THS

This came back at 84.***. Not too bad, but those D's really hurt. Tom

This came back at 94.** percent. My best yet. Tom

I went from 73.XXX to 80.030 and made A class in Limited! WooHoo Also jumped up in production, but nowhere near A there yet. Now if I can get some feeling in my hands I'll be knocking on M in both before the year's over.. Tom

A long story I'll make shorter. I'm pecking away on this computer and can't get the numbness out of my thumbs. For a few weeks now I've had tingling in my fingers off and on throughout the day, and I chalked it up to sleeping in a funny position that left me with a stiff neck. It got real bad, like an electric shock down my whole right arm on Monday night, so tuesday I go to medical and they say "It could be nothing, or something critical." Boy, that made me feel real good! They scheduled an MRI along with a bunch of C Spine X-Rays, and now I wait. What does Critical mean when we are talking about the lack of feeling in my hands! This stinks! And now I can do nothing except want for an MRI, and wonder what might be in the future. Possible spinal constriction was the reason for the MRI. Scared the heck out of me! Tom

Confidence is KNOWING I can make the shot. Ego is thinking I can make ANY shot. For me, I need to know my present limits and then I can execute confidently within them. Ego is when I think I can do everything that Strader does, just as fast. My skills just aren't there yet either.

Cool post Chuck, I have had very similar revelations in my shooting, and in going back to college after 19 years as well. I wish I could make some of them translate in to the rest of my life..... I've found new levels of performance in bullseye shooting happened when I finally relaxed and trusted myself to perform well. It was like a great confidence had been added to my mental game, and my scores went from low 280's to the 290's, regularly. On top of that, my match scores, individual and team, were above my average and practice scores. I'm convinced that the improved match performance was due to simple confidence; I no longer felt pressure to post a good score but rather KNEW I was going to be above the pack. I was at a class given by a guy who does some work with some people in the Fort Bragg area, (no I wont say who, when, or where) and he made a really cool comment. "The body wont go where the mind hasn't been." Seems like a strong endorsement for visualization exercises, and dovetailed into what I'd experienced. Once I believed it, I gcould do it, virtually on demand. Trust in your skills, sights and trigger and you'll see new performance limits. Cool thread..... Tom

Pretty Good is a little modest. I spent 3 days training in a class with him, and he is impressive. Try using a duty holster, with the rotating hood, and duty type open top mag holders for gear and ripping .7's on draws AND reloads with a duty G22, as in 5 lb plus trigger. His reloads from that gear were faster (.75+-) than mine with my limited gear (best .98) not that I'm much of a shooter, but it was pretty cool to see. Oh yeah, that was with Gold Dot sending a 165 .40 bullet at 1165 FPS! I have a dime sized callus\abcess\growth on my strong hand middle finger from the trigger guard slamming it after just 3 days, and he shoots that stuff daily! All I could think was "Sadist" ..... Of course, dropping from that 210 PF stuff to his weaker 170 pf match load must be a relief! He was unselfishly trying to help me as well. Pretty cool. Tom

I use both on my CRSpeed Glock set up. The post is better than the cup for sure. Mr cup's front sight slot was a little thin and made some funny looking shavings on the sight on occasion. The trigger bar is a softer plastic, and really reduces tension. You could drop the gun without using the lock! The good thing is you can draw through the lock if you forget it too. The bad part. They are made in purple only! YUCk. I called the day they arrived cause I ordered the black ones. Nope, that was the hanger for the post only. The post itself and the trigger bar are not made in black. Tom

Carlos, In the case of a new shooter, no problem to me, teach\explain and move on. 'Twas not the case here! I vented once in the Hate forum about how some people expect different treatment because they have an M or GM card, and don't think this is the place to spout that again. I intentionally left some of the details out of the first post to see the responses and to keep from ID'ing the shooter involved. I'm not looking to DQ anyone, but I have seen a pattern over the last year...... I'm not a certified RO, nor club official, but I have well over 20 years of shooting at the National level, albeit in other disciplines. This looks like something that will be bad in the future, or maybe not..... Side note: A Big Thanks to everyone who has helped and posted opinions on the rules questions I've presented here over the past year. Each is a situation I've witnessed or been involved in, and have not found an answer AND explanation anywhere except here. Thanks to all. Tom

WOW. This IDPA stuff is really good for me (I dont shoot it though...) 1. Every time I think USPSA's rules are wacked, I can come here and see how it might have been, 2. Every time I think a gamer is finding a loophole in stage design, as an example, I can come here and see how things might be if the Power of god is given to the RO for personal interpretation, 3. Just when you think creatively, you'll be hit with a penalty for not using cover let's say, by someone who's probably never seen or heard a shot fired in anger! Nor could most tell the difference between cover and concealment. Thank you IDPA, for contrasting things a little bit. It's a game. No more. No less. It has training value, but that is in how YOU choose to use it. Tom

I have bought and tried just about all there is available right now. California Comp Works has a cool Delrin slim-line type well that would be good for a carry gun, but is to narrow in profile for a comp gun. Lightming strike has a nice well, wider that the CCW, but still fairly slim as well. I liked it, but could not get it in anything except aluminum. Glockmeister aluminum was is a larger size yet, and felt a little "Boxy" when in firing grip, kind of like the old style Para frame. THE's brass well is my current choice. It is about the same in external size as the Glockmeister, but the angles seem a little different, and the internal angle is a little more steep. I like the weight as well. I have bought and returned a few others as well, some without even opening the bag! I went through a streak of matches where I couldn't make a reload in under 3 seconds to save my life, and ordered every one in the Brownells catalog to look at and try! I kept and used the 4 above, and they all have good points. For an IPCS gun, I'm in favor of the THE right now. Now, in another thread there is mention of a modified Dawson Ice on a Glock open gun! Hmmmm, THAT seems like something I'd like to try too.... Tom

I'm at a match this weekend and a shooter joins our squad about halfway through the first stage. He asks where the safe area is and I saw him go over there to do some draws and reloads. He ends up being the last shooter and as he's in the box, I'm holding the clipboard, and some others are taping the paper, I see he has a magazine in the gun. I asked him how he could have a mag inserted and all he does is pop the release and look at it to see if there are any bullets in it. (none there) Never says anything to the RO when they return from downrange. What should happen? Club match vs. Sectional? Tom

Flex. Yes I also had a good day! I'm a bit from Master yet, but I thinkI'll go from 72.??? to 80.??? with the 4 I shot this weekend. I have shot very little with my limited gun, but have been doing the draws and reloads regimen from Matt B's Manual when I can, and that has helped. I had the confidence going into this weekend that I was ready and had paid my dues to have a breakthrough. Some of my squad also shot exceptionally well, with Jason Jones starting out as a high A in limited when his post, and Todd Sindelar probably coming in about Master in open as well. That, plus watching John Benton rip off 2 100 percenters was "A Good Day." The kicker: Now that I shoot a glock that shoots EVERY time I move the trigger I'm moving up! This is so much more fun when I can think about shooting; not whether or not the gun will run. Tom

Shot this Saturday. 58 points, 6.13 seconds, HF of 9.4617. Only stage of the day without a D, and it showed! Tom

Shot this Saturday. Not good. Tried left side first, with a miss on a popper, then to right side where I was thinking FASTER and ended up taking 4 shots at a popper there. Worse yet, I shoot left first because I felt the barricade was twisted a little making the right more visible. I thought I'd shoot the hard stuff first then wear out the other side. WRONG. Ended up with a 52 point 8.7 second run, for a HF of 5.9770 YUCK Live and learn. Tom

Shot this again Saturday. Limited, 51 points, 2 d's, 6.52 sec, HF of 7.8221. First stage, first shooter, and called the D's. Make the d'd into c's and I'm a real hero..... Maybe that will be a new goal for this season. Tom

Shot it Saturday. Watching John Benton and Todd Sindelar made me change my engagemnet order. I shot the right side first, I'm right handed and the gun was 'pointed' there anyway, and shot it from inside out. Todd said that little lean to the left as he pivots to the right across the array makes the transition to the left side a little faster, and the gun being pointed there makes the draw faster too. They did the same on Fast n Furious, which I did differently, (and blew it.) I shot too slow on the left side, after calling a D maybe miss, on the right side. In the end it was 2 d's, 50 points in 7.56, HF of 6.6138, limited. I learned a bunch about these stages watching John and Todd! Tom

Flex, Did you shoot Black Creek special 4 CM shoot? Tom If not, where.....

Matt, Must be the holster Took me a while to figure it out and move up to C. You're on your way, especially that you've ID'd places that need work. Have fun Tom

The inspections were for agriculture only. I was stopped every time I crossed the border during my 3 year stay in the CA desert. The diddn't even ask about guns; and the "inspection" only looked in the U Haul once that I remember. The laws scared me while I was there. TheDOJ or AG's office even sent some of my Marines letters in the late 90's telling them they knew they'd bought Hi-Cap pistols (Beretta's) and that they laws were going to change on the magazines for them. Real big brother crap. Thank God I got out of there! Tom

Oops. One down-side to VA's gun laws. We have a one handgun per 30 days law. Buy all the long guns you want, but handguns are different. Interestingly they recently changed to allow a transfer inside of 30 days if you are trading in a handgun to get another. Maybe the intent is one additional gun per 30 days, but you can use a dealer for a trade as long as you dont have a net gain in HG's. I always mark my calendar when I pick up a gun, so I know the exact day I'm up again. It was an issue when I saw a sweet deal in a pawn shop, no layaway there, so I had to wait to pick up another I'd already paid for. Just another pain in the but, but better than the ohter DC area options. Tom

I also have both. From a pure accuracy view there is no difference. Putting that accuracy on the target in a USPSA event is a function of many other things. The 34 feels better to me, but some say the 17 has a snappier feel. "Like I'd know that if it hit me!" The 34 has the oversize mag release and the 3.5 connector you'll like as well, but I'm not sure that is a good reason to buy one if you already have the 17. Those parts are pretty cheap anyway , so you could add them to your 17. The longer sight radius is nice for real precise shots, but I cant remember the USPSA shoot that measured accuracy enough to need the benefit of an additional .750" approx in sight radius. We aint talking 50 yard bullseye where the X ring is about 1.3 inches in diameter. My 34 gets way more range time than my 17 because I like how it feels in my hand, points etc. It helps that my limited gun is a 35 with the same sights too. Tom

PS Vol 4 is awesome. It has reviews of earlier info, a few hidden tips I had to look for, and some great footage of live runs. As posted already, Matt has capitalized on the experience of the first set and this is a smoother presentation. Well worth the money, and I'm a little tight with my money! I can't wait for the next in the series. Tom

Alex, Fort Meade is a little way from here, FXBG and Quantico, but it's all relative. The traffic is heavy and unpredicaable, and makes my 23 mile commute over an hour on occasion. Normally though it aint to bad though. You'll find a good bit of shooting here, and despite MD's gun laws, they have some strong shooters. You'll always be welcome at Quantico with the NVPS or FXBG with the F-burg club there. When are yu coming? The Summer blast is in June, and the VA MD sectional in October, I think. Later Tom

Alex, Live in Virginia! We have right to carry, and STRONG limited crowd at local events! Like Todd Jarrett, Phil Strader, John Benton, and a slew of others who are GM's and M's. I live in Fredericksburg and am stationed at Quantico, and could shoot every weekend, plus indoors a few times a month, within an hour to hour and 15 min ride. Maryland has some well run clubs too, although I've never shot up there. Where are you going to be stationed? Tom