-JCN-

Alien mags: The 140mm mags are labeled 22 rounds but they’re really only 20-21 rounds. I might try experimenting with using a 17 round follower and spring in the 22 round magazine. I had previously tried a CZ MBX spring and follower and it just nose dove. If I could have one mag that could fit 22-23 reloadable that would be great.

And to expand on game recognize game: Pantera / Anthrax drummer. Much respect. Even if it’s not their cup of tea, still professional and still sending it.

Double range day with V. My personal range I try to not annoy the neighbors with sustained rapid fire. The indoor range is on the way so we met there to work on fundamentals first. V is now splitting into the 0.16s on occasion. Hits are good. My wife gave me an old Chanel perfume tester that I filled with C4 Carbon cleaner to spray chamber. My gun smells great, haha. But I think it’s going to work out great. Between the Flex Hone and the bore mop chamber flag, ejection is way more positive. With the smaller grip, the gun feels so much more stable and manageable. Did another 3.09s string and it felt comfortable for the recoil control with plenty of margin. It’s fitting and feeling better with these ergos. 0.15-0.16 splits within a 4” circle at 7 yards was easy (except for the second trigger press flinch, haha). Recoil control for V continues to improve with attention and coaching. 0.16s splits that were stacked on the dot happened occasionally. Then we had lunch and drove out to my land. We set up a Skills Lab to work on things and eventually put together for memory stages. Was a very good day. Even stuff that I couldn't physically lift myself, was easy to do with two people. I'm going to try and figure out some memory work for stages in dry at home. I think I understand the game better now, so I think I have a better chance of figuring out a training regimen that addresses the deficits specifically. .

I’ve never spent much effort or specific training on course execution and management. I started with marksmanship fundamentals, then classifier stand and shoot skills. Then a little bit of movement. Then stage planning. But not really on execution. Now that the other skills are coming on line, I am trying to figure out the stage memorization and execution part. How to lock down a stage quickly into my mind’s eye and have that plan be burned in so even with hiccups I can keep it running in background. Having V as a partner opens up a whole additional set of training options that I couldn’t (or wouldn’t) do on my own. Like we said, “We’ll figure it out, together.” My goal is to be field course M by the Fall. Right now I’m perhaps an A because of so many hiccups in execution.

Trying this: Bore mop chamber flag to soak and clean between each stage. If it doesn’t work then we are silicone wiping cases or doing more extensive cleaning.

I did a little bit of Flex Honing but it’s a 240 grit. I ordered an 800 grit and might polish it up some more.

I reviewed video and it was likely a dirty chamber FTRB rather than a problem with extraction. So recoil spring will stay where it is and I have to keep up with chamber cleaning. I’ll just commit to cleaning it before every match and seeing what I can do about a self cleaning chamber flag.

I pulled the piston last night and it was in good shape. I figured as such because it slid smoothly when in the gun. Likely chamber dirtiness was the main issue so I think flex hone chamber and possibly also silicone cases would be the solution. I don’t like the idea of aerosolized silicone inhalation, so would prefer to stay away from that if possible. Flex honed the chamber a little. We’ll see, typically it has helped quite a bit. .

Fugging gas guns. I think I’m just going to have to clean the gun before every match. Might flex hone the chamber to allow easier ejection and / or do the siliconed cases. Also might do the chamber flag brush too. New, clean piston by itself isn’t enough to keep gun running. I could go even lighter on recoil spring, which I’m considering, but then I could have FTRB malfunctions. Having new pistons that aren’t broken in could also contribute. Was trying to see what the minimum needed to get it to run and now I think it’s time to go the other way and just overkill it.

On ergonomics and compensation When V and I started shooting together in October, one of the first things I did was measure our hand and finger sizes/lengths to see if the equipment would be viable. Thankfully, our finger reach and hands are almost exactly the same size so I knew that my set up with the CZ would work for her. Sure, I can shoot a gun that’s too large for me adequately from a technical standpoint, but it’s not optimal and at higher levels of performance, things fall apart. It doesn’t come into play with slow splits and stand and shoot things, but when you add the dynamic aspect of movement and more aggressive management, little deflections become more important. ideally, I like my guns set up to help me be as neutral as possible in my trigger press. I feel like I am getting there now with the Alien, at least in dry anyway.

A couple dry sessions with the new backstrap and I really like it. Much more stable in the grip and the presses don’t deflect as much: shorter radius from base of thumb to trigger. Also working some elements in dry that I felt were weak on course. I’m still mulling over different stage memorization and execution drills. Am thinking of using a random timer to signify malfunction and seeing if I can get back on track brain wise. Actually, thinking about it… this would be something that I could see if my daughter would help me with. She could yell out “jam” and I’d have to clear and continue. For live fire practice, I am thinking about loading a single round of 380 ACP in a mag for V and vice versa. That should be enough to induce an FTE malfunction. Will test on Thursday in live. .

The overall process. Efficiency feels a certain way. I try and train that feeling rather than getting hung up on words. This is my 6 year old daughter. We have just been building fundamentals of the swing without getting too bent out of shape about plane and pull. That'll come later. I feel like humans rely too much on words and language as well as getting too wrapped up in secondary metrics. This relates to shooting as well. I think I'm pretty good at understanding fundamentals of shooting. I just haven't put that kind of effort and study into my understanding of the field course part of the sport until now. I'm going to sub-segment my USPSA goals further as I feel like it needs more refining. I have my M class on demand master classification goals. But I have to work different skills and prep to get to respectable M performance at field course events. Going to keep working on planning there.

I think there’s something I’m still missing in my stage memorization and planning / training. USPSA is similar to SCCA autocross in terms of the walking course, mental preparation and mind’s eye. I got pretty decent at that sport, but it took me a long time to build repertoire. My working hypothesis (that may be incorrect) is that building blocks and components will help string things together and make it easier to remember and have mental margin. i also think that unfamiliarity with the new gun and instability of the gun with suboptimal ergonomics like grip size and recoil spring adjustments compared to what I know from CZ has made it difficult for me to execute plans. Because I have a plan that’s predicated on certain expectations of speed and stability and when it doesn’t match up with reality, then the plan goes out the window. It would be like if you had a plan at an autocross and then you had a brake that went bad or a tire that corded or was losing pressure. I had one road race, where pulling out of the trailer, I tweaked the front alignment out of spec and had to drive the whole race with the steering wheel crooked and the car handling asymmetrically. I’m going to have to think if there’s more I can do in practice. Engaging more mental aspect, but I don’t think any of that will help that much until my shooting becomes more subconscious with this gun. Right now it’s still taking a lot of processing power and isn’t as expected. It is feeling significantly more stable and better with the thinner grip, however. I’m just going to have to eat it and accept poor showings at matches until I get more time and comfort with the gun. I am performing like an A class shooter at matches. It’s a little frustrating, but the main point is trying to figure out how to improve and not spending mental energy on concerning myself with feelings.

Thank you both!

I went to my range. And got stuck in the soft dirt. So I texted the neighbor and he came with his tractor. I put the front bumper tow ring on and the rubber strap blocks on the rear wheels while I was waiting. Only needed a short tow to get to the hard pack. But man, I think I have to have some gravel and packing if I’m going to drive that down again. Would have taken the Subaru but daughter wanted to play in the back of the RV. I asked her if we could take the Subaru and she could play outside but she doesn’t like bugs. When I got stuck I was frustrated and she asked what she could do to make it up to me. I explained it was partly my fault and partly her fault. She had the idea that I could practice while waiting for the neighbor and I told her it was a good idea, but I didn’t want to scare them. She was patient and apologetic for her part in it (but daddy was the one who ultimately decided to drive further in). The neighbor brought his daughter who invited me to her family’s graduation party for her (high school). She’s a badass farm girl and did most of the planning and strategizing for the extraction. When we got unstuck, I knew they wouldn’t want payment or money for helping so I told her mom I wanted to give her some graduation money. Gave her a nice chunk because we would have been so super screwed without their help. Everyone left happy. Then we went and got ice cream. I thanked my daughter for trying to help and find solutions and for being responsible together for our errors. And, I shot the gun with the slimmer backstrap and it was better. Significantly. It’ll still take some practice to get used to the timing, but less apt to pull off target with the trigger. Easier to split, too. .