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Grunt

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Everything posted by Grunt

  1. It was 1992 and I was at the Area 1 championship. By then, Matt McLearn and and I were hanging out a good bit at matches. We grabbed breakfast prior to the match one morning, along with Bruce Gray, and Ross Dean (remember Doctor Dot?). We all had fun that morning picking on Matt who was, at the time, Sponsored by Nowlin. He was sporting a fancy uniform with logos and stripes. It was quite nice, but we had to razz him a bit. The banter settled down once our orders arrived and we started to eat. And then, out of no where, I hear Matt say in an angry tone, "You've got to be kidding me!" I look over to see that he and his uniform is covered with oatmeal. I notice right away that the "shot group" pattern of the hot cereal has some vertical stringing to it (such observations are a hazard of the sport). I then glance across the table and there's Bruce with a sh*t eating grin on his face. He's holding a spoon in his right hand, with his left index finger in a position as if he had just flung hot, wet, rolled oats in the direction of Matt. Immediately, a nervous laughter erupted at the table. Matt begins to verbally accost Bruce, who's only excuse was, "I don't know why but I just wanted to flick oatmeal at you." Matt was incensed, explaining that his uniform is now unfit for wear. Needless to say, the mood for the rest of the meal was a bit tense. But, Matt wasn't going to allow Bruce to get away with this. The scheming began. A few days later, Matt emerged victoriously at the Area 1 (that was a good year for him.) We're all at the awards banquet listening to the announcements and watching the prizes be awarded. Everyone is having fun. Then, Matt walks up to the announcer and hands him a note. The announcer reads it and then says, "Is this for real?" Matt nods that it is. The announcer then says, "Ladies and Gentleman, I've just received word that Bruce Gray has learned that his girlfriend is expecting a baby and they have set a date for marriage next month." It was fun watching Bruce *literally* chase Matt around the banquet room. Grunt
  2. I shot a match in South Africa once, many moons ago. It was a championship match and a lot of countries were represented. A couple of British shooters had finished for the day when two South African police officers approached them and asked a few questions about the match. (They had heard about it and figured they'd stop by to check it out.) The brits explain the basics of IPSC and the four chatted for a while. Somewhere in the conversation the idea of "ride-along" was proposed, where the Brits would ride along with the the two cops that night during their patrol. The brits think, "sure, that'd be interesting." Then the cops advise them to bring along their street guns (as opposed to their comp guns.) The brits hesitate for a second with a "huh?" look on their faces, but then think nothing of it and agree. "Probably just a precaution," they say. Now, this was early 1990's and Apartheid was still in the throws of its demise. Joberg was still a very dangerous city (that remains to this day) and this was illustrated by the high walls, with barbed wire on top which surrounded many residences. So, these two brits show up at the police station that night with their pistols concealed in IWB holsters. The police welcome them and the four take off in the squad car. As they tour the city the brits begin to see the underbelly of the city (where else would police patrol?) They are a couple hours into it when the police radio begins squawking. The one officer answers it, speaking in Afrikaans. The brits don't speak the language, but they can tell the dialog between the cop and the dispatch is getting more tense. Then the cop begins talking to to the other cop, again in a very serious tone. Finally, the driver flicks on the lights and sirens, steps on the gas, and the car speeds through traffic. The brits are completely in shock when the one cop turns around and explains the situation. "OK, we're going to a call. Its a bit serious. Just remember one thing. If you have to shoot anyone.......don't worry about it." Both brits lean forward, draw their pistols, chamber a round, and re-holster. They exchange WTF glances at each other. In the end, the brits stayed in the car and nothing horrible happened. But man, what a great story that made at the range the next day. It always ended with, "Remember, if a South African police officer asks if you want to go on a ride along, just say no." Grunt
  3. I was at the Coors-Springfield Armory Challenge in Durango, Colorado, I think in 1989, maybe '90. The top 16 shoot-off was underway and two of Colorado's best were pitting against each other; Eddie Rhodes and Charlie Putman. Charlie was shooting a single-stack 1911 in 38 Super and wore a Safariland 008 holster. This was as good as it got back then. Eddie, on the other hand, was shooting an single-stack .45, no-comp, and an old Davis holster that he wore behind his hip. Charlie had also started shooting isosceles, and Eddie was still using that classic Weaver technique. Eddie was literally old-school before old-school came into fashion. At times, folks liked to poke fun at him, not because he refused to upgrade, but because he was still DAMN good inspite of that. Anyway, they both step to the line to shoot. Eddie takes the first one, then Charlie takes the next. In the final round, Eddie wins and everyone is applauding this old-school guy. As they are walking off the line, Eddie turns to Charlie, and in a very audible voice says, "…and don't ever make fun of my holster again." He had a great sense of humor. RIP Eddie. Grunt
  4. While I doubt I can top Patrick's stories, I'll offer a few of my own. This must have been '89 or '90, but the transition from .45 to 38 Super was still underway for many folks. A buddy of mine had recently received his new single-stack 38 Super which was build identical to his 45 comp gun. While excited to play with this "new" technology, he was still skeptical if the Super really gave you an advantage, other than the +2 rounds in the mag. So, during a local match he decided to enter twice. He'd shoot his Super for the first run, then switch to his .45 for the second run, and then compare the time for each run. Not exactly the most scientific, but he was interested nonetheless. He's on the final stage of the match and had just finished his first run with the Super. He's convinced that the Super's recoil is more manageable and can see that he'll soon be retiring his .45. But, he has one last run to make. He steps to the line, with .45 in holster, and the RO tells him to load and make ready. He pulls his gun from his holster, inserts a magazine and racks the slide. And with everyone watching, the most peculiar things happens. An entire loaded cartridge launches out of the front of the barrel and tumbles to the ground in front of him. He, and everyone else, are looking at this phenomenon in amazement. Then it dawns on him, he swapped out his pistols, but not the magazines. He put a Super magazine into his .45 and yes, those little rounds will fit completely down the barrel of a .45. We all laughed pretty hard at that one. Grunt
  5. Sights are a visual reference that may be used to determine where the gun is pointed. Grunt
  6. BE said it. Track the front sight. For me, I was shooting before and after the introduction of scopes. It may sound odd, but to this day I can still see (in my mind) my front sight at the 1990 Nationals on a swinger at 25 yards. I timed the target and saw that I had about .4-.5 seconds to get two shots on the target as it paused left or right. Since I knew I could get off two shots at .3 splits (with iron sights), I was confident that I could gain an advantage on this stage. While shooting I saw an A and a C, and that's exactly what was on paper when it came time to score. BUT, this came only through many rounds of agressive practice. I was pretty in tune with what the "big boys" were capable of (i.e. their times, the target distances, etc.) so I used that as a goal and then pushed toward that during practice. What I learned was that I could deliver hits beyond what I was visually comfortable with. Note, that's not to say I did not see my sights. I simply learned to accept a different visual reference to know if the shot was good, or not. And regardless of how fast you shoot, tracking the front sight will be **the** way to determine this. Learn to see the sight lift off the target. Start with slow fire and don't progress until you can see the front sight lift. Then pick up the pace a little. Then continue to shoot a bit faster. You'll be surprised what you can do at speed. BTW, one of my favorite drills with newer shooters was to have them empy a magazine into a berm with no target. The only goal being, see the front sight lift for every shot. That's step one. Once you learn to stop blinking and focus on the front sight, then introduce a target. Once you learn your abilities and limitations at varous distances, that will carry you a long way in matches. Grunt
  7. +1 For a right hander, you are seeing what every other right hander sees. The sight tracks up and to the right. Congrats!! You are seeing the front sight in recoil. IMO, this is a huge first step toward improvement. Experimentation is critical with so many parts of this, and other, sports. Play with the extremes to see the results and then find the theoretical middle-ground which is usually what works for you. Re: the grip, this is essential to ensure the sights return to the same alignment. A slight change in grip can impact this and effect how the sights align on subsequent shots. With targets at close range this is less of an issue. But as the distance increase, this can become a problem. Obviously, coming out of the holster, or picking up the gun from a table, may impact how you end up gripping the gun. Generally speaking, take the close shots first and transition to the long shots (making any grip adjustments required along the way). You may not actually regrip the gun, but slight pressure changes in the grip will help keep the gun recoiling in a consitant manner. Note, this is not a mechanical thing. Its more of an intuitive thing, which takes practice. Grunt
  8. +1 See "trick of the day" in Brian's book. I'll bargain that the more you shoot in rainy conditions, the worse your shooting will get. Grunt
  9. Sorry, found this one very late into the game. Re the comment: "Do the 2 guys in the top row, far left have their holsters located damn near right on their mid-line, where most people would have their 1st mag pouch?" Yes, I believe we used to jokingly call that the vasectomy position. I remember Rick Byfield. I shot against him in the shoot-offs one year.....and lost. Re: the group photo, I think I can help. I'm pretty sure the guy to the left of Zubiena is Canadian Murray Gardner. He always had an incredibly tight Weave stance with the gun about 6-8" from his face. Also, I think the guy to the left of John Shaw may/may be Dan Predovich, from Colorado (although I agree, it does look a bit like Ron Avery). I've only met Dan him a couple of times, but he was a top shooter and I wouldn't be surprised if he finished in the top 16 during this time frame. Grunt
  10. +1. If you are new, or trying something new, it is always best to break it down in to smaller components. And its perfectly fine to have an entire practice session on only simplified drills. But at some point it is helpful to "assemble" these parts into something more complex. Grunt
  11. Yup, a great post. I remember things really started to click for me once my focus shifted away from winning and over to performance. Suddenly practice was fun in and of itself. The timer became fun to shoot against, instead of a simple measuring device of success/failure. Experimentation started to thrive and overall I began to relax. It was a pivotal time for my shooting. Oddly, today it still holds true for bullseye shooting. I know this may sound funny, but I can have a lot of fun just dry-firing at black dot. When the hammer falls and the sights don't move or drift, I know it was a 10. That is performance. Grunt
  12. Another thing to consider is your center of gravity. I played tight end in H.S. football and learned to run a lot of patterns. One of the best "tools" we used was to lower our center of gravity when we wanted to decelerate quickly (like a stop and turn). Its amazing how quickly you can slow down by squatting your knees and lowering your hips. This works equally well in IPSC, especially on field courses when you have a fair amount of distance between shooting positions. Grunt
  13. 59B, that's a great story. Thanks for posting it. I would agree that spending too much time watching others shoot can wear you out, especially if you are already a bit nervous. For me, I would spend a good bit of time during the walk through programming my plan and focusing on some of the nuances that might be a bit trickier than others. But afterwards, as long as I wasn't due to shoot soon, I would mostly switch off. Fortunately, I've always been pretty social and could spend most of my time, while waiting to shoot, chatting with folks, telling jokes, etc. It was always fun, and a great distraction from the task that awaited me. At times, I might mentally revisit the COF or a particular part of it, and I also watched other shooters but without too much seriousness. When brassing, that would give me one last chance to revisit any part of the COF since I would be down range. But once I was in the hole, or on deck, I would walk away from the activity and isolate myself. During that time I'd would not think about shooting. Rather, I'd do some simple stretches and focus on my muscles, trying release any tension. Many times I found a lot of peace in just observing nature; the trees, sky, birds, etc. It was just a complete mental break from what I was about to do. But once the person in front of me fired their last shot, I'd switch back on and mentally "get up" for what I was about to do. Grunt
  14. Ha, I remember that match. Fun to watch the video and see the stages again (I think I remember most of them.) Was good to see 'ol Cal and even Wil Schumann toward the end. Grunt
  15. I don't want to minimize the impact of age on anything we do. Yes, youth does have its benefits in this area. But, every time I want to lean on that as a reason for not performing well I have to remember Ken Tapp. That guy could shoot. He was about your age and made regular appearances in the top 16 of major matches. Not bad for an "old" guy. Grunt
  16. +1 I used to offer the same advice to folks who were having problems with sight tracking, or with shooting fast in general. As carlosa said, most were just too timid to try, or maybe they just felt it was a waste of ammo. Hard to say. But it is amazing what you can learn with this drill. No target. Just the berm, and focus on seeing the sight. Grunt
  17. I've been meaning to reply to this one for a while. After reading Tizzo's original post re: symptoms (which I shared) and the suggestion of Paleo, I decided to give it a try. The impact has been significant, and in a good way. Only after 2 days, the fogginess I would get after eating was gone. Completely gone. That alone was great improvement. But over time, so many of my hypoglycemic symptoms just disappeared. I used get pretty cranky in between meals, and little snack bars (even the "healthy" ones) didn't really help. Now, I rarely snack between meals and if I do it's a small orange or an apple. My mental clarity is just better and I feel less agitated and less tired. It's also worth mentioning that I was already eating a pretty healthy diet prior to this; i.e. 80% organic, very low "overt" sugar, etc. (I haven't had a soda since 2000). But I was still eating a lot of grains (cereals, breads, etc.) and a lot of dairy (milk, cheese, etc.) I've found that as I have gotten older, the remaining physical problems have tended to get worse. So, this change in diet has helped to really close the gap. Re: the Paleo diet, I've only been at it a month but I'm already starting to see it more as a frame-work, than a strict way of life. I try to stick with the three cheat/open meals per week, and also, I don't sweat the small stuff. If something needs a bit of salt, I salt it. Occasionally, I'll put a little (very little) cheese on something to add flavor. And although I haven't really measured my intake, I suspect that it is a tiny bit off and could use a change; less meat, more veggies, same level of fruit. As for weight loss, this has never been a big issue for me, but I have noticed I have lost a few lbs since starting. I am normally a runner but haven't done much in the last 6 weeks due to a foot injury. I realize that once I get back into it I will likely need to make an adjustment to the diet to compensate for the additional calorie burn (i.e. oat meal, black beans, etc.) Overall, I do recommend the diet. Many thanks to the folks who originally suggested it. Grunt
  18. Thanks Steve, that does that help. And I do agree that we're getting into personality types or temperaments. A key factor as we refine our skill set. Flex money, I think you nailed it. Many thanks for that link, and likewise to Steve for posting it. I think this exactly what I found myself doing. I remember first recognizing this in practice sessions when I would shoot very different times on the same drills. There was a clear difference in my sense of focus on the task at hand. When I ran one fast, it was due to a sense of urgency or aggressiveness that placed on myself. Naturally, this mental technique followed into matches. As I did the course walk-through, I found myself looking at each shooting position not only to studying the target sequence, target distances, where to stand, etc., but I also found myself really pushing myself to be aggressive and shoot/transition to what I thought I was capable of. Even in mid-run I recalled running up to a shooting position and saying to myself (or maybe conceptualizing) my plan; "...hammer the first target, quickly get onto the popper, focus on the distant target, then hammer the last target..." It was weird, but it worked. When I didn't do this, my times were slower. I haven't heard of "mental arousal level" before, but now I'm intrigued. I need to study this more as I can see it being applied to other disciplines as well. Again, many thanks. Grunt
  19. Steve, I like what you are saying, especially about seeing. But let me pick your brain a bit more. I do agree that seeing is essential and short of that is a risky proposition. However, have you ever found yourself shooting too conservatively in a match? For me, I never consciously tried to shoot slower, but found it happening at times. Sometimes I just didn't have my mind in the game, other times, I think match nerves made me too cautious. I found that pushing myself, mentally, to not get lazy during a COF typically produced positive (faster) results without a loss of points. Granted, this is different than physically pushing yourself beyond what you can see, but it was still a conscious decision/action which resulted in the desired effect. Likewise, I remember a conversation with Rob where he said he dealt with the opposite problem; shooting beyond his ability to see what he needed to see. He had to consciously remind himself to use the sights on the more difficult shots. With that all said, what are your thoughts on such conscious decisions (prior to shooting) and conscious actions (while shooting)? I know that so much of what we do is at a subconscious level, but have found that there is an element of conscious decisions/actions while shooting. Thoughts? Grunt
  20. Give some thought to this. If you felt it, do you mean emotionally? Like, "holy crap this is way too fast!" Feelings are unreliable, seeing is everything. If what you see looks good, then it doesn't matter how you feel emotionally. Also, a lot of our abilities are naturally governed by our personality and temperament. Some folks have to tamp down the urge to pull the trigger with reckless abandon. Others are more reserved (that's me) and they need to find a way to push themselves to realize their ability. Moving beyond these natural tendencies can tax our emotions, especially during a match. Just because you feel uncomfortable forcing yourself to slow down, or speed up is not a bad thing. Grunt
  21. Hi, I've always liked wood diamond checkered 1911 grips because they provide enough traction for my weak-hand palm to help with recoil. But I'm intrigued by the VZGrips, in particular the Operators (I & II) and the Diamond Backs. My concern with the Operators is that those deep angular cuts may be a bit too deep and this could hinder your ability to make a quick grip adjustment. In other words, you may not be able to simply loosen your weak hand and make a minor adjustment in mid-draw (it happens sometimes.) The Diamond Backs may be a bit more forgiving in this regard. Any thoughts or experience with this? Thanks! Grunt
  22. Hi, I was wondering if anyone could recommend a reputable gunsmith in the Northern VA area, specifically, for 1911's. I want to install a barrel/bushing, do a trigger job, and tune for reliability. Thanks! Grunt
  23. I have the same problem with prematurely....oh wait...that's something completely different....ah....never mind. Grunt
  24. OK, that makes sense. The idea of eliminating desire on a grand scale always seemed a bit absurd to me. Desire is innately human. But limiting it to a time, place, and intensity is reasonable, and even beneficial. Thanks for the 'splanation. Grunt
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