Chasing GM

[feederic]

I've been shooting a few local events, mainly steel with a few USPSA in there. But with all the problems I've encountered in terms of technique, reloading, and equipment I figured I would "document" so to speak everything I learn and try.

So far here are my setups:

Glock 35:

Lone Wolf Barrel

Glockworx Fulcrum Trigger

Glockworx Titanium Striker

Arredondo Basepads giving 20+1

Sevigny Sights

BarSto 45 2011 "The Irv":

Built by Irv Stone himself!

.45 Ramped Bull Barrel

Bomar sights w/ Fiber optic front

Each platform has its benefits and drawbacks. The 2011 of course has a natural pointing angle, a sweet and crisp single action trigger, and added weight which help control recoil. The G35 is nowhere near the tack driver the Irv is, but it runs and runs and runs.....plus parts are cheap and easily upgraded by any novice.

Funny side story, my father has a Colt Combat which he bought for a Richard Heine project but Heine got out of the business so to speak. Instead he met Terry Tussey which turned the gun into one of his full signature models. I will admit that out of the dozens of handguns I have shot this one out tack drives anything I have ever shot, and is more reliable than any service gun I have ever used (Sigs, Glocks, M&P). Long story short he nicknamed his the "Hussey", he wanted a Heine and got a Tussey. He asked what my .45's nickname will be and being the creative type I am came up with the Irv. So the Irv it has remained ever since. Its got a ring to it when you're out on the range and you need to either praise or despise the gun depending on what the circumstances dictate. Currently this gun is having several extraction problems which I am fairly positive resulted from abuse while I was learning how to reload. The Hussey will literally feed and fire just about everything you can swing at it, the only failure out of several thousands of rounds was from a primer stuck in sideways. The Irv on the other hand is much more particular, and subsequently reloads for the Hussey would fire fine while the Irv would jam, misfire, and double feed consistently (my fault entirely!). I was able to get away with some hideously sloppy reloads for the Hussey such as loading long, loading short, roll-crimping, over crimping, under crimping....you name it I've done it at some point and the gun fed and fired them without a hiccup. For this reason I thought reloading rounds was more or less an "eye ball" measure process, with the exception being powder throw.

I really want to spend the next couple year chasing after Grandmaster, and just be the overall best shooter I can be.

Here is a list of items that I am currently working on to better myself, and I hope the list grows:

1) Overall athleticism - Former sprinter, wrestler, footballer. With a left knee I've blown 3 times I've lost all athletic ability, but am slowing regaining it back.

2) Dry fire. There is a website I go to that has several drills

3) Presentation/reloading drills. These are mainly done with the above.

4) Static range practice. I normally go once a week or so and fire about 2-300 rounds at various distances, speeds. I've been trying to duplicate Matt Burkett's timing drill.

5) Going to as many events as I can.

I think it would be a good thing to keep a list upfront of issues located in other threads, whether pending or resolved:

The Irv: Ejection Problems

Edited August 16, 2010 by feederic

[feederic]

I've taken some time off from shooting for a few reasons, but I should be back on track. I participated in a local combat shoot and did relatively well. I did have a major screw up in that I tried replacing my fixed rear sevigny sight for the factory adjustable, but did not have a matching front sight. I didn't realize this until I had the rear sight pushed out halfway, and it wasn't until at the combat shoot that I was able to fire it again. I've been wanting to ditch the fiber optic front/fixed rear for awhile now, I've just felt that the FO was too distracting to get a precise sight picture. I CAN pickup a decent sight picture easily, but beyond a decent picture it seems to hurt my time. The fixed I felt like ditching just because they're fixed. The gun shoots 3" low at 25 yards, and I do have a tendency to buy big jugs of powder for reloading. Luckily I was able to pick up a set of kensight adjustable glock sights with a plain serrated front sight. I just installed them tonight and I can definitely see a crisper sight picture quicker (at least in the house).

The Irv is still at Benny Hill, which is no surprise. I've learned never to trust a time quote from a gunsmith, from a 4 week job taking 7 months and a 2 week job over a month long we'll see what happens with it. I'm sure that it will be able to rock though once I get it back, and until then I have my G35 to keep me company and in business.

So as for equipment changes:

G35:

Adjustable Sights from Kensight with Serrated front

Replaced mag spring/follower in a constant problem child mag.

Irv:

At Triangle.

On a side note my friend was shooting Titegroup with plated 230gr RN which felt INCREDIBLY soft and CLEAN! I have about 6lbs of Universal left and I think I'll switch from that to Titegroup and plated bullets rather than lead. I need to make a range trip to sight everything in.

Here's a list of videos that me and my friends record. Derek (the skinny guy) I taught how to shoot from scratch. My friend Randy is a Navy MA, and my other friend Andrew is a coworker. These videos span back to early last year, but I've spent more time figuring out how to make proper reloads and picking out equipment than actual shooting. The very last stage I shot at a USPSA event I finally felt like I could fall into a groove and shoot. This is more to help me keep track of where I'm at, and where I'd like to be. Hopefully soon I can get more events under my belt where I'm not too flustered by bad reloads/equipment changes and just shoot and have fun!

Video Diary

Edited September 15, 2010 by feederic

[feederic]

I've also taken up a vigorous exercise and diet routine to help speed me up. My first few events I was winded after a couple strings and had trouble focusing, and eventhough I am a former runningback and sprinter everytime I moved I felt like I was stuck in honey and doing the babewatch intro slow-mo run. My weight has shot up during the latter half of college. So far I've dropped about 15 pounds in a few months. I defintely move quicker and feel like I can focus 100% on shooting rather than huffing and puffing.

[PINMAN44]

Good for you dude! Keep up the dedication! If this is what you love and you have personal goals then go for it.

[feederic]

Good for you dude! Keep up the dedication! If this is what you love and you have personal goals then go for it.

Thanks I feel like I'm finally in a position to dedicate myself towards the "shooting" aspect of this sport! I'm comfortable with my gear, my reloads are reliable, and I'm not mikin' every third shot. I feel like I've come a long ways just transitioning from static lane shooting to moving around and blasting.

[feederic]

Update on The Irv:

All indications point towards this gun being ready to rock and perform. I'm dumping the glock for now, eventhough I will be at a capacity disadvantage using .45. It'll have to do until I can build up a .40 2011 . This weekend is a combat match and hopefully I can sight my pistol in on thurs or fri before the match.

[feederic]

Combat Match: 10/2/2010

This was a 4 stage match, but I only recorded 3 out of 4 due to heavy rain. The "Hirv" (Hill-Irv) did exceptional, it was raining the entire morning and a little muddy out. In the videos there are a few spots where I was fidgeting with the gun, but I later realized I wasn't letting the trigger reset. Overall I feel really good about this match, I'm still getting used to shooting a 2011 again and the timing feels very different. I was somewhat reserved in my attack but as the stage progressed I tried picking up the temp a little to get used to the timing of the gun. I went to a Brazilian BBQ place a few days before, so I have a somewhat bloated to look. Fml.

Here are the stages in the order I shot them.

Stage 3 - Goof-up with the Door Frame

Stage 4

Stage 1 - My Strongest Stage

I need to work on my first shot on a given string, first shot from a draw, and consistency. Those are my main priorities right now, as well as trimming down and moving around. Since this is a "Combat Match" reloading on the move is somewhat discouraged.

Also, below is a video of my 2011 during a stage that frustrated me I almost quit the sport entirely. At the time I thought the reloads were a problem, but they were working fine on several other 1911s I ran them on. I guess this video highlights what an extractor that is too long can cause.

March 2010 Combat Match

Edited October 3, 2010 by feederic

[feederic]

I just had my first USPSA limited match with "the Hirv". All in all it did not go too well! My magcatch spring went bad when I disassembled the gun for cleaning and the result was MANY dropped mags at the most inopportune times. I also had a hard time planning well-timed reloads with .45 in Limited. I found that I either had to reload after every string (which I did NOT have enough mags for) or I had to run shoot, stop shooting reload and try to get back on track at awkward times.

The gun itself fed and fired the rounds 100%, although my mags kept falling out. I dropped about 12 spots from where I normally place with my G35.

All in all this is what I learned.

Have small springs/other misc parts as spares readily handy.

Bring your backup rig.

Either be able to shoot at least 17 rounds for Limited or shoot L10.

Aside from this working a desk job has caused my legs to tighten up quite a bit. I've since started stretching much more everyday and including light cardio. I love shooting my 2011, but I can't make it work at all for Ltd without effectively shooting L10. So now I'm in the market for a .40 2011 I'm thinking a Brazos HPE or BCG. Hopefully something will pop up on the forums.

[feederic]

Nov 6 Lake Wolhford Combat Shoot

For the record, this is the place where it all started for me. This is where I had the infamous "quinitizzle" jams and dropped mags when I first started. Right now I am getting alot of looks from just handling things fairly proficiently, shooting with good speed and accuracy.

I learned more today, and here are the videos with comments:

Stage 1

This was a mozambique drill starting freestyle, strong, and then week hand. I had a TON of misses here. I need to practice single hand shooting since I have been doing terrible at it. I also sinned and violated a couple of my shooting commandments. I also had some 230 LRN I didn't know what to do with so I jacked my load down to what I used for another gun hoping it would be ballparkish POA. It didn't seem that way. I can typically see the impact right where my muzzle lands but couldn't see anything with these loads. Needless to say I started the match terribly with this stage.

1. Never shoot minor PF with .45
   
2. Never try new loads at a match
   

I had a couple times where I never let the trigger reset either. Embarrassing.

Stage 2

I could have sped this up a little, but my hit factor increased quite a bit after switching to my normal major loads. I was somewhat reserved since I wasn't sure if my untested loads from above was the culprit or just me (it was a combo of both!).

Stage 3

This video had a 30 sec "tutorial" from the RO. I don't know that guys name, but he's my favorite officer out of the club. He's always very warm and educational. Between this stage and the next I noticed that I seem to shoot really well running to my right. I think my footwork is alot better with my right dominant leg, I can pivot, cut, and plant without thinking and setup my shots easily. I had a problem towards the end of the stage with a few rounds that seemed to not have proper crimp.

Stage 4

On this stage I noticed I wasn't comfortable stopping on my left side and setting up for my first shot. I've had my left knee scoped 3 times from football related injuries, and tend to favor my right for everything.

Overall it wasn't a bad day. I walked away with more knowledge and experience, and know a few more of my strengths and weaknesses. I love shooting the Irv right now, although I may have to shoot L10 with it because of capacity. I'm really confused on what to do, to shoot my G35 in Limited or the Irv in L10. I really want to get a .40 cal upper for the Irv.

-Eric