ES13Raven

The SP-01 models were illegal before October of 2013. That's when the rule book came out that increased the weight limit to 43oz in SSP. This is why the increase.

Event: Live Fire Training Date: 9/11/16 Location: CCPL Conditions: 95* Duration: 2.5 Hours Objective: Final prep IDPA Nationals. What I did today and what I learned: Worked on improving SHO and WHO accuracy. Ran 2" dot drill from 5 yards SHO and WHO. Worked on shot calling and accuracy. Worked on improving double-action first shot accuracy SHO and WHO. Ran near-to-far drill from seated position, worked on seated draw and transitions. I am looking for a solution to: What I did well today: Improved on SHO and WHO accuracy. Improved on SHO and WHO DA first shot accuracy. Improved on seated draws and transitions.

Event: SDPS IDPA Match Date: 9/5/16 Location: SDPS Conditions: 86* Duration: 8 hours Objective: Warm-up match before Nationals What I did today and what I learned: Concentrated on better accuracy, seeing two sight pictures and calling shots before transitioning. Planned on shooting an extra shot on difficult targets. I learned that visual patience pays off. I ended up being 1st place SSP/Expert, Division Champion and High Overall of 113 shooters. I am looking for a solution to: Keeping visual patience and a strong grip on close, easy targets. What I did well today: Called most of my shots, used left & right cover well, minimized mistakes.

Event: Dry fire training Date: 8/29/16 Location: My place Conditions: Indoors Duration: 45 min Objective: Improve strong hand and support hand shooting What I did today and what I learned: Setup more dry fire target arrays. Practiced SHO draws and WHO low-ready. Practiced 3-target par times and metronome. I am looking for a solution to: What I did well today: Improved on SHO and WHO shooting.

Event: Live fire training / Chrono / 25-yard sight-in Date: 8/28/16 Location: CCPL Conditions: 82* Duration: 3 Hours Objective: Chrono match ammo for Nationals, sight-in gun at 25 yards, practice shooting from left & right cover, reloads with retention, shot calling What I did today and what I learned: Chrono'd match ammo at 132 PF. Shadow is sighted in POA/POI at 25 yards. Setup a mini-stage drill for shooting 3 targets from left & right cover, with a reload with retention in-between. Improved on RWR and shot calling. Improved on non-threat partials. I am looking for a solution to: Getting RWR done quickly. Will need to determine if vest pocket or shorts pocket is better for stowing. What I did well today: Improved on shot calling and partials.

I put a few drops of Weapon Shield where the trigger bar springs meet the trigger bar and the grittiness and noise went away.

Event: Live-fire training Date: 8/21/16 Location: CCPL Conditions: 97* Duration: 3 Hours Objective: Work on better trigger control, shooting from left & right side cover, shooting strong and support hand What I did today and what I learned: Setup a mini-stage and drills. Focused on trigger control by shooting 2" dots at 5 yards, both under time pressure and not. Shot a lot better when telling myself "call every shot". Focused on strong hand shooting by drawing and shooting strong hand only, tac-sequence while retreating. Improved strong hand and support hand shot calling. Focused on shooting from left & right side cover by running drills and only accepting zeros. I am looking for a solution to: Improving my grip. I can become faster and more accurate at speed with a better grip. What I did well today: Improved on shot calling, shooting from left & right side cover, and strong/support hand shooting.

Format: Event: Date: Location: Conditions: Duration: Objective: What I did today and what I learned: I am looking for a solution to: What I did well today:

Doesn't have to break, just has to touch. This includes the grease ring. This picture illustrates why:

This is where I will document all my practice sessions and analyze performance. I really like the way FTDMFR has done his Range Journal, and I will be using a similar format. A little background about myself: I've been shooting practical pistol for about three years. After getting my CCW, I found out about IDPA and started shooting 1 match a month at the local indoor range. I initially classified as SSP Sharpshooter with my Glock 17. I decided to enter a Sanctioned match about 2 months after my first local match, because I heard the stages were more elaborate and fun. I ended up placing 5th out of 19 shooters. After that I was hooked. I started shooting USPSA Production in June of 2014. I have done virtually no dry-fire, and weekly matches are usually my practice. I know that I have become about as good as I am going to get without practicing. I'm currently classified as IDPA SSP & ESP Expert, and USPSA Production B. Before the end of the year, I would like to advance to SSP Master and Production A Class. GOALS FOR THE REST OF 2016: Classifications: USPSA Production A IDPA SSP Master Practice Schedule: Dry Fire: 5 days a week, 45 min per day Live Fire: 2 days per month

So I did some testing today with recoil springs and slo mo video. The video doesn't lie.With 10# and 11# my gun and load return slightly higher than original POA. I have something good in the background to reference, and you can clearly see it return a little high and I adjust the gun lower for the next shot. The 12# spring seems to be perfect. It returns to the original POA and ejects brass about 5 feet away. This was with 147gr bullets at 130pf, I will try 124s next.

Awesome that you tested that out. For closer targets, we should be able to compensate for different recoil springs by using a good, strong grip. But for targets 15 yards and farther, I think taking the time to tune the recoil spring to snap back to the original POA can save some time. The sooner I can get that second shot off with an A or close C, the better.

As long as bullet feeding is reliable, are there any disadvantages to having a really light recoil spring? For example, the slide has less resistance sliding to the rear and "slams" into the rear of the frame causing more muzzle flip?

In the great debate of preferred 9mm bullet weight, I've seen many shooters say they prefer the 147 over 115 or 124 because of less recoil. They say the recoil impulse is more of a "push" and softer than the snappier 124gr loads. I've also seen shooters say they like the 124gr because the gun cycles faster and prefer the lower cost. I've shot 147s for several years, and never felt they were "slow" in my CZ or Glock. I have pulled off splits as low as .11 so they cycle the gun fast enough. During a recent class I took with Ben Stoeger, he had us doing a drill where we were to shoot a decently fast split at a 15 yard target, really concentrate on seeing the 2nd shot and try to get that shot off as soon as possible when the sight picture was acceptable. This was the first time I have felt like I was waiting on the gun. I was ready to pull the trigger again, but the sights had not settled yet. I had two thoughts: Maybe my recoil spring is worn and I need a new one to close the slide quicker (I use an 11#). Or maybe the slightly higher recoil of the 124gr load would snap the gun back on target faster, as some shooters have reported. Thoughts?

My SP01 Shadow came with the drop-free, my SP01 did not.

I had to use a .215 on my SP01 with Cajun rear. I run a .195 on my SP01 Shadow with CZC Comp rear.

Looks like my bullet maker changed over to a NLG design for 147gr FP. I'm guessing they are slightly shorter? Should they be loaded to the same length? Do they require slightly less or more powder?

That never mattered to anyone because there's supposed to be only one person in there at a time.

What is your favorite holster and mag pouch for the Tac Sport?

Have a few questions about the Tactical Sport .40 springs: What is the stock spring weight of the hammer spring? What is the stock spring weight of the recoil spring? With a sub-2lb trigger already, are there any advantages to a lighter mainspring, extended firing pin and reduced FPS? What recoil spring do you like with .40 major?

Watching videos of myself and trying to be critical, here is what I think I need to improve the most on: Reload speed - I wonder what takes me so long. Moving from position to position - I know I can move faster. First shot - my gun is out quickly, but taking too long to get a good first sight picture. Transitions - I need to get the gun to the next target quicker after I have called the shot. Shooting quicker when entering a position - I never shoot on the last steps into a position, I wait until my feet are planted. I can shoot as I'm leaving a position with no problem. Not rushing steel - this caused me a standing reload a stage plan fail because I rushed several shots on steel.

For me, the Red lens makes the fiber-optic front sight really stand out. It also creates good contrast between the brown targets, and the brown dirt background.

The new ImpactX-2 lens transitions from Clear to Color depending on the lighting conditions, so you can use one lens for indoor and outdoor. I love this feature.

Yes, I shot Production - so minor power factor. I had 3 Mikes and 3 No-shoots for the Match. 2 of the No-shoots were on the Maxtraps. One of them was just damn fast, and I got a A-M-NS. The other I should have easily made, but I had trigger freeze. I quickly made-up an Alpha on it with only 2" of the head showing. The other NS was a head-only target with a NS on it. It was a close shot, and I should have easily made it - but I shot it just a little too fast and hit slightly low. The other 2 Mikes - one of them was on a Swinger. The other was a close hit in the hard-cover of a tuxedo target. I thought I called the shot on that one, but definitely not on the Swinger. I calculated my points and ended up with 87%

I just shot the Area 2 Championship. This was my first big USPSA match. This match had a lot of Classic targets and tight shots (No-shoots, Hard-cover, Distance etc.) There were Movers (Swingers, Maxtraps) on most of the stages. Very few open targets/arrays to hose. I've watched my videos, and several videos from other shooters. I compared scores with other shooters in my Division. Here is what I noticed: Some stages I shot well for my current ability, others I made mistakes. I know about the obvious mistakes (Mikes & No-shoots) - I want to improve the not-so obvious ones. I felt I had good stage planning for the most part. I saw videos from Master class shooters, and they ran it mostly the same. I didn't try and "burn down" any stages. I concentrated on trying to get 2 Alphas on every target I shot at, and doing that as quick as possible. I shot more Alphas than several shooters who placed ahead of me, which tells me I need to speed up. I need a lot more practice on Swingers and Max-traps. I shot small poppers and the plate racks well, but I had several make-ups on large poppers and didn't give them the proper respect. I had several targets with 3 Alphas, because I thought I didn't call my second shot - this costs me time. I took a little more time on Classic targets than Metric targets. I had good hits on most of them. After looking at the scores, I think I shot too conservative. Several shooters that placed ahead of me had less Alphas, a lot more Mikes & No-shoots, but less time. Any ideas on what to concentrate on?