jeffsoward

I would love to check out the DVD's. I haven't watched any. I've seen a couple of online videos, but most of my routine comes from friends that are B, A, and M shooters They corrected my grip, form and how to practice at home. But I want to keep going and try to get as good as I can while making sure that I'm not creating or using any more bad habits. I've already got a few that I'm trying to overcome. Too many years shooting rifles and recreational shooting instilled some very bad habits in my pistol shooting. I try to practice every night drawing, dry-firing and reloading. I shoot three or four times a week, typically about 500-600 rounds a week. And now the matches on the weekends to try to apply what I'm practicing. It doesn't always work, but I keep practicing. I promise I won't scratch them.

I'm still a newb. I've only shot a couple of USPSA matches and a couple of steel challenge. Still a 'U'. My shooting isn't too horrible, but my times are killing me. I'm slow (I have MS) so I don't transition well. To give you an idea; shot a stage last Sunday, they called it Good guys/Bad guys, and I had 124pts on the stage (second highest of the stage) but my time was 80.05 (by far the slowest). Top guy on the stage shot a 120 in 18.96 (M class), so I came in 20th out of 22. On the two stationary stages, I came in 10th and 13th overall. I'm not fast and I need to work on reloads (single stack=many reloads) but I was hoping that the class would help me with some of the things I'm doing wrong and help speed up others. It can't fix my legs, but it might help with planning, target re-acquisition, reloads, etc. I'll just keep going to matches and work it out. I'm going to try to go to the USPSA match at USSA Saturday instead.

Well, It looks like I'm not going to take the class this weekend. I got some advice from an advanced shooter telling me that the class was for advanced shooters wanting to get to the next level. I emailed Phil and explained my situation to him and asked his advice; he thinks that I should wait as well. He wants me to get some matches under my belt before jumping in with both feet. So, dammit, I'm out.

They're gonna need a forklift to help me do a handstand. I can sing like nobody's business though. Will do. I'll give a pitiful-excuse-of-a daily report.

Like bug-eyed tie adjusting or gets no respect? I know it will be fun and I need all the help I can get. I got everything ready, ammo and gear and everything. I'm just nervous cause I know I'm going to be "that guy", the one that has no experience and everybody else has to wait on to figure it out.

uh oh. now you gotta tell me. I don't want to be losing my tripp mags. Those Tripp mags are cheap compared to the 140mm SVI's that I had to give up so, maybe the tripp mags will stay home and the cheap mags will go with me.

uh oh. now you gotta tell me. I don't want to be losing my tripp mags.

I'm taking a competition class taught by Phil Strader this weekend in Mcloud, OK. I'm excited but very nervous. The guys say it will be a lot of fun and very informative, but I've gotten a feeling that I may be in over my head. I've only shot a couple of USPSA matches and I'm hooked on it, but I worry about movement and transitions in the class. I know I'll learn a ton of great stuff, and hopefully get rid of a bunch of bad habits, but getting up in front of guys like Phil, Jesse Tischauser, Chris Andersen, etc. and hobbling around makes me a little self-conscious. Still, it's a chance to learn from a great instructor.

I may have missed it, but is the lower an RRA or just the LPK? The reason I ask is that I had a Colt match HBAR lower and it uses a larger diameter hammer/trigger pin than a "normal" lower. When i first got mine, it did the same thing. It worried me to death. I found out that it had an RRA LPK in it. The standard pin diameter is .154" but alot of Colt's use .170". this tiny variance is enough to cause this sort of malf. If you follow GunCat's instruction and don't find an issue, try to mic the pin holes for your lower. also mic the pins and check for any abnormal wear.

I shot my second match yesterday and had a blast. Haven't got the scores yet but I feel like I did pretty well. I took Blueridge's advice and started practicing single hand shooting some. We had a stage where there were targets "hiding" behind barrels on opposing sides of the course. They were to be shot during a transition forward. I took the opportunity and just shot them both strong-hand while limping along wits my cane; two alphas each. I was really happy about it. I heard a couple of the guys cheering and yelling behind me, made me feel really good. God, I love this sport!

shot USPSA this morning using 5 of the mag holders and I must say that they were AWESOME!!! I'm really happy with my 7 dollars worth of mag holders.

I can email you an autocad file of it with dims if you want. I attached the PDF. I did mine out of .093 kydex and they fit snug. I did the loops right at 1.5" to fit my belt. I'm a fatboy so it went on and did not move. The increased angle at the top of the loop really helps out. the mag doesn't stick out too far, but it makes the mag rest outside my love handle Mine are not floppy at all (so far). I'm gonna test them at a match on Sunday. range report will follow. single stack dims.pdf

I took Coyote4x4's design and did some single stack holders. I love them! Thank you guys for the idea! I made a jig up like Coyote4x4 but I also made a sheet metal template of the flat so that I could scribe the kydex without destroying the template and all pieces would be uniform. I started with a scrollsaw on the first couple of test units. I found the scrollsaw to be very tedious and some of the cutlines weren't straight and true so I moved over to the bandsaw and it took about a minute each to cut out. Rounded the corners on the sander and hit the edges with some 180 grit sandpaper. The forming was all done with a heat gun. The wife wouldn't let me use the oven, but the heat gun worked out well since I could hit specific areas rather than the whole piece getting soft. I over-bent the side tab to add tension to retain the mag. I'm gonna use them this weekend at a match.

Great minds think alike. That's exactly what I hope to try to do. Since there are some stage where you shoot through a transition, I want to try to get a bit better single hand (strong) so I can do that. I also need to get the weak hand a LOT better. I've dedicated 50 rounds to each this week. Thank you sir! I wonder if I knock the "head" off that last target with my cane if it would be an A or a B...

I did it. I joined USPSA and my number is officially pending. I just need a score sheet to write pending on...

The Voodoo and Condor bags are from the same maker. They are very well made. I pretty much exclusively use the Condor bags and love them. I've beat the crap out of mine and they just keep on trucking. I have both the 36" and the 42". I recommend them to everyone. The double rifle bag would work great for what you're wanting to do, and the front zip panel has opposing pistol pockets. great three-gun bag. It has the backpack straps that have a tuck-away pocket. they are great bags. that is all.

One thing it taught me is to work on my single hand shooting some (I don't ever shoot single hand). Even though I didn't do horrible on the single strong/single weak hand shooting, I didn't do as well as I'd like. Then there's the down range shooting, also going to take a bit of practice time. While I can't do much about speeding up my transitions, I can get some accuracy and compensate a little. I'm so amp'd though, I'm ready to shoot another match right now. A couple of my buddies got third and sixth in the match, but then again, they're the one's that got me into it. They deserve a great big thank you. Mitch, Rusty, thanks fellas. I'm addicted. It's like crack.

I shot at a local USPSA match last night. My very first. It was AWESOME!!! I don't have the numbers yet, but I came in 40th out of 46. I feel pretty good about it since I have Multiple Sclerosis and it's hard for me to get around very well. My biggest problem was transitioning between stations. Place Class Division Points Penalties Time Hit Factor Stage Pts Stage % 44 U Single Stack 81 60 63.1 0.3328 7.1738 5.98 27 U Single Stack 85 30 81.17 0.6776 20.6959 17.25 43 U Single Stack 79 30 45.25 1.0829 18.0354 18.04 29 U Single Stack 106 0 33.82 3.1342 54.125 45.1 Place Class Division PF Match Pts Match % 40 U Single Stack Major 100.0301 22.01 Now, I don't know what most of these numbers mean, so can you guys help me out? I attached the sheets I was sent. She misspelled my name; she has it as Seward, Jeff (It's Soward). I think the penalties are the Mikes I had (yeah, I screwed up on stage one and hobbled past two targets without shooting them, my bad). Stage 4 was the only stationary stage, so I drew and shot. I'm not too horrible at that, it's the time I have to figure out how to safely walk with my cane and get from box to box, etc. The kneeling/laying down stage was pretty comical for me. All I can say is I'm hooked. I'm joining USPSA so that the numbers will mean something and I can continue trying to improve. Pistol All divisions.htm Pistol Finals All divisions.htm

I'd like to thank everyone for their input and advice. I don't really know what happened or which one worked for me but I shot my first USPSA match last night and didn't have any problems throughout the match. I may have blinked once or twice but overall it wasn't an issue and, honestly, after that first stage when I noticed that I was watching the front sight, I never gave it another thought.

I thought it was a worthy sequel. It was good. Nothing unexpected and no plot twists that weren't figured out from the outset. I didn't really care for the main dude's attempt at a deep, menacing voice. It was overplayed after the first scene. Overall, though, I enjoyed it. Plenty of good action.

went to the indoor range a few times this week. Got a few more eye-opening experiences out of it. Still not even 50% of the time, but getting better. I'm going to shoot my first USPSA match sunday night with it and see how I do.

I use a thumler's model B rotary tumbler and I LOVE IT! It's more pricey to start out, but no more media to buy (after the initial 2lbs of brass media) and my brass is nice and shiny and clean throughout after an hour.

I did it! I went shooting (casual shooting) yesterday out at my grandfather's land. We were shooting at some paddle cactus with my suppressed SPR and then I pulled out the 1911. I started shooting and just sort of watched the sight climb and fall. After about 7 rounds, I realized I wasn't blinking and had been watching the sight as I chose which paddle to hit. I got all excited and, of course, the very next round made me blink. When I thought about it, I blinked, but when I was "just shooting" I actually watched the sight rise and return. So, if I can, I will try not to concentrate too much on not-blinking and just shoot for the heck of it. Brian, I will definitely try your advice out at the indoor range this week. ...and now a gratuitous pic of cactus damage (from a side-on shot from the SPR, not the 1911);

I used a Y-comp for a while and I love it. I've tried several but the Y-comp has consistently outperformed them (for me). Unfortunately, when my suppressor came, it had to come off. it's still sitting in my parts bin though. I figure I'll use it sooner or later on another build.

I've got a ruger mkIII 22/45 that I shoot all the time without a blink. I don't blink (90-95% of the time) when shooting my 9mm. That's my problem. It's become evident since I began shooting the 1911. Rifles aren't an issue. I've been on a precision shooting kick for a while and I don't blink with either my 5.56 or my .308 (again, I'd say 90-95% of the time, can't say I never blink). I shoot suppressed and unsuppressed with many calibers, but it's this stupid 1911 that started it (or brought it to my attention). i Ilove the gun but I'm so frustrated at this reaction I'm thinking about NOT trying to shoot SS with it.