m.e.t.

A friend and I were walking the stages at the nationals last year. And up walks Todd Jarret. We watch him look the stage over and when he was done we introduced ourselves. He walked us through the stage and pointed out what, how and why he was going to shoot it in a certain way. Now brother that was worth the admission price by itself. Though he did ask me for $20 when he found out I did not shoot his brand of pistol. And yes we folllowed him to the next stage and got the same treatment. Though he pointed out to me that I now owe him $40. As wide45 said in an ealier post. You are on the field with the best in the world. Not many of my non-shooting friends will ever have that in there chosen hobbies.

I have to agree with those who enjoy the combined results. You cannot deny David's comment about besting an open shooter of known skill with a limited gun. Besides most of the time I have to find something to hold onto. Cause the same bunch of folks have been kicking me around for years in limited. At least in a combined results format I can say I beat somebody.

(1) STI Frame and Slide. Nowlin Barrel. (2) Gary Growe Columbus IN. (3) 40 (4) 180gr. Zero JHP 4.7 Titegroup 1.185. 173.8 pf (5) Bomar rear, Brazos front (6) CR Speed (7) Just a great all around match. I will be coming back next year.

I really enjoyed my first Area 6. I will be back. Can't say the same for the wife. She has been to several big matches over the last couple of years. And it always rains. All of my shooting friends from here in Indiana groan when I tell them she is going. Rain or no rain. This was one of the best mixture of stages I have seen. All of them equal to stages seen at the nationals. And with the number of shooters involved the few hick-ups were easy to accept. Except the gun problems that plagued me the first day. A big thank you to all the folks involved. See you next year. Mike Thompson

I can hear the gun banners now. All firearm manufactures must now make the barrels of all there guns to large to fit in the human ear. Or in this guys case his a$$.........

5lb. weight in each hand. Hands naturally at sides. At the beep snap the weights to a freestyle shooting position. Hold position for a slow count. You can also use a variant of this for strong hand and weak hand draws and transitions. Get a stop watch use it to time splits. You can do this anywhere. You will hit a wall as far as speed is concerned but keep at it. And my wifes favorite. I do yoga execises with a pistol in my hand. Balance is something that is easy to work on and is often forgotten.

I faced a similar question a couple of years ago when I built my limited guns. I talked to my friends and my gunsmith. The deciding factor for me was the gunsmith saying that he liked to build on the STI frame. I now have two STI's and I love them. But I have been handed my hat many times by several of my Para shooting friends. Just my 2 cents.

Brian, I was squaded with Kert by chance. We had not met up to that time. I did not even know he was a GM until after the match and saw his name on the scores. His help was even more exciting to me at that point. Because he took the time to share with a total stranger and a very lowly C class shooter. I did see him at the Nationals this year and though I am sure he did not remember me. I thanked him for his help. He gave me a great gift that day. Something that happens on this board everyday. Thank you for this place. Mike

Wow, Brian quoted me in his post. I am very humbled by this. Maybe I can get your thoughts on how I discovered my own Zen Place. I was lucky enough to be squaded with Kert Gaskill at the Area 5 in 2004. I won C Limited at that match. And I owe it all to Kert taking the time to help me. He told me to take my mind and set it on my shoulder when I got into the shooters box. To do this I would have the stage set in my mind and then just before the Shooter Ready to focus on something else. Such as a blade of grass or a spot on the berm. And during that focus time to imagined my consious mind setting on my shoulder. And let it be a spectator to the stage. Best shooting day of my life. I made up shots on several occasions that I never would have. I saw things that day in away that I had never seen before. I had no time to distrust or trust what I had done. I reacted to my mistakes on a level that up to that point I did not know existed. I hope that I am not rambling. But the power of this took me to a level well above what I considered my ability. And I have found that though this does not always work for me the way it did that day. It has taken me along way to where I want to go. I now have to find the same stillness at local matches that I find at the bigger ones. Shooting with your friends can distract you from the task at hand. Longest post of my life, I had better go....

They say you never forget your D.I.'s name. Sgt. James Swinford. He would question my parentage and hit me between the eyes with the brim of his hat. So much so that I had a bruise that lasted for three months after basic. I too would like to shake his hand and say thanks.

Have you ever dropped something and caught it? How did you catch it? Did you make a concious decision to try? Now try to duplicate it using your consious mind. You can do it but not with the mindless ease that you acheived it before. We all pocess a thought process that is so fast and buried so deep that we can only access it by accident. Or with a great amount of searching for its source. Zen is the process some use to perform the search. I have experienced it on a couple of occasions. It is rather amazing to be relaxed enough to just react and acheive. The buzzer starts the object falling and you just catch it.

This poll is all dependent on one question. Is the wife going? Cause if she is, money is no object. Several years ago several of my shooting buds and I were going to a neighboring state for a sectional match. At the last minute the wife decides to go. Someone else had made the reservations. I paid for two rooms that night. Thank God we had driven ourselves. Would have been a long walk carrying all the baggage. I want a safe enviroment. No wrong side of the tracks. A pool is nice. See Barry, IL read, hot and humid. Close to food and refreshment. I will drive a couple of minutes further to the match. To get these.

The UPS guy delivers 20k bullets and asks you how long they will last. You say 2 to 3 months and he does not believe you untill he is delivering the next 20k two months later. Your 5 year old grand daughter recites gun safety rules to her other grand dad. You have written permission from your wife to remove your wedding ring when dry firing. The darn thing hurts the 20th time it smacks your knuckle let alone the 200th time. It is not considered weird by your co-workers. That when opening the door into the shop you mimic shooting all of the tire machines while moving across the shop. The local police don't want you to shoot with them anymore. Sore loosers. Hey you shot a Sig just like theirs. Well it looked like theirs on the outside.....(: You purchased heavy duty industrial shelving to hold the boxes of your brass. Your excited when one of your non shooting friends buys a new Dillion, cause you know you will be buying it at a huge discount in a few months. He is the founding member of the hobby of the month club. Shooters Connection and Powder Valley are the only charges listed on your credit card bill 6 months running. Your family asks if there are any big matches the first weekend in August. And if not can you come to the reunion. You drive 2 hours one way for every match you shoot. And are thrilled to do it. Not just for the shooting but to share the day with the best group of people you have ever known. Out shooting certain members of this group is a big draw also.

I took the Double Impact class this past Feb. They both told us to shoot open for a year and it would make us better limited shooters. Short of that they suggested we practice with a pistol with a dot. Their contention was that the dot helps you speed up transitions and smooths out your shooting on the move. I have since mounted a 22 with a C-More. Much more feedback than the 1/2 full water bottle. I use it in dry fire for the above mentioned transitions and movement drills. It does high light your short comings. And it has made me humble in the extreme.

Just wanted to add my thanks to all of the hardworking range staff. Another great match at Silver Creek. And I shot as good as this fat old man can. So all in all a great day....

I hate the way I have been shooting this entire year. I hate that I have not been able to practice like I know I should. I hate work cause as dajarrel said it does indeed get in the way of shooting. I hate stupid people who are sure they are right and are so blatantly wrong. I hate that the neighbors dog was doing his business in my yard again while the neighbor stood in his yard and acted like he did not see him do it. I hate that I did not get to the shotgun before the damn dog was back in his own yard. Should have grabbed a rifle too long a shot for the scatter gun. I hate that I have not seen this thread before. Cause I am feeling better all ready.

Powder Valley is the best. I order for myself and friends. They are always trying to help me get the best shipping bang for my buck. And I will be glad to loan anyone willing to feed him a teenager to count bullets. He might have to count to ten,three hundred times but for a new box of cereal he might get it done........

I have 2 S-I's both built by a local smith. I have really enjoyed using one for experimenting with new triggers and springs etc. I then take the winners and incorporate them into my primary gun. They are both coming to the same point and will eventually be as close to being clones as I can make them. I would not consider going to a major match without both guns.

I lost my mom in 1996. It is still a very deep bruise on my soul. But my mom always taught us that the riches of life are the people who share it with you. The many treasures that were your mom are still safe in your heart. And their beauty will be a calming scene in the years to come. I wish you peace in your soul.

I have to agree with EricW. Shoot what you have or buy a solid production or limited 10 pistol. Learn the game and meet the folks in your area. A mega buck limited blaster is not magic. You will still have to learn the fundementals. Go to a few matches and you will get a huge amount of advise about guns. Just wait it out and seperate the wheat from the chaff. There are several great gunsmiths working in small unknown shops all over. Someone in your area can lead you to them or help you spec a gun from one of the fine smiths found on this board. You will spend a lot of money playing this game. Just ask my wife...... But slow down and spend those hard earned dollars wisely.

Stage 5 at the Nationals. Started with gun on table. At the buzzer I did my much practiced snatch of the gun. The best I could tell I left the mag about 1/2 inch from where it was setting when still in the gun. According to my squad mates the reload only cost me a second or less.( I felt it leave the gun.) But on a 10 second stage that was more than enough. And of course the CRO was from my area. That means the story will be waiting for me where ever I go. I have since had my smith drill and tap a hole just above the mag release and install a threaded pin. I do believe that I could hit the gun with a hammer and not release the mag.

A firearms instructer for the state police that I know has a 92G with over 170,000 rounds through it. He is also a Beretta armorer and all of the springs have been changed multiple times. Almost all of the rounds were 147g. Federal Hydroshocks. He bought the 92 when his department transitioned to 96's. I have a similar 92G with 15,000 rounds through it at last count. I have to agree with Mr. Di Vita, the most reliable gun I have ever owned...

I am with Trigger T. My first nationals. Except I have had nothing but bad matches for the last year. But I really enjoyed my squad mates and the over all experience. I am looking forward to next year...............