ParaJoe

I've only had this book for a little while now and have been keeping track of everything. There are a few things that I have added into my rountine because I felt that I was lacking skill in certain areas. I vary the reps of a few exercises also. When I started with it I struggled getting through the first eleven, but they are becoming more of a warm up as I go. JOe

Really, what are you looking for and who do you use for your email? Newsgroups are a good way to go but I haven't had much luck with them. I'm using Limewire and it works wonders, but it's P2P. Get a copy of Musicmatch and rip all of the stuff you already have. Then borrow friends cd's that you don't have and rip them.

I went down to Norco to shoot a match this weekend. All I can say is it was awesome. I'd like to say thanks to the folks down there for being very inviting and welcoming me to a great match. Definitly worth the drive. JOe

I read somewhere that WWB 45acp is in the 850FPS range. That makes it about 195 by my math. WAY to hot. JOe

I keep hearing a company mentioned here named THE. Or T.H.E or however it is spelled. Can I get a link as to where I might be able to view/purchase these products? Also, one for Taylor Freelance please? I found the Taylor Freelance site but no ordering info. Searching for THE, T.H.E, or the is a lost cause. Thanks, JOe

I third the get to the shooting. But if you really want a new-to-you pistol, check the USPSA classifieds. There's some deals to be found on there.

Shot this today for my first classifier turn-in. I ran it in 8.88 seconds, 3 down, puts it at a 73 percent. The center target was the one that really made me slow down. I'm happy with the score.

Well it might sound wierd but here's what I do. I use walnut media from Frankford Arsenal to tumble the brass in. When I actually tumble the brass I put a half cup of mineral spirits in it to keep the dust down. Well I noticed that if I reload them within a couple of days or tumbling the mineral spirits keeps them slick as butter through the press. The brass is a lot shinier, the insides are cleaner, and the dust is gone. This is based on personal experiences alone, and cannot be held responsible for any damages. JOe

It seems as if everytime I got to one of the local matches I have a bad day. Different reasons but I think it's all upstairs. I've been thinking about this match all week and all I can do is try to relax. I need to learn to trust myself and the skills that I possess and let them take me as far as they will. We'll see how this works.... JOe

I figured that the par time was set by myself so I just used however long it took me to do it smoothly and worked on that.

In Steve's book it talks about par time. Everything is based off of my par time. How do I know what that is? I made estimated guesses and worked with that this evening until I couldn't do anymore. But I only got to drill 11 working in succession. Am I doing this correctly? Can I more or less pick and choose the drills that I work each day and build a schedule around this? I believe the first 11 will be the starters to anything that I do but what about the rest of them? Thanks for the help. JOe

I finally received Steve's book in the mail and wasted no time. Man, I only got to Drill 11 and I can't go any longer. I need a break. Having a little structure within my dry fire regimen is awesome. I finally have a direction to the goal.

I think that I am lacking mental discipline(sp). Recently I have been working on improving so much that I believe I haven't been concentrating on the fundamentals. I tried something the other day and it brought this into the light more as I went. I shot a 3 target array similar to El Pres at 7, 10, 15, and 25 yards. At 7 and 10 yards I was hitting A's without much trouble but at the further distances my accuracy went down the tubes. At the 7 and 10 I was seeing a Type 1 or 2 focus level but I believe that I am carrying that out to the further distances as well. The patience to wait for the sights to focus on the target is evading me. So I'm starting over. Obviously I have missed a key concept to success in this game and therefore I'm going to the range to work on accuracy. I think that watching everyone going fast has made me want to also, and I did. A lot of the local shooters motto is speed first, accuracy will come. I have fallen into this trap and must pull myself out of it. Well, I'm off to give this a try. JOe

The high deserts of California get pretty hot. Sometimes the heat makes it a little unbearable but then you just get into the shade and drink some water. Drink before your thirsty. If you know your going to be expending a lot of water then the night before such activities drink a lot of water. Oh, sunscreen is a must. My main complaint is that I have to have gloves to do anything with the targets, stands, brass, and sometimes the gun. Everything sitting in the sun gets really hot really fast.

Pain is weakness leaving the body. When I was in tech school in Pensacola, FL, the Marines used to say this all the time. I got in trouble for asking how much weakness is in the body and when will it be gone because I'm tired of the pain. They weren't too happy. Those crazy fools actually enjoyed running 5 miles.

1.25" is what I use because anything longer won't feed in the magazine correctly for some reason.

Shot this at this months local match. Took four targets on the right and then the left three. 67 points, 10.81 seconds, 6.198 HF puts it at 66.58%. I'm happy with that.

I think your right about that Flex. I have some little circles on the walls in my practice room and moving between them I noticed that as soon as my eyes fixate onto any of them they are already moving to the next one. After I read the book again it seems as though I am using the Type 1 focus. I'm going to the range tomorrow and will test my theory.

Well here's my L10 gun. It's my only one. Para P14.

Right before I reenlisted in the Navy there was a company desperate to get people over there. They were offering some insane salaries, like 90k for the first six months tax free and then they would send you home for 2 weeks. Then they pay you the same amount for another six months. It was the same job that I was doing in the Navy but getting paid 4 times as much, twice in one year. I thought about it for about a week constantly, but being married it just didn't seem worth it. I had been back from a 7 month cruise for 2 months and to go back to the sandbox that fast wasn't my cup of tea.

The Blue Angels fly some of the oldest F-18's in the Navy. I watch F-18's take off and land everyday, I really miss watching it on the carrier though. That's good stuff.

I've been at this for a while and I think that I am a little confused about focusing. It's more of a where to focus than a how to type of question. Usually when I am shooting I tend to focus more on the target than the sights. My eyes are set on the target, the A zone, and the gun is brought up and into the picture. Usually the front post is picked up first and the notch is aligned with the front post in alignment with the A zone and then I pull the trigger. This whole process takes as long as it takes to get the A. Now when I'm doing this it's just happening and I'm not thinking about it. It kinda looks as if I'm focusing in the middle of the two and being as the target is fuzzy and the sights are a little less fuzzy. There isn't anything wrong with my vision as I can see each perfectly if I were trying to see each one. But here's what did get me thinking and has been bothering me. I was sitting in my shop today awaiting something to do. As usual I was reclined in a chair staring at the ceiling. So I was practicing shifting my eyes from one fire sprinkler to another and another and so on. Well I found that as I was doing this, I wasn't really "focusing" in on each one, I was waiting to see each one than moved on. This confusion went on for a while and on my way out to a job I tried it out on a couple of signs. The signs were on a set of double doors about 20 yards away and getting bigger. As I was switching back and forth between the two quickly, I couldn't read each one, but I felt as if I was in "focus" on each. I'm going to go study the chapter in "the book" that covers this but I was liking to get some insight from everyone else. Thanks for the direction, JOe

I'm not trying to sound argumentative but it's really not fair. I shoot a Para P14 in L-10 right now. What am I supposed to do if what your saying happens? Give up? I live in California. I'm not "supposed" to have magazines higher than ten rounds and with my pistol, I've been told, it isn't very competitive in Limited Class. So if the powers at be decide L-10 can only be SS's, am I supposed to run out and spend another 1000-2500 on a whole new rig? Nah, that's not gonna happen. Spend 80 bucks a mag to possess high caps illegally and then have to send them somewhere so that they will work as reliable as my 15 dollar MecGars? This came out a little more harsh than I wanted to but I can't say it any other way. Trying to stay civil. JOe

I wish I would have done this the first time. I try to tell some new guys this but the overall cost seems to shy them away. So I loan them my old stuff that I don't use, let them use it for a while, and then let them try the good stuff. Also, there was a post a while ago I think it was titled, "Everything we know about USPSA". I read that, actually studied it, and put it all into work and that really helped. A search will bring it up but I'm lazy. Here's my bit. Shooting at my local match I could see a lot of improvements in my skills but it always seemed to be a buddy buddy thing. Shooting with friends is great. But going to other clubs where there is only one or two friends, really put the pressure on me and forces me to get better. Also you get to meet people and network. JOe

Now if you look carefully there are two hooks close to the tops of the targets that when setup are going to extend inwards. These are used to hold the wire that the trolley rides on. One end actually attaches while the other side feeds through and goes down which goes into our little come-a-long. This come-a-long ratchets the wire tight and is attached to the pole right above the coupler. We have a little problem with wind where we are at. It's windy about 330 days a year here so we have to build around this. Well in the design phase it was windy so to stop the target from swaying back and forth in the wind we attached this hanger. This little dohicky is just some 1/8" steel rod that we bent to fit. I think it came from a realtor sign. We ran some wire across the bottom of the stands so that the loop wire ride on the outside of it and stop it from swaying. :::Not condoning stealing signs, the sign just happened to be in the wrong place at the right time.::: I didn't have any pics of the weight that we used but it was a milk jug that we filled sand. We used sand because it's easy and doesn't make a muddy mess if your jug busts. Also, we ran some wire through the handle of the jug and through the loop of the industrial pulley you saw above. This made it go like butter. This thing will really zip if you want it too. I think I have it about covered. I have never written a three part post and wasn't planning to but the board software wouldn't let me get all of it into one. My minds kinda fried right now so I'll do more later if it comes to mind. Also, I cannot take all of the credit for this. The fellow that helped me design and build this is an Ex-Army Field Engineer. He has been shooting and constructing targets for the club for quite some time. A big thanks goes out to Bob Kirchmeier for the help. Thanks for the interest and for looking. Joe Burroughs Sage Pistol League, Home of the Silver Buckle Match