boo radley

Y'all are pretty tough on the sportmanship aspect, given unknowns! I could well see not hanging around to tape all three of the targets used during "IDPA Classifier Day." Etc. Anyway -- none of this is germane to the subject. <grin> The pistol fired when you dropped the slide? There's not enough information, and without it, I, too, would suspect shooter error. Especially in the stress of a reload/classifier it's certainly not inconceivable, you must admit.

IMO, one of the really nice things, is that you can just grab the outer belt, cinch it up tight, and it will stay snug enough for a couple minutes of dry-fire during a commerical break, or even longer, if the wife is on the phone with her mother... I don't bother with the inner belt, unless I'm going to do serious dry-fire practice (what we all should be doing, I s'pose, but you know what I mean...). Love velcro. Love CR-Speed.

*Netflix* -- I found a two-disc at a time for $15/mo the best option, and have been a member for...almost since they started. When I had the 3-disc plan, I fretted about maximizing the value, and it was a chore managing the queue. I don't have HBO either, nor would I want it.

Hmm...shot this one two weeks ago in L10: 60pts 9.87 for a 6.07hf. I hate throwing away that many points.

I'm tempted. I'm just reluctant to accumulate more "stuff," and leery of spending a lot of time in a gun that's not the same as what I shoot (mostly a G35). The airsoft would have a different feel and sights, I'm sure, no? The biggest single problem I'm having with steel -- and thx Flex, that's good advice on aiming small -- isn't the hit/miss ratio, but spending too much time watching what I've hit. I'll hit the popper, and watch it fall, rather than snapping to the next one. That said, I still have issues with going one-for-one, but I think I can work on that at the range, on a single target. I want my mind to be as blank shooting an array of poppers as it is with paper. I don't look for holes, I try to call the shot and move on. If I'm shooting well, the shot-calling process doesn't invade my mind as any kind of conscious thought. That is NEVER the case with steel, if that makes sense.

I thought the FBI and police were convinced Patricia Ramsey wrote the ransom note? Regardless this is an ugly, sordid story with nothing redeeming: starting from vile, "child beauty" pagaents.

Outstanding. Prior to quitting, I could not *conceive* of not smoking, especially when doing things like fishing, or - pretty much anything. Man, I wouldn't even get out of bed, before firing up a Marlboro. Now, that seems so silly. I can promise you that will go away. You will get to the point where you simply don't think about them except on extremely rare occasions. 8 years later, maybe...2-3x a year, I process a thought about smoking -- not even a temptation thought, but more of an evaluation. 32 days, eh? For you, I'll bet it's several times an hour. <grin>

Wasn't it Mark Twain that talked about a small town with a single lawyer? The lawyer did OK, but then another lawyer moved in, and they both got rich.

I'm giving up more than I'd like when shooting arrays of steel -- eg, a cluster of poppers, or plates. This is starting to turn into a real weakness in competition. Specifically, I find myself taking an extra shot (usually on first target), and keeping each steel target in my conscious: ie., have a running mental commentary ("ahh hit it, great!, missed -- why?? another miss??") in my mind, when I shoot. I'm not sure it's any one "thing" -- sometimes I know I miss because I didn't have the needed sight picture, and sometimes I'll pull off too early, I guess, because I had the sights freakin' painted dead-center on the plate/popper. I don't have easy access to a plate-rack, unfortunately, and need to work within the confines of a shooting range with lanes, and dry-fire. I've been stapling 5 or 6 paper dessert plates to a backer, and shooting them at 15y, trying to go one-for-one, and I think this drill is helping, but I'd like other suggestions. Half-thinking about an airsoft, and making a simple plate rack or steel array, but I'm leery of buying essentially an expensive toy, if it doesn't "really" emulate live-fire. Thx!

I stand happily corrected! I need to shoot more matches. I can see the concern, but IMO, I don't think injecting a stage or two with these targets would be considered pandering to PC elements. That would be very different from a blanket statement by an MD/staff that they would be using ONLY the Classic target, henceforth, so as not to offend (and I can't see that happening). Just thinking more of the shooting challenge on certain stages: the fast, up-close stages, in which everyone pretty much from D->GM is getting 90%+ of the hits.

It occurs to me, though I've only shot a 4 major matches this year -- the Florida Open, Summer Blast, and two "sectionals" -- in only one match did I see the IPSC classic target. This target was used at the FLOpen, and that was the ONLY target used, as opposed to the other matches which ONLY used the metric, or USPSA... Is this pretty much true of all major matches? It seems odd that they don't mix and match occasionally. IMO, it would be an interesting wrinkle on some stages -- especially some of the run and hose stages.

My wife and I finished Deadwood (both seasons) recently, also from Netflix, and loved it. As you say, the dialogue is incredible, and I'd sometimes watch an episode twice, before sending the disc back, to catch what I missed.

It's a pretty disturbing movie, actually, unless you find it normal to see people consider automobiles an extension of sexual organs, and screw accordingly. Oh. Y'all are talking about the *other* movie, 'Crash'. <grin>

*Thirteen weeks?* Man, that's some beginners class!

Zeke -- good deal, man. My wife also got me a bunch of reloading equipment; true, it was Dillon, but that was more of a coincidence, than anything else; guess she said something about me being a reloader during her cover shoot for the catalog, so don't feel bad... But on a serious note. It's wonderful that your wife supports your participation in this sport. I love mine dearly, but in the last year and a half I've been shooting IPSC, she has never seen a match, and gone to the range exactly one time, and the experience was unpleasant. There are different, and many things we share, but shooting will never be one of them.

Happy Birthday! Good age to be < 40, but > 29. Steve

You know, maybe this should go in the "What I like" sub-forum, but it *amazes* me how many valuable nuggets are buried in the BEForum, like this... This classifier was on of the stage at the VA/MD Sectional and I watched many squad members crash and burn; a couple turning in 6-something second times, but 20 or more penalty points. I shot it like an injured slug, in 9 flat/55pts, but avoided that inner fury from doing something stupid, and went on to have good match. I hope I see this in a local match, but in a major, the black and white is frightening, and Erik's words ring true.

<never mind. deleted>

Thx Carl -- it would help if I used the right terminology! <grin> The problem isn't that it happens; it's how to handle when it does happen. 98 out of 100 cases are sliding in just fine; it's just the odd case that's stick, or has a bent rim, piece of media, etc. I just wish I could raise the handle slightly, and flick it off the station 1 locator, instead of sliding it all the way back, moving the case insert out of the way...Not a big deal, just a minor annoyance.

Bought an XL650 from Brian around New Year's., and have really been enjoying it as an upgrade to my SDB. However, one issue drives me crazy, and I wonder if anyone else wrestles with it: Every once in a while, a case won't get pushed properly into the shell plate at station 1 (resize), and get crunched when I lower the arm. You almost need a third hand to remove it -- my procedure is to raise the arm (but not too far, or the shell plate will index!), and work the crunched case backwards out of the shellplate, back on the aluminum slide, and wiggle it out. Is there an easier way? If the aluminum slide had a cut or "gate" in the side, it would be a lot easier, IMO, to remove a damaged case, since you wouldn't have to slide the case all the way back to where it was dropped by the case feeder (and have to push the black spring-loaded triangle out of the way, too). Just idly wondering how others handle this issue...

Put a timer at the base of the popper. I'd think it would be able to record the sound of the bullet hitting the steel, then the sound when popper falls....

Brian and MCOliver -- I very much appreciate the comments, and meant to thank y'all, but wanted to get a few more matches in, and think about this some more.... Here's what I'm thinking, and wonder how off-base this is: 1) There are shots in which you don't see much of anything, really, and don't remember (since there's nothing TO remember). The outcome may or may not be good. 2) There are shots in which you see what you need, and execute upon it. The outcome SHOULD always be good, or provide a make-up opportunity, and you may or may not remember these shots. 3) There are shots in which you saw what you needed, and *remember* it, for whatever reason -- maybe because you released a shot before having the patience to correct a sight picture, or...well, I can remember a sight-picture from this weekend, vividly. Long steel plate, perfect alignment, and the plate laughed at me. Or, you remember them because they were important to you. This is getting into what concerned me originally. I don't think my seeing has changed; what I do think is I was confusing what I *remember* seeing, with what one *needs* to see. And, of course, I find it oh-so-easy to slip into the kind of shooting in "#1". Obviously, for me, anyway, this doesn't necessarily get easier with getting better. That's a bit discouraging.

This is good to know...I don't normally take a site picture, but a major match this summer, was concerned about a stage that involved some SHO/WHO strings. I drew and took my regular grip, and aimed at the target (which was straight ahead), then dismounted the gun, inserted the mag, and racked the slide. Then it occured to take one more sight picture, with a SHO grip, before returning the pistol to the holster. As I did, the RO jumped all over me, threatening a DQ if I did it again. I mean really yelled, so much so that a spectator afterwards commented, "WTF was THAT all about?" Not a good mind-set to start a stage, and doesn't help much in not having been in the wrong (the more important lesson is learning how not to let distractions rattle ya', regardless)...but this is interesting to know.

Out of curiosity, I heard a story about a major match some time ago, in which you had to unlock a door (prior to shooting the array behind it) with a touch-pad combination lock. Someone said Frank Garcia got to the door, entered the combo, and it didn't open. He called for a reshoot, but the RO was able to enter the combination, and the door opened, so it was overturned....

This is one of the new classifiers? Do y'all *like* it?? I shot this one, this past weekend, 9-something, LTD, which looks like a mid-60's %. I had a terrible trigger freeze on the first string, which rattled me so badly I had ANOTHER trigger freeze on the second string, and couldn't get the %*($# magazine out of the gun, either. I guess that's what it's testing, though.