load chronoed at an away match, with a double sensor unit set up in a light box, and the PF came out at 132. My lucky day. As an aside, I've compared (same load, same rifle, same day) rifle velocities between two sequentially set "Chrony" machines, and the differences for identical high power loads are staggering. One consistently reads about 150fps lower than the other. In other words, if you're loading close to the match required PF, data from these hobbyist chronos can not be relied upon.
  24. Interesting project. Suggest you benchmark your current skill levels and write this down. Then set specific results-oriented goals: i.e. for a given drill or skill set, I will reduce my times by x and/or increase my accuracy by Y. Now you have a way to plot your progress, incrementally, which is rewarding in itself and therefore helpful in maintaining your training regimen in the long run. "2 hours of live fire practice. I was off, off, off. Everything felt awkward and forced. Frustrating but I suppose some days are going to be like that." When that happens to you -and it happens to all- consider taking a break or working on a different drill. No sense in frustrating yourself. End your practice session with an exercise/drill/task that you know you do well at. Finish on a positive note rather than with disappointment. Finally, remember to go to fun club matches and clear your mind of all expectations. Go there to have fun and run with whatever happens. But take a few notes after each stage and then adjust your training accordingly. P.S. tell me your name isn't really Mike.
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