swordfish

LONG OVERDUE UPDATE Didn't shoot much this year. Didn't even practice much. Been super broke, but I still managed to make a couple matches. Missed out on a JJ Racaza class but did make it out to St. George to shoot the Magnus Cup. Still waiting on my prize from that one though, but I did manage to bring home a super rad crystal eagle trophy. No one else showed up. Didn't matter, I got the trophy. I'll take it. Been collecting some hardware this year. They're really hard to come by when you shoot revolver, usually only a few sign up for majors so trophies don't get made. The MD at the Ohio sectional hooks me up though, and I try to bring at least 1 or 2 other revo guys with me. Shot a couple ICORE matches, a regional and then the International Revolver Championship where I managed to take 3rd in Limited. Still waiting on a trophy from that one, but I've been assured it's in the works. Came REEAALLLYYY close to beating the guy who took first in Limited at a local match this year, but on the last stage he got me by a couple seconds. But now, onto the meat and potatoes.... Nationals is soon. This is it. No one else showed up to IPSC Nationals to get points for the World Shoot. I'll need a minimum of 48 points to beat anyone else who didn't shoot a 3rd match, and then as long as I don't DQ I should have a spot. But that's not good enough for me. I'm tired of sucking. I'm tired of being tired. Starting from 5 weeks leading up to Nationals, I had a goal to shoot 1,000 rounds a week and consistently go to the gym. I'm slightly ahead of schedule on the round count, and I've been to the gym 3-4 days a week since. I'm down almost 10lbs. I've got more stamina. But I'm having knee and feet problems. The next Dr. appt is this coming Wednesday, so I'm hopeful they'll be able to help me out. I had to stop doing leg workouts 3 weeks ago and it's really bumming me out, it's such a huge muscle group and a really important one in this sport for being athletic. I've been eating a lot better too. I don't want my gains in the gym to go to waste, so I'm eating way more protein and healthier meals too. I'm constantly cooking, which can be a hassle, but I think I like the results more than I dislike the inconvenience. Also been watching videos on YouTube by a physical therapist/strength coach, a dude named Jeff Cavaliere. The videos are from his workout program called Athlean X and pull from his experience as the former physical therapist for the NY Mets, so it's very applicable for athletes, as well as just for anyone who wants to get in better shape. Definitely recommended. Now for the shooting: Because I haven't shot a ton of matches this year, I don't really have a lot of experience on what I need to work on, nor do I have many videos to look at to critique. But I've been keeping a written shooting/practice journal, mostly just daily notes on whether or not I practiced, what I practiced, worked out, or what I need to work on. Also I've been utilizing my wall calendar a lot to set weekly goals on what I want to work on in dryfire/livefire. I'm probably making the targets a lot harder than I'll typically see at matches, but it's really paying off. I'm working on all the tough stuff that I think a lot of people neglect, like partial movers, tiny steel at distance, and just partials in general when working on transitions. I think it's paid off because I just got 10th overall at a local match yesterday, only dropping 1D. Time wasn't so far off the leader who shot open, but then again no one above A class showed up so the results are probably skewed. Still! It feels like I'm kicking ass, and I just need to keep up the momentum for another two weeks. Some of the things I've worked on include: 20yard group shooting 3yd bill drills to work on the sweet spot between gripping the gun as hard as I can with my left and gripping it soft enough with the right to get barely legal splits, 45+ yard A zone steel Tons and tons of doubles drills to work on grip/recoil control, at every distance Distance changeup with an open target, a partial, and then something stupid far away Partials and partial movers Lots of steel to work on one-shot hits and increase my speed Lots of steel like above, but weak hand only/strong hand only, probably farther than I'll ever see at a match Reloads on the move in every direction, slow and fast moving, using both strong-hand and weak-hand reloading techniques for revo, depending on the direction Dryfire draws, usually trying to draw to a tiny dot on a far wall, as well as incorporating draws into one-shot on distant steel at the range Unloaded starts and table starts Now for the things that I feel I've neglected: Shooting on the move Shooting while moving into/out of a position Transitional positions, which is kinda like shooting on the move but more of a pause and usually less targets at a time Probably way more stuff that I don't know that I don't know, or don't know that I need to be practicing Up this week: all or some of the things I've neglected, hopefully a leg workout if I'm not in immense pain, and loading more ammo. Lots of ammo. Next update will be after Nats, so we'll see if I DQ or completely s#!t the bed, and then another update from USPSA to see if I've made the team.

Ha! It was mostly discouraging and disappointing. But still chugging along.

eh why not, as long as the regular ammo chronos. Besides, I think the guys with magnum loads didn't do that great anyway cause of the recoil

It's not ICORE.

I've always just sent it to the range. Universal Shooting Academy Your Name / IPSC Nationals (obviously change this to USPSA or Revo Nats) 4330 Hwy 630 East Frostproof, FL 33843 They put it all in a big conex box, I think the one with the spot spraypainted on it. Then when you show up to check in or whatever you just go into the box and grab your ammo. I recommend marking your box on multiple sides because a lot of people mail their ammo and all the boxes end up looking the same.

I'll be heading up to Carver to visit some friends later this year, would be interested in shooting a match while I'm there.

I carry a Colt Cobra (OG). Problem is, .38 special (not +P) is a really poor performer in ballistic gel tests, even compared to .380ACP out of an LCP sized gun. Once you get into +P stuff, it gets a little better, but still not great compared to a semi-auto cartridge, or anything with a longer barrel. I still carry it because of the awesome holster selection from way back in the day, but I should probably look at upgrades. I just don't want to give up that extra round with a Smith. But if the non plus p ammo doesn't work, or the plus p ammo beats the gun up to the point where the gun breaks, it won't really matter. I'd check out the Federal HST +P micro 130gr. It's what I would carry. I should probably pick some up anyway. Just really awkward for trying to reload in a hurry though because of the bullet profile, or lack thereof. Maybe keep those in the cylinder because of the proven performance and put something round nose in for your reload. If you have to reload, that might mean those first 5 didn't work and you need more penetration, or you need to do it in a hurry because there are more attackers. The Safariland speedloaders are pretty cool. But speedloaders are huge so I'm meh about them.

ahhhh ok. never used those before. Might be good as long as you don't have to look for the laser and can keep your eyes on the sights. Then go back later and look at your hits and see if your shot-calling is on point.

I only use a laser for draw practice. Set a video camera up facing a wall where my target is, and set the camera to slow mo. Then practice draws and look for any sort of extra movement in the dot, or lack of movement, or whatever. Found out I had a slight pause in my draw stroke because of watching the laser move on the wall. Never really had a use for it besides that.

I think they're just ANSI certified, so not really that great protection, and don't offer a lot of coverage like over the eyes if your head is lowered. Pretty much the only reason I haven't picked them up or was in any way interested. Then again, I've never been hit in the glasses with a ricochet, but I wouldn't feel confident trusting something that's really only rated for shop use.

I'll trade you lol. I like it to prep for long shots lol. 2 of my chambers don't, but the other 6 do, so it screws me sometimes and I AD occasionally on transitions.

It's all good right up until the point where it isn't. My 929 shakes itself apart and every single screw backs out, including the ejector rod, which is super freaking annoying, so I use loctite on it. Right now my rear sight adjustment screws are loose but I keep forgetting to tighten them down. All of my screws have corresponding marks on the frame so I can visually check during a match if something is backing out or not. Think what you want.

True. But the one I played with was very nice. Not sure how the finished production models will differ from the prototypes. For one, they're not red. The big bonus is that it's not a Smith. Smith is pretty crappy as far as sponsoring major matches, and Ruger is right there giving out guns and all sorts of prizes. Smith quality is not that great either. So this might either 1: convince them they need to step their game up or 2: be a viable alternative to 929s. This new Ruger ended up in 2 spots in the top 10 at Nationals, so it's clearly competitive. MSRP is high, but street price will probably be lower, maybe even the same as a 929, so figure around $1200 or slightly more, but you probably won't have to send the gun back to the factory because the barrel wasn't torqued correctly or the hammer falls when you touch it.

I have personally, and have also seen others that have. Takes a while, but when it happens in the middle of a match and you bomb a stage, it sucks. I like not having to worry about it.

Doesn't matter if you cut it to length, it will still back out. Also if you cut it to length, you have zero adjustment if your main spring decides to lose its elasticity or your supply of Federal primers.

Drill and tap a hole in the bottom of the grip that leads to the strain screw hole. Put a piece of brass, then follow it up with a set screw that you can tighten down. It won't ever come loose, unlike loctite.

100% worth it for unloading at least, but for the 929 I can't get it to work and use the TK. But, again, I use both because nothing is faster for unloading.

I mean I guess. I did just make GM.

both. I can only try to grip hard when I focus on gripping hard, but when I'm actually shooting I forget and go back to being loose. Or I tense up and the second shot starts going low left so then I relax again and the holes come back together.

I shoot my gun with a super loose grip. Faster splits, and tighter groups.

That sounds like a ton of extra work. I dry tumble mine with the primers still in. Shot 16k last year and only had problems when I seated the primers too deeply for a few hundred rounds. Even then most still went off. No squibs yet.

it's ma'am

Looks kinda hard to table load in a hurry.

I run the Speed E Rack and it's built pretty tough. I had an idea to make one myself using lighter components but after going prone on one, I don't think it would hold up. The steel/aluminum construction is the way to go.

I load strong hand. If I go prone, I don't want to bend any moonclips so I load from behind my holster and keep my rack empty.