Pittbug

Since I'm now shooting ESP, which has a 125PF minimum, I decided to download my ammo from ~170PF down to about 130ish or so. After searching around and reading many threads I decided to give Harmon's minor load recommendations a try. I had previously ordered a 10lb recoil spring and 17lb hammer spring from wolff in anticipation, which arrived the day before. So I loaded up about 150 rounds and went to the range. Man it's so soft shooting, it's like a 9mm. I did some slow accuracy work, pairs, a couple of bill drills, strong/support hand only and then more accuracy work. There's very little muzzle flip and it makes seeing the front sight much easier, since it didn't flip that far out of sight in the first place. This puts me into shooting L10 minor with a 45, which seems a very strange combo, but I can't spring for another gun right now, so I'll just have to run this setup for a while, even though flexmoney doesn't seem to approve This weekend I have an IDPA match at Circleville and an SO course at Ashland Lake, then an RO course 27th/28th back at Circleville. Hopefully my head won't be spinning between the two different sets of rules. I'm really looking forward to attending both classes. I can't wait to shoot the match this weekend, I've been so close to catching one of my friends running a g34 in SSP and now I think with this new configuration I'm going to be closing the gap even further. Also after reading more threads on here about reloading and premature detonations, I'm being a bit more careful with my ammo handling and using ammo boxes. They've already come in handy since I came across a round with a backwards primer! Ok, off to do some DF. Edit: I decided to resurrect my timer and play around with par times using my concealment vest: 1.4s draw and fire 1 1.9s at slidelock, reload and fire 1 2.9s/3.0s draw and fire 1, reload and fire 1

That's funny! The guy's even been on Jimmy Kimmel...

Listen for the peanut gallery when the time is called out:

I tested out some ammo and springs tonight and found a great combo. While I was at the range I bought their last can on the shelf. It's great stuff and yes, good for my back since I was able to load 500 rounds tonight

It's unbelievable the difference it makes.

I guess that must be the less lethal model

Thanks for all the support and well wishes. I read on a fitness forum that rolling on a tennis ball or a lacrosse ball helps work the muscle tissue like a good massage and since you know where it hurts, you can really work the right spot. I told Chris Keen about this little tip and he rushed off after the match, probably to stop by Dicks. I think I just saved him a small fortune on chiropractor bills I did a bit of rolling last night and it did help although I had to roll against the wall because just lying on the ball was too painful and arched my back in ways it was not designed. Thanks Fran for the RO help yesterday, my back wasn't as bad as I thought but I was still glad I didn't shoot. I had also bought some cleats with me but the thought of snagging a cleat and jarring my back mid stage with a loaded gun was not something I was willing to do. I'm reminded of a pic that was posted on here, where someone snagged a cleat, stumbled forward and had the muzzle pointing uprange. RO'ing was good and since I got to run an entire squad I learned a little about positioning myself. I realized on the drive back that when running someone, I need to look at the stage and figure more ways through it than just what I would do, so I will have a better chance of putting myself in the right position to see. The texas star on the penultimate stage caught me out because Kyle paused, probably assuming that I saw the equipment malfunction and was going to call it, but I was too busy looking at the gun and had positioned myself to watch the gun and not the star. And well, since he talks and pauses anyway as he rolls through a stage with his sightless gun, I didn't clue in to what was going on until he finished and questioned me on it. My back is definitely on the road to recovery now. I mowed the grass this morning and will hit the exercise bike for the next week or so before I get back onto the weights program again.

Yeah... loosing core tension is exactly what did it. I knew it as soon as I did it. I'll get the wife to massage my back tonight.

I was doing squats with the heaviest weight so far and was on my second set on rep 8 when my 11yr old came downstairs to talk to me. I ignored her until I had finished the set of 12. Then instead of putting the weight down before talking, I said "hey, what's up" and that's when I felt it go. I don't blame her, it's totally my fault for being stupid and not putting the weight down. Eventhough it was the heaviest I'd done, I was moving smoothly and not straining. I remember thinking as I finished the 12th rep that I was looking forward to doing a 3rd set since it went so well. The strain is in the muscle to the right of my spine about half way down my back, just at the tip of the shoulder blade. I'm not going to be 100% by Saturday, so I probably am not going to shoot. It also means that I won't be able to help with setup/tear down. I guess I could run the clipboard/timer or be a cameraman for someone, but that'll probably be about it. Last September I injured my ankle playing volleyball, but shot IDPA anyway because movement in the IDPA stages is limited and my ankle didn't affect my index. With this back injury I can't even hold my arms out, let alone a loaded gun. This really sucks because I haven't shot in a while, I just got my rudys in the mail yesterday and was really looking forward to shooting this weekend.

Lookin good. I like the snickers reload

I'm also shooting a 45 in ESP.

Here's another one with a more comfortable seat: http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=fde_1243201144

Shot an IDPA match at big darby creek today. The weather was gorgeous with a little haze, so I shot with my sunglasses instead of my clear el cheapo eye protection. It made a big difference because the front sight seemed clearer and there was more contrast. It confirmed that I really need to get a proper pair of shooting sunglasses. I think I shot pretty well. It all seemed to happen so fast and yet I didn't feel like I was getting ahead of myself. I did make a couple of silly mistakes, but I was really proud of the fact that on a few targets I called a bad shot and made it up without having to look at the target. I did have a new oddity with my equipment. After firing about 5 shots the mag just dropped out. Usually if it's badly seated it will drop out after the first round is fired, but this happened on 2 occasions. Looking back on it, I'm also really happy that it didn't phase me. I felt the mag drop and automatically just reached for a new mag and kept going with the same focus and speed. Edit: Results were posted today (Sunday), I won ESP and came in second out of 30 shooters.

Went to the indoor range today to try out the modified grip. I found that after a few rounds, I'd needed to shift my support hand because it had slipped. I continued to battle on, but I still need to work at it some more because it's still awkward and slightly unpredictable. I did some strong/support hand only strings concentrating on grip and trigger control. I finished the session with a 1/2 size silhouette at 75 feet offhand to force myself to work on trigger control. I think I've started to develop a flinch when shooting quickly, so I need to get some more range time in and work on that, otherwise it's going to really hold me back. I did have one failure to eject, which is the first time I've experienced that in this gun. I didn't want to take any chances to I field stripped it to make sure it wasn't a squib or something else bad. Juggling a hot barrel was fun. The more I practice the more things I realize I have to work on.

Congrats Bill, that's awesome!

I love the third pic, it shows off the work on the slide really well. I bet that's really nice to shoot.

This is one of my 45 JHPs after striking a popper... lots of energy...

Was it required to hold on to your pistol as you run?

And we all know where he got it from...

Fantastic, that's a great story, congrats Micah.

App and check is in the mail.

Worked on a slightly modified grip tonight, as suggested by Bob Vogel. My support hand is now canted further forward than before and I'm twisting my elbows out, which presses the tops of my hands together, tightening the grip. The pad of my support hand now has a longer contact patch along the length of the slide, which seems to steady the gun much more. I used to try to arrange my hands so that my strong hand index finger and support hand thumb, when stretched out were at the same length down the frame, as described in Todd Jarret's video. With this modified grip, my support thumb is much further forward. This modified grip definitely helps keep the gun steadier during transitions, but I need to do some live fire at some point to get a real feel of what it's like and what happens during recoil. I'm missing the IDPA classifier this weekend because I'm looking after babies while the wifey goes out shopping with her mother, for Mother's day. I can't complain, I was away for 3 days last weekend.

Me: Do you have any glock 34's in right now? Clerk: nope, but I have a 17 Me: That's 9mm right? Clerk: Yup, shoots real nice Me: What's the difference between the 17 and the 34? Clerk: The 34 is compensated Me: Ok thanks, see ya later.

This weekend I drove up to the Chain O Lakes club in Northern MI to take a class with Bob Vogel. My check engine light came on 3/4 the way up there, so I wasn't sure if I was going to make it, but I managed to get there. Checked into the motel and did some dry firing. Sunday's class was great. I picked up a few things which I hadn't tried before. I think the top two things I need to work on are: grip with elbows out and box entries. The grip change is going to need a lot of dry dire and range time to work that one out so it comes naturally because it feels a little awkward right now. When entering boxes I do the typical beginner sequence of events, enter box, look for target, aim, fire. I need to incorporate some movement drills to get that ingrained into my subconscious. I'm also thinking that I may have to start using the timer during DF. On the way back I missed the exit to hit 23 and bypass Detroit. OMG, I got caught up in poorly signed construction detours, which really sucked. Fortunately, I whipped out the iphone and used maps and constructed my own detour to get me the heck outta there. Worked out last night, although no DF, since it was too late and I really needed to hit the weights. I'll do some DF tonight working on getting used to gripping the gun with my elbows out.