rvb
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Posts posted by rvb
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I'm not personally a fan of a prod/optics, however I think I would support this.
Practical shooting is where the latest/greatest ideas and technologies that weren't even considered legitimate for "practical" use have been field proven. It's where dots where proven to be fast and reliability was shaken out. Now you can't hardly find carbines in military or LE w/o dots... and now that technology is improving/miniturizing to the point you are starting to see it show up on production defensive pistols. To ignore it is to loose any perception we still hold of being "leading edge" technology wise. Heck, open division has been stagnant technology wise for a long time... we can't call sideways scope mounts or fitting an extra bullet in a mag "revolutionary." We should be in front of the shooting technology curve, not trailing it.
The leadership needs to think out of the box a little to keep both the traditionalists happy, and at the same time allow the sport to be a leader in "practical" handgun technology. Defensive factory optics guns can't really run in Open division due to capacity, comps, major scoring, etc, hence my support for such a division.
I think adding this might call for a shake up. As an example: SS and Prod could merge into a true "production gun" division, with the proper melding of the rules. Keep it 8 major, 10 minor. I can hear the traditionalists now.. "it's like dogs and cats having babies!" But then you can add the production optics division which would mirror this new production division but with optics, all w/o watering down the sport w/ too many additional divisions (keep the same # of divisions vs adding a prod and a SS optics division).
If it starts to take off, uspsa could start to influence the industry... glock, tangfo, Springfield, Kimber, STI may want to compete w/ the m&p core in this new division, which may then trickle into LE interest, and in turn possibly meaning new folks becoming interested in the sport.
If we fall behind the industry tech curve, eventually we'll become a game of relic guns. One of the things we dont want to happen is drive off new shooters because their carry or duty gun cannot be competitive in the game, and eventually that will happen w/ production guns like the core.... If he shows up w/ his core and we tell him he's competing against $5k open guns w/ 170mm mags and comps and race holsters, he's likely to never come back.
-rvb
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rvb
in Range Diary
Thanks guys. I have no doubt things will get better... just a lot of "first match jitters." I remember the first couple times I ran a timer for most of a match and the effect it had on my shooting... now it almost feels weird to not be running a timer.
If I had been smart, and not inclined to take on everything at once, I would have gotten a match or two under my belt as MD, then done the change to practiscore. But it all worked out.
The match seemed to run smooth, so once the shooter's meeting is over I need to just get into shooting mode and let the match run itself. I guess everytime we switch stages go pull the scores out of the squad tablets to keep things backed up should be the worst of it....
-rvb
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Thanks Ryan for the picture!
So this morning I had a thought. Sunday I shot 09-02 Diamond Cutter in 3.02s down 3 (HF 12.25), which should be around 99%.
The drill breaks down like:
1.3s Turn and draw
3ea-0.28s transition to partials
4ea-0.22s splits to partials
This sport / hobby pretty crazy.
If you want the full resolution, PM me your email address.
Those are some great times considering the tight partials/no-shoots!
-rvb
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rvb
in Range Diary
Shot production @ Ft Wayne, came in 2nd. Got schooled by Rob S.
This was my first match as MD, and our first match w/ Practiscore. Especially the first 1/2 of the match, making sure everything was running smooth was taking a lot of my focus. Everything was running smoothly, so I should have focused more on my shooting, but that's not where my head was at.
Shot a lousy 87 % of the points. probably 4-5% of that was due to not engaging two papers and a steel that didn't fall after 3 hits, but did fall in calibration.
My first stage was actually the only stage I won. There were a couple places I hesitated to remember where to go in my game plan, but was fairly happy with the shooting.
The second stage (3) sucked. I was going to be first shooter. As I was loading mags I found a bad round... it looked like it had excessive set-back and maybe no crimp, but I couldn't figure out how/why. Then I started questioning my box of ammo and whether I had screwed something up in the loading process. The question of "will my gun blow up when I pull the trigger" kept going through my head as I was shooting. I then forgot to engage a target... I was on pace to have a couple second lead on Rob but blew it w/ a 2M/FTE. I got a new batch of ammo to finish the match.
Stage 4 was a total gaming FU. started strong, but then the popper/activator didn't fall. Went to the target that was supposed to be available and it wasn't... went back and doubled the popper, still didn't fall. Decided to call for calibration... just walked to the next position and hit the remaining target. Well... the popper fell in calibration, I got the M on the steel and 2M FTE on the partially hidden target. Train. Wreck. I should have finished the stage strong and made sure I had all the hits incase the calibration failed, but I didn't. Stupid newb-ish mistake. Came in a whopping 30% of Rob on this one.
Stage 5 went ok, just a short speed shoot. Worst thing to comment on was getting a D due to starting to transition off to soon.
and 1 was decent, but not great. I changed my gameplan after the walkthrough, and I was hesitant in what targets to transition into and generally slow.
Classifier was 09-02 Diamond cutter. 6A/2C in 4.07 (8.8452 HF). The 2 Cs were both on T4 just straddling the corner of the Azone. Should come in about 84%. My slow and steady decline back into A class continues.....
I felt pretty good about the shooting portion of my match. My recoil control and shot calling felt back where it was pre-winter-break. My new contacts let me see the FS better. I have to fix my head game...
-rvb
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On the positive side, it looks like I shot my first 100% on a classifier, 09-02 Diamond Cutter. With this and the ~92% from last week, Master may not be that far off...
Great shooting!
-rvb
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competition: G34 w/ warren/sevigny sights (FO front)
carry: G19 w/ warren/sevigny night-sights or J-frame.
Shot the 2012 IN Section w/ the G19... no real change in performance...
When I was shooting open a lot (2011) I had a 1911 for carry. Sold the 1911, so I guess that means no more open?
-rvb
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That picture is a prize table at a 3 gun shoot? Wow. I've never seen anything like that. A huge thank you to the sponsors that made that happen.
Media Coverage goes a very long way in getting sponsors, a very long way
and 3gun Nation has done a excellent job of making a very watchable show and format for sponsors to be a part of
Hello USPSA
the excuse of nobody will watch people shooting a stage it is not good tv.......3gn has been able to take guys laying down and shooting 300-600 yard targets and make it work.
It is about the people that shoot it, what they are doing.
With cameras set up right a pistol stage can be exciting to watch, USPSA is just stuck in 1990's when it comes to advertising, promotions, and use of technology and they are getting passed up
with some minor improvements, practiscore could offer a real-time scoring capability, where everytime a score was saved, leaderboards updated. Maybe if that were accomplished, and with the right marketing/editing/presentation, the pistol side could be made as TV friendly as 3-gun. There's no reason it can't. Heck, reality-TV it up if that sells it, I know we have some personalities that would be fun to follow for a match.... it doesn't have to be just the supersquad on tv.
I "guess" what I am trying to say is, in the purest practical sense, a rifle and pistol have real history together. We added the bird buster in that mix for reasons I am not overly enthusiastic about. So there
I would shoot a Rifle/Pistol match in a heartbeat and leave my shotgun at home all year long if it was an option.
I would be all over pistol/rifle matches. But we have shotgun and shotgun-accessories companies sponsoring matches, so I don't see pisto/rifle becoming mainstream soon... one of these days I'm just going to have to suck it up and buy a shotgun and pretend to enjoy it long enough I convince myself it's true...
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rvb
in Range Diary
So about that practicing vs. drinking thing, what's your poison of choice? It's on me.
dont start beating me too bad, you might motivate me to practice!
-rvb
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rvb
in Range Diary
Shot production at Atlanta. 2nd in production (out of 31), 8th combined (of 87). Missed 1st by 5 points.
I won 3 stages, and came in 2nd on 3 stages. Basically, stage 6 (my first of the day) cost me the match, I was 6 seconds off the stage/match winner (Rob). I think 6 was the only stage Rob beat me on?
Another thing that hurt was only shooting 89% of the points. I didn't give the turtles the focus they deserved. Especially stage 5, I caught myself aiming mid paper vs mid Azone. 3 Ds for the match.
My first stage (6) I was feeling snake bit after my flops at my first two matches this year. I wanted to get through a match w/o the mental crash and burns, and I ended up shooting too reserved. I also took an extra couple seconds on the plate rack (1-for-1 on the first 3 or 4, then thought "I can go faster" and wiffed a couple). I did a slide rack after my reload because I wasn't sure if I had fired 2 or 3 extra rounds at the plate and I am still afraid of riding the release and the gun not locking back... I jacked out a live round so that was time wasted.
Classifier was take'em'down, 03-03. it won't count due to the defective targets, but it would have been ~83% (8A/3C, 8.41, 5.8264HF). I lost at least a second leaving the first box. I slipped and about ate gravel.
I made it through the day w/o any mental breakdowns. I deviated very slightly from my plan on stage 4, but it was just a target order w/in an array thing, not a real time killer. No Mikes, no penalties. It felt good to finally put together a solid match.
-rvb
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C1.7 In the absence of any interference, or problem with a target mechanism, a calibration officer must conduct a calibration test...
-rvb
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I just RM'd a Level 2 match. The match had it all... rain, snow, super-saturated ground, and wind. 14 times I was called for calibration. I have no idea how many times poppers reqd multiple hits where the shooter didn't risk a calibration. I'd guess it was about 50/50 whether they got a re-shoot, so approx 7 reshoots due to won calibration, and approx 7 shooters who had good hits but had to eat mikes. Doesn't seem like everyone's shooting performance is getting treated fairly under our rules, despite hard work by the ROs to try to keep the poppers set in the very soft ground and wind (constantly needing adjusting).
So the 7 shooters who ate mikes had actual scoring zone hits? not edge hits or below the zone? That would be annoying.
I would think it would be wise to take special steps with a windy and wet match. I've heard of mounting poppers on plywood so they don't sink into the ground and need readjusting.
But whatever, I understand what you're talking about now, thanks for clarifying.
there was 1 edge hit I recall where I thought walking up to do the cal he'd be damn lucky if it didn't fall (it did). There might have been 1 or two slightly below the zone, but I mean just slightly (eg a couple inches, not down at the base). an edge hit is still a hit in every other shooting situation (paper targets or steel challenge, for instance).
we did everything we could... plywood bases on many of the poppers, shovelled in stone, etc. Some of the ROs were checking/adjusting them after every shooter.
-rvb
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I just RM'd a Level 2 match. The match had it all... rain, snow, super-saturated ground, and wind. 14 times I was called for calibration. I have no idea how many times poppers reqd multiple hits where the shooter didn't risk a calibration. I'd guess it was about 50/50 whether they got a re-shoot, so approx 7 reshoots due to won calibration, and approx 7 shooters who had good hits but had to eat mikes. Doesn't seem like everyone's shooting performance is getting treated fairly under our rules, despite hard work by the ROs to try to keep the poppers set in the very soft ground and wind (constantly needing adjusting).
Sounds fair
I know, right? and my calibration ammo met the recommendations (9mm, 120pf). but it knocked some steel down that the competitors' ammo didn't. thems the rules...... sucks.
-rvb
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Just thinking out loud. The status quo sucks.
What is it that bugs you so much about the status quo. I think falling steel is funner to hit, and in the winter (temps in the teens and below), painting steel for each shooter would be royal pain, but if you don't paint it, you're guessing about what got hit.
i agree it's fun...
...unless a popper doesn't fall w/ 1/2 dozen hits but does for the RM on the calibration call, despite your ammo being legal.
...unless a solid hit causes an activator not to activate, meaning you have to go back and hit it in order to get access to additional targets
...unless you have a good run going, but are forced into a re-shoot due to calibration and then have a bad run
...unless rules aren't followed re. plates must fall or re-shoot (seems at club matches this is often ignored)
...unless you have a good run going and the wind blows a popper over.
should I go on?
I just RM'd a Level 2 match. The match had it all... rain, snow, super-saturated ground, and wind. 14 times I was called for calibration. I have no idea how many times poppers reqd multiple hits where the shooter didn't risk a calibration. I'd guess it was about 50/50 whether they got a re-shoot, so approx 7 reshoots due to won calibration, and approx 7 shooters who had good hits but had to eat mikes. Doesn't seem like everyone's shooting performance is getting treated fairly under our rules, despite hard work by the ROs to try to keep the poppers set in the very soft ground and wind (constantly needing adjusting).
-rvb
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I think you are obfuscating the issue by introducing slower times and more other mistakes into your math. Why not compare apples to apples and calculate what it costs you per mistake with all other things being equal?
In your example, if you run the exact same time and points as the winner except for a mike/no-shoot (and 1 less alpha), it appears (back of a napkin calculation) to cost you 25 match points on the long stage, and 29 match points on the short stage. Pretty comparable imho.
that's what I noticed as well... a miss on a speed shoot should impact your over-all score about as much as a miss on a field course, and that's what the current system does.
The current Comstock scoring paradigm has exactly the same problem in that "one stage won't mattter and the other would be a catastrophe you could never recover from," it's just flip flopped so the high round count stages are heavily weighted and low round count stages hardly matter.
the current comstock method makes each SHOT have about the same impact on your final score, it's not about one stage impacting your score more than another. It's about making each SHOT on the 32-rnd course impact your final score as much as each SHOT on the 6-rnd speed shoot.
If we went stricktly by HF, then a miss on certain stages could ruin your day where a miss on another stage might barely affect your score.
look at if from the perspective of zeroing a stage. A M/NS and a couple points down on a 6-rnd speed shoot could result in a zero. If that stage had a HF of 10, and two field courses had a HF of 5 each, then those 2-3 errant rounds could result in a loss of 50% of your match. HUGE impact from a couple of rounds To have the same impact in our imaginary 3-stage match, you'd have to zero BOTH field courses, which would probably require over a dozen penalties and many points down. some shots would be WAY more important than others. We don't have that problem w/ the current system.
Most people think the short courses "don't matter," but a miss on one is just as bad as a miss on a field course, currently... the way it should be, imo. it's a wheel that doesn't need re-invented.
your match consists of X number of rounds, not X number of stages...
-rvb
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Would work if every match had a chrono. Sadly, they don't.
And of those that do, not all have the 'recommended' <125pf calibration ammo, so it's still possible to have legal ammo and get screwed by the range equipment and calibration system. Perhaps the compromise is make chrono mandatory for Level 2s?
I figured the first argument I'd hear would be about activators for moving targets. My thought there is a mandatory reshoot if it doesn't fall. Someone running sub minor would probably not like reshoot after reshoot on stages w. Moving targets....
Just thinking out loud. The status quo sucks.
-rvb
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Contact yer AD and present it.
how about we discuss it? Does the idea of making steel static vs falling have merit? Are there issues that I'm overlooking? My [our] AD is a moderator here; he'll see the discussion. If after we discuss it it seems like a good idea, I'll happily email him about it. This is a discussion board, right?
It would slightly change the way we shoot the game, but would avoid a host of equity issues for shooters...
it's time to evolve out of the 70s. we have chronos to measure ammo's power factor. let old/bad methods die.
-rvb
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rvb
in Range Diary
It's most definitely the gun! Glocks are turds!
that is truth! I don't think even one of those unicorn tanfo things could have helped me on Friday... but I was tempted to get the beretta back out of the safe friday night and toss the glock into the pond accross the street!
Congrats on the M-class win! I somehow missed you on the range... what day did you shoot?
-rvb
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rvb
in Range Diary
Nice meeting you!
It was great to meet you, too! Thanks for coming down to the match. I only got to watch you run a couple stages, but I felt I learned some things in even that short time. You really put on a clinic with your 20% win. Congrats!
-rvb
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rvb
in Range Diary
Being RM and getting called away to calibrate steel can't help.
It's easy to start making excuses. hell, on friday chad almost had me convinced it was the gun ... bottom line is I wasn't putting the front sight where it needed to be before I broke the shot. that either resulted in penalties or blown stage plans making up mikes. I got the results I should expect after a whole winter of no live fire and almost no dryfire. other folks have been working, and they deserve the reward. I was lazy, and now have my work cut out for me.
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can we just change the whole steel concept to static steel? If hit you get the 5 pts, if not, you get the mike. paint between shooters. treat it like steel challenge. we have the chrono for determining power factor; we dont need steel to fall.
that would make setup easier, eliminate re-shoots, eliminate steel calibratoin changing due to environment (wind, soft ground, etc). existing steel owned by clubs could be easily converted (or if they are designed to fall, eg plates, a hit is a hit regardless of how it reacts...)
I hate our steel rules.
-rvb
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We had some snow, we had some sleet, and there was a bit of wind to round out the day... Come out of the restaurant and the sun pops out..... Northern Indiana is the gate to hell
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
perfect northern IN march match weather!
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rvb
in Range Diary
well, the ss/prod/rev match is in the books. dammed ashamed of my shooting on this one. I just couldn't get out of my own way. poor execution led to botched stage plans; poor shooting led to penalties.
I shot 4 stages reasonably well, but even they had mistakes and significant bobbles. Those 4 stages I came in 5th-7th. The rest I was down in the 20th-30th place. Finished 16th overall in prod.
day started off in the toilet by the time I'd fired my 11th shot. by then I had made up two mikes, forced myself into a standing reload, which trashed the rest of the stage plan, and required an extra reload for the stage. bam, down probably 6 seconds and proably 50 match points on that stage. And that's how the day went. a lot of just stupid mental errors... I won't bother with breaking down every stage.... they all went just about like that. The couple of stages where I did manage to stay on plan I mixed in some mikes to help keep my HF down....
I know I'm out of practice on the shooting, so it's like I tried to make up for it by going faster... and that just obviously leads to disaster.
a lousy 89% of the points, 7D, 5M, 1NS.
I guess I'm going to have to start making time for some practice....
shooting is a perishable skill.
-rvb
rvb
in Range Diary
Posted · Edited by rvb
Shot a decent match at Atlanta.
1st prod, 4th overall. 90% of the points.
Day starts off rough w a M on the first target... Really butchered that stage. 9rounds on the plate rack, 8 on the star.
Next two stages were classifiers.
Steely Speed VII, 06-10. 3.89s, 7.7121 HF. Classifiercalc shows it good for 91%. Won this stage in combined results
Down the Middle, 13-02, 40 points, 3.82s, 10.4712 HF. Classifiercalc shows it good for 100%.
The stage with the swinger I doubled the activator since the cable was stretched so tight between them and I saw the previous shooter have trouble getting it down. It was a safe plan that worked out pretty well.
The table start stage was interesting. A lot going on there you don't see all together... Unloaded gun, table start, retreating. A good stage just for the "different" factor.
The last stage, Triad, I shot another M. The two stages with the misses were the only ones I didn't win.
I need to work on partials, esp partial turtles. Those were my two misses. Trying to sneak into the A zone past a barrel. Had I just gone for the C, or even the A/C line I'd have come out way ahead...
I also need to work on large transition, esp on targets 15-25 yds. I felt like I was forever settling on the target.
-rvb