Pittbug

45 mins DF. I got an email tonight announcing the IDPA match at big darby creek on the 28th this month. That motivated me to do some DF practice. Since I've been shooting USPSA exclusively for the past 3 months and dry firing, I'm eager to see how I compare against some of my IDPA buddies. I also saw that in August there'll be a classifier run. I'm really expecting to do a lot better this time and qualify as expert in CDP. I started to incorporate some simple transition drills as part of the routine. The reloads are really improving now. Some of them felt like I was throwing the mag into the magwell because I had gotten the alignment and timing just right. Overall my reloads are becoming a lot more consistent and after inserting the mag, the support hand getting the grip and getting the sights back on target have also really improved. I put this down to 2 things: rounding off the grip safety and DF. Continued to focus on driving the gun forwards once it's cleared the holster and a good grip. A few more weeks like this and I think I'll be ready to restart Steve Anderson's books again and get the timer out. Last night I also ordered some arredondo followers and one of their tune up kits, (follower, basepad, insert and spring) to try out.

Just read an article in American Rifleman about a new type of mag spring mechanism, designed and manufactured by Mitchell Manufacturing Corp (mauser.org although it's not listed on their website). According to the article it uses a clockwork spring pinned to the mag body and rests under the follower. Because it doesn't take up room between the rounds and the basepad it increases capacity for an Beretta M9 from 15 to 20 rounds. Because of the spring design it also provides consistent pressure on the rounds, so the last round is as easy to load as the first. Other models are available for the Sig 226 and springfield XD (doesn't say which caliber). I thought it sounded quite promising....

Looking at it from another angle, when you want to offer criticism, you also need to appreciate how someone else may take it and try not to blindside them. With calmer/open body language and choice of words it might not be perceived as an attack.

I just checked the USPSA website and I classified as C in L10, which is exactly what classifiercalc.com predicted.

45 mins of DF, just concentrating on draws and reloads. Part way through I remembered that I had read a post by Johnathan about rounding the square grip safety with a dremel, since it's cutting into the web of my hand right now. Wow, what an improvement. I didn't have to remove much, but it's definitely a lot easier to shift the grip and reach the mag release. I think I may also try melting the end of the frame there, I'm positive that'll also help. I also got out my new engraving tip and used the dremel to mark my mags.

Hey Joel I don't think I'll be able to make that match. I have some painting and stuff I need to get done to the house and I don't get much done during the week, so I've had to carve out a few weekends to get it done. It was great shooting with you, I'll see you again at another match. Maybe I need to start wearing a name tag My smallest (9months) decided that last night was the night to be wired and completely crazy instead of being calm and going to sleep....

45 minutes of DF. 1) draw on 1 target 2) draw on 1 target, reload 3) draw on 1 target, 1 transition, reload I focused again on hand position on the mag, less upper body movement during reloads and driving the gun on the draw. I'm still keeping the timer in my bag because I feel that I'm still working on basic technique and want to concentrate on the "feeling" without the distraction of a timer. I feel that if I don't have the basic technique down, then rushing to beat the timer will either ingrain bad habits, sloppiness or get me frustrated with inconsistencies. When I do a transition, I index on the first target, drop the hammer then transition to the second and press again. I don't simulate 2 shots per target because I can't simulate recoil and I don't want to preprogram a specific pause.

I did a few matches here n there starting in 05 or 06, then took a break for about a year or so as the stork flew by a couple of times. In April 08 I took an IDPA class and realized that I should probably take this up at some point. 6 months ago I started to take it more seriously and have been shooting USPSA, since the IDPA guys hibernate for the winter around here

Other than the pure ability to shoot accurately- I think the single most valuable part of IDPA/USPSA is knowing exactly what you are going to do next after your last shot. I'd put it in simpler terms: "the single most valuable part of IDPA/USPSA is knowing exactly what you are going to do next."

I just came across this lady on facebook....

I sent pas44 a pm... not sure if results can be changed once they're posted?

Err... I was shooting L10 not limited...

This happened to me after I had loaded up a few thousand rounds. A bunch of gunk had built up on/under the primer wheel causing it to stop short instead of snapping into place when it hit the detent. I just took it apart, gave it a quick clean to fix it.

Shot a bunch of classifiers at Miamisburg today, which went well overall. Although my concentration slipped a couple of times, I was happy with how I was shooting. When the scores are revealed, It'll be interesting to see how my times/scores compared to the rest of the field. Before most of the stages the little voice inside my head kept telling me: "shoot A's as fast as you can" - thanks Mr Anderson. This is the second time I'm using the new clays load and I still like it a lot. One of the stages had 2 close targets where you had to do 5 shots on the first, reload, then put 5 on the second. I think the softer shooting clays load helped my split times as the gun seems quicker to recover. Since I drove 2 hrs there, I should probably have done the reshoot to get in some more trigger time, another thing I'll have to remember to do for ranges further afield.

Just got back from the Circleville USPSA match. Weather was gorgeous and I had a really good time. It was great to see a couple of familiar faces and meet some new people. I had a small faux pas, I went to the safe area holstered my gun and did a couple of practice draws, but then left with the (gun unloaded and) hammer cocked. Thanks to the guy in the chair that pointed that out to me as I was registering. I went to the safe area and dropped the hammer. I guess that's a habit from dry firing that I need to watch in future. I shot really well today and even though my mags are still giving me problems, I felt that my plan for each stage was good, my sight picture was good and moving between positions was fast. I really enjoyed stage 1, with all the tricky hidden targets and plates and stage 3 (?) with the shakey bridge. I also got my first official double, thanks for calling that Pat. My new load of 4.2 clays was really working well and it felt great to shoot. For some reason my mags were locking the slide back with 1 round still left in the mag... not sure what's going on there. It surprised me the first time, but I remember seeing the round in the mag as it was dropping during the reload. I feel like I'm starting to see more.

Hit the New Albany range tonight after work to test the new ammo. It functioned really well and was very soft shooting compared to what I was using before (4.6gr titegroup) . It almost feels like I'm shooting a smaller caliber. I'm curious to throw these through a chrono to see where they are. I'm also wondering if I can get away with an 11lb or 10lb recoil spring now. Still having mag problems, on two of them, the slide is now locking back on the penultimate round. The last round is actually pushed forwards a little. Not sure what's going on with these mags. I'm really considering pitching them and buying some mec-gars. I tried using my new glasses with plastic side shields and it's not really working for me. The front sight is more blurry, mainly because I think the top rim of the glasses is starting to come into view and I also get a double image, perhaps because of the angle of my head, since I'm cross eye dominant. At some point I guess I may need to look into Rx shooting glasses. Range time was spent doing accuracy work and learning where these new loads print. I also did a few strong hand, support hand only strings. I found that for some reason, my support hand has better trigger control. I seem to be able to isolate the trigger finger better, but my dominant hand has a stronger grip. I got back, had dinner, played with the kids, put them to bed and loaded another 500 rounds. I'll probably load another 500 tomorrow night to make sure I have enough for this weekend. I also signed up for Bob Vogel's class in May - really looking forward to that. The previous (my first) class I took was in April 2008 with Scott Warren.

Primers arrived today, so I loaded up a few at 1.265 and 1.260. First rounds on the new 650 so I was taking my time and double checking dimensions. Going to have an early night tonight so I can leave work early and head to the range to test these out. Oh, I'm also going to pick up some new prescription glasses tomorrow morning. I'll try them this weekend at Cville and Mburg, perhaps it will help if I can see the front sight more clearly.

1 hour of dry fire doing draws and reloads. I found that when doing reloads, if I keep my body still and stop shifting my shoulders around that the reload goes a lot smoother. After that I watched 30 mins of the military channel while on the exercise bike.

I ended up using the 12lb spring. The recoil feels a bit softer and the sights don't seem to dip after the recoil as much.

I use the MG 230gr CMJ. I tried them a year or so ago and never had a problem that's been related to the bullet, so I just stick with what's working for me.

I found an old post with video from my second IDPA match. I hope to get some more video in future to help solicit feedback/advice.

I guess it's time for me to start a diary. I've started to take IDPA/USPSA more seriously and really want to go as far as I can. I've been doing some dry firing off and on for the past couple of months working out the basics. Although I have both of Steve Anderson's books and bought a timer, I've decided not to try to push myself on time, but to concentrate on consistency, I can work on speed later. At my current skill level a few tenths that I may gain or loose here or there doesn't make too much of a difference. What I really want to eliminate are the fumbles as they happen way too often. So for now I've put Steve's books aside and have four 1/2 size IDPA targets that I use for indexing in my basement. I practice draws and reloads without the pressure of a timer. I think more about technique and what I need to do to be more consistent. I'm also in the process of changing my body shape, with weight being my current primary means of measuring my progress. So far I've lost 15 lbs and will continue to shed another 15. Once I get to that point I shall re-evaluate where I am and see if I need to change it again. So tonight I did 45 mins of dry fire, just doing draws and reloads, indexing on 1 target. On my draws I focused on grip strength and on my reloads I'm trying hard to positively seat the mag, since I recently added a S&A mag guide.

That's tshirt and shorts weather... at least I won't have to bring my skates

Here they are in pdf format: FanDancer.pdf Shake_and_Bake.pdf Shifty.pdf Take_Me_Home.pdf

In polite circles we just say "See you next Tuesday" SYNT doesn't have the same ring to it somehow...