fayetteflash

12/27 Local Fun Shoot Match... 3rd Overall (only 5 points out of 1st), 1st Single Stack Stage 1: Field Course 29 rounds with some really tight shots on the move... 2nd overall on the stage, 127pts 1 miss (dropped shot on a double-stack) in 18.55 secs... fastest time overall on stage, but sloppy on one target Stage 2: 3-box old-school standards course... 2nd overall on the stage, 117pts (only 3 C's) in 15.83secs... beat by a limited gun by 2 secs... could have sped up a little, but accuracy would have suffered (still needed the 2 reloads and no margin since each box required 8 rounds and was an unloaded start) So, I knew going into the field course that the first double stack on the left would be my most likely spot to drop a shot into the lower target. Also, I knew that I was going to run that 9-shot array going to slide lock and I focused a little too much on getting all the shots off and going 1 for 1 on the steel and still dropped the shot. Need to practice with more tight double-stacks like that. Also, exciting news is that I ordered my Single Stack .40 from Akai Custom Guns (http://acguns.com) and think it is going to be really sharp. I was using my USSA (Kevin Toothman) built .40 in major and was getting used to that gun. Going to evaluate the trigger and magwell in dry fire and live fire and get it set before the next match.

i'm running 9# in my 1911

Agreed on the brass sources, but for bullets, it's hard to beat Bayou Bullets: http://bayoubullets.net. Don't be confused by the site being under construction. Call Donnie and he will do you right. I know they are a hair less than Precision and MUCH cleaner. Never need to scrub out the waxy buildup from moly bullets. These things are very hard, yet very soft shooting.

Great choice going with Bayou. I run the 125's in my 9mm SS and XDm for production. They rock. Running Solo 1000 at 4.2gr and 1.155 OAL for 1077fps avg = 135pf (70 deg, low humidity). I've run the 135's and didn't notice a huge difference. Since I shoot this gun and load for steel challenge, the faster the better on stages like outer limits.

Quick range session today... Gave a junior an orientation to handguns with my boy's .22 Buckmark Open gun. Is that cheating to let a kid shoot a dot for their first gun? Also, got in a few groups and shotshell drills and these for Triple 6 (7yd, 15yd, 25yd): 1) 2.36, 2.79, 2.79 = 7.94s + 1C1D (.8) = 8.74s 2) 2.24, 2.66, 2.84 = 7.74s + 4C (.8) = 8.54s 3) 2.22, 2.54, 2.86 = 7.62s + 3C (.6) = 8.22s... not great, but consistent. saw sights on almost every shot... a few trigger freezes from tensing up in my arms

Yeah... That's the hard part about the FL Open. Last year, I had to go around on Friday and draw up my own stage diagrams. At this point, I'm planning on bringing both guns and making the decision at the last second.

12/20 Local Fun-Shoot Match... 1st Single Stack, 2nd Overall, 95% overall Stage 1: Standards, 10 rounds, 5 on T1, reload, 5 on T2... Won the stage with 5.72secs, 7A3C... could have focused just a bit more and gotten 2 of those C's on T1 into the A Stage 2: Classifier (3-V)... Won the stage with 6.68secs, 59 raw points, but 20 penalties for nicking no-shoots!... if those shots were 1/2" higher, it would be a 95% classifier! I think that gun is shooting a bit low, though after field course Stage 3: Field Course, 28 rounds, many double stack targets... 4th overall at 83% of #1... dropped 3 shots on double stacks into lower target!... had fastest time... believe i called the shots in the clear, but maybe sights low (or i'm consistently yanking straight down) Would have liked to get a 95%, but I'm ok. Still not sleeping since baby born on 12/11, so fine. Ordered new Single Stack .40 major gun and will get that dialed in before FL Open. Still not sure if I should shoot FL Open Major or Minor PF. Last year many of the stages had an advantage for 10 rounds, but a number of long/partial targets that benefit major scoring. Any thoughts?

Still analyzing my timings, but here are some more key take-aways... When presenting to targets, get body in position first, then extend When doing a swinging transition between targets, retract arms first, swing, then extend again When shooting single handed, practice presentations keeping front sight above rear sight while extending... much easier to get in the notch bringing it down than up

I recently heard that some other guys in the area had coordinated with Dave Sevigny about a semi-private training class and they said great things about it. I reached out to Dave at http://sevignyperformance.com/home/training/ and we quickly decided on 12/17 as the perfect day for the class. It's very reasonably priced and 4 people is the perfect number to get plenty of personalized instruction. I'd recommend that all the participants be at a similar experience level (no n00b's and GM's together... both will be frustrated). For the competitive shooter that really wants to step up their game, this class is right on the money! We arrived at the range at 08:30 (Dave suggested we get there just before 9) and he had already setup the range for the first exercises. After signing the waivers and a quick safety briefing, we were ready to go. We took our extremely heavy range bags (brought 1,000 rounds) down to one of the four barrels and started loading mags while Dave kicked things off. Not to give away any of his secret mojo, here are the types of things we did... Walk through many of the drills that Dave has used since early in his career... the same drills that took him to the top Baseline our fundamentals (draw, presentation, trigger control, follow through and visual patience at ranges from 7 yards to 25 yards) compared to Dave Mini-competitive challenges for prizes Shooting on the move skills (retreat, advance, side-step) with calculations to help game-time decision making on engagement order Timing and sequencing of types of shooting arrays and positions as well as steel and moving targets Field course breakdown and execution As things came up, Dave gave us many golden nuggets of wisdom and words of experience. Here are my main take-aways from the course: Train with purpose and diligence (take the time to plan ahead each session and then document all the details of what happened and what you learned) Go back to review training sessions and analyze my performance and learnings Track my progress... leverage consistent drills and run them on a schedule to measure gains Learn from each and every shot... visualize before each string, after each string and be able to re-play in my mind Sometimes you really do need to get knee deep in brass... I normally shoot between 100-150 rounds per practice, but it's nice to go crazy every once in a while and see what happens at 16:30 after the 700th round... where's my mind and body at that point? Setup drills that really make me think... include targets to skip over and get crazy with the sequence required for the drill... i seemed to fail in executing the drill perfectly the first time, gotta step that up... that will really help increase confidence when a match has a course of fire that is a real head scratcher Train with people that will push me... make sure the folks I'm training with are watching, helping with evaluation and pushing me to improve I'm never too good for the basics... it was evident that Dave never takes the fundamentals for granted and i could see that those are the things separating me from the top of the field Failure is OK, just learn from it... call each shot and i'm going to have some bad shots, strings, days and matches... gotta learn from each one Eyewear is important... evaluate lighting conditions on each and every stage and make sure that i am using the right lenses to see everything clearly... also, probably should buy a set of glasses for matches separate from practice Hearing protection is critical... get a set of electronic ears to help turn things up shooting steel, tune things out in matches and protect my ears even more... love my custom molds, but smart to add on top (except in crazy heat of summer) Reload closer to my eyes... i can acquire the next target faster if the gun is at eye-level and after confirming the mag is seated, slight rotate and i'm on target I'm on the right track... many of the things i've been doing are working, increase dry fire and incorporate these learnings into my routine Bottom line, it was an amazing day. I'm sure I'll have more thoughts as I process all my notes. Thanks to Dave, Ken, Buck and Clint.

I can't think of a better day to start my Range Diary than right after a whole day training with Dave Sevigny. I've been shooting my whole life, but never shot a centerfire handgun until February 2009. I went to our local store/range and wanted to get one for carry purposes and saw a sign mentioning a competitive match on Tuesday nights. They gave me some info and I came the next week to check it out. It looked great, so I bought a Springfield XDm 9mm 4.5" and a few mags and came out the next week to shoot. As most of us, I was totally hooked and had to try it more. Needless to say, I've been addicted ever since and continuously pursue improvement. I quickly made C class in production and then just had to try out Limited and bought a 2011. That kicked up my interest even more and I fell in love with the 1911/2011 platform. I classified B in Limited and then made A class just in time for the High Desert Classic in 2010. After more practice and study, I finally made M class in 2010 in Limited 10 and finished a solid season. I've been blessed to live in an area (Atlanta, GA) with amazing shooters all around and amazing clubs. Almost any given day, I could find a match. I'm truly thankful for all the folks that have invested in me and helped me so far. Now, the real work begins. I have big goals for 2012 and would appreciate the support, encouragement, tips and expertise from the great folks of brian's forums. My biggest goal is to finally win a major match. I've been very close, but not quite sealed the deal. To make sure it happens in 2012, I have been seeking the wisdom from as many resources as possible. So far, I've read the following books: Shooting From Within - Mike Plaxco Practical Shooting: Beyond Fundamentals - Brian Enos The Art and Science of Basic Handgun Accuracy - W. W. Butler Your Competition Handgun Training Program - Mike Seeklander Any other recommendations? Also worth mentioning... I had only dry fired 2 times up until about a month ago. It just didn't seem as helpful as going to the range and at least putting 100 rounds down range. Now, I see the value and have already made improvements in my fundamentals by aggressively dry firing and videoing my dry fire regiment. I'll post some of those videos along with little things I notice at range sessions and matches. I'm working on some surprises as well that might enhance my range diary, but more to come on that. Videos will be posted on YouTube as fayetteflash and eyecord. Here's my match result history to date: Achievements: 2010 Alabama Sectional Championship: 4th B Limited 2010 Area 6 Championship: 4th B Limited 2010 High Desert Classic: 5th A Limited 2010 GA State Sectional Championship: 2nd A Limited 2010 Limited Nationals: 89th overall, 18th A 2011 Florida Open: 1st B Single Stack, 3rd Overall Single Stack 2011 AL State Sectional Championship: 1st B Single Stack, 3rd Overall Single Stack 2011 Area 6 Championship: 2nd A Single Stack, 5th Overall Single Stack 2011 SC State Sectional Championship: 1st A Single Stack, 6th Overall Single Stack 2011 Single Stack Nationals: 17th A, 59th overall 2011 Western PA Sectional Championship: 2nd M Limited 10, 2nd Overall Limited 10 2011 Georgia Sectional Championship: 1st M Limited 10, 2nd Overall Limited 10 2011 Open/L10/Revolver Nationals: 10th M, 32nd Limited 10, 2nd Place on Stage 5 So, without further adieu...

Nice work. Impressive control with the weak hand. My 11 year-old son has been shooting Steel Challenge for almost 3 years and USPSA for 2. It's awesome to get out together and see the future of the sport. Recently at a steel challenge match, we had an 11 year-old shooter, my 11 year-old on the timer and my 9 year-old daughter on the score board. Just curious... what type of match is this? Looks pretty cool. When we shoot steel, it's the standard 8 stages of Steel Challenge.

While not an Area 5 member, I'm proud to know you. Thanks for your dedication to the sport and all your hard work. Looking forward to shooting and working many matches with you in the future!

As far as dues/fees go, most weekend matches are around $20 and the weekly indoor are around $15. Membership is not required. If you find yourself shooting frequently and able to use the facility outside of the monthly match, membership is very reasonable.

Welcome to the area. You've found the right place to get connected to shooting sports... I'd recommend East Alabama's monthly matches. It's just across the state line from Columbus and a great monthly match. They host the USPSA match on the 3rd Sunday of each month and have other matches including IDPA on the 2nd Saturday. Check out http://www.eastalabamagunclub.com/ for more info. Also, you can check out http://georgiaipsc.com for the full calendar in the area. It's totally worth the drive to go to South River or Cherokee as well. Welcome to the area. If you can break free on a week night, we have a pretty awesome indoor USPSA match in Fayetteville every Tuesday night. Show up around 6:30 and stay around afterwards to eat Mexican food with the shooters.

Looking forward to it. I'll be there with the boy.

I can't say enough positive things about Bayou Bullets: http://bayoubullets.net/ I think the current price is about $355 for 5,000 124gr 9mm and I use them for everything. They're as soft and fast as lead while as hard as jacketed. No barrel gunk. I put 4.2gr of Solo 1000 behind it loaded to 1.155" OAL and that gets about 132pf out of a 5" barrel. Crazy accurate, fast and flat. -R

I just went back to 9mm SS after a season of L10 and was pleased that it is a good bit faster than my limited gun. I like it running about 135pf and its extremely flat and snappy. Last year, I had some great finishes with it. You just have to be accurate. Its perfect for steel, too.

Yeah, man. We've missed you on Tuesdays. I heard that you ran into Ken in Pennsylvania. I went up and shot the Western PA Sectional USPSA match. Lots of fun. My boy is shooting a bunch and loving it. He is using either a STI Trojan or Springfield EMP in Single Stack division and then a 22 Open Buckmark in steel challenge. The EMP is cool to watch as it is tiny, but very manageable for him. Let me know when you're back around.

Nice work, fellas. Good to see y'all out there. Hoping to get to the Western States SS match next year and High Desert. Come on down to A6 and FL Open if you can. -R

+1 recommendation for the Eagle. I have the bull barrel version and love it. Once it got an Aftec extractor, never had an issue. You can't shoot it in single stack (post above), but it's a killer Limited division gun. The bushing won't make much difference. I made Master class with it and still can't shoot nearly as accurate as the gun. Also, I prefer short dust cover guns. They look cooler and are a little lighter and faster to transition. The 2011 will be so much heavier than what you're used to that it won't seem to have any recoil. Also, ditch the recoilmaster if it comes with one. Get a solid (steel or tungsten) guide rod and no shock buffs and you'll get much more consistent feel out of the gun. I got mine on GunBroker for like $1,400 with one mag. The mags can eat up your budget, so just start with 5 140mm standard and add the Dawson +1 Plus SNL basepad and the internals as funds allow. I prefer the bolen internals, but am closely looking at the new SVI aluminum follower, too.

Fantastic time in Vegas. Thanks so much to the staff and sponsors for pulling off another killer match. Can't believe my 1st place on stage 5 held up until the last squad. Darn that Leatham guy! Also, thanks to squad 33 for being just plain awesome. I hope to see y'all again. Come on down to Area 6 or GA State next year.

finally got my match video complete...

Another amazing match at Cherokee. Thanks so much to all for putting on a challenging and truly fun match. Now, if I can just convince that Jason Koon guy to find another division

Any chance of seeing the combined unofficial results?

+1 more. Fantastic stages, sponsors and staff. We had a great time, even in the rain. Hats off to Jeff for the Lim10 win. I shot my best and he took the victory.