shooterDrew
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Posts posted by shooterDrew
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I appreciate the feedback. Hopefully I can get some 3rd pers vid sometime soon to post. I've got Basshams book, just haven't finished it yet!
Good call on not forgetting the to look at the positives. . . Its easy to get into the habit of just ragging on errors and mistakes, but there are always (almost always!) positives to be acknowledged as well.
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Got signed up for this one a little late but I'm lookin forward to it! All field courses and no steel.. hmmm, this will be interesting!
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Local match yesterday. 6 stages with a classifier, and as a bonus today was my first match with a new gun. I've been shooting M&Ps for a few years and have no major issues with them. I can control the recoil pretty well, and the M&P9 pro I used to get into this sport has been absolutely reliable. That being said, I'm a bit of a gun nut and around 6 months ago a bug started eating at me in the form of CZ-itus. Shooting production nationals was the last straw. I was able to see a boat load of people shooting CZ and observe how reliable they were (cant recall any witnessing any malfunctions at all over the various guns in my squad and a 20 stage match). Then I got a chance to get my hands on one at the Automatic Accuracy booth. Holy crap, the guns feel good in the hand, this was not a surprise, but the triggers on the tricked out guns were amazing. I came from carrying a sig 229 on duty for about a decade and there is nothing in common between the stock sig trigger and a tuned CZ trigger. I had been standoff-ish to the idea of a DA-SA gun for competition mainly because of my experience with the sig... this opened my eyes. So anyway I read up on the guns and options and settled on a custom Accu Shadow from CZC. That gun will be here tomorrow (wooo hoooo!). In the mean time I was able to find a used Shadow (wanted a back up and a gun that I could also use in IDPA) in the classifieds and once it came in I got to dry fire a little and about 1 week later took it out for my first club match.
My match performance was mostly decent. 4 of the 6 stages executed reasonably well. I dropped a mike on the classifier (03-18 high standards). No matter how many times I cringe when I see WHO strings in classifiers or other short stages at local or major matches I still fail to give that skill adequate attention in my training. This shortcoming hit me again at this match.. My dropped shot was WHO on the far right target at 10 yards. I didn't smoke the stage regardless of the mike, but my confidence walking up to the line could not have been lower. With the mike my run ended up a blistering 62%. I am very confident in my ability to shoot freestyle, not bothered by SHO shots.. but as soon as I see WHO on the stage briefing I immediately go into survival mode and all I can think about is trying to limit the damage inflicted on my score by the WHO. This has got to change for me to have any hope of excelling at a higher level. My other poor performance came on our last stage of the day. It was a complex field course with 35 hits, 4 of which were steel at a decent distance (10-15 yards). I got distracted while watching other shooters and failed to adequately prepare for my run, which resulted in me feeling half lost during most of my run and slowly searching around trying to find targets rather than driving between the targets and charging into the next position. Another issue I found on this stage was that I rushed my sight picture, or failed to even get one, and walked away with 4 mikes. 1 went into hard cover the other 3 were just off into the oblivion. I feel these had something to do with me not being well versed yet with the new gun. The trigger I ran on my M&P was an apex sear and stock springs, which resulted in about a 5lbs pull all the time. I got used to it and really never thought it was an issue until I was able to feel the trigger on the CZ.. now that I've got the CZ I think that some of my poor accuracy on this stage can be attributed to me failing to use the gun correctly. Rather than using the excellent trigger to help me by making quick work of good sights on targets at distance, I was just trying to shoot it quicker without cleaning up the sight pic, add that to my generally wandering stage plan and I got bit on this stage pretty hard. For the other stages I felt pretty happy with my shooting and the gun. Had zero malfs and the DA pull seemed to have no ill effects at all. In fact I would venture to say that I got better hits on my first shots because I was so aware of the 1st shot and wanted to make sure I didn't yank it. On one of the stages, a fixed time stage with 8 targets I was really impressed with the SA trigger. The stage required you to engage 8 targets (some obscured with NS and some w/ hardcover) with one round each then move to a new shooting box and re-engage w/ one round each after a reload in between.... in 7 seconds. I shot this about as fast as I could muster, didnt plunk any NS, and still failed to get all the shots off. My transitions were fast and the new gun really shined, I think I would have dropped more shots with the MPs heavier and less crisp trigger. Trying to get so many tight shots off so quickly was not easy any every little bit helps. On the other field course stages I felt like I did a decent job of managing the trigger and the sights. I got pretty decent hits, striving for no D or M, but this is always something I need to keep working toward. I've set a major match goal of 95% of possible points and zero penalties.. yet to achieve it but hopefully will soon. Got another opportunity coming up at the KY State Handgun Champ.
My take aways from this match were nothing new. I need to work on getting a better sight picture on longer targets. I have the ability to make tight shots, but when I get it in my head that shooting faster is more important, I lose on the accuracy. I need to improve my speed on longer stages, but not necessarily by way of faster splits. My stage times are slow because I am taking too long getting into position and getting my first shots off, and then exiting positions and starting toward the next one. I also need to focus on going 1 for 1 on steel. Way too much wasted time making noise at steel rather than making hits. My reloads were fairly smooth, this is another place where I really like this gun. I was not terrible at reloading the MP but after having switched to this gun I feel like I'm immediately at the same level as the MP with a lot of room for improvement. This gun just seems to take a magazine easily. Back to areas needing improvement: WHO shooting! Always. Its not sexy and its hot high speed... but I need to put some time in shooting weak hand only. This is obviously something that most people at the very least are not comfortable with, so making it less of a liability (possibly even a strength) will be a big area to gain ground on other shooters. Stage break down and planning is not one of my strengths at this point either. I am at the point that for now I just settle for making sure I actually find all the targets and shoot them... frequently I find myself seeing another shooters plan, identifying that its OBVIOUSLY better, and changing mine before I shoot. And by better I don't mean more tricky, I mean has less shooting positions maybe takes longer targets from a better angle etc... I really need to work on dissecting a stage.
Plans for improvement: get to the range and get work with the new gun. I need to continue working on obscured targets, especially at distance. Position entry and exit are major areas where I'm giving up time. Setting up some steel, maybe even in a steel challenge type setting might not be a bad idea to work on my steel engagement. And of course... WHO shooting. The day when I walk up to a WHO stage in a major match and feel confidence, and even maybe that I've got an edge on the competition, is the day that I know I've made some solid improvements and that I'm competing at a higher level. And finally stage execution... this is something I can work on in practice, but the real gains will be made by shooting more and more matches. . . I need to keep an eye on good shooters and how they attack a stage and start to figure out what they're looking for and why. Then I need to apply that knowledge.. the more matches I am able to shoot the more opportunity I'll have for this.
Match video posted below. The first stage shown is actually the last one we shot, and the one I bombed.
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Recently cabelas had a pretty great deal on fed spp. I want to say I had them delivered for about $29/1000. It was a free shipping deal that might be over. They showed out of stock with an 8 week back order but delivered within 2 weeks
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I have a mobile app now, currently for android (coming soon to ios, I hope) - https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.azshooters.calc
It's only the classifier calculator piece, but it works offline so you can use it at a match, even without internet access.
Awesome! The website has been a great resource. Thanks!
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So I guess I will get started with this range diary in hopes that it keeps me honest and pressing towards my goals!
A little background on my shooting so far. . . First I got started in IDPA around 2009. Initially IDPA was a blast, though it did not really push me to improve. I had a lot of fun even though I was shooting pretty casually. By "casually" I mean I'd be able to make a local match maybe once every other month or so, probably 4-6 for the year, and generally zero other practice. That is not to say I did not shoot at all, I was an LEO and received some training and range time through my job, however, almost any LEO can tell you that the amount of firearms training provided to LEO is ridiculously low and over the course of a year amounts to about 1 good USPSA practice session.. if that. Seriously.
Anyway, I continued on this pace (occasional matches and zero practice) until mid-late 2014. I knew others who had shot IDPA with me and then moved on to USPSA, Usually they raved about how much fun it was, but for whatever reason I never tried it. Summer 2014 I made the jump and shot a local USPSA match. Awesome. I was pumped up, even though I got my ass kicked. I found that it added all the things to an IDPA match that I thought were lacking.... mainly additional round count, faster and farther movement, and the ability to figure out a stage yourself, rather than have it dictated to you before you got to shoot it. I immediately signed up for a USPSA membership and then signed up for the Indiana Section match last Sept. Between my first USPSA match and the IN Section I was not able to get to any more matches due to work schedule so my very first classification score came from that match, 68%. I was pretty happy w/ my overall performance, even though I struggled to understand scoring and had a really bad habit of shooting to slide lock constantly (thanks IDPA). My initial classification came from a special classifier match in april this year where I was able to sneak into B class production.
This year I set the goal for myself to make A class in 2015. I bought some dryfire books (stoeger's), a shot timer, and upgraded my reloading set up. Side note: going from an old Dillon 450 to a 650 was the best money I have spent. I picked up some quality belt gear and decided to hit it hard w/ my M&P9 pro that I had shot for a couple years in IDPA. Thanks to a very supportive wife I was able to travel to matches this year and really up my shooting and dryfire practice. I recently retired early from my job as an LEO, made possible by a business we purchased several years ago growing beyond what we had hoped. This has allowed me to shoot and practice even more. This last classification update I reached my goal of making A class with 78.88% in production!
On to new things.. My goals for my future in this sport:
Ultimately make GM in production. This, I assume, is the goal of a lot of people on this forum (for their division). I am sure this will NOT be easy, and the progress from this point will likely slow and I will need to keep my focus and continue working hard. To reach this goal I think I will need to meet several performance goals that I already have identified, and I'm sure many that I haven't even figured out yet. Even when I'm able to accomplish this goal I realize that there is a significant difference between someone who is able to attain a GM card and being able to compete at the highest level. It is my goal to achieve both.
Moving on to next year my hope is to keep motivated with my dry fire, I see a huge benefit when I put the time in. I also hope to improve my consistency in matches. My overall finishes would be dramatically improved if I could manage to cut out the penalties! I would also like to keep up with my live fire practice pace, currently I'm getting out 1-2x per week for about 300-350 rnds per session in addition to a match each weekend. I hope to be able to make 10 majors (level 2 or higher) next year and at least 2-4 locals per month. I need significant improvement in stage planning and match execution.
I will try and keep up with this range log to keep track of my practice and match performance as well as hopefully my progress towards GM!
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Sign me up please! TY86867 Production- 78.88% currently
Thank you!
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I started on an upgraded 450 (same base as 550 just older and without some auto features)... Then upgraded to the 650. I would vote 650 every day of the week and twice on Sunday. Best money I've ever spent relating to my shooting. Incredibly easy to set up and figure out. Because it's auto indexing the and pretty much auto everything else I only have to worry about placing a bullet and watching for powder charge height. I wld highly recommend the case feeder as well. Without the case feeder the press is still awesome, you just have to stop every 25 or so and refill the case tube. Once I got the case feeder I really started cranking out ammo.
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My biggest gripe is the subjectivity involved in IDPA. You can use cover the same way on 5 stages with 5 different ROs and have 3 of them with no issue at all, one give a warning, and one nail you with procedurals. I generally stay waaaay behind cover to avoid those but it's painful to watch a newer shooter get smoked with a ton of penalties because they don't exactly understand what's being expected of them- even if they're making a good effort that would be a non call by another RO. I've definitely seen new shooters leave IDPA matches pretty beaten down from that aspect.
That being said IDPA is a very welcoming environment and I'd usually recommend a newer shooter try that before USPSA. Mainly because it feels like there is a higher expectation of proficiency or understanding of safe gun handling at a USPSA match. (That is not to say unsafe gun handling is acceptable at IDPA).
For my money I'd shoot USPSA every time if given a choice... But I have and will continue to shoot some IDPA if no USPSA available. Both are shooting and both are filled with good people, which makes for a good Saturday or Sunday in my book.
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got a chance to shoot my new (to me) shadow a little today. 11.5 cgw mainspring and S&B primers had zero light strikes. I also gave the 8.5 cgw mainspring a test w/ federal SPP... holy crap thats a smooth light trigger pull, and also zero light strikes on the fed SPP. Ive got a boat load of S&B primers so i'll probably plan on putting the 11.5 in for practice and using the S&B, and then swapping for the 8.5 and feds for matches. . . The 11.5 isn't a ton heavier on DA, but damn is the 8.5 light. I'm coming from about a decade of shooting a factory spring'd sig P229.. compared to that the CZ is ridiculously great
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I've had my shadow for about 2 days... just got to put some actual ammo down range w/ it today and what do you know--->TRS broke today at about the 375 round mark. Mine was bought used reportedly w/ about 10k thru it, but I was told the TRS was recently replaced. Thankfully I already had a replacement spring on hand. I got it home and was pleasantly surprised how easy it was to pop the pin out and replace the spring.... holy crap getting the stock pin back in was a PIA. Finally got it back together and I now have a CGW pin on its way. Hopefully this new TRS will last me a while. I will definitely keep a few on hand and replace them a few times a year or before any super important matches.
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You need to check the trigger bar spring. Its the U shape spring held in by the Magazine release screw. Either the mag release screw has backed out and is interfering with the trigger bar, or the trigger bar spring itself is not engaging the bottom of the trigger bar.
You need to tighten that screw until you see the trigger bar spring just start to pull away from the frame. Back the screw down until the spring is not pulling away and let it sit there. You need to loctite that screw in ( blue loctite ). Some will tell you to stake it ( it comes that way from the factory ), but that isn't necessary. i never had a problem using blue loctite.
I had this issue today.. All the sudden my trigger went dead with the mag out of the gun. Mag in the gun and the trigger worked fine. I looked in and found that this needed tightened down to keep the trigger bar spring in position, once tightened I had no issue, I did not locktite it yet..... that is until my TRS broke about 75 rounds later. . . finally got that figured out too, thankfully I had tacked on a TRS to my recent CGW order.
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Last years Indiana sectional was one of my first USPSA matches and it got me totally hooked. This year was even better! Great match and there's no way I'll miss out on next year! Thank you for all the hard work!!
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I've run thousands of both 147 and 135. Can't really tell a difference accuracy wise between the two. I will say that the kkm barrel /chamber seems to be forgiving and I've had zero issues running my reloads through it.
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For your first classification you only need 4. Then as you get more the best six of most recent 8 eligible scores will be averaged.
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I've shot through 9,000-10,000 S&B SPP this year with hardly any issues. Any that I have had were due to them not getting seated deep enough and any one that didn't go bang the first time went the 2nd. This was all with a sw mp9 with stock springs. I'm moving to a CZC AccuShadow with their trigger job and I'm very seriously crossing my fingers that I will still be able to use these with the lighter springs
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Jay your mistaken. The new rule clarification stats that a mag release can be made by any Joe as long at the surface area isn't bigger than an OEM release. It can be as long as you want it, provided that it fits in the box.
Thanks for the clarification. Had just been wondering about this when I saw the thread. Very good news indeed.
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I have found this same thing. I reloaded for my mp9 and it fed everything without hesitation. Tried those same reloads in my kimber 9mm and not having the same luck. The chamber on the kimber is much tighter and the rounds that work perfectly for the mp certainly don't enjoy the same reliability. Difference for me tho is I found the same performance from the stock bbl and a storm lake replacement barrel.
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Good info. Makes me feel good in my decision. Thanks for sharing, it confirmed a friends input after buying an AA accushadow. I have no doubt he can put out a good gun, but I've yet to read about a CZC gun not living up to expectations.
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I got both and the czc was a lot better. Make sure you tell them that you want the competition trigger job. It's $100 more but well worth the money. Call and talk to Stuart, he's awesome
I'm currently looking at an accu from either AA or CZC. I've heard good things about both, can you expand on your preference and why the CZC was "a lot" better? Thanks!!
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For what it's worth, I'm using the 11.5 CGW and Extended firing pin with S&B primers. They all go bang every time.
I'm very happy to hear this. I have a bunch of S&B primers and looking at getting either a build from CZC or Automatic Accuracy and was concerned that they might be worthless with a tricked out trigger. Fingers crossed that they're good to go with my potential upcoming purchase..
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Safariland els for 3 gun, interchangeability with pouches is awesome. For pistol only uspsa DAA is great. Belt is wicked stiff. Haven't tried others but after using DAA I have no desire to look elsewhere
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I still seem to get decently quick shipping. Usually arrives about 3 days after I order... And I'm in Indiana. I've also debated the new shipping program. Their shipping costs are decent for huge orders but a small part is not really worth it when shipping is $8 minimum.
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I have been pretty happy w/ the stock parts and adding the hard sear and RAM. However, once I spotted the Flat face FSS kit my interest was peaked and I eventually got one. As of now I've got a standard trigger w/ the hard sear and RAM in my MP9pro production gun and I think the trigger is great.. i might look to get some more apex parts to lighten it a little more, but for now I'm happy. The FSS kit went into a mp40 pro that i've used in 3 gun and had thoughts of shooting some limited with... i'd say that I like the trigger, however, for the huge extra amount of money it cost in comparison to the production set up, I'm not convinced I'd do it again. I think the production trigger has a more crisp break. The FSS kit definitely has less overall movement, and thats excellent. Its not a bad trigger by any stretch, and compared to stock its wickedly amazing. I guess it also has the improved trigger (the actual part not the feel of the movement) compared to either my production gun or a stock set up.. but again, I like how my production gun is set up and i'm not sure if the cost of the FSS is worth the resulting gain over the hard sear and RAM.
Anyone make adj rear sight for an SP01?
in CZ
Posted
http://cajungunworks.com/product/1294/
This fit the bill??
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