Revolver? Die on the vine?

[perttime]

On my last run of that stage, I applied one solution: found a better way to use that wall at the back for support when leaning around it (wall was within the shooting area, so I could use it for support). I ran out of ammunition, so I applied the idea only once, and got good hits - but I was still slow getting those hits.

 

Our resident IPSC Shotgun World Champion showed it on a video: use one foot under the bottom 2x2 of the wall to support the lean.

 

Unstable positions isn't a thing that I've practised much. I need to change that.

[-JCN-]

I'm off for the next two weeks. I am going to try and structure and schedule my days by the hour so I don't waste the time.

 

I have a lot of projects that I would like to get accomplished. And some that need to get accomplished.

 

We're also going to have a home remodeler coming in a few days for a consultation to help us with ideas for a fairly extensive renovation. We will probably be in this house for another 12 years or so and a lot of the things are still from the 80s when the house was initially built. It also needs some structural repair and maintenance so probably best to get it all done at the same time.

 

Time to drink some coffee and figure out what I want to get done for the day....

[-JCN-]

I’m a little bit of a hoarder. I come from poor immigrant parents and my wife was the same way. 
 

It’s become a little bit of an issue and my daughter is trending that way. 
 

Why get rid of something you have the space for and might use someday…

 

It was clearer when we were talking about car and car racing stuff… because I was paying rent to store junk from cars I no longer owned. 
 

At some point, the cost of storing stuff started to outweigh the cost of potentially repurchasing things. 
 

I firmly believe that there shouldn’t be a double standard between parents and kids though. 
 

This is all sparked by the upcoming home remodeler visit. It’s a chance for

a fresh start. 
 

I can’t just tell my daughter to get rid of junk without also doing the same. It would be disingenuous. 
 

Currently spitballing a plan to get rid of most gun stuff I’m not using and probably never will. 
 

It was an educational journey but I think it’s time to pare things down. 
 

I’ll probably just fire sale a bunch of mainstream stuff on the local classified boards of some of my gun clubs and at the local gun shops. 

[-JCN-]

Sometimes when I am paralyzed by a task that’s too daunting, I’ll commit to a movement goal. 
 

 

I think I’ll start with 5 guns per month that I’ll fire sale to the local shop. 

[-JCN-]

May 28:

5a: unstructured dry fire, watch videos, blog

 

6a: discuss remodel plans with wife, plan paring down

 

7a: research cargo options for range, spend time with daughter and get her ready for school and drop off 

 

8a: little bit of work from Friday to clean up 

 

 

[-JCN-]

Work took a little longer.

 

8-9:30a Work

9:30-10:30 Partial unpacking from trip. Packing for range.

[-JCN-]

Regarding beasts of men versus small men and women. 
 

 

This came across my feed today and I think it’s appropriate. 
 

I was having the discussion with V yesterday about sheer mass plus strength mattering at the upper levels of competition.
 

From a pure mechanical shooting standpoint, physics matter. Most of us accept that gun weight matters for recoil control and that ammunition spice in the absence of a compensator matters. 
 

But the human behind the gun also comes into the physics of it. 
 

Golf is a good analogy. A big dude with poor form using just arms and will be out driven by a small woman using her lats and hips. 
 

But comparing good form to good form… the amount of power and control is physically different. 
 

I feel like this is also applicable to shooting. Recoil control requires good technique for smaller people, but it’s still not going to ever get to the level of a monster man with good technique. 
 

IMO. 
 

It doesn’t come into play very often. But noticing that some of the super squad guys had arms thicker than V’s legs, it’s really a different game played on a different level. 

[-JCN-]

10:30-11:30: message with a good friend, Starbucks for lunch on the way to my range. 

[-JCN-]

11:30-12:30 drive to range and listen to an audiobook. 
 

I like autobiographies read by the authors. It really helps me get perspective of people with different life experiences and values. 
 

12:30-3:30 feasibility testing at the range… would the trailer even move after these few years?

 

I brought race jacks and blocks of wood. Handy assists to get trailer feet unstuck and to the proper height. 
 

 

I was reminded of one of the motivating issues to having the range graveled in….

 

Weeds and grass grow vigorously in the spring and summer. 
 

Having to mow the range to use it is a big time suck. 
 

The time savings will be worth something to me. 
 

 

Subaru did great. What a great car!

 

I have the “Wilderness” model with 9.5 inches of ground clearance. 
 

It’s really the best all around vehicle I can think of. Drives like a car. Good gas mileage. Lots of tech that just works. Great reliability. Great resale… even when used hard.  Body cladding works to protect it. 

[-JCN-]

3:30-4:15 drive to league match

4:15-5:30 memorize stages

5:30-8:15 shoot league and eat

8:15-9:15 drive home

9:15-10:00 shower and get ready for bed. 
 

Got a lot done today. If I don’t plan by the hour, I can waste a lot of time on nothing productive. 
 

I’m still shooting pretty tense and tentative. It’s affecting my flow. 
 

I’m really looking forward to having my range done up so I can work on flow. 

[-JCN-]

Updates on the gun:

With my current regimen, no malfunctions during the 24 stages in Colorado and none tonight. 
 

Mags are now fitting 22 rounds but I don’t know if that’s reloadable. 
 

Will have to test. 
 

 

[-JCN-]

Uncharted territory

 

This is kind of new to me. I'm now at a point that I've never been at before.

 

Trying to reconcile and adjust stand and shoot skills to dynamic movement.

 

I have some theories about what I want to achieve and what I want to work on. Squadding with young, athletic guys helps me play a game that I wouldn't normally play.

 

One thing is that I need to not try and make up any (many) shots. Just commit to seeing and going.

 

I also need to make sure I'm staying within my skill set.

 

I'm going to try more single shot confidence testing at speed and with rotated lower rather than full stance.

[-JCN-]

Skills lab day

 

Started off the day at the indoor range with V to debrief and discuss. 
 

Brought and demonstrated a laser blue gun with the same index as a CZ for working index around corners and on awkward leans when the first shot might be on index around something as you come onto target to confirm as the shot breaks. 
 

Loaned it to her for home feedback training on index where there is no sight picture. 
 

Then we had lunch then went to my range where we finished moving heavy targets to the side so the berm and gravel work can get done in the next couple weeks. 
 

Set my solar powered SIM card using camera to where I can check in on the progress. 
 

 

Then we set out some targets to work some things we needed work on. 
 

Things that look small on paper are visually more apparent in live fire. 
 

There is a large difference in recoil control between a 0.16 split and a 0.20 even though it’s only 0.04 of time. 

[Farmer]

Where is your range at? (State etc?) I know many are leery of chemicals but in the case of your range there’s a few that will help you enjoy it a bit more. In early spring you can simply use Roundup to kill off emerging weeds but later on a new flush may come. I have sprayed as little as 1oz of Roundup in a gallon of water on what appears as bare ground in early spring and it stayed clear for over 4 months. We don’t get much rain so that’s why I asked where you are. For a more permanent (longer lasting) solution you can apply Casron, either Pellets or liquid. That will give you a couple of years of clear ground depending on how much you apply. I mention these two because you generally don’t need a license or permit to purchase. Just something you may consider. 

[-JCN-]

@Farmer I’m taking your previous advice and having it fabric and gravel covered! 
 

From a toxin standpoint, my kid sometimes runs around there with me so I’d probably mow rather than spray. 
 

But hopefully fabric and gravel will be the answer. 

[-JCN-]

Had a lazy, unstructured day today.

 

Mowed the lawn, sprayed for bugs.

 

Met with a home remodeling design firm that we are hiring.

 

It’s going to be a whole house remodel so might have to move out of our house for a few months…

 

Might escalate the desire to simplify and get rid of junk.

 

I don’t like to put my name publicly for random internet people to stumble across, so that’s been my hesitation / stumbling block against selling things here which is a shame. I have a lot of competition stuff that I’m probably going to wind up giving away to the local gun shop.

[-JCN-]

Lots of changes

 

This is a good time in our lives to have a little bit of a reset.

 

Things are going well at work, marriage, parenting, sports.

 

We are about at the mid point of our time in our house. We’ve spent 12 years here and likely 12 more before our daughter goes off to college.

 

Some of the 80s stuff in the house needs updating, repair and maintenance and we have the funds to do it.

 

We also bought the house when prices were crashed out in 2010-12 so we will get most of our upgrade money back out when we sell. It’s basically turning a current cash investment into a property investment. So it doesn’t feel like “spending” money per se.

 

Also, I heard from the guy who is doing dirt work for me that he finished his previous project early so he’s going to do my range project starting next week!

 

Good times.

 

House moving is a big stress, but I feel like it’s a good time for us having mental bandwidth to accommodate.

[-JCN-]

Range session with V

We had our weekly session. We mocked up some classifiers to test our pace and skill. It’s been a couple months since her initial classification and she has continued to improve her mechanics. It was a good opportunity to test how that shakes out.

 

It looks like she is now entering into A class territory. The consistency is not always there, but the peak skills are definitely better than her initial classification.

 

For me, I’m getting more consistent. At the end of the session, we rechecked our zeros and they were a little bit off, which explained some of the hits that didn’t wind up where we called them.

Her zero was off because we were chasing a loose barrel bushing previously, and didn’t think to rezero it. For me, my initial zeroing was done without unlocking the RTS2 so I think some of the adjustments didn’t take. 

Regardless, we were able to get a sense of our pace and hits to get a general sense of where our mechanics are at comparatively to the database.

 

Things continue to improve, which is a good sign that our practice is addressing our weaknesses effectively. 

[-JCN-]

If you’re not improving…

 

The reasons might be:

A ) You’re not practicing enough

B ) You’re not practicing effectively

C ) Physical and mental skills are aging out. 

 

The kind of person I try and avoid are the people who aren’t improving and are clearly embodying the reasons listed above but their ego refuses to admit it. There’s no helping them and they’re so unpleasant that it’s better to just walk away. 
 

If you’re doing it right, you should see objective improvement that is reflected objectively, no?

 

That’s at least been my experience. 
 

At least in shooting sports so far, I haven’t clearly had C happen to me but I do know that I have less speed and stamina than I used to. Also more prone to injury. 
 

I have my retirement sports (SCSA and IDPA) picked out for when I age out of USPSA but thankfully not there yet. 
 

 

.

Edited June 1 by -JCN-

[-JCN-]

Starting Monday:

 

Going to start trying to slash and burn junk in the house. 
 

Will get my daughter’s input and advice too. I want her to be on board with the rationale and process. It should IMO be collaborative and have buy in to avoid mental trauma to her. 

[-JCN-]

Shot a Time Plus 2 gun match for the first time. It was weird, but fun. 
 

The penalties are so severe for not neutralizing a target… but not so severe for hitting a no shoot which I found odd. 
 

It was like IDPA speed for rifle but major hosing for pistol. It just wound up feeling a little… odd. 

 

It was fun though. Totally different sport.  This club used 1/2 size USPSA target for rifle which was kind of cool. 

 

Hung out with people I normally shoot league with and had a good time. 
 

I could consider training up my rifle skills… 

[-JCN-]

I stopped counting rounds on the Alien. I’m pretty much cleaning it before every match, but it’s a pretty quick clean. 
 

Using it has gotten more intuitive and I feel more and more comfortable with the gun and system. 
 

I’m trying to use it as much as I can in as many different sporting environments as I can. 
 

 

Edited June 2 by -JCN-

[perttime]

Sometimes I see people selling great pistols like Alien or KMR after just a couple of hundred rounds through them - because "it didn't work all that great for me".

 

I've shot just a few rounds through an Alien. I liked it, but also felt that it would take some getting used to.

[-JCN-]

6 hours ago, perttime said:

Sometimes I see people selling great pistols like Alien or KMR after just a couple of hundred rounds through them - because "it didn't work all that great for me".

 

I've shot just a few rounds through an Alien. I liked it, but also felt that it would take some getting used to.

 

I can’t speak with authority for other people, but I also suspect that a number of people don’t put thought or time into tuning a platform to suit their ergonomics and ammunition.

 

So they’re stuck with trying to adjust to compensations and every model gun and ammo combination from the factory will be set up differently.

 

Nobody with any real racing experience would suggest you’d take a showroom stock car off the dealer lot and race it in that configuration “because the manufacturer knows best.”

 

But yet you get people who say that with their guns and those are people who often struggle to get everything out of themselves and out of their platform.

 

I started learning about tuning guns on CZs and the Shadow 2 because there is a known published “good race setup” that is in common use. Some Cajun parts, some CZC parts, reduced and replaced springs… it’s like Spec Miata, it’s a common baseline.

 

The Alien was uncharted territory and it took me a while to get it ironed out. Part of it was the limited availability of something as simple as a slimmer backstrap.

 

I had been away from actively competing in USPSA pistol for a few years and I felt like it was necessary to “break up with the ex-girlfriend” to dissolve previous expectations knowing there would be teething pains with the new platform (there always were with changing types of race cars).

[-JCN-]

Good data today. 
 

Shot some of the older classifiers with V and it was a bloodbath, haha. 
 

Some people would complain that they’re “shot out” or “too hard” but I feel like they’re still data. 
 

Our local awesome PCC guy who has done super well at Nationals and was at 94.9% before… got destroyed with all mid-low M scores. 
 

Most people were a full classification under where they normally are. 
 

So what’s the next play?

 

I think it depends on who you are and what drives you. 
 

For me, it makes me want to take the hardest classifiers and train that pace and level. 
 

V and I are going to break down the hardest classifiers and train those with an accountability parameter in dry and test in live. 
 

I want to meet a standard clearly rather than with asterisks. 

 

I want that for V as well. She made B handily but there’s no time goal for A class. It is when she’s clearly past the minimum standard.