Sam

Man, hard to believe that I missed this thread all the years that I was more active here. I might have shared this story somewhere else on the forum. A lot has transpired since I got my schoolin one day at the hands of one of the old time IPSC wolves. Back in days of yore, there was a well loved gentleman gunslinger named Miller who operated a range in SW Colorado that was the epitome of cool hang outs for the best in the sport. Matches like the Rocky Mt Stock Gun and World Shoot-off were held there for years. I was very new to the sport (27) and seeing this kind of shooting skill and knowing that it doesn't get any better, was a heady experience. I had tried motorcycle racing and damn near killed myself before I realized that I really wasn't that good at it. The San Juan Shooting Range was a place of legend and definitely a place to see who had a way with a pistol and who didn't. So, I customized my own 1911 shooter and went down to see if I could hang with those lads when it came to shooting fast and straight. I went down there with my "C" card, feeling like a real small fish, and ended up finishing well enough to face our humble host, in man vs. man shoot-offs. The matrix decided that I was worthy of extra favor that day, and I survived a couple of surprised wolves. So, I end up looking at the elimination board to see who's coming up next and I see " B effen E" !!! OK? In my mind, I'm already a minor god for making it this far. There are only eight slots left to the winner. Quarter finals, I suppose. Drum roll, so I step to the line, trying not to look over at BE with more than a causal glance. I doesn't matter if I look at him or not, cuz BE is just standing there all calm and shit, like Shiva. When the RO squeezed the bicycle horn, I knew I was road kill if I didn't turn the badger loose. I actually took that first run from BE. After that, I cut my eyes over, ever so slightly. Wow, that was no harder that those other GMs that I had to squeak by to get here. The next time they blew the horn, I shot a smokin run. Blazin fast, like my best practice run on my best day. IAll my plates disappeared crazy fast. And couldn't figure out how I hit anything with the way my hands were shaking. And somehow BE's stop plate was on the bottom? WTF? Man, he's really good...... At least I was alive this far in. I think we pushed it to best 3 out of 5 after that. The last couple of runs it was like he had an extra gear that he didn't show earlier. I didn't advance in that shoot-off, but the thrill was like going five NASCAR laps with ol #43.

I started out shooting any sort of "gravel pit" match I could find. Eventually, Pins, led to falling plates, then to USPSA, Bianchi, and later IDPA. I say try them all and progress in each as they fit your needs. Its all good.

Not sure if anyone has posted this solution yet. (I'm too lazy to read that far) A good 1911 smith can make the grip safety engage completely, so you can press the trigger hard, and then release with very little movement. Literally, just a touch from the web of your hand. It's just understanding the geometry of the way the safety arcs out of the way of the trigger stirrup.

Pretty impressive tech support! Hat's off to CGW.

I like the idea of not touching the mag well! swoosh......nuthin but net!

It's like getting caught up in a story about something you did one time that might forever be identified with. Like a nickname you earned and either detest, or carry as a badge of honor. (not implying that anyone here ever did that) But, that can actually limit how your brain processes new information. So, "dwelling" on past match experiences is a definite detriment in my opinion. De-bugging them and applying the lessons is the fun thing. Unless, you just want to turn the badger loose and see if you can pull-off a flying multi-round jump-shot flurry to finish the stage like that one at the 2013 Jamaican Invitational.

Any match performance analysis can be covered by the question, "what did I learn"? Praising or denigrating my own performance is not relevant. But, I still catch myself doing it.

And so I wonder, how does a more mellow soul, train for competition, as opposed to someone in possession of what I've come to think of as the "crazy gene"?

Jake, I've been away from the forum for far too long. It good to be reading your posts again, as I make my way back into shooting. I'm thinking "ragged edge" the way your personality type wraps myelin. I get that because I'm a "ragged edge learner" too. Got the scars to prove it.

Maybe what Hwan is referring to is the natural process of myelin wrapping?

It easy for me to start pressing the trigger and transitioning to the next shot. This "racing to the finish line mentality" is the reason I over look fundamentals like sight lift and follow-through. These do not take any longer to accomplish, because my eyes and sights are there anyway. S So, I'm constantly reminded that, it is best to direct my attention to shooting the present shot, rather that the fact that OMG (gasp), it's a Classifier!!!

......which means that I must have been placing my attention on the outcome, rather than the shooting.

I'll bet most of us have blown a classifier, just because it was a classifier. No other reason than that. :-)

The vast majority of people we meet in life are only spectators.

I like to listen to music pretty loud, when I dry-fire and Airsoft practice. Usually, something in the fairly loud and metallic genre. There was a thread some years ago, where Brian described "The Set". I began to realize, that music can be part of establishing the set.

I noticed that I like green or amber better than red, which seems almost too bright for me at times.

Krym, I shot L-10 for years with a single-stack and did fine. The classic 1911 of course leaves.45 caliber holes! As magazine capacity grew, the smaller calibers just made more sense. If the pistol you are shooting a single stack, I would say .45 and never look back. If you go with a high cap gun, the forty probably makes better sense. In my experience the single stack is very reliable in .45. Remember, it the feeding geometry of the fat .45 ACP that John Browning design the pistol around. In my experience, double stacks seem to run more predictably on smaller diameter rounds, since they don't need to transverse as far laterally to line of with the feed ramp. So, I generally recommend single stack .45 hi-cap .40. Hope this helps, -Sam

This is one of the topics that I recalled many times over the years. So much so, that I'm starting from here, as I rebuild the requisite skills for competition.

I read this really cool book last year called "Better Than Normal". It was written by a shrink, (can't spel the other word) who realized that people need to feel good about their special abilities. Like being ADD, OC, Psychotic, ect. It's a real fun book!!! You take the test in the back before you read it. Then, you read the book and learn how its really OK to be the way you are. (Like you need to read a book to know that )

"I'll bet your wife is quite pleased".

What is Zen?

There is no such thing as a bad day shooting. We judge things as we perceive them. Any day that I wake up without a chalk outline around me....it's a pretty good day.

Steve, that's a great way of looking at the question! While the human mind is exceedingly clever, it is stuck in a position that requires it to be clever. Going back to some posts I made a few years ago, the terms "conscious" and "sub-conscious" mind, don't work too well for me. The way I understand my own existence, my consciousness and my mind are not the same thing. My consciousness is me and my mind is my ego's own reflection of me. My ego (mind) is a mirror, an illusion. For example, my body needs food. I eat the right amount of the right stuff and my body is satisfied. But, my mind wants to always be in control of my body, so it tells me to eat until it is satisfied. This is why so many people fail to control their own body mass. Their mind ain't connected to their ass, but it sure make them believe that it is. So, they allow their imagination (mind) to tell them when and what to eat. Remember that little prick behind the curtain in the Wizard of Oz? That's my mind! OK, getting back to your original questions......my mind will pull shenanigans along the lines of illusions. ALWAYS!! It is very clever at illusions, but it is also a one trick pony, in that, illusions are the only tool it has in the tool box. So, how will it use illusions to trip up my shooting? Time, the biggest illusion. The false idea that there is any other time but the present. Attempts to wrest control from the body, like my hands shaking on the first stage. Tricking me into not seeing what is there. Careful....the lives of many people are built upon illusions. They are extremely powerful, like that little pick behind the curtain. So, we can only talk about illusions as they relate to the game of shooting.

The whole concept of fast or slow has always been a hindrance to me. (I'll wager a lot of folks feel the same way) Today, I was practicing for the first time in several months. After shooting at long range steel for an hour, I decided to check my draw speed to a 20 yard full paper target. Starting in the same position each time, hands raised and gun holstered, there was a definite difference in the perception of speed on some shots. The timer never varied more than .05 from shot to shot,and the shots were all A/C hits. But the perception was that the shots where I relaxed and paid attention were slow. And the shots that had gaps in the attention seemed fast. It was a bit like falling asleep on a plane ride. The flight seems short if you sleep through most of it.......

Hi, Matt! You have discovered a great way to practice in my opinion. It saves a ton of money on ammo and lets us experience variations in the feedback from the pistol. Several years ago, I noticed something very similar to your experience in my practice sessions, using a Colt Ace 22 and a 1911 in .45 shooting major. Here is something else that I noticed. When shooting plate racks, the feedback from the .22 was really lacking for me. I guess one could call it less "operator interface". At first, it was nice to have less recoil. But, I soon began to miss the extra horsepower of the .45 round. And I still practice that way, as I did this afternoon! In addition to the mental aspects, it is pretty amazing to me, how highly developed our ability to manage recoil and track the front sight becomes over the months. I believe switching between .22 and full power ammo keeps us sharp....if we pay close attention. (of course, paying close attention always helps!)