BBoyle

[BBoyle]

Just starting this to see if it will help to be an additional motivator. I have a few goals for the 2011 season and I will be starting to work for them on January 1st. OK the 2nd!!!, I am sure I will have to generate the batteries.

I currently weigh 220 pounds and at 5'10" am slightly out of shape. I lost over 25 pounds last year but seem to have found 15 of it. I will start working out again and will explore different routines as I start feeling bored with them. As far as actual shooting, I will not do that many monthly matches but will participate in indoor matches at least once a month.

My goals: To lose 30 to 35 pounds and get back to my old military fighting weight. To actually practice this year. It will be about 3 times a week dryfire and 1-2 times a month for live fire. I plan to attend 2 Area matches this year and at least 1 sectional and will practice once a week for the 3 weeks preceding the Area matches.

I should be posting at least once a month and posting weight to help motivate myself. I will also inform about any and all shots fired (real or imaginary). Time will be a factor due to Family and Work and I know there will be times where I may have to make the money instead of practice or entertain my little one (which is more fun than anything else).

I am currently a Master (Open) and A Class (Everything else) shooter and have been forever! I will try and make Master in Limited but I am not really to concerned with it. I am fine with the basic skills and shot calling but just have to better control myself and not get all amped up like I sometimes can.

Lets see what I can do!!!!! and I hope to see you all at the range.

Brian

PS. Feel free to comment to any posts I make on the thread.

Edited December 30, 2010 by BBoyle

[BBoyle]

I was not able to start working out on 1/2 due to throwing out my lower back while shoveling snow. It was further agravated(sp?) responding to a code at work but I did get 4 dry fire sessions in this past week. Mostly with my new limited gun but I also rotated in my open as well. My back is still a little tight but I did get 1/2 hour on my wifes eliptical machine this morning. The eliptical is a lot easier on the back than our treadmill. Hopefully I will start my planned routines this week.

[BBoyle]

Been doing a modified kettleworx routine for the last 2 weeks and working in extra cardio on the treadmill and eliptical. My starting wight 3 weeks ago was 224lbs. I will weigh in in 2 weeks. I will start to change my diet and limit my carb intake soon (have to go through what we have here, just can't throw that much out). I have been dryfiring a few times a week for 20-30 minutes each session.

Shot an indoor match last night with my edge and was happy with my shooting on 2 stages and pissed at myself on 2 stages. The 2nd stage I had a failure to feed, the base of the case would not go into the chamber. It was probably a piece of my glock brass that accidently got passed me and never made it through the GRX die. After I cleared it I continued but then tried to rush through some tight no shoot targets at 13 yards and picked up a Mike/NS. The other stage I had a problem with was a triple bill drill with the last target being weak hand only. Draw fire 6, reload fire 6, reload 6 WH. I was looking over the top of the slide for the weak hand. I was using the dot on the front sight and did put that in the A zone but by looking over the rear sight everything strung high right. I ended up with 3 misses but a tight group of the other 3 in the right shoulder.

I will have to work on my weak hand shooting some more, especially in match situations, and just be patient for the correct site picture.

I can't wait for warmer weather to actually get some live fire practice in.

Brian

[BBoyle]

Hurt my back again 2 weeks ago (damn snow!) but I have been trying to maintain my diet. I will get back in the routine soon enough or just procrastinate about it. Been doing the dryfiring at least 2-3 times a week for about 15-20 minutes a session.

Shot Limited 10 again at an indoor match last night and I tried to get video of all the stages. I was only able to get 2 of the 4 stages that I shot. The camera was a cheap Jazz HD camcorder that I got at Big Lots for $50. There were some operator issues with the other 2 stages and nothing was recorded.

I haven't seen the results yet but I will attach a link when they are posted. I was happy overall with how I shot. I did not try to really burn anything down, did not fire any extra shots, no misses. All D's (about 4-5 total) were called and most of the Cs were as well. I made most of my reloads although there is a nice bobble you can see in the 2nd video. I also had 1 jam that I can only attribute to a bad crimp, as in no crimp. Edges are sharp and I can see space between the bullet and the case. It was from my first batch of ammo as I switched the press over to .40 and the remaining pieces will be practice only.

Let me know how good or bad the video quality is, I am looking for an excuse to get a new camera but I am not in a rush to spend the money right now.

My youtube page

Edit to add: results are posted.

Overall: match results

stages: stages

The stages in the video are stages 1 and 3.

I am happy with how I shot overall and the dryfire is paying off. I am loving the new Edge and have a feeling I will shoot it all season. I just installed a standard guide rod and a 12.5 ismi and I like how it shoots. I hope it proves to be reliable. I will assume that the jam was entirely due to the crimp. When i looked at the back of the slide it was barely unlocked and wouldn't fire so I just racked the round out. I only have about 200 rounds of that ammo left, so to practice it will go.

Edited February 5, 2011 by BBoyle

[SeaTact]

Nice shooting--the video quality works well enough to get good information. How fast are your splits, and how much slower do you think you'd have to go to get B's and A's?

Edited February 5, 2011 by SeaTact

[leam]

Notes from a lowly D class shooter, so your mileage may vary, etc...

If you've gained 15# and you're not young, losing them will be work. Depending on your fitness level, you may want to really hit cardio based workouts so that your recovery between stages is good. Would recommend Zone or Paleo diet; balanced approaches to keeping weight off and body chemisty balanced. Weigh yourself every day. Get a good scale and track it. Should give you some encouragement. For mental management I would recommend "Freedom Flight" and "With winning in mind", if you've not read them before. Both by Lanny Bassham. Of course, if you're a M class you've probably read them already.

Posting in public and letting others hold you accountable is a great motivator, isn't it?

[BBoyle]

Splits are in the .15 to .20 range and transitions are .2 to .25 usually. My issue has always been visual patience. I will call an A for a first shot and then as I see the sights come back on target I will settle for a C for the second shot. It is always like someone in my head says "good enough!!!!!next target". I will try and be more patient next time I shoot.

Leam

Part of the reason I started the thread was to help keep me motivated. I figured that it would help me to stay on track. I was able to lose 20 pounds last year pretty quickly by exercising and following a nice balanced diet with some fairly simple rules.

I hurt my back in 1995 while I was in the military and I seem to throw it out more and more the older I get. I have still been doing a fast walk on the treadmill and also using the eliptical 3 times a week but I want to get back into my weight lifting routines.

I never did read any of those books.

[leam]

Hey pardner! I spent a good bit of 2001-2002 either hunch-backed or bed-ridden. Forgot how cool walking was until I couldn't. Core trunk muscule tone is key to staying upright. That and losing some ballast on the front. Good luck and best wishes on that!

Books to read are those two by Lanny and Brian's Practical Shooting. In order, my recommendation would be "Freedom Flight" to open you mind to the possibilities, "With Winning in Mind" to understand how to improve, and then "Practical Shooting" to see what areas to improve. If you're an M in Open and an A in everything else, then you have the physical skills to really use the head game lessons in those books. I'm jealous of how good you will be in a fairly short time.

Leam

Edited February 6, 2011 by leam

[BBoyle]

So my goals are not going that great this year. There is stuff going on that that I can not really control. Nothing serious just time consuming. I have not been able to shoot as much as I had planned on this year. I will try to at least improve upon that for the rest of the year but I know I will not be shooting any majors this year.

I have not really been dry firing at all. I even started messing around with my production gun. I figured it would help me focus on accuracy but it seems I always let people pump me up to go for it instead of just focusing on what I know I can do and what I need to do. I will be ordering sights and a Glock Trigger kit for the Glock 35.

There are a few videos from me shooting production a few weeks ago and also some from an indoor I shot this past night in which I used my Edge and shot limited 10. The camera used for both of them was a gen 2 Flip Ultra HD that I got at Best Buy for $70 because it was an open box return. Let me know how you think the vid quality is. I am pretty happy with it and think it was worth the 70 bucks.

Exercising has been hit and miss depending on my back but I at least hit the treadmill for a fast walk or the eliptical at a nice pace to get in my target heart rate for at least 20 minutes 2-3 times a week. If only I could improve my diet and quit the Pepsi!

My Youtube Page

If you see anything that I can improve upon, or that I may need to work on, please let me know.

Thank You

Brian

[BBoyle]

Just got some new toys in from Shooters Connection for the Glock 35 and they are already installed.

Glocktrigger.com Challenger kit and a Warren Sevigney Competion Set (Fiber optic front).

The sights are so much cleaner and more precise than the Trijicon night sights that came with the gun. I will give the front post at least 24 hours to dry before I go to the range and then drift the rear sight in at 25 yards and lock tight that screw down as well. I installed the green fiber. I will see if I like it over the red that I have been use to in my Edge.

The trigger......putting it in there was a tremendous improvement over the hack .25cent trigger job that I did. I will have to play with the overtravel to see what I can get away with without sacrificing anything but I am extremely pleased with how the trigger feels and I am confident it will help for the tighter shots that I may have to take (along with the sights). My only concern is that I may not get reliable ignition on my CCI small pistol primers with the reduced power striker spring. I will find out soon enough.

Brian

[Vlad]

Brian, do you plan to shoot the Glock in limited or a foray into Production?

[BBoyle]

Hey Vlad!

It would be my production gun. I have the new Edge for Limited. Since I am not shooting any major matches this year I can bounce back and forth and just have fun.

I did do a few drill comparing both guns and I was faster with the edge, even with major loads compared to the glock's minor loads, by about .09 seconds on wide transitions and faster with splits. The new trigger and sights might help to shrink that gap so we may see.

I will be at the outdoor this month. I do not know what I will shoot yet but I am looking forward to it.

[SeaTact]

Glocktrigger.com Challenger kit and a Warren Sevigney Competion Set (Fiber optic front).

Brian

Been thinking about getting these for my own G17. Looking forward to learning how it goes for you.

Edited May 14, 2011 by SeaTact

[BBoyle]

Got some more dry firing done this week and I was surprised that reloads can be almost as fast with the Glock as with my Limited or Open guns. This was all with the G35. I figured I will give production a serious try.

The trigger kit is just under three pounds in pull. I have a Lyman Digital and it reads anywhere from 2 lbs 13 oz to just over 3. I am more than happy with it as well as the sights which where drifted in last Friday. It set off all of my loads as I sighted in the gun last week but I have some concerns with reliable ignition with the lightened striker spring. I will either get some federal spp or get a lightened and extended striker to install.

As long as the world doesn't come to an end I will shoot the match on Sunday and I should get some video up as well.

Workouts have been non existant the last 2 weeks due to being busy at work and at home with projects befor summer gets here.

[BBoyle]

Well I got my first real match in Production with the Glock with the sights and trigger done. Overall I was not happy with how I shot. I made rookie mistakes, a la the stage 3 video reloading to take out a single US Popper, where I would shoot the gun dry and have to do static reloads. Some of the stages it was necessary to do the static reloads but I could have planned them a little better.

I will have to wait for the results but I believe I only had 1 miss, 1 extra shot penalty and 1 extra hit penalty (both on the classifier). I was pretty busy most of the match ROing or doing the palm pilot thing. When I took extra shots on steel, I know I was not focusing and was only putting the green dot on the steel without actually seeing the rear sight alignment with the front sight. Reloads weren't all terrible but could have been better and definately more consistant. I do know that I need another mag holder, I got caught on a 30 round stage (4) having to reload from the back pocket.

The classifier I fired an extra shot and got an extra hit. I saw the sight pull to the right at the first shot and was not sure if it would be on paper. Knowing it was Virginia count I should not have tried to make it up, as soon as I finished the left side I started to speed up on the right since I was already at least 10 points down from the extra shot.

The first stage I shot was stage 7, there is no video because I was rushed as the first shooter and I did not have a solid plan on a memory stage and the last thing I was going to do was ask someone to tape me instead of looking the stage over. This is where I had a miss on a tight target and I was just uneasy in the 3rd shooting position as I looked at a target I knew I had to engage and saw hits in it already, I then had to angle to see if there was a target that did not have such holes.

I did have a lot of fun shooting production and look forward to shooting it more in the future. I will have to get out and actually practice some time and just work on solid fundamentals and accuracy at distance on small plates.

Feel free to let me know about anything that I should work on. I am sure some of you will see some thing that I do not.

You Tube Page

edited to add: results are up and I was 4th in production out of 24 and shot 78%. I am not really happy with my overall performance. My impatience on distant targets cost me a lot of points as well as a lot of time. I sort of like how production brings you back down to earth a little bit and really emphasizes accuracy over speed. I better start trying to get more real practice in if I want to make any real strides

Brian

Edited May 26, 2011 by BBoyle

[BBoyle]

Shot another outdoor match. I made an adjustment on the trigger and am really pleased. I can tell that the splits are a little quicker and it is due to the shorter reset.

I had a so-so match. I had some good stages where I stayed focused and I had some bad stages that I hurt myself with penalties on. I also had a stage that I received 2 no shoots that were not from me. I only engaged that target with 2 rounds, a NS was on the left and I shot it with a center A and a right side D. The RO wasn't sure if I shot it with only 2 and being that he had just scored me with a Mike/No Shoot that I did actually earn I did not have a leg to stand on. I know I did not shoot those 2 shots into the No Shoots and the video shows I only shot 2 shots at the target. Oh well. It wasn't the first time that I had to eat a score for someone forgetting to tape a target and I am sure it will not be the last.

Practice has been nonexistant and dryfire almost the same due to time, life, and excuses (lack of focus knowing I am not shooting any majors so there really isn't a strong drive to work toward improving). Workouts have been hit or miss also due to time, injuries and whatever excuses I make to avoid a successfull attempt at 3-4 sessions a week. Instead it has been a mediocre 1-2 sessions with putting out good effort at the time. I start the week strong and enthused and then Wednesday or Thursday hits and I lose steam and start over again on Monday.

Stages from match on 6/26/11

I did not get video of stage 6 due to that being the stage we started on and I was working the Palms scoring people till I had to shoot.

Stages 7 and 1 I was happy with even though I did a mag change too early on 7 and then had to do another one. Stage 1 had a dissappearing target that was pretty fast and activated by a usp on the left side.

stage 2 I lost focus and caught a M/NS going into hose mode on the first left side array and had a stand still reload in front of a star for 1 plate left.

stage 3 I earned another M/NS plus the other 2 no shoots that weren't mine. Again a lack of focus on the stage.

stage 4 I was conservative on but dropped a lot of points before the door getting a lot of Cs and 1 D. After that it was all As after the door but they were fairly close fast targets.

Stage 5 I left right after I shot. I had to time the reload perfect for mutiple activating targets and the reload was good. Only target I was not sure on was the swinger. I am use to faster 165 grain major bullets and I do have trouble judging the shots on fast movers with the 180 minor load. My own fault. Either way I still had a great time and can not wait to go again. I just might go back to the Edge for the next month or 2.

Sorry for anyone that fell asleep and just drooled on the keyboard reading all of this. Just do not send me the bill.

Brian

[George Post]

Brian,

Good shooting with you again. Thanks for the reminder to program the stage before I shot it. I tried to go with that the rest of the day. Also I spent a lot of time watching your's and others footwork as you moved out of a position.

It's pretty cool how you transition so smoothly even on targets on opposite sides of the stage.

Good Luck and see you next month.

George

[BBoyle]

Not a problem George. I was glad to shoot with you again, sorry that you didn't make any more money off of me though.

With the foot work, when I am sure that I called the shot I yell at myself "MOVE!!!!" and that gets me going a little faster out of a position. I know I am not a real sprinter out there,especially compared to some of the younger guys, but I try to move as fast as I feel comfortable with while being in control of my motion at the same time.

Shooting on the move is key to most of the stages on any close to medium distance course. I did not really review the vids yet to see where I made mistakes and what I did well.

I look forward to shooting with you again.

Brian

[BBoyle]

Shot another match this past Sunday but instead of Production I shot my HP Edge in Limited. I did get some dry firing done this past week to prepare for the transition from the G35 and I have also been following a work out regimen and already lost 7 pounds in a 10 days. I hope I can stay on the wagon this time and hopefully I did not jinx myself by writing it.

After being in a heat wave for the past week I was not looking forward to this match but it was a benefit match for the Wounded Warrior Project. All winners were asked to donate there checks, I also asked that my win from last month be donated. The weather was hot and humid and after my first 2 stages I started to lose focus. I kept drinking lots of fluids but never did feel as good or alert as I was earlier in the day. I still tried to shoot my best and had some good results and some bad. I usually remember every stage I shoot, including details such as how many extra shots taken and on which targets, where the hits where called, reloads performed, etc. I can not really recall a single stage after the first 2 that I shot. I went through the motions and still ended up winning Limited but I did not deserve to, I guess everyone was affected by the humidity. I am glad that another check will go to a worthy cause. Even though it was hot and miserable, and I vented some frustration verbally at a palm pilot that wasn't working for me, I shot with a great group of shooters (some of the best) and had a good time doing it.

One thing that did happen is I had a few quick jams that I would rack the next round in. The third time it happenned I noticed that the hammer was at half cock. I have since added a little more tension to the sear spring and also backed off of the overtravel a little. Hopefully I will not have any more issues with it. I did not lose more than 2 seconds on any stage because of it but I was glad that I saw what was going on and the retrieved round confirmed it.

No vids are attached because my wife had the Flip Camera in her bag and I couldn't find it mixed with everything else.

Brian

[BBoyle]

It has been a long time since I posted here. I just shot my first match of the year this past Sunday since September or October. I did have 2 misses during the match but shot everything else pretty well focusing on accuracy and not really pushing anything. I am still a lowly A Class shooter in Production and shot 95% of the Production winner who is a pretty solid Master. I know that a nice dryfire regiment and some solid live fire are going to be needed. The 2 misses I had were a called miss on an A Zone only target but I decided to move and not make a stand still reload in front of the target. The other one was a wall that was partially blocking the A Zone and I barely skipped the wall but the round did not appear on the target (or maybe there was a perfect double:) ). I did get a little happy with the classifier, forget it's name, and decided to go for it and shoot the 6 rounds and reload and shoot the 6 again from the 25 in 6 seconds. I flubbed the reload but still got 5 off before the buzzer. Points paid dearly though. I ended up with a lot of Cs and Ds which really killed me in Production.

Looking forward to a good season and hope to compete in in more matches this year. I plan on doing the Area 8 and the Mid Atlantic Sectional. I just have to pick what division I will be in for both or if I will change divisions. I still do not belong to a club yet and will have to join if I am ever going to get any live fire practice in.

Brian

[BBoyle]

Shot another match today with my G35 in production. I need to start practicing and dryfiring! We had a classifier type stage that was three strings with weak, strong and freestyle. I zeroed the stage with 7 misses and 2 no shoots. I have to start working on my weak and strong hand shooting. I had a few misses during the match and was disappointed with those runs. I also shot a few good solid stages. I know what I have to work on and what I have to do, now I just have to join a range and actually practice.

My goals for this season will not be to try and get a M or GM card but to work on consistency and accuracy. Weak and strong hand were easily identified as a weakness. My other misses were generally as I was moving so I will have to work on shooting on the move. The screwed up thing is I knew that there was a possibility that I had those misses because the shot broke right as I was stepping and I saw the sights dip. I am the idiot for not putting an extra shot there but there is the challenge of production, a lot of breakdowns I may not have the extra shot available without an extra reload being needed.

I may bump my load down a little. Right now it is 140 plus pf but I did notice that it recoiled more than I would have liked with my weak hand (almost distractingly so). I will try it at 132-135 and see how it feels but I do like the slight snappiness that it has right now for freestyle. I did not really notice it as a problem with my strong hand.

I have another match in 2 more weeks. I will try and start a dry fire regiment again and see about joining a club in the next month or 2.

Brian

[Babaganoosh]

Ahhh, I shot with you yesterday. That stage was called "more reasonable standards" I think. I'm only a lowly C class shooter myself. Been shooting since last May. I got all my shots on paper on that stage but some were in the hard cover painted on the targets. Booo

I was the tall dude with the m&p, we also set that stage with Matt in morning. Another Brian here too.

Going to check out the rest of this thread when I get to my pc.

[BBoyle]

Hey Brian,

It was nice meeting and shooting with you. I am sure that you will not be a C for too much longer. You have a good foundation already.

I use this page as a sort of journal. I like to put in here anything that I think I need to remember so that when I do get a chance to practice or dryfire I will have the reminder.

Hope to see you at the range again.

Brian

[BBoyle]

Shot another match today. Have not had the chance to really dryfire lately or get any live fire in. We had 5 stages today. I shot 3 of them ok and had 2 bad stages. I only had 2 misses all match but I was pissed about it. The misses occurred on stage 2 and were on a very tight target with a hard lean. I did have to re-engage steel four or five times. I believe I was having trigger control problems. I have to get back to basics again. One of the steel misses I ran dry and had to reload, once that happened I just lost focus and intentionally just let most of a full mag go. It was fun but terrible to salvage the stage.

I did just join the club that I shot the match in. Hopefully I will get a chance to squeeze in a live fire or 2 a month and definitely get a few weeklies in before any majors or level 2s that I will shoot.

Either way how I actually end up I had a great time and shot on a great squad again!

I did take vids with my old fashioned phone. If I can get them downloaded I will put them in my YouTube video page, it has been awhile since I have taken any video. I do find that when I know video is being taken that I do make mistakes. I like to think I do shoot better if I do not take vids at all. It is like I know it is ere and I try to do good for the camera instead of just focussing on what I have to.

Brian

Edited May 13, 2012 by BBoyle

[Babaganoosh]

Didn't make it to the match today because I was trying to get classified at IDPA at OB. Not sure I am going to like IDPA as much.

I can tell you this much, both by cousin and I take video and I swear it causes us to mess up. Either that or it's easier to blame it on the camera rolling then myself.

I shot my Beretta today because my M&P with magwell won't fit in the IDPA measurement box. Big difference in trigger pull weights too, that really didn't help. Not my best day shooting.

You shooting the Sectionals?