It can be the ARROW !

[Paul Burtchell]

A cool thing witnessed by our squad today. I was shooting a local level "Action Pistol" match, mostly falling steel, Texas Star, etc. and a handful of paper targets thrown in. This match had 6 stages with it's share of very small mini poppers and small falling steel, at some fairly long ranges. Not an easy match. 49 total shooters.

We had a relatively "new to competition" shooter on our squad, using a box stock Springfield Armory XDM in 40 S&W. He was also using factory ammo. Poor guy was having a very difficult time with the Texas Star and small steel and getting VERY frustrated. He eventually ran out of ammo right before the last stage and basically said, " Screw it., I'm finished " !!

Several shooters on our squad offered their pistols for him to use for the last stage and since he was shooting an XDM, I offered the use my new XDM 5.25. My pistol has a Springer competition trigger job, and a Dawson Fiber Optic front sight.

Out of 49 shooters this fellow had finished 43, 38,48,47 and 42 overall on the first 5 stages. On stage 6 using my pistol he finished 17th overall !!!

Everyone on our squad cheered and I wish I had a picture of his smile. A very happy "Indian".

In my opinion the proper equipment for the games we play makes a huge difference in match performance.

What say ye??

Edited September 11, 2011 by Paul Burtchell

[Paul Burtchell]

PS.

Not a plug for my gunsmith. In my opinion he would have had similar results with any brand of pistol set up properly for our games.

Edited September 11, 2011 by Paul Burtchell

[Jonathan Taliani]

While it may not be a replacement for practice, there is a lot to be said for a good trigger and a tad more sight radius. It's great that he went out on a high note. Hopefully it will encourage him to stick with the sport.

Good stuff letting him borrow your new pistol.

[Paul Burtchell]

Thanks Jonathan. I feel we took a shooter that may have never returned and turned him into someone who is "hooked". He knows he can do this now.

I agree with you that there is no substitute for proper practice.

Edited September 11, 2011 by Paul Burtchell

[Biloxi23]

Yeterday we had a local match that had one stage that was 18 pieces of steel that included small poppers, lollipops and a Texas Star in the middle. There were a couple of new shooters that really struggled, along with several way more experienced shooters that really-really struggleds. Then there was this one new guy in our squad. He was having a rough day, and we kept telling him not to worry about the time, just focus on the front sight and squeeze. About the time we hit the steel stage, he was catching on, and dis pretty doggone good. what he was smiling about the most is the he did the stage a lot better that the guy that talked him into coming out for the match. The whole squad congratulated him and from the look on his face, I'd surmise that we have a new devotee.

[GrumpyOne]

I could not agree more....While the Indian has the majority of the skill, having a warped arrow is not going to help you...

Edited September 11, 2011 by GrumpyOne

[jar]

It's definitely important to have a gun that works and is set up how you like. Where people get wrapped around the axle is always chasing the latest and greatest. Once you have gear that's good enough, there's a lot more practice before those last 5% tweaks matter at all, and even then I think the effect is mostly mental.

Glad to hear you hooked a new shooter. I'm sure he'll be getting his gun squared away and coming back.

[Duane Thomas]

As Brian Enos put it, "It might be the Indian and not the arrow....but who wants a crappy bow?"

[Flexmoney]

I have the same story to tell, but with a completely stock gun (untouched G17)... and, the shooter finishing strong by focusing on executing the fundamentals.

I'm glad both shooters left the range on a good note.

[mpeltier]

It may not have been neccessarily that your pistol was any better suited to the game, but rather the minor differances focused his awareness of executing the fundamentals.