Calamity Jane

I was driving to work today and I realized that I've been mentally lazy. I haven't been as detailed oriented in my mental programs as I should. My mental programs have been concerned with target order and movement, but I have not been programing in what I do with my arms. I'm wondering if I program that in (now that I know what I need to do) if that would make a great difference. I think it might.

Yep, you are right about the classsifier. I didn't respect that hard cover target. SOOOO yesterday I painted ALL of my practice targets with hard cover. My practice targets are now a 6 inch brown stripe down the middle with black on both sides. THAT"LL TEACH ME! I really appreciate your encouragement. Thanks. Sorry my friend...I can't help you with that one

Right on brother! I like your answer and that is EXACTLY what I'm going to tell this individual the next time he asks. Thanks for the positive words...I needed it THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT MY HUSBAND SAID!!!! Thanks for posting. I was feeling lonely I have no doubt you could give me a few pointers. Anyone who can kick Open butt with a single stack 45 might know a thing or two. I would like to shoot with you. Perhaps you can shed some light on where I'm at on this mountain that I'm climbing. Thanks for offering to help Tony

The following story is dedicated to my Mom who passed away 10 years ago. Thanks Mom for teaching me how to climb mountains. You were the wind beneath my wings. I miss you. Climb Every Mountain When I was 8 years old my Dad took the family to a Boy Scout Camp in New Mexico called Philmont. We all had activites to do while we were there but the highlight for me was when my Mom, Dad and I climbed the mountain called "The Tooth of Time". I started out the climb with great energy and was wondering why all the adults were going so slow. It wasn't long until I started to fatigue. My pace slowed so much my Dad didn't want to wait on me anymore. So my Mom and I continued up the mountain by ourselves. We proceeded by taking 12 steps and then rested....followed by 12 steps and then rested. All the way up the mountain that is what we did. We reached the top exhausted. I didn't reach the summit because there was approximately 25-30 yards of boulders you had to climb. I stayed just below the summitt with a cantene of water, a box of crackers, and a can of squeeze cheese. My Mom summitted and was rewarded with a view in which you could see several states....so I'm told. I was thinking how my journey on the mountain with my Mom was much like my shooting journey now. I'm trying to get to the top of a mountain 12 steps at a time. I train (12 steps) go to a match (stop and rest) find out by my match results that I'm not at the top yet. SOOO I train (12 steps) go to a match (stop and rest) find out by my match results that I'm not at the top and continue on..... It took all I had as an 8 year old to get to the top of that mountain. I'm feeling similar challenges with this journey. I'm wondering how many steps is it going to take? One thing is for certain. I will summit this time. So until then....12 more steps. Match Summary for Walbash Valley 5/20/07 Got beat by the usual peeps. Some single stack guy had the nerve to take the HOA! Imagine that!! Nice match Tony. I think you were just showing off for your wife. Leave her at home next time Just kidding..it was good to see Deb. Anyway, I shot 90% of the points available, did not win any stages, lost my dot on a field course. Does all of this sound familiar? I had a guy ask me how big my dot was in my CMore. I told him it didn't matter what size the dot was if it wasn't in your lense!! I know I'm one step closer to figuring out my dot problem. I can index anything...in any position...as long as I have a slight elbow bend that allows me to push out. Straight arms are deadly for me...problem is that is what my muscle memory has programed. Which is why at a match I lose the dot. When I go to shoot in my subconscious I get in trouble with this. Which is why I need more time in dry fire and live fire practice so I can get it into my muscle memory. I'm shooting at the range today. 12 more steps... I sure could use an encouraging word....I need a little wind under my wings. (insert face with tears)

AWESOME!! Congrats on a great performance...and best of luck at Nationals. You ladies ROCK!!

Well it was worth the wait. Today was a gorgeous day, clear skies, 70 degrees, cool breeze. The range was serene. I wish I could describe what I feel when I'm at the range by myself. An inner quiet comes over me that soaks through to my soul. I don't know what it means or why it happens...it just happens...and I let it...and I walk away more peaceful than I came. Here's what I did Group shooting at 25 yards I wanted to test myself today. I have been shooting my SH at 15 yards and my WH at 10 yards on the group shoot. Today I wanted to see if I could shoot SH and WH at 25 yds. I found out that I could and I'm feeling a little cocky about it. SH at 25 yards 9 alpha and 1 charlie, WH at 25 yds 5 alpha and 5 charlie. What was really interesting was my SH and freestyle groups looked the same. When I'm able to get all alpha across the board...I'll really be hard to live with I was trying to think why I was able to do that so well today. Here's some things that I think helped: long flat trigger (I'm loving it), comp on the end of my gun (really lov'in that too), a stronger hold. I've become physcially stronger recently in my upper body and torso. I think all the work I've been doing is starting to pay off. I think I could do it simply because I was stong enough to hold the gun still. Upper body strength is something you boys take for granted. Shooting through port with SH only I needed to see how to do this. The Indiana state match has a stage that this may be required. Stages are posted on the web site so this is NOT CHEATING! I have a story about Michael Voigt giving me a dirty look at Nationals which I really want to tell right now but I'm going to show some self control and not tell it. I might be coaxed though Anyway, once again I found out I could do it. Box to Box picking up gun off barrel Last weekend there was a stage where there were 3 boxes. The middle box had a barrel with your loaded gun on it. 2 strings: First string start on right, move to middle box, retrieve gun and engage 3 targets at 7 yards. Second string, start on left, and then do the same thing. I set this stage up again because I had trouble finding my dot when I picked up the gun off the barrel. Here is what I've learned about picking up the open gun. I can not pick the gun up and then bring it to the target with straight arms. I can get away with this with my limited gun. I've found that I need to pick it up with some bend in my elbows so that I can have at least a 6 inch push out to the target. I don't know what it is, but if I bring those elbows back a little and push out to the target...like I normally do on the draw...I'm on target. Anyone else found this to be true? Shooting on the move I was disappointed that I chickened out last weekend and didn't take some targets on the move. So I set some targets up and shot them moving laterally and forward. I could have done that all day. I LOVE SHOOTING WHILE MOVING! Oh Yeah, I found out I can do that to. Swinger Experiment I was running out of time but I tried shooting the swinger...leading it...like you all have been trying to tell me. I haven't mastered it yet. I still want to instinctively shoot at the pause or at 10 and 2 when shooting at the top of the arch. I'll need to spend some more time with this. I did figure something out though. I had the swinger set at it's fastest swing. I had the weight all the way up. When you put the weight all the way down it has much more of a pause. Duh!! All in all it was a positive day at the range. I came away feeling more confident in what I can do. Confidence is a HUGE piece in this game. Practice makes me feel confident. I can hardly wait for my next session. A special thank you to my husband who changed all the sticks in our shooting stands! You didn't have to do it but I know you did it for me. Thank you!!

Mental management Today was about having the discipline not to train. It was a battle of passion against patience. I've said before that to shoot I have to have balance. The balance that I seek is in what I call my plate rack (spiritual, family, exercise, work, shooting) Today my spiritual and family plates needed attention. So instead of going to the range as my passion was pushing me. I said NO! Instead: I cleaned out the refrigerator that looked like a mad scientist's experiment, made a pumpkin pie, went to the doc seeking drugs for my sinus infection, had a spiritual quite time, went to the grocery store and filled my clean refridge with good food for my family to eat. Passion is a powerful force to be reckoned with. It's urgent and demanding. It's full of drive and energy. It can consume you. I'm learning as I get older that patience can be as powerful as passion. I still believe the turtle wins the race. I made a choice to be a turtle today.

That's the one I think you are! A wire brush takes rust right off. All you need is a little brushing up and you will be shiney as new. Don't confuse rust with the inabiltiy to do. You've still got game my friend. Sorry about the ear trouble

I didn't make it to the range today. I had a sick kid, no ammo, and ran out of time. Such are the realities of life. However, I did get some ammo loaded, the kid is feeling a little better, and perhaps I'll make it on Wednesday. Shot a match yesterday. Total stage points available 460 I shot 422 for a percent of 91.7% I won a stage but did not win open division. Once again this match confirmed the things I need to work on. I'm going to post video of 2 stages. Barrel stage: This is the stage I won. I didn't shoot it the fastest but I got 87 out of the 90 points available. I liked my movement from each position. I don't know if that was the fastest way to do it but it sure did give me 3 comfortable shooting positions. My biggest disappointment is the time I waste after I get the gun on target. I'm wasting a good .5 sec after I get into postitions before I pull the trigger. Again I think this is me making that first shot perfect. The position of targets is around 14 yards. BTW I have knee pads on under my pants. Field Course: I liked that I shot this stage aggressive. I think I did a good job moving with my gun. I got beat by 2 seconds on this stage and I think it was simply because I didn't take targets on the move. I wanted to and I was in position to do it...but I chose not to because I haven't proven that I can do it with my open gun in practice. AGAIN this is something on my May training list!! I also need to figure out how to explode out of the shooters box. Again..work on it in May. I got an IPOD for Mother's Day. My 14 year old loaded it up. I found the Wolfmother song "Woman" and asked my son what it was. He says in his best 14 year old voice, "It's Woman!" He said it like I should know. So I listened to it and thought if was a pretty good lick to use for the video. http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3218596136390854073

The point here is not to trap the swinger (that's another drill, right?), or to shoot a blazing fast Bill Drill, but to learn to time and follow the swinging motion, what lead you'll need to hit the A-zone (ie, where to aim on the target), and gaining confidence in hitting the thing while its moving, regardless of where it is in the arc. You really don't have to stop at 6 shots, either - you could do whole magazines... the swinger slows down a lot over that time, though, so the learning part of the drill really stops after several swings. I thought the drill was to do a bill drill at the pause!!! Duh I get it now. I'm teaching myself a NEW SKILL...the ability to lead a swinger during it's arch and still get hits. It makes sense now. I can see the value of this new skill. Just like you said, if you can do this you will be able to shoot a swinger even if you miss the pause. Duh! Sometimes I'm slow. Thanks all you guys who have been trying to tell me...I think I got it now.

Dave I'd be happy to get 2 in the A zone! This whole concept of 6 in the A zone seems a little....what's the word....over ambitious. I'm planning another practice session on Monday. I know you wouldn't lead me wrong so I'm going to try it again..but at 10 yards..and I'm going to put more pause at the bottom of the arch. Is this a master's level drill?

Just got back from the range...did the fundamental workout. I intended to try the bill drill on the swinger. My goal was to just shoot 4 rounds onto it. I don't think so XRE. I think this is up there with loading 600 rounds in an hour. I'm having a hard time believing this is possible. I work my swingers at around 13 yards with a pretty brisk swing. Four rounds at the pause wasn't happening for me! Would you suggest that I move closer like 10 yards and slow it down to learn how to do this drill??? When you practice varying distances and speeds what's a good way to proceed? Do you master one speed and then tackle another? Do you master one distance and then move on to another? I'm incorporating this swinger everytime I shoot because it's a weakness and because I do believe it is a fundamental in IPSC shooting. Help....someone....

Just did a little point analysis on some of the local matches I've shot thus far. My best match so far was at Fort Wayne where I shot 95% of the points. I zeroed a stage at Walbash Valley last month..throwing that stage out (because it's not like me to zero a stage )...I shot 86% of the points. Thanks for showing me how to do this Hop. It's something to keep my eye on.

Really cool! So who is the sponsor??? What color is the shirt going to be so I can recognize you at the Indiana State match?? When I ask you how it's going I'll expect you to talk like a NASCAR driver...."Well the "name of sponsor" team is shooting well today. I wouldn't be here if it weren't for the "name of sponsor". I'm just glad I could represent "name of sponsor". Looking forward to shooting the next stage wearing the "name of sponsor" shirt."

Thanks Hopalong! Good to see you post!! Thanks for the very sound advice!

I started down a mental cow path in my mind today and had to stop myself and re-focus!! I was thinking about others shooting abilities instead of my own. It started innocently as I was looking over scores posted on USPSA and then I got thinking of wanting to shoot a certain % of so and so and how I didn't want so and so to beat me. STOP!!!! I put the mental breaks on because I can't win thinking about others. I can only get a peak performance when I'm totally focused on MY SHOOTING!! SO I've been sitting here trying to come up with a focused training plan specifically targeted at the Indiana State match. I'm going to target the next 5 weeks of training for the State match. I'm training to get a peak performance. The cool thing about peak performance is that it's the best you can do. That's all you can do really. There is always going to be someone better than you on any given day. The key is to be able to turn out your best and see what happens. I've just looked through Saul's Book "Thinking Pactical Shooting". I was looking at the section where you rank the shooting elements you need to work on. I've identified in previous post what I want to work on in May but now I'm looking at the more specific areas to focus on. I'm going to divide my live shooting into 2 sections: fundamentals and movement. I'm also going to increase my round count on practice sessions. I'm going up to 500 a week. Fundamentals gets 250 and movement gets 250. I may have to do some dry fire work with the movement to get the full benefit. I don't think I can keep up with loading if I shoot more. I will continue dry fire and depend on that time to keep my draw, and standing reloads fresh. Fundamentals Group shooting Swingers 4- Steel Speed shoot (bill drill, elprez, fast target arrays) SH/WH Reload on move Movement Enter/Exit Boxes Shooting on move (lateral, hallways) Ports Moving and finding first target I think focusing on these elements will help me be more competitive. Plan to practice tomorrow. Brass is going to be flying all over the range Maybe the 12 year old will be interested in picking it up for a few $

OK...I said to myself I wasn't gonna cry...and I did anyway.

I would like to think they didn't do it on purpose. Dave and I have found (OK more Dave than me) that designing safe, challenging, creative courses of fire is a difficult task. I know I learned quite a bit from this particular prop and I'm sure that the designers did too. XRE, I would pay good money to see you shoot 16 rounds through it using your hybrid barrel shortie! To see your face look like might be fun. Ok so maybe they did do it on purpose???

Thanks guys! I wanted to reply sooner but I've been held hostage by my work place. XRE: Dillion electronic ear muffs (electronics off related to dead batteries) and silicone wax ear plugs. Mouth was closed. The turret was an 18 inch square plywood box approximately 30 inches long. If it had only been a few shots (4-6) through it I would have been OK...16 plus shots through it with and open gun...rang my bell! As a general rule, I stay out of ports and barrels if I can.

Dave and I had the opportunity to travel to the northern part of the state and shoot a match at North Porter County Conservation Club. I would like to thank them kindly for their hospitality and for serving me a great big piece of humble pie! They put on a match with 4 stages that really exposed some weaknesses of mine. Today confirmed that my practice plan for May is right on the money. My mental trip down "Glory Lane" is officially over and I'm back to work. The challenges I faced today included: Shooting an open gun through a plywood turret. OOUCH!!! It rattled my teeth and contused my brain!!! I'm serious!!! The stage had 16 poppers at around 20 yards. You had to engage all poppers through the turret. I knew it was going to be loud, but I wasn't prepared for the percussion. I couldn't pull the trigger without flinching. After the first 6 shots I DIDN'T WANT TO PULL the trigger anymore. IT HURT!! I was double plugged but it didn't help. I've got to figure out how to shoot through a barrel or turret with this gun without flinching. I'll be experimenting with that this week at the range. Shooting with stong hand down an alley. The stage was one with an alley that you had to carry a duffle bag down and shoot with your strong hand. I knew what I could do on the right side but I didn't know what I could do indexing to my left side with my strong hand. I'll be practicing as I stated before with more movement this month. Going down an alley will be on the agenda. Shooting from an awkward position. Shot a stage behind a wall basically using full cover. If was VERY uncomfortable. If the fault lines had extended just 4 inches from the wall it would have made a BIG difference. I did a side lunge squat move. You had to be there to understand. EL PREZ. I shot it in 5.90 which was the exact right pace for where I'm at right now. The trouble was points (41) I had one alpha and the rest were charlie deltas. I saw every shot and watched the dot bounce. As it was bouncing I was saying to myself "Why is the dot bouncing so much?" After I unloaded and showed clear it came to me I DIDN'T KILL THE SNAKE!!!!!!! My grip was not aggressive enough to handle the speed. I KNOW THAT! My brain just couldn't correct it in time. Perhaps one day I will be able to see and correct the instant it happens...not after the "range is clear" command. XRE, before you say it...I know, I know...Burkett timing drills. I'm going to shoot the El Prez in practice and see where I'm really at with an aggressive grip. I was really pleased with the turn and draw, reload and pace....I just need to get control with my grip. Shooting through soft cover. We don't do this a lot at our local matches. I thought I was right on the A, but when we went to score I got charlie/deltas. I'm open to suggestions on how to approach shooting through soft cover. I need to practice this skill because I have VERY little experience with it. BTW Dave had the same trouble...he also thought he was right on the A but wasn't. I don't like shooting at stuff I can't see. This month is about really shaking this gun out. Confidence is key in this game and I just haven't shot or experienced enough with this gun to know what I can and can't do. I'm hoping this month will be a confidence builder. I believe you guys when you say this journey is going to make me a better shooter. I wouldn't do it if I didn't believe. Faith, hope and love....the greatest is love but faith and hope are pretty good too. I've got both.

I know you are right. Your advice is always solid. But I have to admit it scares me (OK it freaks out my mind) to track the target. I'm going to train myself to track the target but when I change back to the limited gun I'm worried it could cause me some problems XRE: Bill drills on swingers...I think I like the sound of that. Also I'm sure Dave would show me how to set up the Dillion, but I don't really want to know. I'm clinging to my last crutch to total independence. Swingers have always been my nemesis. Here is link to what I shared with Merlin about my journey with swingers. http://www.brianenos.com/forums/index.php?...=43421&st=0

3N38- The barrier is that I need Dave to set up the machine. This will not happen until he is out of school. The N350 loads works fine. Heart Monitor-It occured to me that perhaps I could put my finger on my carotid for 10 seconds and count. After all I am a paid professional for Pete's sake!! So I saved the $$ and didn't purchase a montior. More Rounds Down Range- Oh yeah baby! I'm getting the feel for it!! Record times- I didn't do as much as I wanted, but I did learn some things. I've got a feel for what my splits are at different distances. I'm finding that the use of a par timer on the draw is NECESSARY to make me pull the trigger when I see the shot. If the par timer is off..I take my time to make the shot perfect. Weights- I bought the weights but I'm going to change up my workout routine this month. I'm going to try circuit training. I'm looking forward to getting a killer workout in a short amount of time. Movement work- I'm much better at picking up the dot on the move but I've only just begun. This next month I'm really going to crank it out with movement in and out of boxes. Things I want to work on in May Swingers Movement Awkward positions I had trouble at a match last weekend with a swinger. I don't know my timing with this new gun. I worked on it today in live fire. I felt most comfortable shooting with a dot focus instead of a target focus. However, I could hit the target either way. I just felt more comfortable with a dot focus and allowing the target to come into the sight. That's no big surprise since I'm a limited shooter. What do you all do?? Target focus on swingers or dot focus??? Live Fire Today Round count 260 Swingers (160) Shot it at the pause and at 10-2 4 poppers (60) 2 popper reload 2 popper (40) Most important thing that happened today was....I had a change of heart.

My husband Dave and I were talking about this last night. He told me what it was like to beat his Dad at basketball for the first time. He simply said, "It was great". There was no emotional upheaval...feeling bad for the "old man". It was great, he beat him, and he didn't even look back. And there you have it folks. Perhaps this is the difference between men and women. As a woman I think I'm a little more sensitive to the emotional...both my emotions and the emotions of others. OK that's me and that is OK. I've identified a problem I may have and I've thought about how to handle it. From your posts, and some PM's I have received, I think I've got enough advice to work through my mental management problem. Thank you all. I've got to go load bullets now...but my next post will be looking at what I want to accomplish in the month of May.

Preparing my mind to be a winner is part of the training.

As I start to have brief glimpses of what I might be capable of I realize I haven’t mentally prepared for success. What happens when what I’ve been training for happens? What happens when I beat my mentor? How am I going to handle that? What happens when I am high lady on a stage at Nationals? We plan and plan how we are going to attain goals but we spend little time in processing what we will do after we attain those goals. I'm thinking of the Lanny story of how depressed he got right after he won his gold medal. I’m trying to plan/cope/deal with the possibility of success. I think Nelson Mandela had it right in his famous quote “Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us.” I would have to say that is true. I'm not afraid that I won't succeed, I'm afraid that I will. Yep, I got a mental management problem. I have no idea how I'm going to process it. I'm trying to process it before it happens so that when it does happen I will be prepared. Thanks for the input XRE.