[Post your bicycle pics!]

Here are my steel single speed 29ers

[Post your bicycle pics!]

nice Standby...glad to see another hard tail in the crowd

I've had a hardtail for the last several years, when most of your riding involves climbing...a lot...it's the right tool for the job!

I rode a rigid Single speed 29er before this one. I relented to gears because of the area, but really enjoy single speeds back in Kansas where I'm originally from.

[which recoil spring do you have in your XD?]

XD Tac Factory spring, and 9mm 130 pf 147gr. bullets, I might experiment in the future but right now it's not broken so I'm not gonna fix it.

[Some shots I like]

Nice shots.

Thank you!

[Some shots I like]

Love the mountain bike pics. Great Job!

Thanks!! It's the only form of exercise that I can stick with..cuz it's fun!

[Draw Times For Production Holster]

Something to consider coming from a shooter who started last year as a C, worked into B and is now pushing A: try to video yourself shooting some matches. You will think you shot really well and moved about the stage perfectly but when you watch it, it can almost make you sick how slow it was. You are drawing in the 1.2s range now. getting a 1.0s will save you .2 of a second...not much. Not taking those extra steps looking for targets will saev 2-3 full seconds. executing the reloads perfectly will save you .5s/reload, 2 or 3 per stage - there is another 1.5s. Transitions from target to target (5-15 per stage at .2-.3 per tranistion)....the list goes on. Moral is there is a LOT of places that time can be made up other than just the draw speed. Yes, draw speed is important for classifier stages and stand-and-shoot speed shoot stages, but most of the time, you will be drawing and moving at the same time so you can absorb a slower draw by eliminating other wasted movement in the stage.

+1

[Some shots I like]

Some other various shots:

The wife and a good friend..

The wife:

This one is published in Dirt Rag Magazine- The current issue:

[Some shots I like]

Nice work!!

Thanks!

[Some shots I like]

Here are a few shots I like..I caught the photo bug and enjoy shooting when I can.

Tilt shift/mini effects

[Post your bicycle pics!]

Here is mine:

The wife:

Both:

Wife again (in Brown shirt)

[New xdm]

I agree, I bet it won't be long before it's approved..SA sponsors a ton of matches.

[Hearing Protection?]

EP4 and they are really good in the summer as muffs are super hot. When indoors I double up howard leigh electronic muffs over the EP4.

+1 on the Ep4..just started using them..cheap and they work great.

[(DEATH) grip on the stock]

How you grip can affect Impact points..I know I was guilty of it. The following chart may help you understand accuracy issues if you have them.

[Draw Times For Production Holster]

My times from holster to target average .89, but I would rather have a consistent and steady 1.0 anyday. The way I see it is I'd rather devote more time to getting a proper grip and sight picture than rushing it.

[Advice needed with bullets shooting high right]

This might help...

[What I understand it to mean]

I just have to say off topic but

I would soooooo eat shi* if I tried that!!

You would be surprised what you can do after the learning curve. Never giving up, even when failing...badly.

[What I understand it to mean]

Drawing from my other activities, I understand that the only way to get there is by doing.

Nice!

Thanks b!

[So I shot the stage like I didn't care about time]

Only thing I saw that I would mention is the way you lower your gun on transitions. When you were behind the barricade, after engaging the first targets and going to your right, it looked like you swept your feet. Pull the gun into your chest then push it out, quicker to pick up the sights and no fear of sweeping.

Thanks for the tip! I will remember it...I bent at the waist but you can't tell from that angle. But I will use the draw into chest method..it makes sense.

[Risk?]

If you don't have any regreets over Risks taken that ended up way worst than the reward would have been. thin you have not lived very long or have not taken many Risks.

I have been trying to forget failed risks

I never said every risk was good, or worth taking

[So I shot the stage like I didn't care about time]

Here is my second match (total) held on Fathers Day this year, at the Old Fort Gun Club in Fort Smith Arkansas. One of 6 stages. I welcome feedback of all levels, I have thick internet skin. I feel it was a success on all levels (I made it through 6 stages in high temps without dq, and learned a lot)

[So I shot the stage like I didn't care about time]

Rule #1 is be safe. You have to walk before you run so take your time and learn the basics. When your plan starts to come to you naturally. You start making reloads on the move while keeping the muzzle down range without having to think too hard. You do not even think anymore about keeping the muzzle down range because it always is. Now you are ready to start running because the safety part is coming to you naturally.

USPSA is one of the kings of multi-tasking sports, you have a lot of skills that have to be mastered if you want to be competitive.

I totally agree, and I'm hoping some of my background from other multi-tasking sports will help me along.

[What I understand it to mean]

I failed to mention that I started riding that frequency 4 years ago.. I will never forget that first feeling of what I call "Zen" on the trail, or shooting Archery tournaments. I eagerly await that feeling in USPSA. Drawing from my other activities, I understand that the only way to get there is by doing.

[What I understand it to mean]

Standby!,

How many years of hardcore mountain bike riding / training did you have under your belt before:

It's a mental state that I slip into automatically when the tires hit the dirt.

From the time I started riding to the good mental state was about a year, riding 3-4 times a week.

The riding frequency slows down in the winter season, but it does not stop. Everyone has a different

comfort level and it's important to know your limits.

The past weekend

A current pic

Last year

Winter

I feel the shooting will progress in a similar fashion, and that "feeling" of

everything feeling like it's on cruise control, yet very aware will indeed come

with repetition just like the feeling I get when the tires hit the dirt. I have

several injury photos from my learning curve, but some are very graphic in nature

so I will spare those for a pm if people want to see them.

I also have been shooting traditional archery (longbow) for a very long time, and feel the

lessons I've learned there will help me along as well. Programming the subconscious

to take care of form, while the conscious is focused on the target. I don't feel

it is a coincidence that all of these activities are so closely related in terms of

a Zen feeling. Some of the rules don't apply to each other directly, but I feel they are

related.

[Risk?]

I think the quote as originally worded may have come from a guy named Zachary Scott:

"As you grow older, you'll find the only things you regret are the things you didn't do."

However it was somewhat reworded (and added to) and used in the movie Grumpy Old Men which is undoubtably where most people have heard it:

""The only things in this life that you really regret are the risks you didn't take. And God knows if you see a chance to be happy, you grab it with both hands and to hell with the consequences."

Ahh yes! That's where I remember it from! I believe it's a true enough statement.

[What I understand it to mean]

Very nice post. This is similar to my experiences in the ring in fights that I've posted about in another thread. I am hoping one day I will attain that state in shooting as well. When I was young, and before I got good at martial arts, I never realized how important mental state and awareness in any sport.

Thanks! It's a mental state that I slip into automatically when the tires hit the dirt..someday the same will happen when I hear "Stand by" Have a great day.