brother bad

instant; period. a good r/o WILL consciously vary his/her start signal delay. they're not easily 'cadenced.' as a rule, i also pay close attention to what the shooter is doing after the 'standby' command and if i see movement, i wait - up to four seconds - to see what's going to happen. eg: will the shooter correct himself? will they fall out of the box trying to 'force' a start? (good luck with that) is it just a flinch? if the shooter DOES lean himself out of the box, i'll back him up and we'll start again; no harm, no foul, cuz i've not hit the buzzer as i have control over the timer. imho, this is as it should be. if the r/o hits the signal prematurely, that's on him/her. stop the shooter and set up again. nothin to it.

i'll be there, workin per usual. tulsa too, for that matter. should be a little more laid back than last year, numberswise, at least. i don't think anyone was in love with the idea of 18+ in a squad. sg, c'mon out an work it; you'll like it. besides, sep in barry is far preferable to july, unless we get storms like 2k1.

OMG, if Glenn is the match director.....I hope you guys are ready for a sick match. Glenn brought me into competition shooting, I was a "native" at ITPSC in Duke (his range). He will tax your shooting skills tremendously. This is gonna be fun... stage designs are being accepted for nationals and should get sorted out at the staff meeting next month, from what i'm told. glenn's 'considering' submitting a couple stages for tulsa. <grin> nice to hear ya out there, eric! we thought you dropped off the earth, bro.

good points there, opn. i like em too!

This isn't getting enough emphasis. Due to this factor, IMHO, the whole "finish and call for calibration" paradigm is 100% broken. If the calibration shot drops the popper, all that proves is that one more shot would have done the job. It tells us exactly nothing about whether it should have fallen for the actual shooter's actual hits. there's nothing that specifically addresses this scenario or the physics involved, however. i suggest that if there was, the applicable rule would run as long as our present rulebook. them's the breaks. until popper design is 100 percent uniform throughout uspsa and ALL physical variables are tested, verified and mandated, this situation is going to exist. (and that's NOT gonna happen). even if it did; there's always the wind, not to mention the subtle (and not so subtle) variation in competitors' ammo/power factors. <shrug>

when we used to hold em at nationals, it'd take the better part of the morning to get em done. now, if it's opened up to anyone who might wish to shoot it, the time factor increases substantially. just my .02

i don't yell commands, simply say them loud enough for the competitor to hear (sometimes, of course, i find i need to speak up a little). as for standby; it's short, no stand-byyyyyyyyy.... as for the time after that command, it varies widely. anything between 1-4 secs, unless, as i'm watching the shooter, he/she starts to move, lean, creep, flinch, turn, edge, crouch or whatever else it is he/she thinks he needs to do. but that's another matter.

Good eye. I had to take a closer look at the pic to see the other hit. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> thought that might provoke some discussion. i concur, but you really have to look hard in the picture. i suspect it'd be much easier standing in front of the actual target. as above; 'good eye'.

if you look at that 2nd 'hit' you'll notice it's been pasted. the elongated hit went across it. how would you call it?

'if you do not get it from yourself, where will you go for it?' -hui neng

jim nailed it. how many rounds do you really need from each shooting position (if you're going to be competitive)? and, yeah, i shoot a .45 limited gun; a couple of my mags hold 17-18, the others max out at 16. it'll do.

hs6, here. 8.8 grains (supercomp) 165.9. used to run 9.2 grains. shoots flat, but it's loud as hell.

<hijack on> how'd it get to be july 14th already? <hijack off>

looking forward to it, kevin. good to have additional references for drill ideas that work!

what scorch said.

i prefer a .45 to a .40; it just 'feels' better, to me. (could be merely that i'm more familiar with it or have been shooting that particular caliber for so long). unlike many of you, i prefer to use my para for l-10; it fits my hand better than a single stack and, oddly enough, it's also my choice as a limited gun. so, making l-10 single stack only? not necessarily a good thing for all of us. i've got a kimber, but it's always been a little finicky about what it'll reliably feed whereas the para is like a garbage can; it'll shoot anything.

i've had shooters engage their safety immediately after completing a cof as they bring the gun down, anticipating the, 'if you are finished...' command. i've also seen shooters who do engage the safety during movement, if acquiring the next shooting position requires more than 2 or 3 steps. seems to be a matter of personal preference. i've seen plenty of shooters who like to run w/their fingers in the trigger guard, as well. now and then, something goes 'boom' too.

this the the technique that got me 'over' resting my wh finger on the front of the tg. i've also noticed that if i pay attention to where my wh thumb is pointing, i can pick up my dot/sights much more quickly as the thumb IS pointing directly at the target. ymmv.

otoh, how do we 'educate' non gun people about how much fun shooting can be? moreover, the folks in quincy see all of us swarming over their town for a week or so and realize that not all 'gun nuts' are camo-wearing, militia-type neanderthals who drive around in dented pickup trucks covered with anti government bumper stickers. just my .02. i've always enjoyed my stays in quincy, tho i'm glad we don't stay at the days inn anymore.

draw, shoot 2, reload, shoot 2. 7 yds, then 10 yds, then 15... variation; headshots, same drill. we used to do this drill w/a a zone/czone sized suspended steel target, but it works just as well w/paper (tho that requires taping, of course). another good drill, using 8" steel plates, simply draw and hit one; record time. repeat. 10 yd drill. it's meant to practice the draw and quick sight acquisition, but you may find yourself 'point' shooting after a time. if this become the case, go on to two plates, then three... you get the idea.

You should. The best Zen books however are about 2 inches thick. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> nah, the best zen books have never been written.

'life is suffering...'

the key is not minding the pain. i've had chronic headaches for many years that vary in intensity and effect (the result of meningitis). after taking all sorts of meds and trying this and that, i've learned to not pay attention to them. overall, it works very well.

hot, cold, whatever, where ever. so it was exceptionally hot this year, even for barry. such is the nature of the game we play; it's done outdoors in all weathers. cowboy up.

to respond to the original poster's query. there is nothing to 'understand' there is only the act. good books suggested above, also. there are quite a few more available, as well but paul reps book is probably the best place to start. you might also look into some of the taoist texts.