Jake Di Vita

Thanks guys, I think performance wise my best stage was 7 followed very closely by 1....it felt really good to shoot a good match before Nationals. Congrats to all the winners.

Any more developments out of this?

Happy birthday girly man! Love ya.

At risk of bad humor, I'd say about 250,000 rounds should cover it. Glad she is alright though...had people I care about go through things like that myself and it is no fun what-so-ever.

I currently shoot 9 Major....if I had to do it all over again I would go 38 just for the reliablity issues that 9 Major presents.

I tape until I am on deck and after I have prepared my equipment for the next stage.

My reaction time is consistently in the low to mid 20's...not very good at all but that doesn't hold me back much.

Shot it yesterday, very good match. Stages were VERY low hit factor....I think I averaged around a 7 HF for the match and I shot pretty well....only 1 stage I shot was over a 10 HF. Very interesting because they seemed like fast stages but some were small round count and very spread out...and the high round count stages had tight shots and very awkward positions. Overall, I'm pretty happy with my performance at this match....had 2 stupid penalties but oh well...I called them both at least.

Hey guys, this match was absolutely fantastic....Easily the BEST match I've ever shot. My performance was actually also pretty good....nothing stellar but I had some pretty solid stages....Then JJ beat the piss out of me on almost all of them.

You think you were gettin off that easy? What makes you say it is safer and more consistent?

I've not only blown one...but a whole tube of primers. THAT sure as hell got the blood pumping.

You can't get the spring without first loading your back foot....With only stepiing with your strong foot you are once again relying on gravity to get you going and for me it's slower.

I will always use my trailing foot as the "spring" foot. I will do this for pretty much any situation....I don't personally like the method Flex describes (although it works fine for him) because I feel it is slower and also has a lot higher disaster factor as you are adding in movement to a shot that doesn't need it....this could cause a point down...or a mike depending on the situation. Also, should you have a jam or trigger freeze as you are falling out of the box, it takes a heck of a lot more to get back into position, fire the shot, and then move again rather than to just move when you are done shooting. I don't necessarily think either way is always faster (my way is faster for me because I practice it a LOT) but I do believe my way is safer and more consistent throughout a match.

I've owned a gun since the day I turned 18.

It is really hard to put all this into words...I am short on time right now so I will just hit the leaving aspect. Personally, I think using gravity and a lean is a time waster because you have to wait for your momentum to start before you can start moving. What I do is always load up my trailing foot so I can use it as a spring. To try and describe it. Imagine shooting in your normal shooting stance (right handed). After your last shot is fired my rear (right) foot snaps back a couple of inches and when it contacts the ground it acts as a spring...this allows you to get moving a lot faster than waiting for gravity to get you moving. As I said, very hard to explain with words....it would be a lot easier to show it.

Cool stuff man....what's the record and what did you learn?

I know Steve pretty well and here's a little secret....Steve doesn't have the time to dryfire that much either....nor do I....nor do most people.

Probably the most sensible comment in this thread. Just freakin shoot....everything else will work itself out.

Not really my young padawan...not really at all. My grip is EXTREMELY textured, and if my hands are sweaty or wet it will still screw with you....besides, you can't texture a mag tube which is where dry hands really makes a difference.

Progrip.

After all this discussion my mind has not been changed....I just wanna shoot.

I think what Ron said describes me to a T. I am nothing special...I don't have innate talent, I don't have spare time to practice, but I won't accept anything less than the best.

I agree. No offense to whomever is on the cover, but normally cover spots are held for the "hot" people in the sport....Smitty definetely is that as of now.

So much for this thread helping anyone....I knew I should have locked it....

The biggest problem is it was scheduled against Area 8...at a club which is already nationally proven to hold fantastic matches. Had Area 1 been on it's own weekend, I bet there would have been MUCH higher attendence...I know I would have gone.