beginner shooter

You've got a bigger pair than I do! Jumping out of a perfectly good airplane is more than I want to do. Pat As a former Airborne trooper, I can tell you un-categorically (sp) that there is no such thing as a perfectly good airplane. Given that fact I don't need to get in an airplane OR jump out of one... unless BOTH actions take place on terra firma. Pat As it was once explained to me before I became a skydiver, "explaining a skydive to someone who has never done it is much like explaining sex to a virgin". Doesn't really matter though.

You've got a bigger pair than I do! Jumping out of a perfectly good airplane is more than I want to do. Pat You haven't seen our plane. Seriously though, I'm hoping that my better income will allow me to participte in both activities that I love.

So Ive been out of the USPSA game for a while now. Somehow my skydiving prooved to be more addictive than playing in the practical shooting game. Anywho, now that I have more money and more toys, I plan on being quite active in the 2011 year. I'm happy to say that I have a new addition to my LTD family. I just upgraded my GLOCK 22 with a ZEV-TECH trigger/magwell/4 new basepads/a new Storm Lake barrel. I'm looking foward to seeing how I can do with a piece of plastic this year, and wish you all a happy New Year.

On right now.

I heard this one today and found some wisdom in it. "If I had 6 hours to cut down a tree, I would spend the first hour sharpening the axe."

About 7 sec sub-terminal.

Now THAT is a nugget! Never tried doing any action this way unless that one moment could very possibly be my very last one. Interresting way of looking at it Brian and Im going to start to put it into practice. Skydiver, What you just described is the embodyment of awareness. I read your post and actually got that 'stomach in the neck' feeling, but as you describe you didnt experience this at all during the series of moments when it really mattered. You took care of buisness and saved your life. Good job. Every act like it was your last. I like it, and its closer to the truth than anyone realizes. As a people I believe we put ourselves in a state of comfort and only a traumatic/adrenaline powered event can take us out of it. But recognizing that one is falling into a state of comfort and mundaneness is the very thing that I will use to try to avoid falling into it... In both life and shooting. Blue Skies to both Skydiver and BE.

Oh my gosh that's funny! I read a book the other day where a guy "took the safety off his Glock" before shooting at the bad guys. Well.... If you want to get technical, when one depresses the trigger safety they are essentially taking the gun off "safe".

[forest gump voice] Then something jumped up and bit me in the buttocks! [/forest gump voice]

So Brian, do you think that self preservation plays a role in ones awareness?

I use 4.9gr WST with a 115gr Berry's plated bullet with good results out of my H&K USP.

Blues to you as well. Cool to see others here share my same addictions.

So this weekend I realized Ive been achieving total awareness. I never thought of it before, but this weekend as I was jumping out of planes it all came togeather. What Brian sais in his book about awareness and focus are totaly embodied in the sport of skydiving. Every moment is its own and what just happened doesent matter, what is going to happen in the next moment doesnt matter, but only the moment you're currently in has any relevance. From the freefall to the parachute ride to landing the parachute every moment is its own. Now the question is how do I translate this to my shooting? Im going to try next time I shoot to focus my mind to achieve the same level of awareness that I get when jumping. -Mike

+1 Its pretty much all I use in 9mm, .40smith, and .45. Great powder all around.

Well during lunch today I went to the BX to check out some different guns. The 2 they had that looked good to me were the Glock 23 and the CZ75 .40S&W. After handling the CZ I think thats what Ill go with. It's $675 which is in my price range plus since it's on base I dont have to pay any tax on the gun. Thanks for the replies guys (and Sig Lady). I never had any doubt that the BE'ers would take care of my question.

I would practice with it to maintain accuracy, consistant draws, etc. But my theory, at least, is that my match gun is a 1911 so all the workings of the gun are already ingrained in my noodle. Basically everytime I go to a match Im increasing my skills shooting a 1911. I just dont want to carry something that big or heavy around all day.

I use Sony Vegas Movie Studio for all my skydiving videos, but then Im also running a PC so YMMV on compatibility and formating. Also, what type of camera are you using and what type of storage does it use (min-dv, sd, hhd, flash etc)?

Im looking for a 1911 platform for my CCW gun. I would like to have one that is compact and lightweight (found this out last night just wearing my full size 1911 around the house in the way I would carry it). I chose the 1911 because of its slim profile and proven reliability, but where Im running into issues is on the price. So my question is, do any of you guys know what brand to go with without paying upwards of $1000 for a gun that will not be shot all that much? I am also open to other platform suggestions provided they have about the same profile as a 1911 and the same reliability. I'm looking at trying to keep the price in the $500-$750ish range. Thanks for the help here. -Mike

Are you reloading yet? If so and you dont have a reload manual it's highly advisable to invest in a quality reloading data manual. Hornady and Lymans are pretty good places to start. They have so much more information listed orderly and easy to find that it makes using the interweb seem like "the hard way". Ill also +1 what G-ManBart said. Handloads for pp are no-no's.

Shoot to little bity pieces then incinerate said pieces. That would be 2 fun things I like to do. Shoot, and play with fire.

So at the match today I was told thank you for helping set the match up early in the morning (set up an entire stage myself!). Then at the end of the day me and about 5 other shooters (the only ones left at the range) tore everything down. The match director shook my hand and said thank you as did a couple of the other shooters that were still there. I dont know about you but a good heart felt thanks means a lot to me and makes me feel good. Its the little things I guess.

Alrighty guya. I think this thing's sorted. I upped the recoild spring weight to 18.5# and guess what? Gun runs great with or without a shock buff. I have no idea which spring was already in it but all signs point to too light of a spring.

Why would you not be able to?

I have a Glock Worx trigger/striker/spring kit etc. Striker has functioned 100% with about 1500 rounds with both the 3# striker spring and the factory striker spring.

I use a Blade Tech Dropped and Offset holster myself. For me it puts the gun very close to my hand.