Hardball1911

After two years of hiatus, my third match back, I shot rather "in the zone" today. Took B class and second overall Limited. Not a huge match, but huge as far as getting back into the swing of things. This stuff ain't so bad. Kinda like it again. Look out checkbook. Can you say new Limited Gun coming? (Disclaimer: When one states that there is a new Limited Gun in the works, it of course means that it is pending the boss' approval. Yes, dear..... )

Unfortunately folks, there happens to be far too many that claim that they were something they were not. I don't think there is anything we can do to increase their self esteem enough to make their false claims go away, so when we know they are lying, we treat them as such. As for the SWAT members getting beaten by C level shooters, it doesn't surprise me. The training that they recieve is minimal when taken into context with that which a C level shooter goes through when presented top shooters to study. Their "game" is also much different from either IDPA or IPSC. They practice team movement far more than they practice individual marksmanship, unless they are a designated sniper. I would hope one day both of these items change. The liars and the individual skills of our local SWAT teams. But all we can do is hope, then fix it when we can.

For the life of me Matt, can't remember what squad you guys were on. Only saw 14 squads while running that stage.

Ok, as an offender on this one, I have to tell you that not all of us can afford the high dollar electronic ear muffs. Matter of fact, I usually have two sets of ear protection on, as I want to hear in my elder years. In order for me to "hear" the shooter declare ready, he has to give me a visual sign of some sort. While I use the proper commands otherwise, it is difficult for me to hear "Shooter ready." or any other verbal from the shooter most of the time. While we all enjoy the sport, it seems that there are those who can take your argument to extreme. "Do you understand the course of fire?" is meant to make the shooter have no out should he/she shoot the course of fire improperly. Kind of a disclaimer, "Well you said you understood it before you started." This I am neither with or against. My angst comes from the Range Lawyer guy who, while still ten shooters down in the rotation, has to stand just behind the scorekeeper and "demand" procedural penalties on shooters when they are half way through the course of fire. "He did this! He did that!" then when they shoot, they do the same thing and argue that they "couldn't have possibly done that." "Well, you did, and I am giving you the procedural for it, even though it was minor, you too did it." Long of the short of it is this: If it weren't for the other shooters RO'ing us while we shoot the monthly, state, area, or nationals, you wouldn't have a competition to go to. I don't really concern myself as much with the RO who says, "Gas it up." or anything of the like. I am too busy running the stage in my head to worry about the minor stuff. Hang in there and just shoot.

.2 grains less than a starting load is not near enough of a light charge of 231 to cause an issue. Weak cases are what caused the issue. The same gun fires the same load today for my now 14 year old. Same barrel, same frame, etc. Now, had I been 2 whole grains short, might be a different story. The starting point on 231 with a 230 gr fmj listed shows that they recieved 697 fps. This was my starting point for a then 12 year old. We bumped it down .2 grains from there to make 147 pf. Most of the at risk cases that I culled out (the entire batch that they sent me when I ordered new.) had thin case walls. I measured at the time, but being two years ago can't remember what they were. They were, however, several thousanths thinner than mil-spec recommendations. I imagine that when they went into new ammunition, they started off thin. Having been manipulated through the different case sizing techniques that they certainly would have been subject to, they thinned even more to a point that they were dangerous. What is the one measurement that is most often neglected? The thickness of the case walls.

Zero 230 gr. rn fmj win 231 at 4.7 gr. large pistol primers Starline "range brass" Trust me, I am entirely, and was entirely too careful about the reloading process. At least I was after I saw a friend take out his drywall above his reloader when his primers all detonated at once. THAT is a freaky thing to see.

As a vet of the first time we went to kick off in Iraq, I have to say that I admire those who are there today. I know the personal commitment that it takes for them to keep drudging along in a no-man's land full of folks who wish you ill will and discontent. Glad to hear that you appreciated their efforts as much as I. A big thank you goes out to you RNG for having the wherewithall to shake their hands and thank them. I wish more folks were like that.

Singlestack, I met you and your wife at the Area 6 in 2002. I think you and she need to come down to a little get together that I am having here sooooooon hopefully. I will anounce it when it happens, but let's just say you can live up to your name. Love to have ya.

Just before I took my hiatus two years ago, I had been reloading .45 for about four years. Usually, I would buy new brass every fourth or so outing, so I was starting on some "new" brass. I put the quotes around new, because what I paid for was new brass. What I got was range brass. I bought it from a well respected company and truely feel that they made an error, as they replaced it at no cost to me, but let me keep the "range brass". Not wanting to waste the brass, I decided I would save the new stuff for a later date. What I got was soon to become detrimental to a brand new singlestack, and my son's and my hands. My son, at 12 years old at the time, was on the range practicing with two of my friends and me. He loaded, made ready and began our "stage" that we were practicing that day and was doing well until about his fifth shot. BANG! Magazine goes to the ground, son standing in total shock and terror, handling the .45 with extreme caution and freaking out all at once. I stopped him, took the gun from him and checked him well for any injury. Thanks to the grace of God alone he was fine. His hands stung badly, but he was fine. Now, before any of you ask why I let a 12 year old shoot a .45, and if I had double charged it, I did not. Powder check worked, and I was loading down so much you could actually track each projectile while it flew to the target at about 500 fps. I had to even change the recoil spring in that singlestack to about an 8 pound spring for it to run. Jamomatic that it was, he enjoyed shooting it. Until that day. Having thought that we had experienced the one in a million weak case malfunction, I decided to "shoot out the ammo". Having cleaned the gun, made sure it still worked and nothing was amiss, I discarded the ammo that was currently in the magazines and loaded fresh out of "his" ammo. My very first round fired ruptured and stung me. We were done for the day and every round loaded into that brass was then discarded. To make this long story shorter, bear in mind what we play with. We play with firearms that produce much pressure. Brass that has been reloaded repeatedly can become more dangerous than anything else. Should you get brass that is not as it was described, do not feel bad about sending it right back to where it came from. His malfunction could have been a double charge, but should you see the shooter again, mention that new brass is better than multiple use brass, and even then it isn't always as advertised. Much QC goes into my reloads after that day...

Waiting on arRANGEments. As soon as the arRANGEments are taken care of, it is out of the chutes and onto the long march home.

What helped me greatly with the warp was just relaxing. Even in practice before a shot was fired I close my eyes, take a deep breath and see what I am about to do. I consciously see the rear sight aligned with the front sight in the middle of every shot I am about to take. As I reach the point where I have "run the stage" in my mind, I take yet another deep breath, consciously relax every muscle, then open my eyes and give the nod. (In practice, I set the timer while still eyes closed if not with a buddy.) Just before the timer beeps I see nothing but the first point of impact on the first target. Buzzer goes, I go, and depending on how well I relaxed, and visualized, the whole thing hits the warp and is done before I get tense. Intentional mechanical movement with our muscles requires that they tense. Automatic motion, or "muscle memory" doesn't necessarily need tension, just motion. I have been working hard at getting back to that stage without firing a shot in the past month or so. We shall see how well prepared I am this Saturday. By the way, I only tell you what BE told me through his writing. Nothing more.

Shooting, while fundamentally mechanical, is an inner peace at which one reaches his or her true focus in life when taken with a big glass of calm. Shooting is the calm within the chaos that can only be reached when all senses are given a clear path unhindered by thought and reason. Shooting is.

There comes a point, when one is as competitive as I was two years ago, that the insanity of pure drive and emotion take over. I now know that I had lost sight of what was really important, which was the fun of the sport. While every match I shot was fun, I was not having the fun of "Wow, that was cool." That was replaced with "Damn, I could have done this or that better, and man was I slow." Dirtypool will tell you, two years ago, as a B class limited shooter, I was shooting right beside his M scores most of the time. The thing I lacked, which I know now, is consistency. Consistency comes when one relaxes even though he/she makes a mistake. I can, after two years of just doing mostly nothing but SCUBA diving and sitting back on my fat behind, now just relax and enjoy the rythm and rhyme of simplicity. I have goals for my shooting again, however, those goals are no longer the driving force to my competitiveness. By the way, Dirtypool, should you read this, I will be chasing you again. Hope your OCONUS status doesn't make you too soft. The Vette is on it's way to the hardchroming shop. Should be ready in a year or two.

Well folks, even though I am not asking a particular mental question, I just have to say this. Over the last two years I have beat myself into a stupor trying to figure out why I burnt out the way I did. After two years of rereading BE's book, Plaxco's book, and just taking it as it comes (life) I have recently "started" shooting again. During my recent outing at the Fl. State match I noticed something that should make BE grin at least. Nothing, and I mean nothing, has changed in the visualization and calm that I used to know. My response has changed due to the neglect of practice, however, the visualization that I have learned from the book, and all of your input has stuck around, even though it wasn't used. I shot a good match for having not played the game in two years. Thanks to all of you who support one another here and on the range. It truely makes the self torture worth it again. So, as competitive as I am, I will once again be pursuing the highest level I can reach. DVC

I noticed not too long ago (2002) that I had the same issue, only reversed for this righty. My issue was resolved by making sure that I was NOT placing my weak hand index finger on the front of the trigger guard. That was something that I did primarily out of subconscious than anything, as I had never intentionally put my index finger there, it just ended up there after about three or so rounds. Never did it in practice, as I paid close attention to grip, etc. One day a friend watched me shoot a stage at a local monthly and asked why I put my finger there. "I don't" "You did." "I did?" "You did." "I won't." problem solved almost instantly. Hope that helps.