Zack's Match Summaries

[ToddKS]

I ordered the mount. It should arrive next week. Any helpful hints/lessons learned in regard to mounting/maintenance/shooting with a slide ride optic?

[ZackJones]

I zeroed my red dot at 15 yards as that is the average distance for targets in SC. It can take some time to find the dot but once you find it you will be goo to go. On smoke and Hope I don't see the dot until transitioning to the stop plate.

You may not immediately see a big drop in times but that will come as you get used to it.

I'm taking Stoeger's class this weekend and I'm debating between irons and optic. I may go with optic because that is what I plan to concentrate on for the next year.

Edited November 6, 2014 by ZackJones

[ToddKS]

You should run the optic and put a sticker on your holster that says "Prod Optics Ready" with an arrow pointed up towards the gun. That would be epic

[ZackJones]

That would be badass. Ben would probably make me do 100 dry fire draws as punishment.

[zhunter]

That would be badass. Ben would probably make me do 100 dry fire draws as punishment.

Love it

[ZackJones]

Shot the Pro-Am match today and didn't shoot my PO gun worth a damn. I shot my irons sights way better. I'm talking 30 plates better! More details in another post.

[ToddKS]

Interested to hear what happened with your PO gun as I just got mine up and running yesterday.

[pcg]

Great running diary. I've enjoyed reading these from the 1st to last. Nice.

[ZackJones]

Interested to hear what happened with your PO gun as I just got mine up and running yesterday.

I SUCKED with it for some reason. I only knocked down 65 plates in 7 stages. With my irons I knocked down 95 plates.

[mosher]

Zack, keep in mind Vogel shot both Open and Limited with the same gun, and he scored 166 in Open, and 187 in limited.

[Shadyscott999]

The par times were far more generous for iron sights. Lots of folks shot better with irons.

[ZackJones]

Zack, keep in mind Vogel shot both Open and Limited with the same gun, and he scored 166 in Open, and 187 in limited.

I wish I could have seen him shoot one of the stages. I need to search YouTube.

[ZackJones]

The par times were far more generous for iron sights. Lots of folks shot better with irons.

You know that makes complete sense. I just thought I shot better with irons. I guess the extra seconds really helped. I can't wait to shoot another one.

[ZackJones]

Today just wasn't my day . It started out great. We got to the range and everything was still in place from the night before. Mrs Jones and I walked a couple of the stages and practically filled our brass bag. A shooter that was passing through town early on his way back to VA showed up and I ran him through all 5 stages so he and his wife could get back on the road headed home. Come registration time folks where showing up early and we ended up with 30 shooters shooting 45 guns. Everyone registered and then it was time to do the final sync from the master to the stage tablets and that's when my day went to hell in a hand basket . For some unexplained reason PractiScore was crashing left and right on the stage Nooks. In desperation I downloaded 1.2.21 from my dropbox account and that didn't help. Fortunately between my iPad, iPhone and iPhone's owned by shooters we were to score the match. When we got finished my phone and iPad were down to under 10% battery life but we managed to get through. Obviously I was stressing over the tablets not working and it had a big impact on my shooting .

I shot centerfire and rimfire irons today and wanted to see how my times compared between the two. In every case I was faster with the rimfire pistol even though this was the first time I shot it in a match. Looking at my times I guess I'm just slow and really need to practice my ass off if I expect to get faster. I've got to get some steel of my own so I can practice. I put together a little spreadsheet comparing my times between the two guns. The bold numbers at the bottom are my current best stage times so clearly I was way off of my game today. Oh well it is what it is and I'll just have to try and not suck as much next month.

[ZackJones]

My new blaster. it's the Para Pro Custom 18.9 (http://para-usa.com/2013/firearms/competition/custom189.php) I have been debating moving into a different direction and when my brother emailed me Sunday night letting me know about the deal at CDNN ($869 with $100 rebate) I thought about it for all of 10 minutes and then ordered it. I picked it up from the FFL last night and ran 250 rounds through it today. Man this thing is sweet. I know some of it is due to new gun syndrome but the timer doesn't lie. I did some testing with my M&P Pro, M&P Core, Glock 19 (Gen 2), and Glock 35 (Gen 3). After doing all of the testing I found I enjoyed and was faster shooting the Glock 35 than I was my M&P's and the Glock 19. So my plan for 2015 is to shoot Limited in steel challenge (which will be my primary focus) and use the Glock 35 for USPSA. I may try to pick up a Glock 34 but sticking with the 35 wouldn't be the end of the world. My son shoots a Gen 4 Glock 35 and I load his ammo so I won't have any problems loading up extra for me to shoot in the 35.

[ZackJones]

Yesterday I shot my first match with my new Para Pro Custom 18.9 blaster. Because it was the last match of the year and I knew turnout would be low due to the holiday's I only ran one official steel challenge stage which was Smoke & Hope which is everyone's favorite stage. The Para came with just two magazines and even though they hold 18 rounds each I really want a couple more magazines. It seems everyone that has this new gun is in the same boat. Supposedly Para will be offering magazines for it in Jan/Feb 2015 time frame and I'll be buying additional ones for sure. Overall I had a pretty good match. My son was up from Georgia and he was shooting his Para P16-40. In addition to shooting my para I shot rimfire pistol open with my Ruger 22/45 and he shot rimfire rifle open with my Ruger 10/22. The Rugers are what I'll be using for NSSF matches starting in January.

Our first stage was called Christmas Bonus. In addition to the normal 5 targets I added an USPSA Pepper Popper as a bonus target. If you engaged the bonus target and hit it 1 second was deducted from your time for the stage. In hindsight engaging the bonus plate was probably a waste of valuable time. In reviewing our times to the stage winner who didn't engage the bonus plate we were lost the match to her (yes, we got beat by a girl) on this one stage. Terry placed 5th and I was 6th on this stage.

Our second stage was called Pick Your (Stop) Plate. In addition to the 4 normal targets we added two stop plates and gave the shooter the choice of which stop plate to engage. This way shooters could engage the targets either right to left or left to right depending on their preference. We positioned the plates very close together so times were very, very fast on it. Our resident master-class rimfire shooter was doing sub 2 second runs on it. I managed a best of 2.61 with rimfire and 3.44 in Limited. Terry placed 3rd and I was 4th on this stage.

Our third stage was Smoke and Hope. This is such a fun stage to shoot but I actually shot it slower than I have in the past. I did manage a 3.00 with the rimfire gun though so I'm proud of that. I know part of my problem is not shooting it in a consistent pattern. I normally start with the plates on the right and shoot outside, inside and then transition all the way over to the outside on the left but for some reason yesterday I was transitioning from inside right to inside left and then to outside left which give me a longer index to the stop plate. Terry won this stage and I was 4th. Both of us shot B-class times based on the proposed new classification system for steel challenge which is better than our current classifications of D for him and C for me.

Our fourth stage was Bill Drill X5. We put a single 18x24 rectangle at 30 feet and let folks rail on it for 5 strings. Talk about a fun stage - this was it! All of my runs with the rimfire gun were sub 2 with a best of 1.48. Unfortunately I can't saw the same for my Limited gun. On two strings back to back I got a poor grip on the gun - poor enough that the grip safety wasn't engaged so the gun would fire. By the time I figured the problem out I was stuck with a 6.47 run which totally hosed me over. Terry placed 4th and I was 5th on this stage.

Our last stage was Scattered Targets and we set it up by just placing targets at random across the widest bay we have available at the range. We ended up with two 18x24 rectangles in the back corners of the bay, two targets somewhere in the middle and a 10" stop plate up towards the front. Without question this was my best stage of the day and was a great way to end the match. Everything just came together for me. On each string I shot 5 for 5. I transitioned between targets with eyes first and then gun. With each press of the trigger I knew I had a hit. Each run was a little faster than the previous run except for the last run but it was very close to previous run time: 6.05 (tossed) -> 5.25 -> 5.12 -> 5.04 -> 5.06. Terry placed 4th and I was 3rd on this stage.

All and all it wasn't a bad match for my first time with the new gun. I'm especially pleased with how the last stage went for me. Granted I would have liked for my times to be faster but hell who doesn't want faster times on their stages. In preparation for the next match I plan to work on getting a proper grip on the gun with every draw. Clearly not having a proper grip killed my times on the Bill Drill stage and I will continue to work on transitioning with my eyes first and then gun. I need to work on that really hard. It's one thing to practice it in dry fire but it seems when I get to the range and am under time pressure I revert back to my old ways of transitioning with the gun and my eyes at the same time. I'll also be working up a load for this gun. I shot the match yesterday with my normal 9mm USPSA minor load which is a Bayou 147g bullet. I've ordered 200 each of the Bayou 95, 105, 115, 124, and 135 grain bullets to work up loads with to see what runs best in the Para. As soon as I get a load worked out I'll order a case of those bullets and load up 'em up for practice and matches.

[ZackJones]

2014 was my first complete year of shooting after getting back into it. I didn't really make any goals for this year as I was just getting back into it. Once I started shooting steel challenge regularly I set a goal of making B class this year but I didn't make it. I'm currently classified as a C with an aggregate time of 127.20 and I need an aggregate time of 115 or below to make B. I came close but I think shooting multiple divisions didn't help me in my quest. Given that in 2016 we will have steel challenge classifications by division I'm planning to concentrate on the Limited division but will continue to shoot production and rimfire as well. I don't plan to shoot open, except for rimfire, until I buy an STI Steelmaster or have some sort of 9mm open gun built for steel challenge. Below is a break down of my best single string time followed by best stage time for that divsion. It will be interesting to see what my times are this time next year.

5 To Go

Limited - 6.54 (29.76)

Open - 5.64 (23.64)

Production - 5.54 (28.16)

Revolver - 9.34 (48.09)

RFPI - 5.31 (23.03)

Showdown

Limited - 5.03 (25.92)

Open - 4.85 (21.52)

Production - 5.34 (24.00)

RFPI - 5.00 (22.15)

RFRI - 4.12 (17.18)

Smoke & Hope

Limited - 3.73 (16.19)

Open - 3.57 (15.96)

Production - 3.43 (15.91)

Revolver - 4.74 (20.63)

RFPI - 2.93 (13.78)

RFPO - 3.00 (13.09)

RFRI - 3.24 (17.12)

Outer Limits

Open - 8.35 (26.46)

Production - 9.51 (35.26)

RFPI - 15.18 (57.12)

Accelerator

Open - 5.71 (26.10)

Production - 5.95 (24.20)

Revolver - 7.49 (33.37)

RFPI - 4.97 (24.30)

Pendulum

Limited - 5.64 (28.28)

Open - 4.89 (21.64)

Production - 6.84 (32.68)

Revolver - 7.62 (34.16)

RFPI - 4.59 (22.08)

RFRI - 4.65 (20.05)

Speed Option

Limited - 5.74 (29.43)

Open - 5.74 (29.18)

Production - 6.72 (31.08)

Revolver - 8.54 (38.50)

RFPI - 5.62 (25.61)

Roundabout

Open - 4.98 (24.25)

Production - 4.11 (20.29)

Revolver - 5.76 (27.38)

RFPI - 4.40 (19.84)

Plans for 2015

Matches I plan to shoot

- Feb Georgia State Steel Match

- March Steel Challenge Nationals

- May South Carolina State USPSA match (hosted at our club)

- ?? Steel Challenge World Shoot

- Oct NSSF World Shoot

- Oct South Carolina State Steel Match (I'm the MD for that match)

As a MD I want to host USPSA steel challenge and NSSF Rimfire Challenge matches that are fun well run.

I want to sucessfully host the South Carolina State Steel Challenge Championship in October 2015. I have all approvals in place to host the match I just need to work out the details on how it will be run, etc.

As a shooter

- Be a very high B if not A class in steel challenge by the end if 2015

- Train (dry fire/work out/etc.) on a regular basis. I do some now but I'm not consistent with it. That has to change if I plan to move up in classification.

- Become more physically fit. As a computer geek I sit on my ass at a computer for too long at a time. I need to get up and get away from the computer more often and participate in some sort of physical activity daily.

[ZackJones]

Live fire practice today. I decided to practice 5 To Go since it's the stage that I have the worst time on. I had planned to practice it with Limited, Production and rimfire guns/rifles but because I'm stupid and didn't verify everything before leaving for the range I left the magazines for my Limited gun home so that gun stayed in the case. Practice went well and I made a conscious effort to always lead with my eyes and follow with the gun and it made a difference. My single fastest runs were a 4.52 for rimfire pistol irons, 2.34 for rimfire rifle irons and 2.48 for rimfire rifle open. I was kind of surpised that I was faster with iron sights on the rifle than I was with the open rifle. I didn't record any times for production because I didn't feel like switching holsters on the belt from the one for the Limited gun to the Production gun. I just did all Production practice runs from low ready. I didn't worry about times - instead I concentrated on target transitions with eyes first and then the gun. Mrs. Jones and I went through a bunch of ammo including a couple hundred rounds of .38 special that we needed to shoot up. Our day ended on a sour note though with a squib in the revolver that locked it up tight. I disassembled the gun when we got home and after removing the firing pin was able to drive the bullet back into the case far enough to remove the cylinder. I suppose the bright side is that the gun needed a thorough cleaning and now it's fully disassembled and will be cleaned tomorrow after work.

[ZackJones]

Steel targets I bought today. One of each size shown. I am hoping practicing on smaller targets will make the standard size targets easier to hit. I will be heading to the range tomorrow to try them out.

[AJE]

ImageUploadedByTapatalk1420325432.588169.jpg

Steel targets I bought today. One of each size shown. I am hoping practicing on smaller targets will make the standard size targets easier to hit. I will be heading to the range tomorrow to try them out.

I thought the same... but I think ONLY doing that will make you slower on closer and bigger stuff too.

[ZackJones]

I thought the same... but I think ONLY doing that will make you slower on closer and bigger stuff too.

I hope not. I can always buy some more steel if I have too. Due to the weather I only took one steel target to the range last Sunday but I had a good time shooting that one target at various distances. 8" plate at 20+ yards is an awfully small target to hit though. They may not work for the 35 yard targets.

[AJE]

I made the mistake of buying a bunch of 4" steel targets when I bought mine, thinking "if I practice on these the bigger ones will be really easy". I wish I would have used that money for a couple more 8", or a 12" instead.

[ToddKS]

I think there is a place for practicing with the undersized targets but I would not want to practice on them exclusively. The caveat to that is that you don't want to practice being slow. I learned that with my draw practice. The goal should be to shoot the smaller targets faster than you are currently shooting the normal size targets. Misses will certainly be more frequent at first but should decrease with practice.

[ZackJones]

Right now I'm in a rebuilding process with my training so I know I'll go slower for a while. In the past I wasn't transitioning with my eyes and then the gun it was always gun and eyes at the same time. When practicing 5 To Go recently I forced myself to transition eyes first and then gun and I was making multiple back to back 5-for-5 runs. There's not that much difference between an 8" and 10" plate so I'm hoping training with the smaller plates won't be an issue. I also wanted to get some 8" plates because we can use them for NSSF Rimfire Challenge matches.

We have steel challenge practice for our junior shooters this weekend. I think I'll setup Smoke and Hope and shoot it with the big plates and then replace them with the 8" plates and see how times compare. That should be an interesting experiment for myself and the juniors.

[Pasley]

I have decided that shooting smaller/further plates than regulation is good for stages like Pendulum but maybe not so good for stages like Smoke & Hope.

Relative to people that shoot similar overall scores I make up time on Pendulum and lose time on Smoke & Hope. This past match I was only .08 slower on Roundabout than I was on Smoke and Hope.

I have a roll of butcher paper that I can use to simulate the 18x24 plates and plan to incorporate that into my practice. In the past I have used 9" paper plates for everything.